January 21 – Last August Swiss prosecutors announced they would not be appealing a ruling that cleared Michel Platini of fraud over the CHF2 million payment he received from FIFA in 2011. It was the second time he had been cleared.
Four months later Platini is biting back. In late November he filed a complaint at the Paris Judicial Court for public defamation, with a civil claim for damages being registered on December 19,
January 21 – The Canadian Premier League could become the next testing ground for one of the most radical law changes football has debated in recent years, with the league set to trial Arsène Wenger’s so-called ‘daylight’ offside rule.
January 20 – FIFA has unveiled the trophy for its new Women’s Champions Cup ahead of the inaugural finals week in London, where the first intercontinental women’s club champion will be crowned next month.
January 20 – Morocco and Senegal have emerged as the main beneficiaries of the January 2026 FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking update, with both African Cup of Nations (AFCON) finalists posting significant climbs following their impressive and lengthy runs at the tournament.
January 20 – FIFA has officially confirmed the host nations and groups for the newly designed FIFA Series 2026, which world football’s governing body believes is a step forward in growing additional competition for men’s and women’s national teams outside of traditional tournament play.
January 16 – FIFA has confirmed a broadcast plan for the final stage of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026, ensuring the first edition of the tournament will be widely available to fans through a mix of free streaming and established broadcast partners.
January 14 – Arsene Wenger’s proposal for a reform of the offside law has been opposed by the British FAs and UEFA ahead of the meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) next week.
Wenger’s proposal is that a player would be in an offside position if their entire body was completely beyond the last defender – the creation of ‘daylight’ between the defender and the attacker.
January 14 – FIFA used last month’s fifth African Union Specialised Technical Committee on Youth, Culture and Sport (STC-YCS-V) in Bujumbura to underline its growing focus on grassroots infrastructure and education across the continent.
January 13 – Qatar is in discussions with FIFA about hosting the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup, despite their national team having not played an official match for 12 years.
January 13 – International sports data firm Stats Perform has been appointed as FIFA’s first official betting data and betting streaming rights distributor.
January 13 – As Seattle counts down to the 2026 World Cup, the city is bucking a growing trend in the USA.
January 9 – FIFA has appointed TikTok as its first ever ‘Preferred Platform’ for the 2026 World Cup in an agreement that will see live broadcast of match segments, as well as access to press conferences and training sessions to a select group of creators for fan content.
TikTok’s head of global head James Stafford said that TikTok’s data shows fans are “42% more likely to tune in to live matches after watching sports content on TikTok.”
January 9 – While the jury is out on how good the US men’s team might be at the 2026 World Cup, the country’s referees are making an impact internationally. U.S. Soccer has confirmed a record 47 match officials have been appointed to the 2026 FIFA International Panel, following nominations by the Federation’s Referee Committee.
January 8 – FIFA has unveiled a suite of new technologies developed in partnership with Lenovo that are designed to touch officiating, performance analysis and broadcast presentation within football.
January 8 – FIFA is marching towards a fully technologised game and took another decisive step this week, with confirmation that every player at this summer’s World Cup will be represented by a physically accurate “AI avatar” to help make offside decisions.