Angers president Said Chabane quits over sexual abuse allegations
March 30 – Said Chabane (pictured), president of French Ligue1 side Angers, has resigned following accusations of sexual assault.
Europe
Nigerian Shola Akinlade takes majority control of Denmark’s Aarhus Fremand
March 30 – Nigerian tech entrepreneur Shola Akinlade (pictured) has acquired a majority stake in Danish second-division club Aarhus Fremad through his American company Decimal Sport.
Sacramento Republic owner Nagle set to close deal for Huddersfield Town
March 29 – US businessman and chairman of second tier US club side Sacramento Republic, Kevin Nagle (pictured), is in the final stages of buying English Championship side Huddersfield Town.
Belgium give Germany a friendly lesson in performance revitalisation
By Samindra Kunti in Cologne
March 29 – It’s rare for Germany to be schooled on home soil, but on Tuesday night a barnstorming Belgium did just that with an impressive 3-2 friendly win, a result that handed Germany a reality check on the road to Euro 2024.
Bulgaria’s Botev Plovdiv seek naming rights sponsor for new stadium opening
March 29 – Bulgarian top tier club Botev Plovdiv has launched a search for a naming rights sponsor for its new ‘Hristo Botev’ stadium in the second largest city in Bulgaria. The 19,000-capacity stadium will be officially opened within the next month.
FIFA boosts payments to clubs for World Cup player release to $355m for 2026 and 2030
March 28 – Clubs worldwide have secured a whopping 70% increase in their share of World Cup revenues for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments. FIFA has increased its payments to clubs for the release of players to $355 million. For the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the figure was a combined $209 million.
Women’s Euro 2025 hosts to be announced April 5
March 28 – UEFA has announced that it will award the hosting rights to the Women’s Euro 2025 finals on April 5.
US player agency CRD Sport opens talks to buy Bulgaria’s Pirin Blagoevgrad
March 28 – American player agency CRD Sport has opened negotiations for the acquisition of Bulgaria’s top tier club Pirin Blagoevgrad.
Russia finds friends. Iran and Iraq play friendlies as team preps for Central Asian Championship
March 27 – They may be still banned from FIFA and UEFA tournaments because of the invasion of Ukraine but Russia has nevertheless managed to manoeuvre its way back into international football.
Frederik Reinfeldt takes over at top of Swedish FA
March 27 – Swedish football has a new leader. After tightly contested elections, Frederik Reinfeldt (pictured) will succeed Karl-Erik Nilsson as the president of the Swedish FA (SvFF). He defeated Lars-Christer Olsson for the presidency by over 30 votes.
Belgians go to court to challenge gambling ad ban that will rip out 12% of football’s revenue
March 24 – Belgian football is joining the rest of the Belgian sports industry in going to court to challenge a total ban on gambling advertising in the country.
Red Star Belgrade settles €13m of government tax debt
March 23 – Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade has settled all its debts to the state, according to Zvezdan Terzič, general director of the club.
Nagelsmann’s downhill run at Bayern finds Tuchel waiting in the wings
March 24 – Julian Nagelsmann has been left stunned by Bayern Munich’s decision to sack him while still in contention to win three trophies, according to German reports.
Kane penalty in Naples puts him above Rooney as England’s all-time top scorer
March 24 – Harry Kane became England’s leading scorer of all time on Thursday with his 54th goal for the national team in the 2-1 European Championship qualifying win over Italy in Naples.
UEFA opens own probe into Barca payments to top referee in ‘Caso Negreira’ case
March 23 – UEFA has announced it has opened its own investigation into the millions of dollars of payments made by Barcelona to the former vice president of Spain’s referees’ committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.