By Andrew Warshaw
November 26 – Almost unthinkably, next year’s World Cup finals in Qatar will be conspicuous by the absence of either four-time winners and current European champions Italy or Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
November 26 – Denmark’s Union of Journalists is urging its members not to travel to Qatar to cover next year’s World Cup, saying the country cannot be trusted in the wake of two Norwegian reporters being arrested.
By Samindra Kunti
November 25 – Qatar detained Norwegian journalists Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani from state television NRK for “trespassing” after they filmed a migrant labour camp. After 30 hours, the pair were released, but the incident has sparked a diplomatic row between Norway and the World Cup hosts.
November 23 – FIFA has decided to ditch the two-legged format for the intercontinental playoffs in favour of single games at neutral venues in the race to secure the final spots at next year’s World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 22 – With global scrutiny of Qatar’s human rights record showing little respite, the public face of the 2022 World Cup, Hassan Al-Thawadi, says he hopes the tournament will help “wash away” stereotypical attitudes towards the country.
November 22 – Qatar has completed the build of Stadium 974, the latest of its 2022 World Cup stadia to be declared tournament ready.
November 19 – Denmark will wear messages highlighting human rights on their training kit during the World Cup in Qatar next year.
November 18 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has praised the preparations for the 2022 World Cup on a visit to Doha’s Lusail Stadium where he met with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
November 18 – Canada took control of the Concacaf World Cup final qualifying in Edmonton with a win over Mexico putting them the top of the group. It was a night of drama that also saw the USA drop points and to third in the table as Panama forced themselves back into contention.
November 18 – With Canada have pushed themselves into the top qualifying slot for the 2002 World Cup in Edmonton, it was the city’s turn to stake its claim to be a host venue for 2026.
November 17 – FIFA will review South Africa’s appeal for a replay with Ghana in World Cup qualifying. The South Africans demanded an investigation after they lost a crunch qualifier in controversial fashion against Ghana 1-0, prompting Bafana officials to believe match-fixing was involved.
November 16 – Just four months after winning the delayed Euro 2020, Italy have missed out on an automatic place at the World Cup finals and will have to rely on the playoffs to get them to Qatar.
By Paul Nicholson
November 16 – This week FIFA’s inspectors resume their whistle-stop tour of cities bidding to be host venues for the 2026 World Cup, starting in Edmonton, Canada. It is a hugely important moment for this football city, but before they roll out the red carpet for the FIFA team, they have a more pressing football engagement.
November 15 – South African officials suspect match-fixing was at play in Sunday’s crunch 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Ghana and want FIFA and the Confederation of African Football to investigate the conduct of the officials.
November 15 – On a night of high drama, Serbia and Croatia booked automatic places in next year’s World Cup finals on Sunday, condemning Portugal and Russia to the playoffs.