FIFA reports clean bill of doping health for 2023 tournaments
March 8 – FIFA did not prosecute a single doping case from more than 2,600 samples taken from players at its tournaments in 2023.
FIFA
IFAB clears way for concussion subs, but sinbins remain on trial
March 4 – Football’s lawmakers have approved a series of changes ahead of the 2024/25 season, impacting all major leagues across the globe.
Infantino sees red over blue card proposals
March 4 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has ruled out blue cards being shown to players sent to sin bins.
Saudi Arabia officially launches 2034 World Cup bid with unveiling of logo and slogan
March 1 – The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the only country left in the bidding to host the 2034 World Cup, has formally launched its bid campaign under the ‘Growing. Together’ slogan.
FIFA warms up interest in Club World Cup with qualification tracker
February 29 – FIFA has launched an online tool to help fans track their team’s qualification for the maiden 2025 Club World Cup (FIFA is calling it the Mundial de Clubes) to be played in the US next year.
FIFA-funded series of friendly tournaments launched with 20 nations, across four host venues
February 27 – Global governing body FIFA has launched a new series of friendly matches, piloting the first edition of the ‘FIFA Series’ in March, in a bid to offer more “meaningful action” to smaller nations.
FIFA cottons on to sports apparel initiative to rebalance economics in Africa’s favour
February 27 – FIFA and the World Trade Organisation have reaffirmed their commitment to Cotton-4 plus African Countries in a bid to promote sustainable development via the global football economy.
Qatar jump 21 places in World ranking after Asian Cup win
February 16 – Qatar have rocketed 21 places up the official World Rankings following their Asian Cup Campaign on home soil which saw them become back-to-back continental champions, resulting in a best-ever placement in the ranking of 37th with 1499 points.
Winter transfer window recorded $1.46bn in sales across 5,073 player moves
February 14 – While the Premier League clubs kept their hands in their pockets in the January transfer window, the winter sales window still saw its second highest spend ever at $1.46 billion.
IFAB set to trial ‘blue’ cards in England
February 9 – Football may witness a transformative change as the International Football Association Board (IFAB) contemplates the introduction of blue cards, which could be trialled in England as soon as next season’s FA Cup.
FIFA Museum reports record visitor numbers
February 2 – The FIFA Museum in Zurich has released record-breaking numbers for the calendar year 2023, welcoming 230,000 visitors over the course of the year- a record high since its opening eight years ago.
Rubiales loses FIFA appeal against 3-year ban
January 28 – Hard on the heels of a Spanish judge’s ruling that former Spanish FA (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales will face a criminal trial for sexual harassment, FIFA’s appeal committee has upheld Rubiales’ ban from national and international football.
Visa taps in with FIFA for global partner renewal to end 2026
January 25 – FIFA has renewed payments technology firm Visa’s global sponsorship for a new rights cycle taking them to the 2026.
FIFA to host Concacaf World Cup qualifying draw Feb 25 in Zurich
January 24 – The draw for the Concacaf World Cup 2026 qualifiers will be held in FIFA’s Zurich headquarters tomorrow (January 25).
Infantino says it is time for forfeits and criminalisation of racist fans after weekend incidents
January 22 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for the implementation of an automatic forfeit of games for teams whose fans commit racist abuse.