May 30 – Vietnam’s Women’s World Cup debut will be broadcast by National Assembly Television, following the acquisition of rights in the country by VMG Media, in the South Asian country. However, with just over 50 days to go until the tournament’s kick-off, FIFA is still to secure broadcast deals in key European markets.
May 26 – FIFA’s new agency regulation is under attack with the latest assault coming in Germany where the District Court of Dortmund has provisionally prohibited FIFA and the German Football Association (DFB) from “enforcing, implementing or applying” the new rules.
May 26 – FIFA has extended its Memorandum of Understanding with the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a further four years and with a commitment to promote better health through football.
May 25 – FC Shakhtar has responded to the extension of FIFA’s suspension of player and coaching contract with Ukrainian clubs saying it could mean losses of €80 million.
May 25 – FIFA has renewed its long-running sponsorship with Hyundai Motor Group and its Hyundai and Kia brands until 2030.
May 18 – In a gala event that was a blaze of kaleidoscopic colour and at an iconic venue that wasn’t a sports stadium, let alone a soccer one, FIFA did its big World Cup 26 brand reveal.
May 18 – FIFA has renewed its long-standing sponsorship with McDonald’s that will now run through the Women’s World Cup 2023 and FIFA World Cup 2026.
May 15 – FIFA has turned up the promotion for the hastily re-organised U-20 World Cup whose hosting was moved at the last minute from Indonesia to Argentina.
May 12 – Ahead of the World Cup 2026 brand reveal in Los Angeles next week, FIFA has launched a campaign titled #WeAre26 to raise the profile of the event and host cities in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
May 12 – FIFA has landed Unilever personal care brands as Official Sponsors of the Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 in a deal that will run through to the 2027 Women’s World Cup and include the men’s World Cup in 2026.
May 11 – FIFA may have reported record financial results at its Congress in Kigali last month, and an eye-catching $11 billion revenue projection for the present World Cup cycle until 2026, but concerns within FIFA’s membership are growing over the explosion of spending and increase in costs.
May 4 – Months after the first World Cup in the Gulf, FIFA have presented their new FIFA Forward 3.0 programme to countries in the region with a workshop in Saudi Arabia.
May 3 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino is once again in the crosshairs of Swiss justice. The football boss as well as two other FIFA executives are the subject of a criminal investigation for “slander” by local authorities in Fribourg in a dispute with Swiss lawyer Philippe Renz.
‘FIFA Pres Threatens to Block Women’s World Cup in Europe’, says Law360 writer Elaine Briseño in a recent article. Her intro says: “FIFA President Gianni Infantino is threatening to black out the Women’s World Cup in Europe if broadcasters there don’t loosen their purse strings, saying the offers for media rights thus far have been “very disappointing” and the additional revenue stream is needed to support equal pay for women.”
May 3 – One of the most prominent figures in women’s football says it’s partly FIFA’s own fault that the Women’s World Cup is not attracting sufficient interest from Europe’s top broadcasters.