GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Jan. 1 - AFCON hosts Morocco are favourites after the group stage, Botafogo have been banned from making transfers for three windows, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
Editor’s Notes: The Route One team wishes everyone a happy New Year. 2026 is going to be a huge year for football, and we’d like to thank you for choosing us to keep you informed every step of the way.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MD19 (Jan 1): Liverpool vs. Leeds United, 17:30 GMT / 12:30 ET. Liverpool have scored 19 goals in their last five Premier League matches against Leeds, and the visitors have just one victory from their last 16 top-flight games away to the reigning champions (against Arsenal in 2003). Brentford vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Brentford have been strong at home, winning eight of their last 12 league games at the Gtech. However, the Bees have failed to win any of their four Premier League home games against Spurs. Sunderland vs. Manchester City, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Manchester City have lost just one of their last 30 away Premier League matches against promoted clubs. That said, Sunderland haven’t lost their first league game in any of the last seven calendar years. See the Premier League table here.
TOP TALKING POINTS
AFCON Round of 16
Africa Cup of Nations hosts Morocco remain favourites (23.9%) following the conclusion of the group stage on Wednesday, according to Opta’s prediction model. Morocco finished top of Group A with two wins and a 1-1 draw to Mali in their second match. Real Madrid midfielder Brahim Diaz has been the host’s standout player, scoring in each of their three group matches.
Egypt, who also ended top of their group with 7 points, are projected to have a 14.3% chance of extending their record Afcon wins to eight. Meanwhile, Senegal (13.8%), Algeria (11.3%), and Nigeria (10.3%) follow closely behind. Despite not winning a game in the group stage, Tanzania have managed to qualify for the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed sides–it means they have qualified for the knock-out stage for the first time since their debut 45 years ago.
Equatorial Guinea have arguably been the biggest shock exit from the group stage. In the previous two Afcon editions, they had beaten established nations and reached the knockout rounds comfortably. Angola, who were tipped as dark horses following their quarter-final run in 2023, failed to win any of their group-stage matches and have been eliminated.
See the Afcon Round of 16 bracket here.
USL Negotiations Stall
USL Championship Players Association says negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement have stalled, with the current CBA having expired on December 31. In an open letter to fans, players called for “livable wages” and basic professional standards, arguing league ambitions are moving faster than player protections.
The letter highlights that around 85% of players do not have 12-month contracts, 25% were not offered health insurance, and 25% earned under $35,000 in gross salary. Players say they accepted very low starting standards in the 2021 CBA to help the league survive, but argue the USL’s expansion now warrants better conditions.
The dispute comes as the USL plans to launch a men’s Division I league by 2028, with the first-ever promotion and relegation system in US football, alongside the newly launched women’s first division league, Gainbridge Super League. A visible protest in November saw players wear shirts reading ‘Pro Rel? Try Pro Standards First’.
The USL declined to comment publicly, but talks are scheduled to resume on January 8.
Three-Window Transfer Ban
Brazilian club Botafogo, owned by American businessman John Textor, will undergo a three-window transfer ban imposed by Fifa. The ban, which begins from today, was imposed following the club’s failure to pay MLS side Atlanta United FC a $21m fee for striker Thiago Almada in the summer of 2014.
Atlanta says it never received any part of the fee or interest, despite Botafogo later selling Almada for between $20m–$30m to La Liga’s Atletico Madrid. Fifa ruled Botafogo should have paid $3m instalments in July and September 2024 toward settling the full amount by September 2026. Despite Botafogo’s appeal to sport’s highest courts, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld Fifa’s decision.
In related news, transfer windows across major leagues will open from today (Jan 1), with some leagues–including Serie A and the Women’s Super League–opening a day after. Track every major transfer in men’s football here and women’s football here.
POLL
Which competition are you most excited for in 2026?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Arsenal’s Declan Rice could return from a knee injury for their match against Bournemouth on Saturday (Jan 3) (More) | Manchester City’s Rodri is expected to return on Thursday against Sunderland following a hamstring injury (More)
> Streaming platform DAZN has been ordered to honour its €84.2m (£73.5m) deal with the Belgian Pro League for the rest of the season, despite attempting to terminate it last month (More)
> Real Madrid expect Kylian Mbappe to miss Sunday’s La Liga fixture against Real Betis due to a knee injury (More)
> Premier League referee Chris Kavanagh has been promoted to the elite list of Uefa referees alongside Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, meaning England has three referees in the top tier of European officials for the first time in eight years (More) | Everton should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on 20 December, according to the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel (More)
Americas
> US investors have purchased stakes in Mexican team Club America and the iconic Azteca Stadium in a $490m enterprise value deal (More)
> Former Brazil international Roberto Carlos, 52, has undergone emergency surgery due to a heart attack (More)
> The former head coach of Vancouver FC, Afshin Ghotbi, of the Canadian Premier League, is suing the club after alleging he is owed over $700,000 (More)
> Charlotte FC have acquired midfielder Luca de la Torre from La Liga side Celta Vigo (More)
Rest of the World
> Egypt international Ramadan Sobhi, who helped Pyramids win their first CAF Champions League last season, has been sentenced to one year in prison in connection with an academic fraud case (More)
> Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off in their last Afcon group stage match and will miss his side’s last 16 match (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: In general, do you think rules should favour attackers or defenders?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ⬜️ 🤺 Attackers (70%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🛡️ Defenders (22%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (8%)
Your punditry takes:
🤺 T.D: “If there is any kind of justice in this world for long-suffering football fans forced to stare at their phones (or go for another beer) just to stay awake for 90 minutes of mind-numbing scoreless football, then the powers-that-be will do whatever they can to forever eliminate plodding 0-0 draws. There is enough useless suffering in the world without depriving loyal fans of even a single goal per 90 minutes. Please feel our pain!”
🤺 I.G: “Non-football fans have always complained to me over the years that they won’t watch it because there isn’t enough scoring. This new idea for a rule change, allowing players to be almost entirely past the defender, would probably increase the scoring. So it sounds like that could possibly attract more fans.”
✍️ C.D: “Rules should favour neither offense nor defense but should, instead, promote an equal chance to excel. The letter and spirit of the laws should be for the sole purpose of ensuring the better-performing team wins the contest.”
EXTRA TIME
Editor’s note: We’ve compiled the most popular Extra Time moments from 2025. Enjoy!
(Jan 7) Which Premier League teams time-waste the most?
(May 14) Chelsea’s ‘world-first’ football-themed apartments.
(May 19) Why Crystal Palace can now have triangular corner flags.
(July 7) The match that’s taken 65 years to organise is going ahead.
(July 11) The best pitch design you’ll see all season.
(Aug 18) Messi’s ridiculous assist for Suarez.
(Sept 29) Liverpool coach held up by Palace fan tying his shoelace. (warning: profanity)
(Oct 3) The new World Cup ball has been revealed.
(Nov 11) Five rules that fans would change in football.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Following Kevin Schade’s hat-trick on the weekend, can you name the three other German players to have scored a Premier League hat-trick?
(This question is difficult! Let us know if you get it)
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I think the referee did not understand Jude [Bellingham]’s English. He said ‘F*** off’, not ‘F*** you’ – that’s way different.
Answer
Jurgen Klinsmann (Tottenham Hotspur), Fredi Bobic (Bolton Wanderers), and Andre Schurrle (Chelsea)
