By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
October 5 – Within minutes of FIFA opening up the 2034 World Cup solely to countries from Asia and Oceania, Saudi Arabia became the first to announce it will bid to host the tournament, confirming a long-established desire to stage the biggest footballing show on earth.
By Samindra Kunti
October 5 – With a decision that will reshape football’s pinnacle event, FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino revealed that the 2030 finals will be played in six countries on three continents with opening matches to be held in South America to celebrate the tournament’s centenary. The decision paved the way for Saudi Arabia to stage the finals in 2034.
October 3 – With the support of FIFA, the Football for Schools project has concluded in Qatar, with a seminar programme focussed on women in the sport.
September 27 – An international arrest warrant was been issued by a French judge for former AFC president and FIFA vice president Mohamed bin Hamman (pictured) in connection with allegations over the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar in 2010.
September 27 – Gelsenkirchen, the home of Schalke 04, has been named as a candidate host city for the 2027 Women’s World Cup bid by Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
September 27 – FIFA have opened the first phase of ticket sales for the FIFA Club World Cup 2023, to be held in Saudi Arabia.
September 26 – US interest in policing world football’s governing body might not be over, despite two convictions of a media executive and rights company in the FIFAgate case having been reversed by US federal judge Pamela Chen earlier this month.
September 26 – FIFA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have extended their Memorandum of Understanding “to kick crime out of the game”.
September 25 – FIFA has opened voting for the 2023 Puskas Award, given to the scorer of the world’s best goal last season between December 19, 2022 and August 20, 2023.
September 21 – World champions Argentina remain top (1851 points) of the World Rankings after two wins from two in the opening round of CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifiers, as the Albiceleste cruised past Ecuador and Bolivia without conceding a goal.
By Paul Nicholson
September 18 – The Spain, Portugal, and Morocco joint bid for the 2030 World Cup took another step forward over the weekend with the acting president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Pedro Rocha, hosting a meeting with his Portuguese and Moroccan counterparts.
September 18 – The draw to decide the five groups for the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2023 in Indonesia took place on Friday.
September 15 – Nominees for The Best FIFA Awards 2023 have been revealed across men and women’s categories, as FIFA prepares to crown the world’s leading performers.
September 11 – FIFA has published its International Transfer Snapshot for the 2023 mid-year window showing an all-time high of $7.36 billion spent on transfer fees, and a record volume of transfers at more than 10,000.
September 11 – The FIFA Museum in Zurich has unveiled its latest exhibition, titled ‘Designing the Beautiful Game’, which seeks to give fans a new perspective on the game.