By Paul Nicholson
February 28 – FIFA’s firing of all its development staff across Africa and the closing of offices in four countries was met with a barrage of criticism within the region last December. Now the governing body of world football is facing a series of legal challenges from former employees to whom it has allegedly refused to make severance payments in accordance with national law.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 28 – I’ll see you in court if necessary. That is the defiant message issued to FIFA by former South African Football Association (SAFA) CEO Leslie Sedibe (pictured) who has served world football’s governing body with a claim for $5 million for defamation of character after being banned for five years over the 2010 matchfixing scandal along with three other SAFA officials.
February 28 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says Donald Trump’s immigration policies could potentially work against the United States in their bid to stage the 2026 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 28 – Jerome Valcke (pictured), former number two to Sepp Blatter who spectacularly fell from grace after spending years as the organisation’s go-to troubleshooter, is taking his 10-year ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
By Andrew Warshaw
February 27 – Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Some might suggest that in Gianni Infantino’s case they have actually got worse.
By Paul Nicholson
February 23 – FIFA is continuing its meeting of member nations in regional workshops with the latest stop on their schedule being Jamaica, March 1-4, where 14 Caribbean member associations will be gathered.
February 23 – The regional fight for more slots in an expanded World Cup from 2026 is already under way with Africa stating it is looking for 10 places, double its current quota.
By Samindra Kunti
February 23 – New Caledonia and New Zealand have qualified for the Under-17 Football World Cup in India after defeating Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea in two nail-biting semi-final clashes at the U17 OFC Championship.
By Paul Nicholson
February 21 – The prospect of a 48-team World Cup is opening up new frontiers and finding new friends for FIFA President Gianni Infantino who was in Myanmar last week meeting ASEAN members (a sub-region of the Asian Football Confederation) encouraging them to consider how they could participate in the expanded format.
February 20 – After weeks of relative silence, Franz Beckenbauer’s much publicised business dealings while he was at FIFA have come under fresh scrutiny, this time over the award of the 2010 World Cup to South Africa.
February 17 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino insists he has not asked Russian sports supremo Vitaly Mutko, the chief 2018 World Cup organiser, to resign over the doping scandal that has rocked his country.
By Paul Nicholson
February 16 – It seems Gianni’s jet fetish may still be alive and kicking despite a FIFA Ethics investigation and reminders on rules about accepting gifts or favours that could prove later to be compromising. The FIFA president took a private jet on November 26, 2016 from Moscow to Kazan, provided by Russian sports minister and FIFA Council candidate Vitaly Mutko.
February 16 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino says multiple hosting of the World Cup can work perfectly well and that 2026, when the process is likely to start, could even be staged by up to four neighbouring countries.
February 16 – FIFA’s ethics committee has opened formal proceedings against two former Central American officials after investigators recommended they be banned for life for alleged corruption.
By Paul Nicholson
February 15 – The Council of Europe has launched an investigation into FIFA, its business activities and its governance, according to former president Anne Brasseur who said she was “very concerned” at FIFA reform progress.