Support for Edmonton 2026 World Cup hosting gathers pace
June 9– Edmonton in Canada, one of the candidate venues for the country’s three World Cup 2026hosting slots, is reporting a significant uptick in support for the event in the city.
World Cup
All to play for in Concacaf with 5 slots still open as Qatar 2022 first round qualifiers close
June 8 – The first round of Concacaf qualification for the Qatar 2022 World Cup reaches its final stage of group games tonight with five of the six groups going down to the wire.
Spain and Portugal to make powerful 2030 World Cup bid statement prior to 100yr anniversary match
By Paul Nicholson
June 4 – The bid by Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 World Cup will get an official stamp tonight before a friendly match between the two countries at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid.
IFAB extends 5 subs rule to cover Qatar 2022 World Cup finals
June 1 – World Cup participants in 2022 will be allowed to use five substitutes per match after football’s rule-making body IFAB extended the right until the end of next year.
Nordic members tell FIFA Congress more must be done on Qatar workers’ rights
May 24 – The Nordic membership of FIFA has stepped up pressure on the world governing body to improve workers’ rights in Qatar, the 2022 World Cup hosts.
Baltimore-Maryland makes its case for World Cup 2026 hosting
By Paul Nicholson
May 14 – With FIFA’s World Cup 2026 venue inspection team in full flow in terms of briefing, meeting and assessing potential city hosts, Baltimore on the East coast is one of 17 city hopefuls jostling for a final 10 host slot.
FIFA and Qatar 2022 bosses meet with MAs to discuss human rights progress
May 12 – Following human rights protests by international players from Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Norway and letters from the Danish and Norwegian FA’s FIFA and World Cup 2022 organisers Qatar have begun a series of meetings with member associations.
CAF stadium bans force postponement of Qatar 2022 qualifiers
May 7 – A ban on several stadia across the African continent has led to the widely anticipated postponement of several World Cup qualifiers that were scheduled for June.
Arab Cup draw groups Egypt and Algeria, Morocco and Saudi, Qatar and Iraq
April 28 – Algeria and Egypt’s pairing in Group D on Wednesday headlined the draw for the FIFA Arab Cup, a tournament that will serve as the official dress rehearsal in December for 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar.
Norwegian FA adds to pressure on FIFA to review Qatar human rights complaints
April 28 – Following in the footsteps of the Danish and Swedish football federations, the Norwegian FA (NFF) has become the third national football governing body to demand answers from FIFA over working conditions of migrant workers in Qatar, the host for the 2022 World Cup.
Danish FA keeps up Qatar 2022 human rights protest with pressure on FIFA
April 27 – The Danish FA (DBU) has called for a better legal human rights framework in Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, and demanded that FIFA to investigate the “alleged death toll among Qatar’s migrant workers”.
Qatar 2022 work on covid vaccination plan for all fans who travel
April 19 – With the 2022 World Cup approaching rapidly and the Covid-19 pandemic still raging around the world, hosts Qatar are seeking coronavirus jabs for all visitors to next year’s global finals.
Trinidad and Tobago could lose World Cup qualifying points over fielding a player agent
By Paul Nicholson
April 16 – The embattled Trinidad and Tobago FA, currently ruled by a FIFA Normalisation Committee, could face the embarrassment of losing points from its recent World Cup qualifiers for playing an ineligible player.
Iranians take protest to CAS over Bahrain group qualifier hosting
By Paul Nicholson
April 14 – Iran have made another trip to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), this time to protest the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) decision to award hosting rights for the centralised preliminary rounds of World Cup qualifiers to Bahrain.
Unbearable time for Yogi: North Macedonia derail Germany machine in Duisberg
April 1 – North Macedonia stunned Germany and Joachim Low 2-1 with an 85th minute winner from Eljif Elmas to record their most famous international victory, leaving Die Mannschaft’s World Cup qualification campaign in disarray.