March 15 – Disgraced former Brazilian powerbroker Marco Polo del Nero has lost his final appeal, this time at Switzerland’s highest court, in his attempt to try and overturn a 20-year FIFA ban for taking bribes worth millions of dollars.
March 14 – FIFA are back in discussion with Amnesty International over the conditions for migrant workers in Qatar in connection with the World Cup. This time the discussion is not focussed on construction workers by on those in the service and hospitality sector.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 10 – Lawyers for Nasser Al-Khelaifi (pictured), the Qatari head of broadcaster beIN Sport and boss of Paris St Germain, have demanded a full acquittal of their client over bribery allegations relating to the sale of media rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cup.
March 9 – Switzerland’s public prosecutor has called for hefty prison sentences for Paris Saint-Germain and beIN Sport boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi and FIFA’s former number two Jerome Valcke (pictured) over alleged bribery relating to a World Cup TV rights deal.
March 8 – Foreign players based in Russia are being allowed to leave their clubs for the rest of the season without being punished.
March 4 – The Russian Football Union has confirmed it is going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to appeal against its ban from international competitions imposed by FIFA and UEFA as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 1 – The blanket ban on Russia in FIFA and UEFA competitions may not end there, with reports emerging that the Russian Football Union may take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
By Paul Nicholson
February 28 – Less than 24 hours after announcing a set of ‘soft’ sanctions against the Russian national team and the country’s clubs, FIFA and UEFA have bowed to overwhelming pressure from the football community, fans and media and suspended all teams from the country from participation in their competitions “until further notice”.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 28 – FIFA is refusing to kick Russia out of the World Cup despite finally imposing a string of sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
February 25 – Choosing his words carefully, FIFA president Gianni Infantino failed to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, instead saying his organisation was “very worried” about the escalating crisis.
February 24 – The national associations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic have issued a joint statement refusing to play any World Cup playoffs in Russia in response to the military assault on Ukraine.
February 25 – FIFA have suspended Zimbabwe and Kenya from all international competition as a result of government interference in the running of their affairs.
February 18 – FIFA is reported to be considering increasing the number of players in World Cup squads from 23 to 26 because of the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 16 – FIFA’s biennial World Cup drive has suffered yet another setback after global players’ union FIFPRO revealed its members overwhelmingly oppose the idea.
February 16 – Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has received a glowing post-event plaudits for its hosting of the Club World Cup having stepped in at the last minute to host the competition.