November 2 – Qatar has rejected calls for a compensation fund for migrant workers killed or injured during World Cup preparations, reports Agence France Press, with the country’s labour minister labelling the calls for a fund a “publicity stunt”.
November 2 – British police officers deployed in Qatar for the World Cup will not tell fans how to behave, instead acting as “cultural interpreters” between supporters and local authorities, according to Chief Constable Mark Roberts.
November 1 – The Ukrainian FA has called on FIFA to throw Iran out of the World Cup over what it describes as the country’s “systematic human rights violations” and “the possible involvement of Iran in the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine”.
November 1 – In a remarkable move, World Cup organisers have agreed to pay for the flights and hotels of selected fan groups in exchange for promoting the tournament on social media.
November 1 – Japan will target the last eight of the World Cup, the country’s coach Hajime Moriyasu (pictured) said as he named his 26-team squad for the tournament in Qatar.
November 1 – Thousands of goals scored in Danish soccer in November will raise money for migrant workers who helped build World Cup projects in Qatar.
November 1 – Reigning champions France have suffered another blow ahead of the World Cup with the news that midfielder Paul Pogba will miss the tournament after failing to recover from knee surgery.
October 31 – Qatar’s World Cup preparations continue to be buffeted by off-the-field political interventions with Germany’s human rights envoy postponing an official visit.
October 31 – Thousands of fans heading to the World Cup risk having their tickets annulled because of the volume being sold on unauthorised websites, cybersecurity experts have warned.
October 30 – With just 21 days to go before the Qatar 2022 World Cup kick-off, Chinese smartphone-maker vivo has announced it has become an Official Sponsor and the Official Smartphone of the event.
October 28 – Next month’s World Cup in Qatar has been rocked by further allegations of underhand methods used to win the vote to stage the event 12 years ago.
October 27 – Australia’s World Cup squad are the latest country to take aim at Qatar’s human rights record, issuing a three-minute video focussing on treatment of foreign workers and restrictions on the LGBTQI+ community.
October 27 – Qatar is set to drop mandatory pre-arrival Covid-19 tests for thousands of visitors from across the globe attending the World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 25 – FIFA is coming under further pressure to kick Iran out of next month’s World Cup – this time because of its military support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
October 25 – The ruler of Qatar has taken the unusual step of publicly adding his voice to that of World Cup organisers in denouncing the constant stream of criticism levelled against the host nation in the build-up to next month’s tournament.