By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – Frustrated with South Africa’s continual refusal to put its own house in order, FIFA’s ethics committee prosecutor Michael Garcia has opened an investigation into allegations of match-fixing in friendlies in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
November 14 – FIFA are distancing themselves from a suggestion by their leading financial scrutineer that Qatar could be stripped as 2022 World Cup hosts by the world governing body’s independent ethics committee if the Gulf state is found to have broken any bidding rules.
November 14 – FIFA has fined both England and Poland for the crowd trouble that occurred at their decisive World Cup qualifying match at Wembley last month.
By David Owen
November 13 – Blood and urine samples from players competing at next year’s FIFA World Cup are to be analysed in Switzerland, in a move likely to cause new embarrassment to Brazilian authorities.
November 11 – So often fraught with controversy, Nigerian football is back in the spotlight for the right reasons after winning the world under-17 championship for a record fourth time, overpowering holders Mexico 3-0 in Abu Dhabi.
November 11 – The second ticketing sales window for the 2014 World Cup Brazil opened today at 12:00 CET / 9:00 Brasilia time. More than 220,000 tickets are available in this sales window for 57 matches and FIFA is warning that demand is expected to be high. Unlike the first sales window, the second window will allocate tickets on a first come first served basis.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been urged not to return “empty-handed” from this weekend’s courtesy trip to Qatar which will take in the contentious issue of workers’ rights. Blatter is due to make a personal visit to the new emir of Qatar on Saturday to discuss the treatment of migrant workers following highly publicised reports of severe labour rights abuses that have caused widespread embarrassment to organisers of the 2022 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 6 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter is keen to scrap World Cup qualifying playoffs in future – because they are too painful for the losers. Blatter may not be around in 2018 depending on whether he stands for president again but says so many playoffs is a hard way for teams to miss out on the finals.
By David Owen
November 5 – Pressure on FIFA over the timing of the 2022 World Cup has ratcheted up another notch, with news that the international skiing and snowboarding governing body is looking to forge a common front with other federations against holding the tournament in the winter sports season.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 30 – For the first time ever, FIFA plans to offer companies the opportunity to purchase regional sponsorship packages for the World Cup, starting with Russia in 2018 and Qatar four years later. Speaking at a post-LOC 2018 board meeting in Kazan, FIFA’s Marketing Director Thierry Weil confirmed the new commercial structure, highlighting the opportunities and value on offer.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 26 – Sepp Blatter, in an address to the Oxford Union, has launched a staunch defence of his long and at times controversial FIFA presidency, insisting he was no “ruthless parasite sucking the lifeblood out of football.” On the eve of attending the English Football Association’s gala dinner celebrating its 150th anniversary, Blatter gave an impassioned address to the famed university debating society.
October 25 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has once again re-opened the prickly debate over World Cup slots by declaring that Africa and Asia deserve more representation and Europe and South America less.
October 25 – Football’s lawmakers have sought to tighten up the accuracy of goalline technology, coincidentally following the latest controversy when Bayer Leverkusen’s Stefen Kiessling was awarded a goal even though his effort had entered through the side netting.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 10 – The head of the US Soccer Federation believes player eligibility rules need to be tightened up to stop promising young internationals having carte blanche to turn out for two different countries.
By Mark Baber
October 10 – Transfer Matching System GmbH (FIFA TMS) announced on Wednesday the launch of a new Premium Service – the first Domestic Transfer Matching System (DTMS), designed to facilitate domestic transfers for member associations and clubs acting in the same jurisdiction.