November 21 – Uruguay became the 32nd and final country to reach next year’s World Cup finals on Wednesday at the predictable expense of Jordan. But the underdogs returned home with their heads held high.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – The Asian Football Confederation, part of whose territory is home to the illegal betting rings organising the global match-fixing epidemic, has taken on fraud detection experts Sportradar in the fight against the criminal gangs responsible.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – Vanishing spray, which has been used for several years in South America to stop defensive walls encroaching at free kicks, will be employed throughout next month’s Club World Cup in Morocco.
By Paul Nicholson
November 21 – The remodelling of London’s 2012 Olympic Stadium in preparation for occupancy by Premier League club West Ham United started in earnest yesterday with the removal of the stadium floodlights in preparation for a cantilevered roof. At the same time a report from the House of Lords suggested that Football League Division 1 club Leyton Orient should be allowed “occasional” use of the stadium.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – Just days after Amnesty International’s explosive report into what it described as the endemic mistreatment of migrant workers in Qatar, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has wracked up the pressure on the Qatari authorities to ensure the safety of those working on 2022 World Cup projects.
By Olly Howick
November 21 – The World Cup play-off billed as ‘Ronaldo v Ibrahimović’ didn’t disappoint with all six goals coming from the two players. Ronaldo came out the clear winner with four of the goals and a trip to Brazil for the finals. He was also a big winner in the social media battle off the pitch.
November 21 – The volatile nature of African football has once again led to fatal consequences after what should have been a joyous occasion turned into tragedy.
More than 83 years after 13 teams contested the inaugural competition in Uruguay, the flow of FIFA World Cup debutants has slowed to a trickle.
Of the 32 countries who have fought their way through to next year’s showpiece in Brazil, only Bosnia and Herzegovina have never been to the World Cup finals before. It was a similar story three years ago in South Africa where Slovakia were the only newcomers.
The only previous occasion when there was just the one newbie came the first time the competition visited Brazil,
By Tom Parsons
November 20 – Football Federation Australia (FFA) has come up with a new way of displaying their players names on official team sheets for their international home games. Instead of the traditional name and number combination that has served clubs and countries well over the years, the FFA introduced their squad by putting their Twitter handles on the team sheet for their 1-0 win over Costa Rica at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium this week.
By Paul Nicholson
November 20 – While David Beckham and his people discuss whether to open up shop in the MLS in Miami or not, Orlando has stolen a lead with MLS commissioner Don Garber unveiling Orlando City Soccer as the next expansion franchise yesterday. Garber made the announcement at a community celebration near the site where a new downtown stadium will be constructed.
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
November 20 – FIFA’s leading medical expert has warned that anti-doping measures at next year’s World Cup could be seriously compromised as a result of having to transport samples halfway round the world for testing.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 20 – Poland’s Ruch Chorzow has selected the design of its new stadium. The club said that it expects to obtain planning permission in June 2014, with construction work at the 12,000-seat facility starting two months later.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 20 – All eyes may have been on the four nail-biting playoffs but the most historic European encounter Tuesday night took place in the Algarve region of Portugal where tiny Gibraltar staged their first full international since winning their 14-year battle to become UEFA’s 54th and smallest member.
By Mark Ledsom
November 20 – China has held on to top spot in an international ranking of major sporting event hosts published by the sports data research company Sportcal.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 20 – European representation at next year’s World Cup is now complete after France incredibly came back from the brink to become the first country ever to overcome a two-goal first-leg playoff deficit.