Blatter reaffirms Qatar’s 2022 right, it was no mistake

Sepp Blatter 5

By Paul Nicholson
September 12 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has further clarified his comments regarding the Qatar 2022 World Cup, first reported in Insideworldfootball. Speaking to reporters at the International Olympic Committee Congress in Buenos Aires he again confirmed the right of Qatar to hold the World Cup in 2022.

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ING build on Belgian success with sponsorship renewal

ING

By Mark Baber
September 12 – The Belgian Football Association has extended its sponsorship deal with the Belgian arm of Dutch financial services firm ING for a further five years, taking the partnership through to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The deal includes sponsorship of the Belgian national team – the Red Devils – and continues INGs partnership with Belgian referees.

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ASPIRE4SPORT opens gateway to $200bn infrastructure build in Qatar

A4S - 1.1

By Paul Nicholson
September 11 – The ASPIRE4SPORT Congress and Exhibition is expected more than 3,000 attendees and is already close to beating last year’s exhibitor numbers. Taking place November 16-19 at the Aspire Dome in Doha, the organisers are reporting a diverse set of registrants spanning geographies and business disciplines looking to tap into expanding sports business sectors including construction, sports medicine and sports technology.

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New Olympic boss Bach ‘preferred football’

Thomas Bach

By David Owen in Buenos Aires
September 11 – The new President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has revealed in Buenos Aires that he is a keen football fan, even, as a youngster, preferring the sport to fencing, the activity in which he went on to win an Olympic gold medal.

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European club leaders demand a voice at the 2022 decision-making table

Karl Heinz Rummenigge

By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Geneva
September 10 – Europe’s leading clubs today urged FIFA not to rush into moving the 2022 Qatar World Cup to winter as debate intensified over Sepp Blatter’s support for an unprecedented switch. Twenty-four hours after the FIFA president re-iterated, an exclusive interview with Insideworldfootball, that he would seek approval in principle for a one-off winter World Cup from his executive committee next month, the European Club Association,

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