April 20 – With the clock ticking towards kickoff, FIFA secretary-general Jérôme Valcke returns to Brazil next week to visit four World Cup host cities – São Paulo, Curitiba, Cuiabá and Fortaleza.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 16- Whatever problems organisers might be encountering getting Brazil ready for the World Cup ticket sales continue to soar.
By David Owen
April 8 – The Brazilian government has fired a numerical salvo in the direction of critics who continue to argue that hosting sporting mega-events such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup is not in the country’s best interests.
April 3 – Referees at this summer’s World Cup look like getting tough on dangerous tackles more than other contentious issues like diving.
March 21 – Adidas have agreed to supply the kit for debutants Bosnia and Herzegovina at this year’s World Cup finals, meaning it will sponsor nine of the 32 teams taking part.
The World Cup is more than just a football tournament, but FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke says that while FIFA can support change in a country there is limit to what it can do, FIFA is not the UN, FIFA is about football, “we don’t tell a country its foreign policy”
Public demonstration can be expected at the World Cup, it will not be a surprise if it happens, says FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke. Plans are in place to keep Brazil safe for visiting fans and to create a lasting World Cup legacy for the country.
FIFA’s general secretary Jérôme Valcke says the Sao Paulo stadium isn’t ready for the opening game so FIFA isn’t ready. But that is not the point. Brazil will be a great success because there is no other choice, he says. There is no Plan B.
March 14 – Budweiser has partnered with FOX Sports to activate its World Cup 2014 sponsorship with a series of football documentaries that will air in more than 55 countries as part of the beer company’s World Cup campaign.
March 13- The scramble for World Cup tickets in Brazil shows no sign of diminishing with 203,330 of the available 360,000 snapped up within the first five hours of the second period of the second sales phase opening.
March 12 – FIFA has opened on-line sales for another 345,000 World Cup tickets. Tickets will be sold on a first come, first saved basis.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 12 – In a break from tradition, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has reportedly decided to refrain from making a formal speech at the World Cup’s opening ceremony for fears of jeering by protesting fans.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 11 – What was expected to be a celebratory landmark occasion in terms of stadium readiness for the World Cup didn’t go completely to plan as another 2014 venue held its first test event.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 11 – As if Brazil’s World Cup organisers didn’t have enough problems on their plate delivering the infrastructure in time for the June kick-off, the country’s president Dilma Rousseff has now come out and expressed her concern about racism in football after a spate of incidents involving players and officials. In comments posted on Twitter, Rousseff lent her support to former Brazil international midfielder Marcos Arouca da Silva, who was subject to monkey chants while playing for Santos against Mogi Mirim last week.
February 27 – FIFA has defended the traditional World Cup fan fests due to take place in the 12 host cities in Brazil after one venue said it was ditching the idea because of expense. “FIFA has worked in close cooperation with the host cities to guarantee that costs will be kept to a minimum,” said Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s secretary general.