October 8 – The US and Mexico have gone joint top of the 8-team final qualifying group for the Qatar 2022 World Cup after four matches, but a feisty Canada are not letting them run away with qualification, forcing a 1-1 draw in Mexico City and sitting two points behind them in the group.
October 8 – UEFA and players’ union FIFPRO are pushing the Red Button whistleblowing app as the go-to platform for players to report possible match-fixing incidents.
October 8 – Manchester’s two Premier League giants top a European ranking of highest squad transfer values, with both United and City worth more than €1.2 billion. Their nearest rival is Chelsea who are more than €200m behind them with an estimated squad value of €946 million.
October 8 – An American judge has recommended that a civil case against Cristiano Ronaldo over an alleged rape should be thrown out.
October 8 – The MLS has renewed its sponsorship with Continental Tire for a new multi-year term. The tyre brand has been an MLS partner since 2010.
By Samindra Kunti in Turin
October 7 – With a phenomenal rearguard action, world champions France came from two goals down to triumph 3-2 over neighbours Belgium and book a place in the Nations League final against Spain.
By Paul Nicholson
October 7 – The decision by Saudi Arabia to lift a four-year ban on Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports could remove a key impediment in the way of the Saudis taking ownership of Newcastle United.
October 7 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini will go before a Swiss court to decide their case concerning the CHF2 million ‘disloyal payment’ made by FIFA to Platini in 2010.
October 7 – FC Barcelona have formally reported their mammoth loss of €481 million for the 2020-21 season, with CEO Ferran Reverter going on the record saying that the Catalans backed the breakaway Super League as their life raft to a more sustainable financial model in the long run.
October 7 – FIFA has launched the bid process for hosting the 2023 Beach Soccer World Cup with a deadline for declarations of interest of 29 October 2021.
By Samindra Kunti in Turin
October 7 – France captain Hugo Lloris (pictured centre) has voiced his opposition to FIFA’s plans to stage the World Cup every two years, arguing that the global finals should be protected as “something rare”.
October 7 – The fast-improving Canadian men’s team will host two of their crucial Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying matches in Edmonton, Canada, one of the two Canadian cities bidding for a 2026 World Cup hosting.
October 7 – Vietnamese real estate developer Hung Thinh Land has become an Official Global Supporter of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar which enter their third match day in the final round today.
October 7 – LaLiga and Microsoft have combined to launch a new football statistics portal, Beyond Stats, that they say will revolutionise the fan experience with deeper insights into game play.
October 7 – World Cup 2026 bid city Houston kept their focus on the hosting prize with the launch the ‘Spirit of Houston’ campaign yesterday marking the start of the campaign with a social ‘roadblock’ that saw organisations and indivduals share the campaign launch video.