By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini suffered a potentially crippling blow in their efforts to clear their names of any wrongdoing when FIFA investigators today announced they have officially called for sanctions to be taken against both men over that notorious SFr2 million payment.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 20 – Michel Platini has followed Sepp Blatter’s move in going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to try and get his 90-day provisional suspension lifted. Platini is rapidly losing the battle to clear his name in time to take over from Blatter on February 26 after both had their initial appeals turned down by FIFA’s appeals committee but the UEFA president’s lawyers insisted he has been untreated fairly.
November 20 – World Cup sponsors Adidas, who have taken somewhat of a backseat over the need for FIFA reform compared to their US-based front-line commercial partners, have now waded into the debate with a call for term and age limits on future presidents in the post-Sepp Blatter era.
By David Owen
November 20 – FIFA is to trial the ADAMS database management system during the Club World Cup in Japan in December, in a move likely to be welcomed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as it battles through a challenging period.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
November 19 – Domenico Scala, the FIFA-appointed troubleshooter who has been at the forefront of efforts to clean up the organisation, painted a grim picture today of just how deep corruption runs in football, implying those preaching the opposite message were simply in denial.
By Paul Nicholson
November 19 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter responded robustly and swiftly to the turning down of his first appeal for a lifting of his suspension by the FIFA Appeal Committee yesterday.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 19 – Describing himself as the only “world candidate”, the Jordanian prince who took on Sepp Blatter and lost in last May’s FIFA presidential election believes his chances of success second time round are far better now that national federations no longer feel forced into voting for the veteran Swiss.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, both of whom insist they are innocent, have lost their respective appeals against being banned for 90 days for financial wrongdoing.
By David Owen
November 18 – Shirt sponsorship of national teams could become a reality if South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale wins the FIFA Presidency. A 14-page manifesto distributed by the former anti-apartheid political activist turned mining tycoon includes a pledge to “seriously explore the possibility of having the national jersey…bearing the logo of the main sponsor”. He goes on: “There is space there for much value worth millions of dollars which will be destined directly into FAs’
By Paul Nicholson in Manama, Bahrain
November 17 – In the second instalment of his exclusive interview with Insideworldfootball, Asian Football Confederation president and FIFA presidential candidate Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa talks about a much needed new structure for crisis-torn FIFA, his position on reform, and the steps towards stability his own Asian confederation have taken in the past two years.
By Mark Baber
November 17 – FIFA may be under fire from its existing US sponsors but its properties still have attraction for marketers. Rinnai, the Japanese-headquartered tankless water heater manufacturer and distributor has signed on as an official sponsor of FIFA Club World Cup 2015, being held December 10 – 20 2015 in Japan.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, his would-be successor, face being banned for several years before Christmas whether or not they successfully appeal against their current provisional suspensions.
By Paul Nicholson in Manama, Bahrain
November 16 – If you want to know the truth go to the source and ask the questions, is the message from Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa who is challenging for the FIFA presidency. In the first of two instalments, Salman speaks exclusively to Insideworldfootball on the accusations of human rights abuses and his candidacy for the FIFA presidency.
November 16 – David Nakhid, the former Trinidad and Tobago midfielder who was excluded from the FIFA presidential campaign on a technicality, has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a final effort to get back in the race.
November 13 – Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been discharged from hospital after what was described as a “small emotional breakdown”.