By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – After the net had seemingly closed in on him once and for all, former FIFA Executive Committee member Worawi Makudi could be about to stage a shock comeback.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 21 – Israel is stepping up its diplomatic efforts to foil another Palestinian motion within FIFA for severe sanctions to be applied on its Middle East neighbour.
April 21 – As expected, FIFA has dismissed a call by a US senator to strip Russia of hosting the World Cup because of its alleged complicity with the recent chemical weapons attack in Syria.
By Samindra Kunti
April 20 – The final phase of ticket sales for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup began on Wednesday and will run until July 2. Ticketing for FIFA’s warm up event for the 2018 World Cup in Russia has so far been slow.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 20 – Having suffered the humiliation of being thrown off FFA’s decision-making Council for failing an eligibility test, Russian football supremo Vitaly Mukto seems to be using every possibility to subtlety strike back at football’s world governing body.
April 19 – Oceania have come out in favour of allowing the tripartite US, Canada and Mexico bid for co-hosting the 2026 World Cup to be speeded up.
By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
April 12 – The United States, Mexico and Canada have somewhat cheekily asked FIFA to fast-track their bid to stage the 2026 World Cup without a proper competitive process.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 12 – Whilst the process for hosting the 2026 World Cup is perhaps the standout item on the agenda for next month’s FIFA Congress (see separate article), the future of FIFA’s ethics committee and the crisis involving Palestine and Israel are also up for potentially contentious discussion in Bahrain.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – An expanded tournament to 48 teams, Gianni Infantino’s encouragement for a return to co-hosting and the re-establishment of rotation. It has all played very nicely into the hands of CONCACAF whose three biggest members have, as expected, now officially announced their intention to bid for the 2026 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 10 – It’s been an open secret for months but now the United States, Mexico and Canada look set to formally announce a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup later today.
April 10 – Russian World Cup chief and deputy prime minister Vitaly Mutko, barred from being a member of FIFA’s ruling Council because of a conflict of his sporting and political interest, has accused the world governing body of overcharging his country for TV rights for next year’s finals.
By David Owen
April 10 – FIFA, the world governing body currently exposed to investigations by the United States Department of Justice and Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General, is budgeting for a deficit of close to half a billion dollars this year before a sharp rebound in the World Cup year of 2018.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 7 – Saoud Al-Mohannadi, the Qatari official controversially disqualified at the last moment from standing as an Asian member of FIFA’s ruling Council, has won a landmark appeal that could have far-reaching consequences in the region as well as raise questions over the supposedly independent decision-making process of FIFA’s ethics watchdogs.
By Samindra Kunti
April 6 – With 72 days left until the kick-off of the 2017 Confederations Cup, less than a third of the event’s tickets have been sold. The domestic TV rights for the tournament and the World Cup finals also remain problematic.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 6 – An Israeli-based media watchdog is back on the offensive over the sensitive issue of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian players and officials in the occupied territories, once again condemning Palestine Football Association president JIbril Rajoub (pictured) for trying to get Israel sanctioned and possibly thrown out of FIFA.