By Paul Nicholson
May 18 – Speaking at the 32nd AFC Congress, president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said that “it is clear that the AFC, our members and our Regional Associations are well on the road to recovery”, and confirmed the AFC’s support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the next FIFA presidential campaign.
May 18 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino cut a quite different figure at today’s AFC Congress where he appeared (virtually) alongside the AFC president and General Secretary looking more relaxed, comfortable and confident than he has in his previous confederation congress outings over the last month.
May 18 – In a historic moment, US Soccer and its national teams agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will for the first time guarantee equal pay between men’s and women’s teams for games and equal division of World Cup prize money.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 18 – Glasgow Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt, two massively supported clubs who have had lean times when it comes to European success, turn back time tonight when they attempt to carve out a place in modern football history by winning the Europa League.
May 18 – All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel has been sidelined from the game after the country’s Supreme Court appointed a committee to finalise the ruling body’s constitution and manage everyday administration.
May 18 – The AFC has cleared a fast track path to appoint a new host for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 following the withdrawal of China, 14 months before the event’s kick off.
May 18 – Nottingham Forest will play Huddersfield Town in the so-called richest individual game in football after reaching the English Championship play-off final.
May 18 – Zimbabwe’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) has suspended all matches until further notice after the biggest domestic club game had to be abandoned because of fan violence.
May 18 – Germany’s Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs will receive more than €170 million from the 2023-24 season from the licensing of the global rights for stickers and trading cards, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
May 18 – Ghanaian football has been struck by a match-fixing scandal with top-flight clubs Ashanti Gold and Inter Allies hit with demotion to the third tier and players and officials of both clubs heavily sanctioned.
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
May 17 – The much-publicised £4.25 billion sale of Chelsea to a US-led consortium is reported to be at risk of collapsing because of a dispute between the UK government and owner Roman Abramovich over where the funds might end up.
May 17 – Pressure is growing in Indian football on president Praful Patel and for the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to stage fresh elections with Football Delhi president Shaji Prabhakaran writing to the world governing body, demanding FIFA form a normalization committee in India.
By Samindra Kunti
May 17 – La Liga has taken another big step in its bid for digital transformation by partnering with TVM, a South Korean global sports metaverse platform, in a two-and-a-half-year deal.
May 17 – Jake Daniels’ decision to come out as the UK’s only openly gay active male professional footballer is being hailed as a watershed moment that will lead to more players coming out.
May 17 – Mauritius will play in the group stage of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after Sao Tome and Principe were thrown out for fielding an ineligible player during their preliminary round tie and breaching COVID-19 protocols.