Global diary
Stories from the four corners of the football world
Saturday August 15 AFRICA: Due to travel restrictions across parts of Africa as a result of coronavirus, the qualifiers for the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica and Panama 2020, scheduled for September, are postponed. PORTUGAL: Manchester City are dumped out of the Champions League after a 3-1 defeat to Lyon, with Moussa Dembele scoring twice for the French side. Sunday August 16
GERMANY: Manchester United’s Europa League campaign is brought to an end by Sevilla, after Bruno Fernandes’ ninth-minute penalty is cancelled out by goals from Suso and Luuk de Jong.
ENGLAND: Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is named the Premier League Player of the Season for 2019-20. Monday August 17 USA: US Soccer announces that the 2020 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup has been cancelled due to COVID-19. GERMANY: Internazionale reach the Europa League final with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk, with Romelu Lukaku becoming the first player
to score in ten consecutive matches in the competition. Tuesday August 18
PERU: Peruvian football resumes just 11 days after being suspended for the second time following one match being played in the seventh round of the Apertura.
PORTUGAL: Paris Saint-Germain book their place in the Champions League final with a comfortable 3-0 win over RB Leipzig, thanks to goals by Marquinhos, Angel Di Maria and Juan Bernat.
EUROPE: The 2020-21 Champions League first qualifying round begins, with Celtic, Qarabag and Red Star Belgrade among the teams to advance. Wednesday August 19 FIFA: FIFA’s Ethics Committee decide to close its case against president Gianni Infantino. PORTUGAL: Bayern Munich join PSG in the Champions League final by also winning 3-0, eliminating Lyon with a brace from Serge Gnabry. Thursday August 20 JAPAN: J.League leaders Kawasaki Frontale achieve a new record of ten consecutive league victories by beating Cerezo Osaka. FIFA: Haitian Football Federation
president Yves Jean-Bart’s suspension for alleged sexual abuse is extended. Friday August 21
USA: Chicago Fire announce that one of their players has tested positive for coronavirus.
JORDAN: Football activity is suspended in Jordan for 14 days after five Al Faisaly players test positive for coronavirus.
GERMANY: Sevilla win a record sixth Europa League title by beating Inter 3-2. Romelu Lukaku extends his scoring record to 11 games in a row, before adding the winning goal at the wrong end.
FRANCE: The 2020-21 Ligue 1 season begins with a goalless draw between Bordeaux and Nantes. The intended clash between Marseille and Saint-Etienne was postponed after four Marseille players tested positive for coronavirus. NETHERLANDS: NAC Breda legend Jacques Visschers passes away at the age of 79. Saturday August 22 USA: Inter Miami open their new home stadium by beating local rivals Orlando City 3-2, for their first Major League Soccer win. CHINA: Fans return to competitive football in China as Shanghai SIPG come from behind to beat Beijing FC 2-1 at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre.
EGYPT: Zamalek defeat arch rivals Al Ahly 3-1 in the Egyptian Premier League at Cairo International Stadium. Sunday August 23 CHINA: The 2020 season of the Chinese Women’s Super League gets underway.
PORTUGAL: Kingsley Coman’s
header gives Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain to hand the Germans their sixth Champions League title and second treble in their history. Monday August 24 USA: New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena is suspended for an additional two games and is issued a $15,000 fine for unacceptable conduct and use of inappropriate language. Tuesday August 25
CONCACAF: The 2020 Caribbean Club Shield in Curacao, and 2020 Flow Caribbean Club Championship in Dominican Republic are cancelled.
ENGLAND: Harry Maguire is found guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery by a Greek court, and handed a suspended prison sentence. The following day he lodges an appeal.
ITALY: In his first press conference, new Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo reveals that striker Gonzalo Higuain will be leaving the club. Wednesday August 26 QATAR: The Asian Football Confederation receives the Qatar Football Association’s bid to
host the AFC Asian Cup 2027.
USA: Five Major League Soccer fixtures are postponed in the wake of protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
TUNISIA: The long-awaited Tunis derby between century long rivals, Club Africain and Esperance, ends in a goalless draw.
SCOTLAND: Celtic are stunned in the Champions League qualifiers, with Hungarian side Ferencvaros winning 2-1 at Celtic Park. NETHERLANDS: Ajax defender Daley Blind collapses during a friendly against Hertha Berlin but later says he is “feeling fine”. Thursday August 27 LIBERIA: The Liberian Football Association announces the contract extension of national team coach Peter Butler.
SOUTH AFRICA: Mamelodi Sundowns give themselves a great chance of winning a third South African league title in a row by beating Kaizer Chiefs.
FRANCE: Midfielder Paul Pogba tests positive for coronavirus, ruling him out of France’s UEFA Nations League clashes. Friday August 28 MALAYSIA: More than five months since the Malaysia Super League was brought to a halt, football in the Southeast Asian country resumes. Saturday August 29
USA: Orlando City pick up their first win against Southeast rivals Atlanta United, relying on two first-half goals to land a 3-1 win at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
ENGLAND: Millie Bright and Erin Cuthbert goals see Chelsea beat Manchester City 2-0 to win the Women’s Community Shield – the first double-header with the men’s clash, which sees Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties.
CHILE: Chilean professional football resumes without the public and under strict sanitary measures, after the suspension of all championships in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
SAUDI ARABIA: Al Hilal win the 2019-20 Saudi Pro League title with two matches to spare thanks to a 4-1 victory over Al Hazm. Sunday August 30 USA: Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen announces that he
will be selling Utah Soccer Holdings, which owns Real Salt Lake (MLS), Utah Royals (NWSL), and Real Monarchs (USL).
AUSTRALIA: Rhyan Grant scores the only goal for Premiers Sydney FC against Melbourne City, to add the Grand Final trophy to their A-League Championship title.
SPAIN: Lyon win their seventh Women’s Champions League title by beating Wolfsburg 3-1 at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian.
BRAZIL: Gremio win the Gaucho tournament for the third season in a row after beating Caxias 3-2 on aggregate.
TUNISIA: Tunisian giants Esperance clinch their 30th league title victory after drawing 1-1 with Chebba.
TANZANIA: National league champions Simba edge out Namungo 2-0 to capture the Community Shield title in Arusha. Monday August 31
KUWAIT: Kuwait SC bag their 16th Kuwait Premier League title following a 4-1 hammering of Al Salmiya.
ITALY: Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic ends speculation over his future by signing a new contract to keep him at the San Siro for another year. Wednesday September 2 CONCACAF: World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar are announced as a guest competitor in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
UAE: The 2020-21 United Arab Emirates Pro League season kickoff is pushed back to October.
BRAZIL: The Brazilian FA announces that their men’s and women’s teams will be paid equally. Thursday September 3 FRANCE: Neymar tests positive for coronavirus, along with two other PSG team-mates. Meanwhile, the City Football Group completes the purchase of Ligue 2 side Troyes.
QATAR: Al Duhail begin their defence of the Qatar Stars League title, just two weeks after being crowned the 2019-20 champions.
IRAN: Tractor win the Hazfi Cup for the second time in the tournament’s history, defeating Esteghlal 3-2 in the final.
CHINA: The Chinese Football Association announces that the second phase of the Chinese Super League will continue in Dalian and Suzhou from October 16.