World Soccer - UK (2022-05)

“We are delighted to have a global brand like

Crypto.com join us as a sponsor of the exciting

and groundbreaking FIFA World Cup in Qatar”

FIFA announces one of its official sponsors for the 2022 World Cup

When the new-look competition arrives,
it will do away with the current group stage
format, with a single league table of 36 teams
taking its place. Each club will play ten games
against ten different opponents.
Under one proposition, clubs with stronger
coefficient rankings would be able to qualify
for the competition regardless of their league
position. Taking this season’s Premier League
as an example, Manchester United’s European
history would allow them to leapfrog West Ham
United into the Champions League if they
finished behind them.
However, according to a report inThe Times,
UEFA have now dropped the plans, amid heavy
criticism of the proposals in general, but “is still
considering the use of rankings to award one or
two places”.
Critics have argued that the new-look
tournament is simply a means of appeasing the
clubs that attempted to set up the European
Super League last year, and that this format
is essentially the same concept under a
different name.

FRANCE

Ballon d’Or

reforms

France Footballmagazine, the organisers of
the Ballon d’Or, have announced a number
of reforms to their prestigious award.
The headline change is the date, with
voters now asked to vote based on season
performances rather than over the calendar
year, as has been the case since the award’s
inception in1956. For example, this year’s
ceremony will be held in September or October,
with the season concluding after the Women’s
Euro 2022 final inJuly. The Qatar World Cup
will be a factor in the 2023 vote.
In addition, the voting panel will be reduced
from170 to100 for the men’s award, and 50
for the women’s.

GLOBAL FOOTBALL INTELLIGENCE

Coveted...

the Ballon

d’Or trophy

€300,

Fee paid by Bayern Munich for Borussia

Monchengladbach13-year-old Mike Wisdom.

23

Roma goals scored by Tammy Abraham by the

start of April, breaking Gabriel Batistuta’s record

for strikes in a debut season for the Italian club.

6

Bids made for the ownership of Chelsea before

the Premier League’s March18 deadline.

287

Days between Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest

at Euro 2020 and his return for Denmark, as

the midfielder scored with his first touch against

the Netherlands on his international comeback.

49

England goals for Harry Kane, putting him level

with Bobby Charlton, four behind Wayne Rooney’s

all-time record. The Tottenham man also moved

ahead of Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard into

fifth place on the all-time Premier League list.

134

Northern Ireland caps won by Steven Davis,

extending his record as the most-capped

male British footballer of all time.

3

Premier League clubs to have scored over

2,000 goals after Liverpool and Arsenal joined

Manchester United in surpassing the tally.

5

Substitutes allowed from 2022-23 after Premier

League shareholders agreed to the rule change.

The month numbers

Eye-catching facts and stats from the world of football this month...

in

Dream

comeback...

Eriksen

celebrates

his goal in

Amsterdam

289

Seconds that Atletico Madrid youngsterJavier

Serrano spent on the pitch for his side’s clash

with Cadiz, after he was sent off less than five

minutes after coming on as a substitute.

2019

Year Hyderabad FC were formed, the new Indian

Super League champions, after they beat Kerala

Blasters on penalties in the play-off final.

34

Age of Uruguay-born forward Bruno Fornaroli

when he received his first call-up by Australia

for March’s Asian World Cup qualifiers.

£3m

Total prize money for next season’s Women’s

FA Cup, an almost tenfold increase on the

current fund of £428,915.

€280m

Reported value of Barcelona’s new sponsorship

deal with Spotify, which will see their stadium

renamed as the “Spotify Camp Nou” fromJuly.

91,

Fans that attended Barcelona win over Real

Madrid in the Women’s Champions League,

a new record for women’s football.

14

Number of years between Cristiano Ronaldo’s

first Premier League hat-trick (v Newcastle in

2008) and his second (v Tottenham in 2022).

£12.7bn

Projected value of a brand-new marketing

deal for Europe’s biggest clubs.

Renamed...

Barcelona’s

stadium