By David Gold
March 14 – Time to organise the dates and venues for the 2013 Confederations Cup is running out according to FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, who says that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was easier to organise than the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
March 8 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter reprimanded Brazilian politicians for promising that the opening match of the 2014 World Cup would be staged in Sao Paulo.
March 4 – FIFA’s decision to allow South America a possible six slots at the 2014 World Cup has been blasted as “completely ludicrous” by Chuck Blazer, the FIFA Executive committee member from the United States and secretary general of CONCACAF.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – Football’s world governing body today decided not to change the allocation of places for the 2014 World Cup finals despite several regions clamouring for more representation.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 5 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter wants professional referees to be an established part of the game by the time of the next World Cup in Brazil.
January 3 – Rio de Janeiro has hired IBM and other major international firms to help bolster its emergency response operations in the build-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 10 – Saint-Clair Milesi (pictured), head of communications for Rio 2016, is quitting to take up a new role with the 2014 World Cup, which is also being staged in Brazil, he has announced.
September 9 – Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium, which is due to stage the 2014 World Cup final, has been closed down for two years to be undergo a major $300 million (£175 million) renovation.
August 29 – Only full-time professional referees should be used at the next World Cup, in Brazil in 2014, FIFA President Sepp Blatter claimed today.
August 11 – A battle is set to be launched over the allocation of World Cup spots between Asia and Oceania, Japan Football Association President Junji Ogura has predicted.
July 28 – FIFA are to blame for some of the problems that Brazil is now experiencing in its build-up to the 2014 World Cup, the country’s Sports Minister Orlando Silva (pictured left) claimed today.
July 22 – Brazil’s biggest city Sao Paulo is facing the prospect of missing out of hosting matches during the 2014 World Cup after officials failed to come up with a solution to finding a suitable stadium.
July 14 – Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (pictured centre) has hit out at critics of the country’s preparations for the 2014 World Cup after it was claimed that they were already facing facing serious delays.
June 26 – Brazil’s largest city Sao Paulo needs to find an alternative venue for the 2014 World Cup after the Morumbi stadium was dropped due to lack of financial guarantees for renovation, FIFA said tonight.
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May 3 – Preparations for the 2014 World Cup have been slammed by FIFA, who have said that “it is amazing how Brazil is already late”.