Paul Nicholson

May 29 – With Palestine’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against FIFA’s decision not to act against Israeli football teams in the West Bank currently working its way through sport’s judicial system, a new investigative report has been released outlining the industrial scale of the football ecosystem that has been created by Israeli settlors in the occupied West Bank. It details how the game is being used politically to create community and normalise the theft of land. Read more …

May 29 – Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain start as favourites to retain the Champions League against Arsenal, who can cement England’s dominance of the European club game with victory. The high-stakes final comes against a new political backdrop in Hungary.

May 31 – Deportivo Toluca FC not only won their third 2026 Champions Cup but two of their key players picked up the tournament’s individual awards. Best Player Award, presented by Scotiabank, was won by Portuguese striker Paulinho, whose eight goals and one assist was instrumental to Toluca’s winning campaign. He scored or provided the assist in five of seven appearances in the tournament. Paulinho’s eight goals also saw him collect the tournament’s Top Scorer Award, Read more …

May 30 – Deportivo Toluca goalkeeper Luis García was the hero as Toluca seized their third Concacaf Champions League title and first for 23 years, with a 6-5 penalty win over Tigres UANL in the sold-out Estadio Nemesio Diez in Toluca. It was scoreless for ninety and for nearly all of extra time. And it was held that way, in large part, by one man. García had already pulled off the save of the tournament in the 79th minute. Read more …

June 1 – China may not yet be a major force on the international football pitch. Still, the country’s love affair with the global game remains strong, and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has just inked one of the most significant European football deals to underline that point. Through a multi-year agreement unveiled today, Alibaba becomes the global AI, cloud computing, and e-commerce partner of UEFA, spanning both the 2028 UEFA European Championships and the men’s club competition cycle from 2027-28 through 2032-33. Read more …

June 1 – The South Africa national team, Bafana Bafana have been forced to postpone their flight to North America ahead of the FIFA World Cup, after what the country’s sports minister has labelled “embarrassing and grossly unfair” visa issues. The team was set to fly out on Sunday for their training base at Universidad Del Futbol in San Juan Tilcuautla, with their tournament opener against co-hosts Mexico on June 11 the most-anticipated kick-off of the entire competition. Read more …

June 1 – The union representing more than 2,000 workers at SoFi Stadium has broken off negotiations with stadium operators and confirmed plans to hold a strike vote next week, putting eight 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, including the USMNT opener against Paraguay on June 12, at direct risk. UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents cooks, servers, and bartenders across SoFi’s food and beverage operation, walked away from negotiations with stadium operator Legends Global on Tuesday after multiple bargaining sessions failed. Read more …

June 1 – Media and events business Just Women’s Sports (JWS) has closed a fresh investment round at what founder and CEO Haley Rosen describes as “the heart” of a defining year for the sport and at a moment when women’s football in the United States is enjoying unprecedented commercial and cultural momentum. The round is led by Bolt Ventures, the family office of sports investor David Blitzer, which previously backed JWS in 2022. Read more …

June 1 – The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has announced a long-term strategic partnership with Allnutrition, an international sports nutrition and dietary supplements brand. Under the agreement, which runs until 2029, Allnutrition becomes the Official Partner of the Romanian National Football Team. The collaboration is built on shared core values, including performance, a healthy lifestyle, discipline, and continuous self-improvement. Originally from Poland, Allnutrition now operates in 20 international markets. Locally, the company serves customers through its official platform, Read more …

June 1 – Despite FIFA having received a complaint from the Palestine FA regarding illegal settlor teams in the occupied West Bank playing in the Israeli league, the world governing body apparently endorsed those teams while the dispute was on-going by broadcasting games on its FIFA+ streaming platform. With FIFA’s ethics panel deciding not to take action against illegal settlor teams in the West Bank playing in Israeli leagues, Palestine have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Read more …