By Andrew Warshaw
December 8 – It will not be formally agreed by the FIFA Council until early January but it now seems likely future World Cup finals after 2022 will feature 16 groups of three in a 48-team tournament if Gianni Infantino obtains sufficient support for the idea.
December 8 – Julio Rocha, one of the original un-magnificent Zurich Seven, who was responsible for overseeing FIFA’s development programme in Central America, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to his role in the US-led global football bribery investigation.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – Here we go again. Just when the spotlight was on Sepp Blatter’s ultimate failed attempt to clear his name, with precision timing Blatter’s successor Gianni Infantino swept another senior old-era appointment out of office.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 5 – Some will mourn his departure, others will rejoice. Sepp Blatter has finally lost his bid to clear his name over ethics violations after the Court of Arbitration for Sport today upheld the former FIFA president’s six-year ban from the game.
December 2 – The president of the German Football Federation (DFB), Reinhardt Grindel (pictured), says it is time to do away with the Confederations Cup, the traditional World Cup warm-up tournament, to ease fixture congestion and allow elite players to have a decent rest the summer before the World Cup itself.
December 2 – The 55-player shortlist for the FIFA/FIFpro world eleven for 2016, to be announced in early January at a gala ceremony in Zurich, is as expected dominated by Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich players with England captain Wayne Rooney left off the list for the first time in the award’s history.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 2 – Six months after making his final appeal against being punished for ethics violations, Sepp Blatter will learn on Monday whether he has successfully cleared his name or will for ever be tarnished by his ban from the game.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 1 – The Swiss criminal investigation into corruption allegations over the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany has been broadened to include former FIFA general secretary Urs Linsi (pictured) who served under Sepp Blatter.
By David Owen
November 28 – Patrons wishing to hire a private suite for next year’s Confederations Cup final in Saint Petersburg face prices of up to almost $50,000 under packages being advertised by Match Hospitality, exclusive rights-holder of FIFA’s hospitality programme at the eight-team competition.
November 25 – FIFA is facing a lawsuit in a Zurich court over its ban on transferring players under the age of 18, one of its most contentious rules that has already led to severe sanctions imposed on Spain’s three largest clubs.
November 25 – English football authorities do not appear to be too strong on their African geography.
November 24 – Gianni Infantino says the majority of FIFA members are in favour of his plans to expand the World Cup finals to either 40 or 48 teams.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 24 – An increasingly frustrated Tokyo Sexwale, FIFA’s top mediator in the Middle East, has called on the relevant parties to show some movement on the “headache” of the six Israeli clubs based in settlements in the occupied West Bank who play in Israel’s lower leagues.
November 24 – Will CONCACAF have to fight off an African bid to stage the 2026 World Cup? Although the confederation of north and central America is widely considered a shoo-in to stage the event – whether in the United States, Mexico or Canada, or a combination of all three – the head of African football says his body will support Morocco, which has tried and failed four times, should it launch a counter-bid.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 24 – Just how petty can you get? In what must surely rank as one of its most nonsensical decisions, verging on the autocratic, FIFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Wales and Northern Ireland after fans were spotted wearing poppy symbols in the recent World Cup qualifying campaign.