.jpg)
By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – Sunil Gulati (pictured left), the man leading the United States’ bid to host the World Cup, believes that going up against four Asian contenders for 2022 will work in favour of his country – rather than against it.
May 31 – Netherlands and Belgium’s joint bid to host the 2018 World Cup has been backed by Abedi Ayew Pele (pictured), one of Africa’s greatest ever footballers.
May 30 - Milton Keynes, which is bidding to be one of the host venues for the 2018 World Cup if England are awarded the tournament , tonight hosted its first-ever full international fixture but only 100 people turned up to see it.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 30 – Marios Lefkaritis (pictured), a prominent member of FIFA’s 24-strong Executive Committee, says he has already virtually made up his mind who to back for the 2018 World Cup – but will not reveal where his vote is going.
.jpg)
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
May 28 – Frank Lowy (pictured left), the chairman of Australia’s bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, has hit back at critics after a website claimed that they had slipped behind rivals like Qatar and South Korea.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
May 28 – Claims by Lord Triesman that Spain and Russia were colluding to bribe referees at this year’s World Cup have been dismissed by FIFA’s Ethics Commission, it was announced today.
By David Owen
May 27 – One of the leaders of South Korea’s 2022 World Cup bid has said he is keen that rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula should not interfere with attempts to involve North Korea in the bid.
May 26 – Bristol City’s plans to build a new stadium at Ashton Vale that would stage matches if England are awarded the 2018 World Cup has been given the go-ahead by local authorities.
May 26 – FIFA plans to release 150,000 World Cup tickets tomorrow, including seats at the opening and final matches for next month’s tournament in South Africa, they announced today.
By Duncan Mackay
British Internet Sports Writer of the Year
May 26 – Frank Lowy (pictured left), the chairman of Football Federation Australia (FFA) and the leader of the country’s bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, has come out top as Australia’s richest man for the first time, a new survey published today revealed.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
May 22 – England 2018 have managed to minimise the damage caused by Lord Triesman’s allegations about World Cup rivals Spain and Russia being involved in bribery, new bid leader Geoff Thompson (pictured) claimed tonight.
May 21 – Spain claim that they not taking Lord Triesman’s allegations of a Russian-Spanish match-fixing plot at the World Cup seriously, said the country’s Secretary of State for Sport Jaime Lissavetzky (pictured far left).
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
May 21 – Sepp Blatter has backed the action England 2018 took over Lord Triesman’s allegations that rivals Spain and Russia were colluding together illegally to bribe referees at next month’s World Cup in South Africa, Sebastian Coe has claimed.
May 21 – United States President Barack Obama will not attend the World Cup, which opens in South Africa on June 11, and will instead by represented by his vice-president Joe Biden.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – Holland and Belgium may be rank outsiders when it comes to the 2018 World Cup but Johan Cryuff and Ruud Gullit (pictured) are convinced their green campaign will be a powerful enough argument to cause the biggest ever upset in bidding history.