By Mark Baber
December 15 – The quarter finals of the FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday saw Kiwi semi-professionals Auckland City go through at the expense of African Champions ES Setif whilst Mexican side Cruz Azul controversially defeated Australia’s Western Sydney Wanderers on a waterlogged pitch, thanks largely to some remarkable refereeing.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
December 12 – Another of the five senior officials being investigated over the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process has protested his innocence and criticised FIFA’s ethics committee for spending so much “energy, money and time” on his case.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 12 – Vital talks over whether to publish the hotly debated report into possible corruption during the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process will take place next week when FIFA’s executive committee is expected to vote on releasing a redacted version of the controversial file.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 9 – The Club World Cup, FIFA’s prized seven-team annual competition that was set up partially to try and wrest some of the global attention away from Europe and give all six continents their own trophy to play for, gets under way in Morocco on Wednesday amid a pay dispute that threatens to disrupt proceedings.
December 9 – FIFA have decided to take no disciplinary action against Croatian side HNK Rijeka after dropping Manchester City’s allegation of racism during an under-21 friendly last summer.
By Tim Röhn
December 8 – When the rulers of world football travel in the week before Christmas to the Moroccan royal city of Marrakesh for the Club World Cup, there will be more than usual to discuss during the pre-Christmas sessions.
December 8 – FIFA is to plough the $1.5 million generated from 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil commercial public viewing fees back into its Football for Hope social development programme.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 3 – FIFA’s World Cup anti-corruption probe appears no nearer to being resolved after the organisation confirmed that ethics investigator Michael Garcia has gone ahead with his appeal against what he claims were “incomplete and erroneous” published findings of his 430-page report.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 3 – The president of the International Olympic Committee has re-iterated his call to FIFA not to allow the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to clash with the winter Games of the same year.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 3 – The Australian team participating in next year’s women’s World Cup in Canada have threatened to join the legal fight against the use of artificial turf if there is no satisfactory resolution, according to the lawyer representing the protesters.
December 3 – FIFA is not responsible for the conditions of migrant workers employed to build stadiums for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Sepp Blatter has re-iterated. But FIFA are monitoring the situation in Qatar closely with constant feedback over the welfare of foreign workers following an international outcry over their ill-treatment.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
December 2 – Michel d’Hooghe, one of FIFA’s longest-serving administrators who is being investigated as part of the World Cup anti-corruption probe, says he is suffering “the hardest period of my life” and being treated “like a murderer” even though he has done nothing wrong and has absolutely nothing to hide.
December 2 – UEFA President Michel Platini has vehemently denied a report that he was given a Picasso painting as an inducement to vote for Russia as 2018 World Cup hosts.
December 2 – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are, as expected, on the three-man shortlist again for this year’s Ballon d’Or prize as the world’s best player, but the nomination of German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is more of a surprise though fully deserved.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 1 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter, has repeated there is no chance of moving the 2022 World Cup from Qatar amidst another swathe of allegations about alleged corruption over the bidding process for both 2022 and the 2018 tournament in Russia.