By Andrew Warshaw
October 22 – Match Hospitality, the exclusive rights holder of FIFA’s hospitality programme, says unauthorised companies are trying to jump on board to sell packages for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and has promised “Vigorous action” to protect its name.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke is the latest top-ranking official to succumb to the pressures and stresses of the job after contracting a minor infection in Brazil.
By Tom Degun
October 19 – Brazilian marines and paramilitary police have stormed one of Rio’s most notorious and dangerous slums in a bid to clean up the area before the city hosts the FIFA 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
By Mike Rowbottom
October 17 – Rio’s doping control laboratory, expected to play a major part in Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has been reinstated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following its partial suspension on January 18.
By Tom Degun
October 17 – FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke has expressed his concern that Brazil’s six stadiums for the 2013 Confederations Cup will not be ready on time due to the slow pace of preparations.
By Andrew Warshaw at the Leaders in Football Conference at Stamford Bridge in London
October 11 – The controversy over whether to switch the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar to the winter to avoid the searing June-July desert temperatures was reignited today – this time by one of Qatar’s very own ambassadors.
By Andrew Warshaw at the Leaders in Football Conference at Stamford Bridge in London
October 10 – FIFA is to implement a new ticketing resale system for the 2014 World Cup designed to avoid the large swathes of empty seats that plagued the London 2012 Olympics, and the 2012 UEFA European Championship finals in Poland and Ukraine.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 10 – Construction of Qatar’s first stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament will start next year, it has been confirmed.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 9 – Russia 2018 has reiterated plans to scrap visa requirements for fans – provided they have FIFA World Cup tickets.
By Tom Degun
October 8 – Eduardo Paes has been re-elected as the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil’s municipal elections meaning that he will hold the prestigious position when the country hosts the FIFA 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup, as well as the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – Fans of Russian Premier League club Kuban Krasnodar have written to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIFA boss Sepp Blatter protesting that their city was not chosen as one of the host venues for the 2018 World Cup.
By David Gold
October 5 – The Brazilian Government has announced new criteria for ranking hotels and accommodation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games that Rio de Janeiro hosts in 2016.
By David Gold
October 5 – Saransk in Russia is gearing up to be transformed for the FIFA World Cup in 2018, with $2 billion (£1.2 billion/€1.5 billion) set to be invested in what is the smallest city hosting matches during the tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 4 – FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar’s bid to offset criticism of its labour rights record has been boosted with the opening of a branch of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) in Doha.
By David Gold
October 2 – Dynamo Moscow’s new stadium may be reduced in size after it was not selected to stage FIFA World Cup matches in 2018.