By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 12 – Whether it should be this way is a matter of debate. But in the modern world, commercial clout and the promise of safe, sophistated infrastructure invariably carry more weight than passion and legacy – as Morocco seem likely to find to their cost when the race to stage the 2026 World Cup reaches its denouement tomorrow.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 11 – The chances of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being expanded to 48 teams appear to have faded as quickly as they arose.
Plans for a feasibility study have been put on hold and the idea pulled from Wednesday’s FIFA Congress after FIFA President Gianni Infantino said agreement from the Gulf nation is a “precondition.”
June 11 – The CIES Football Observatory has ranked teams participating in the Russia 2018 World Cup by their transfer values. Top of the table are France with a total squad value of €1.41 billion.
June 8 – FIFA has announced that 2.4 million tickets have already been sold for the World Cup, which kicks off next Thursday. International demand accounts for 54%. On Friday evening, the governing body will release another batch of 100,000 tickets.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 8 – Having already seemingly lost out to their North American rivals to secure the votes of both South Africa and Liberia, 2026 World Cup underdogs Morocco have received a further blow to African unity with the news that Zimbabwe has also declared itself for United 2026.
June 8 – FIFA has reiterated that referees will have the power to suspend games at the World Cup in cases of persistent discrimination by the crowd.
June 8 – With the World Cup on the doorstep, Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the eleven host cities to take advantage on the tournament and deliver a strong footballing legacy after the finals.
June 7 – World Cup hosts invariably go into World Cups with at least a modicum of optimism but Russia is going to need all the help it can get to progress from the group stage and prevent the tournament taking a massive early hit.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 7 – The questions came thick and fast. How do you justify an apparent discrepancy in your projected figures? To what extent will Donald Trump’s global unpopularity work against you? Is your bid simply about budgets rather than passion and pedigree?
June 7 – England manager Gareth Southgate (pictured) says his squad have a plan to deal with any outbreaks of discrimination at the World Cup after fullback Danny Rose said he had told his family not to come to Russia for fear of racism.
June 7 – Dinamo St Petersburg will move to the Fisht Stadium in Sochi next season as the World Cup venue seeks to shed its tag of white elephant.
June 6 – Iran were the first team to arrive in Russia ahead of the 2018 World Cup, which kicks off next week. The Iranians have been paired in group B with Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but their preparations have been blighted by logistical problems.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 5 – Morocco’s 2026 World Cup bid leaders have been refused permission to make a final presentation to FIFA’s South American voters ahead of the all-important ballot on June 13.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 2 – Publicly, they have put on a brave face and sent out a positive message. Privately, as well as being relieved, they must be mightily frustrated to put it mildly.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 31 – None of the players are household names and there are no millionaire superstars or over-inflated egos. But there is no doubting the passion and patriotism of everyone involved.