By Paul Nicholson
March 29 – FIFA has stripped Indonesia of hosting the U-20 World Cup 2023 following turmoil over the participation of Israel in the finals.
March 29 – In a huge blow to the club just days after they parted company with manager Antonio Conte, Tottenham Hotspur managing director of football Fabio Paratici looks set to also have to step away from his role after his ban from football in Italy was extended worldwide by FIFA.
March 28 – Clubs worldwide have secured a whopping 70% increase in their share of World Cup revenues for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments. FIFA has increased its payments to clubs for the release of players to $355 million. For the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the figure was a combined $209 million.
March 28 – The European Club Association (ECA) and FIFA have extended and expanded a Memorandum of Understanding that will now run until the end of 2030.
March 27 – You’ve got mail. With those words, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany launched their bid for the hosting of the 2027 World Women’s Cup.
March 24 – FIFA has released first details of the bidding process for the hosting of the 2027 Women’s World Cup with the deadline for expressions of interest set for April 23. The final vote on hosts will be made at the FIFA Congress on 17 May 2024, leaving the hosts three years to organise the event.
March 23 – FIFA and its Ethics Committee have suspended a number of coaches in DR Congo accused of having abused minor players, the world federation announced on Wednesday.
March 21 – Claiming that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) failed “to evaluate key pieces of evidence” and “substantive flaws” in their reasoning, global governing body FIFA has appealed the court’s decision to overturn the lifetime ban on the former president of the Haitian Football Federation (FHF) Yves Jean-Bart.
March 21 – French investigative journalist Romain Molina who exposed the reign of terror and sexual abuse allegedly presided over by form Haiti football federation president Yves Jean-Bart, is facing a defamation lawsuit brought by Jean-Bart.
By Samindra Kunti
March 20 – One of the few national associations not to support Gianni Infantino in his re-election to the FIFA president, the German DFB and their president Bernd Neuendorf, have demanded more transparency from the global body and a different attitude toward members.
March 20 – Gianni Infantino has defended the biggest expansion in World Cup history, saying 48 teams in 2026 will not dilute the quality of the tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 17 – FIFA has admitted defeat over plans to allow Saudi Arabia to be a major sponsor of this year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand even though Gianni Infantino described objections to the idea as “a storm in a teacup”.
March 17 – While focus has been shifted to the 2025 Club World Cup and how teams will qualify, or have qualified, FIFA have also said they will run a global club competition every year.
By Samindra Kunti in Kigali, Rwanda
March 17 – FIFA said it has tripled the ‘prize money’ for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand as president Gianni Infantino lashed out at broadcasters for not offering enough money for the tournament’s broadcast rights.
March 17 – While details of the hosts for FIFA’s 32-team Club World Cup in 2025 are still to be announced, nine of the world’s biggest clubs have already qualified for the event as champions of their confederation’s leading club competitions.