By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – South African officials insist they will not give up the fight after FIFA dismissed their request to have a crucial World Cup qualifier against Ghana replayed because of alleged match-fixing by the officials.
December 6 – Opposition to FIFA’s biennial World Cup plans and overhaul of the international match calendar remains strong with the World Leagues Forum (WLF), following on from the European Clubs Association last week, again demanding FIFA abandons the plan.
December 3 – FIFA is testing its new game analytics tool at the Arab Cup with a view to making the performance data available to all national teams free of charge. The plan is to offer the insights to all teams free of charge during the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
December 2 – FIFA has released the match schedule for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, with Auckland staging the opening game and Sydney hosting the final.
December 2 – In a new blow to FIFA’s biennial World Cup proposal, broadcaster beIN Sports has opposed the plans, warning that you can have ‘too much of a good thing’.
December 1 – First his federation was annulled against FIFA rules, then a legal case against him appeared to have been dropped following threats of a FIFA ban.
November 30 – Mauritania and Tunisia kick off the FIFA Arab Cup tonight, a tournament that will serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2022 World Cup organisers.
November 30 – FIFA has held the draw for the seven-team Club World Cup 2021 in the UAE that will open on February 3 with local team Al Jazira against the OFC’s Auckland City FC from New Zealand.
November 30 – FIFA has appointed normalisation committees in Chad and Guinea, the latest two African countries unable to run their own footballing affairs. The FIFA-appointed officials will oversee elections in both national associations.
November 30 – The use of technology to help officials detect offside more accurately is being trialled at the Arab Cup, which starts today in Qatar.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 29 – Bruised by the generally lukewarm response to his case for the World Cup to be held every two years, Gianni Infantino now claims opponents of the idea are scared of change.
By Paul Nicholson
November 28 – Gianni Infantino has repeated his case for a World Cup to be held every year. Speaking to Asia’s member associations at the Asian Football Confederation congress, held virtually at the weekend, he argued that the game needed to be more global and that it needed to be kept relevant.
November 29 – FIFA has set the dates for the postponed Club World Cup 2021 to 3 to 12 February 2022. The eight-team draw will take place today.
November 26 – The Swiss criminal investigation into FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his involvement with disgraced former federal prosecutor Michael Lauber looks set to resume, this time with two special prosecutors rather than one.
November 26 – Football’s lawmakers have rejected a proposal to increase halftime breaks to 25 minutes to provide the kind of entertainment that exists in US sports.