January 21 – The first of this year’s two Club World Cups in Qatar will kick off February 4 with Concacaf champions Tigres UANL Mexico facing the AFC’s Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea.
By Paul Nicholson
January 19 – Transfers fees in 2020 dropped 23.4% compared to 2019, a reduction of $1.743 billion in money spent. That is a figure 10% below the value of transfers reported in 2017.
January 19 – In the latest twist of a case viewed by many as a key test of FIFA’s mettle, football’s world governing body has taken a significant stance against footballers breaching betting rules by upholding a 10-week global ban on England international Kieran Trippier and dismissing an appeal by his club, Atletico Madrid.
January 19 – Following confirmation that Auckland City FC will be unable to participate in the Club World Cup due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities, FIFA has adapted the competition’s match schedule and stadiums.
January 15 – Having already moved its delayed Club World Cup from December to February because of the impact of Covid-19, FIFA has suffered another blow to its little-loved event after it was reduced from seven to six clubs by the sudden withdrawal of Auckland City.
January 14 – The shocking scale of the sexual abuse carried out by the former boss of Haitian football, Yves Jean-Bart, has been laid bare by the full report of his transgressions released by FIFA.
January 13 – Former El Salvador FA president Reynaldo Vasquez will be extradited to the United States to face charges of bribery and money laundering for his part in the FifaGate corruption scandals.
January 13 – Gianni Infantino has suffered a potentially significant setback in his bid to clear his name over alleged criminal misconduct after the Swiss Federal Criminal Court barred FIFA from being involved in ongoing proceedings over those infamous unrecorded dealings between Infantino and former attorney general Michael Lauber.
January 11 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been denounced by Amnesty International for appearing in a promotional video for the Saudi Arabian government in which he said the country has made important changes.
January 8 – FIFA has broken new ground by announcing it will trial concussion substitutes at next year’s Club World Cup in Qatar.
January 8 – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is recovering after being rushed to hospital, but his life is not in danger according to Swiss media.
January 8 – FIFA has stuck with traditional broadcast channels and in particular state-owned terrestrial channels with the award of the 2026 World Cup broadcast rights in each of the Nordic territories: DR and TV2 in Denmark, YLE and MTV in Finland, TV2 and NRK in Norway, and SVT and TV4 in Sweden.
January 6 – Seemingly not a day goes by without Gianni Infantino courting a Gulf country. On Wednesday, the FIFA president visited Saudi Arabia, the day after the 41st GCC summit ended the three-year blockade of Qatar.
January 6 – FIFA has joined forces with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in a new campaign encouraging the football industry to raise awareness about global match-fixing.
January 4 – In a snub to English football authorities, FIFA have stepped in to block the 10-game worldwide ban imposed by the English FA on international defender Kieron Tripper for breaking betting rules.