By Andrew Warshaw
April 27 – A complaint that the BBC damaged England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup by broadcasting a hard-hitting Panorama documentary presented by Andrew Jennings three days before the vote has been rejected by the Corporation’s governing body.
April 27 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has sent a personal message to Prince William and Kate Middleton ahead of the Royal Wedding on Friday (April 29).
By David Gold
April 27 – Orland Silva, Brazil’s Sports Minister, has cast fresh doubt on whether São Paulo will be able to host games during the 2014 World Cup, with construction still yet to begin on the city’s Itaquera Stadium, which is intended to host the tournament’s opening match.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 27 – Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has been appointed chairman of the organising committee for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
By Tom Degun
April 22 – Mayor of London Boris Johnson has come under fire as it was today revealed that he spent just under £300,000 ($495,000) on England’s shambolic bid to host the FIFA 2018 World Cup, which equates to nearly £50,000 ($83,000) more than he pledged.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 22 – England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid has come under fresh scrutiny with the revelation that a company run by the son of one-time 2018 Board member Sir Dave Richards secured commercial deals to provide merchandise to promote the bid.
By David Gold
April 21 – The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has announced the formation of a board of directors for the organisation of the 2022 World Cup, which will be the first time the tournament is held in the Middle East.
By David Gold
April 19 – MATCH Hospitality, the FIFA Hospitality Programme rights holder, has launched a global Invitation to Tender (ITT) process for companies interested in becoming official and exclusive agents of hospitality for the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup in their respective countries.
By David Gold
April 18 – Up to 10 of the 13 Brazilian airports currently being upgraded for the 2014 World Cup, are unlikely to be ready on time or able to cope with the volume of air traffic during the tournament, a report by the country’s Institute for Applied Economic Research shows.
By David Gold
April 18 – Thailand Football Association President and FIFA Executive Committee member Worawi Makudi (pictured) believes that Southeast Asia could host the World Cup in 2030.
By David Gold
April 18 – Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has announced that approximately $5 billion (£3 billion) would be required for the construction of new stadiums and upgrades to the country’s infrastructure for the World Cup in 2018.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 18 – A Swiss television network is to launch an official complaint to FIFA after two of its journalists were detained in Qatar for 13 days for filming a report on the 2022 World Cup hosts.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 15 – A galaxy of footballing legends past and present, led by Pele and Franz Beckenbauer (pictured), meet next month to start to find ways of improving the game as a result of some of the sterile encounters at last year’s World Cup.
By David Gold
April 14 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said that world football’s governing body “do not have any problem” with progress being made by Brazil in preparation for the 2014 World Cup.
By Tom Degun at City Hall in London
April 14 – Costs on England’s disastrous bid to host the 2018 World Cup should have been kept much tighter, one of London Mayor Boris Johnson’s closest advisors has claimed.