January 31 – The MLS’s groundbreaking 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple is starting to show cracks after just two seasons, with not even Lionel Messi driving the subscriber growth that was predicted for the streaming service both within the US and internationally.
January 31 – Excitement is building in the respective host cities for the 2026 World Cup, and with the 500-day countdown officially beginning, each local organising committee is keen to highlight their progress. In Kansas City, KC2026 is sharing ways for the region to get involved.
January 31 – The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has signed a partnership agreement with Condor, Bulgaria’s leading travel agency.
January 31 – Hot on the heels of the rapidly growing six-a-side Baller League, comes the announcement that the Kings League, the innovative 7-a-side football competition founded by Gerard Piqué, will form a partnership with the Serie A, Italy’s top football league.
January 30 – DAZN posted operating losses of $830 million for 2023, raising further question marks over the financial sustainability of the sports streaming giant.
January 30 – The Norwegian FA (NFF) has launched a defence of VAR in a bid to retain it, after NFF president Lise Klaveness (pictured) and her board met on Wednesday to consider the future of the technology following opposition from fans, who threw fish cakes on to a pitch last year in protest, and clubs, who have voted to get rid of it.
January 30 – The CIES Football Observatory has released its latest statistical forecast, offering a data-driven prediction of how teams across 42 leagues worldwide are expected to perform for the remainder of the season.
Off the back of a thrilling UEFA Champions League night on Wednesday, it is now the turn of the inaugural Europa League group phase to reach its climax on Thursday evening, with all 18 matches kicking off simultaneously at 20:00 GMT.
January 30 – Former Chelsea supremo Roman Abramovich allegedly dodged paying millions in taxes to British authorities through an elaborate fictitious superyacht hiring scheme.
January 30 – Manchester City’s ‘reward’ for narrowly avoiding an embarrassing UEFA Champions League exit on Wednesday night is a play-off against a European juggernaut. A 3-1 comeback victory over Club Brugge clinched 22nd place in the league phase and a match against either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, who finished 12th and 11th respectively, just to reach the Round of 16. Celtic, who came 21st, will take on the other giant.
January 30 – Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain secured vital victories on the final matchday of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League group phase to ensure qualification to the play-off round.
January 30 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the new dates for this year’s African Nations Championship (CHAN), a tournament promoting home-based talent and featuring only players based in domestic leagues.
January 30 – The Municipality of Split is preparing the process to reconstruct and renovate the Poljud Stadium, Croatia’s largest football venue with a capacity of 33,987 seats.
January 30 – The El Clasico, between Real Madrid and Barcelona is widely considered to be the biggest club game in world football and is eagerly awaited every season. On May 11, the second La Liga instalment following Barca’s thrashing of Madrid 4-0 at Estadio Bernabeu, is scheduled to take place at the Camp Nou, however, the game is now in jeopardy of having no facility to play in.
January 30 – SIGA is has admitted 11 Portuguese female footballers as mentees into the SIGAWomen Global Mentorship Programme.