January 7 – The revamped Spanish Super Cup gets under way in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday but few Spanish fans have made the trip amid heightened political tensions in the region and mounting criticism of the tournament being held in another Continent in a country long condemned for its human rights record.
January 7 – Liverpool have formally announced that Nike will become the club’s official supplier from the start of the next season when the current New Balance deal ends.
January 7 – An alleged case of racist abuse that led to England’s Professional Footballers’ Association calling for a government inquiry into discrimination has not been proven, prompting concerns that players may refrain from reporting such incidents in the future.
January 7 – Flamengo’s new year has began under a storm cloud. The Brazilian giants have not yet reached a rights agreement with TV Globo about the upcoming Rio state championship and, on Monday, Flamengo dismissed their director of football Paulo Pelaipe.
January 7 – The University of East Anglia have intensified research into the link between football and dementia with a £1 million study that will test former players for early signs of the disease.
January 7 – Serie A’s Fiorentina have set a blockchain-meets-football first with each of the club’s playing shirts to be inserted with a dedicated chip that can be tracked and will prevent counterfeiting.
January 7 – Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie has been slapped with a ban after being found guilty of grabbing Rangers’ Colombian forward Alfredo Morelos by the genitals during the recent derby between Scotland’s two rival Glasgow giants.
January 6 – Despite all Serie A clubs collectively vowing to combat racism, Brescia striker Mario Balotelli was again targeted at the weekend, this time by Lazio fans during his club’s 2-1 home defeat.
January 6 – The US men’s squad has scrapped plans to go to Qatar for a winter training camp amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following the controversial assassination of Iran’s top military commander ordered by Donald Trump.
January 6 – Argentine giants Boca Juniors want to expand their Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires to become a state-of-the-art venue with a larger capacity.
January 6 – New Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kurt Okraku has acted swiftly to crackdown on the illegal betting markets being offered by bookmakers on the country’s Premier League (GPL), threatening legal action.
January 6 – Ali Al Habsi, the Omani goalkeeping legend who made a name for himself as the first Arab player from the GCC countries to play in the Premier League, has announced his retirement from international football, aged 38.
January 6 – French international defender Wendie Renard says the trophy she received for being named in FIFA’s women’s team of the year has gone missing after being left on a train.
January 6 – The ink now appears to be drying on the new Puma deal with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven that will begin with the 2020-21 season and sees the German sportswear giant take over from Umbro as the club’s kit supplier.
By David Owen
January 5 – The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) has disclosed the full list of qualifiers for this year’s edition of the World Football Cup.