By Andrew Warshaw
October 27 – Within hours of officially putting his name forward as a FIFA presidential candidate, Asian football supremo Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has given his first public reaction to the wave of accusations over his alleged involvement in human rights abuses in his native Bahrain, calling them “damaging” and “nasty lies”.
October 27 – Britain’s anti-fraud organisation is looking into possible money laundering on UK soil related to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process that is bedevelling FIFA, its director revealed today.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 27 – The 2006 World Cup slush fund saga has taken an intriguing twist with Franz Beckenbauer, who led Germany’s organising committee, accepting responsibility for the German Football Association’s “mistake” in making a payment of €6.7 million to FIFA towards securing a grant for staging costs – but again denied the money was used in any way to buy votes.
October 27 – One of the fringe candidates in the eight-strong field going for FIFA president, Liberian Football Association president Musa Bility (pictured), has added a touch of early intrigue to the campaign with reports suggesting his five nominations did not only come from within his own west African region.
October 27 – As anticipated, Michel Platini’s appeal against his 90-day suspension has not got off to the best of starts, with the first of many stages in the process thrown out.
October 27 – South Korea’s Chung Mong-Joon has officially pulled out of the race for FIFA presidency as he conceded defeat in the wake of his six-year ban from football as a result of his conduct during the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 26 – Europe have got the back-up FIFA presidential candidate they were desperate for, with UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino opting to do Michel Platini’s bidding despite assuring anyone who would listen only 10 days ago that there was no plan B in the race to succeed Sepp Blatter.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 26 – Seizing his chance now that his own previous preference, Michel Platini, could be ruled out of the running, Asian football supremo Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has formally entered the race to become FIFA president.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 26 – Tokyo Sexwale, the South African former political prisoner turned successful businessman, has finally confirmed he is standing for FIFA president and will prove a popular choice among those who have been campaigning for an independent candidate untarnished by footballing corruption.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 26 – European football chiefs hold last-ditch talks on Monday aimed at averting the risk being left in the political wilderness for years.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 23 – In a strategic move now that his nemesis faces being out of contention, former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne is having a second crack at the presidency – and this time says has the required level of support.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 22 – Angel Villar Llona, the controversial FIFA vice-president on a new list of prominent officials facing possible sanction for corruption or wrongdoing, tried to block this week’s ground-breaking move that gave ethics investigators freedom to publish the names of those being probed.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Frank Beckenbauer and Angel Villar Ilona, two names that have repeatedly been mentioned in unsubstantiated reports about alleged wrongdoing during their time with FIFA, have both been formally investigated by the ethics committee and are awaiting verdicts.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon’s hopes of taking over from Sepp Blatter are hanging by a thread after a Swiss court rejected his request to temporarily lift his six-year ban so that he can stand as a candidate at the election on February 26.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Domenico Scala, the increasingly influential official who has the ultimate say in who can and can’t run for FIFA president, has delivered a potentially fatal blow to Michel Platini’s hopes of taking over from Sepp Blatter at the end of February in the event the Frenchman’s 90-day suspension is lifted.