At the start of this season, few people would have
predicted that six months later two of the most talked
about footballers in the world would be Emiliano Sala
(page 30) and Hakeem Al Araibi (page 34). Sadly, events
of the past month have ensured that they have made
headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Sala’s time in French football was
largely undistinguished, bar his
recent achievements at Nantes.
Sadly, his career will be
remembered for a fateful plane
journey that has raised all sorts of
questions about modern football
clubs and the way they conduct
their business.
The case of Al Araibi has again
exposed the complex world of
Middle East politics with which
football often entangles itself. Events
off the pitch at the recent Asian Cup
(page 26), won surprisingly by Qatar, were dominated by
the ongoing dispute between the 2022 World Cup hosts
and their neighbours. It is a story to which we will return
time and again before the next World Cup.
A decision on the possible expansion of the
2022 fi nals to 48 teams is
expected in the next month.
An expansion is highly
unlikely – but stranger
things have happened.Qatar win the Asian Cup .................................................................................................p
Argentinian striker Emiliano Sala dies in plane crash ..............................................p
Hakeem Al Araibi is spared extradition to Bahrain ...................................................p
Gordon Banks dies aged 81 ............................................................................................p
New arrivals in Major League Soccer ...........................................................................p
Brazil fl op at the South American Under-20s ............................................................p
Infantino and Ceferin to serve second terms ..............................................................p
Libertadores Cup gets underway ..................................................................................p
Football Leaks “John” arrested .......................................................................................p
Final round of African Nations Cup qualifi ers .............................................................pSWITZERLANDInfantino and
Ceferin to serve
second terms
Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin will
serve second terms as presidents of FIFA and
UEFA respectively, both for four years.
Infantino, who was first elected in 2016
following the departure of Sepp Blatter, had no
challengers come forward to stand against him
at FIFA Congress in June and is now expected
to press ahead with plans for a new expanded
Club World Cup and a global Nations League.
However, these proposals may place the
48-year-old Italo-Swiss lawyer at odds with
Ceferin and UEFA.
Ceferin, who was re-elected unopposed
at UEFA’s annual congress in Rome, has
promised a dramatic overhaul of European
club competitions.
“We will work hand in hand with our partner,
the European Club Association, to design the
club competitions of the future,” says the
51-year-old Slovenian. “Club competitions that
are in keeping with the times, full of excitement
and intensity and open, which will bring a new
dimension to European football.”
At the same congress in Italy, Paris Saint-
Germain president Nasser Al Khelaifi was voted
on to the UEFA executive despite a potential
conflict of interest with the ongoing UEFA
investigation into his club’s financial affairs.Gavin Hamilton, Editor
The Al Araibi
case exposes
the complex
world of Middle
East politics
with which
football often
entangles itselfPower...Aleksander
Ceferin (left) and
Gianni InfantinoTHE WORLD THIS MONTH