June 2 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has re-iterated that he will only stand for re-election if he gets a strong enough feeling that this is the wish of the majority of the 209-strong membership at the organisation’s forthcoming congress.
June 2 – One of Brazilian football legend Pele’s seven children has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for laundering money for drug traffickers. Edson Cholbi Nascimento, known as Edinho, denies the charges, which date from 2005, and will reportedly be allowed to remain free pending appeal.
Heading to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup? Apprehensive about the demonstrations and logistical nighmares that might lie in wait for you? May I make a suggestion: pack a copy of James Montague’s kaleidoscopic new book Thirty-One Nil.
It will remind you that, however trying your current circumstances, things could be worse, while articulating, in a succession of scrupulously observed national tableaux, why you made the effort in the first place.
Not that the author makes a meal of his discomfort,
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
June 1 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers have been quick to respond to the explosive allegations of corruption published by English newspaper the Sunday Times, saying that the bid committee broke no rules and that Mohamed bin Hammam was not part of the bid team. FIFA’s chief investigator Michael Garcia is meeting Qatar 2022 bid officials today as part of his on-going investigation of the conduct of all the bidding member associations.
By David Owen
June 1 – Chile is better known for its copper than its football. So it is fitting that the industry should be providing a rich seam of support for Alexis Sánchez and the rest of the country’s World Cup squad as they make final preparations for Brazil.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce says the most explosive allegations to date linked to Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup must be added to the investigation into the entire bidding process being conducted by FIFA’s corruption buster, Michael Garcia.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce says the most explosive allegations to date linked to Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup must be added to the investigation into the entire bidding process being conducted by FIFA’s corruption buster, Michael Garcia.
By Ben Nicholson
May 30 – Investment bank Goldman Sachs has produced a report, entitled ‘The World Cup and Economics 2014′. The report analyses the previous stock performance of host, winning, and runner-up World Cup nations, as well as providing a statistical review of each teams’ chances of progressing.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 30 – FIFA’s Congress in Sao Paolo next month will include some of the most pressing issues facing the game including match-fixing, third party ownership, the Israel-Palestine impasse and an update by Dominic Scala, chairman of the organisation’s Audit and Compliance committee.
By Mark Baber
May 30 – With Adidas an official sponsor of the World Cup and Nike topping the viral charts with its video marketing campaign, Puma have taken a different track to global domination – their World Cup marketing will get underway AFTER the tournament is over, and just prior to the start of the school year.
By Paul Nicholson
May 30 – Group 4 of the Women’s CFU Cup, the inaugural Caribbean Football Union event for senior women, kicks off today in Haiti. To date the tournament is being hailed a success despite the unforeseen withdrawals of Dominica, Guadeloupe and now Anguilla.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 30 – Zulte-Waregem has launched a construction project to modernise and expand its Regenboogs stadium in the Belgian city of Waregem. Zule-Waregem finished the Jupiler League in fourth place, beaten by RSC Anderlecht, Standard Liege and FC Bruges.
May 30 – Brazil’s third largest city, Belo Horizonte – the venue where England were famously beaten by the United States in 1950 – have unveiled plans for its free 21,000-capacity fan fest throughout the World Cup.
May 30 – Disagreements concerning over-age players is nothing new but to suggest a player is 25 years older than he actually is is surely unprecedented.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 30 – The grand-daughter of former FIFA president Joao Havelange has stepped into the war of words over Brazil’s World Cup preparations with the most extraordinary intervention to date, telling protestors angry at the tournament’s massive budget to get over it because some money had already been “spent” or “stolen” or “robbed.”