The possibility of Saturday night kickoffs is "one of a number of topics that will be discussed at the Premier League's meeting this Thursday." With at least 190 games to be broadcast in the new TV deal next season -- compared to 168 in the current cycle -- football execs are "looking at how they can add the additional matches." One option is to start staging 7:45pm fixtures on Saturdays (London DAILY MAIL, 9/3).
The Belgian national team’s bonuses have been scaled down ahead of the 2018 World Cup after the Belgian FA and the players "reached a mutual agreement." The Belgian players will take a pay cut of up to 40% if they fail to get out of the knockout stages at the next three major tournaments -- the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup. In the knockout stages the team "will have to make do" with 15% less (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 9/4).
Croatia's abandoned home World Cup qualifier against Kosovo resumed on Sunday. The match was abandoned midway through the first half on Saturday "due to adverse weather conditions which made the pitch unplayable." Heavy rain which swept through the Croatian capital before and during the Group I qualifier "created huge puddles all over the pitch at Dinamo’s Maksimir stadium" (REUTERS, 9/3).
The Confederation of African Football called off its inspection visit to Kenya, host of the 2018 African Nations Championship. The visit was scheduled to begin on Thursday, but Kenya's Football Federation (FKF) said that the "current political situation in Kenya prompted CAF to take the decision." On Friday, a Supreme Court ruling annulled Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta's victory in the recent presidential elections (BBC, 9/3).
