Champions League: Is the rise of the superclubs becoming a problem? September 8, 2026 Eight clubs in this year’s Champions League have a massive financial advantage over the rest but, with TV and commercial revenue increasing, should Uefa be worried? The Champions League kicks off in earnest this evening with a low-key fixture between AEK Athens and Austrian side LASK, the kind that, for most neutrals, could only be [...]
Belgian FA ‘cannot back’ Infantino amid World Cup and Balogun ‘transparency’ concerns September 7, 2026 Belgium’s FA has vowed to oppose Gianni Infantino’s bid for re-election as Fifa president, in part because it remains unhappy at the handling of the Folarin Balogun incident. Infantino confirmed at the weekend that he intends to stand again in March despite a furious backlash to his now-abandoned plans to partially privatise the World Cup. [...]
Strauss becomes first dedicated Champions League referee sponsor September 4, 2026 Champions League referees will sport sleeve patches advertising workwear brand Strauss after the German company became Uefa’s first ever refereeing sponsor. The three-year deal, announced today, will take effect when the competition’s league phase, involving Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, begins next week. The Strauss partnership also covers the Women’s Champions [...]
Just Eat slashes sponsorship team as it axes £40m Champions League deal a year early September 4, 2026 Just Eat’s premature exit from its £40m-a-year Champions League partnership has coincided with the takeaway platform gutting its sponsorship department, City AM has learned. European football chiefs have been forced to bring forward the start of a partnership with Hyundai in place of Just Eat after it opted to terminate its Champions League deal a [...]
Are financial rules fuelling the Premier League’s record transfer spending? September 3, 2026 Premier League football’s financial regulations may have been designed to control transfer spending but they actually incentivise it, argues Danny Hill. Premier League clubs spent a record £3.46bn this summer. Around 38 per cent of deals were between Premier League clubs, up from 30 per cent last year, according to Reuters. The obvious explanations are [...]
Fifa crisis shows that fans must get a say in who succeeds Infantino as president August 29, 2026 Gianni Infantino has inadvertently shown fans that the Fifa president matters, so maybe we should rethink how we elect one, argues Matt Readman. A year ago, I wrote an article arguing that the role of a sports leader was to be a caretaker, not a king. The warning was simple: make the story about yourself and [...]
Euro 2028 hospitality: Money-back tickets if England flop and no dynamic pricing August 28, 2026 Jaime Byrom of Beyond Hospitality on what football fans can expect from its premium offerings at Euro 2028 in the UK and Ireland, which go on sale next week. The US might be seen as sport’s most mature commercial market but, when it comes to hospitality offerings, it still trails the UK, according to one [...]
Uefa threatens Infantino with criminal complaint as Fifa row takes explosive twist August 27, 2026 Uefa has dramatically escalated its attempts to oust Gianni Infantino by taking the first legal steps towards making a criminal complaint against the Fifa president. Lawyers for European football’s governing body have lodged a request with a US court for a raft of documents and correspondence regarding the now-abandoned World Cup sell-off that could be [...]
Saudi Arabia backs Gianni Infantino ‘at this time’ in major boost to Fifa president August 27, 2026 Embattled Fifa president Gianni Infantino has received a major boost after Saudi Arabia, the host of the 2034 World Cup and a long-standing ally, backed his bid to stay in power. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation had stayed conspicuously silent since Infantino’s position was plunged into crisis by revelations that he was planning to partly [...]
Uefa to call off Fifa boycott and step up talks over Infantino at Champions League draw August 26, 2026 Uefa will use a gathering of continental chiefs for tomorrow’s Champions League draw to call off its boycott of Fifa events and discuss next moves in its bid to oust Gianni Infantino. Europe’s governing body will hold a meeting with its executive committee and heads of national FAs in Monaco ahead of the draw for [...]