By Paul Nicholson
March 16 – The United 2026 World Cup bid have unveiled their 23-city hosting list and while there are a few notable omissions – Vancouver, Chicago, Salt Lake and Minneapolis being the highest profile – it is still an impressive and broad-based power play in the bid battle.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 15 – The head of Morocco’s 2026 bid team says his country is in it to win it and is not simply a stalking horse for the favoured rival North American candidate.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 15 – Twenty-four hours after the Canadian government threw its support behind the country co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Mexico, the bid suffered a blow with the news that Vancouver, one of North America’s most popular tourist venues, is being dropped as a candidate city.
March 15 – No British government ministers or members of the Royal Family will attend the World Cup finals in Russia this summer as part of the retaliation for the poisoning and attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Prime Minister Theresa May has announced.
By Paul Nicholson
March 14 – It was good news and bad news from FIFA as the final round of ticketing for the Russia 2018 World Cup began. While 356,700 tickets were allocated in 24 hours, complaints poured in from fans unable to access the system.
March 14 – With precision timing just as bid books are to be presented to FIFA, Canada’s government has officially thrown its support behind the North American bid for the 2026 World Cup.
March 14 – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will be taking “blood money” by working for Russian state-backed channel RT during the World Cup, according to a British member of parliament.
March 13 – When British foreign secretary Boris Johnson first raised the notion of England boycotting this summer’s World Cup in protest at what has been dubbed spy-gate, he was roundly condemned and his office was quick to issue a clarification saying he meant officials and politicians rather than the team itself.
March 13 – FIFA have confirmed that 568,448 tickets have been allocated following the second random selection draw sales window from 5 December to 31 January, on top of the 735,168 tickets allocated during the first sales phase, making a total of 1,303,616 tickets allocated to date.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 8 – One week before bid books are due to be handed in to FIFA by the two rival contenders for the 2026 World Cup, Sunil Gulati has stepped down as the main man for the three-nation US-Canada-Mexico bid as part of a reshuffle.
March 8 – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will be a pundit for Russia Today (RT) during this summer’s World Cup. The international broadcast network is funded by the Kremlin and often perceived as a controversial mouthpiece of Vladimir Putin’s regime.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 7 – The humiliation of Vitaly Mutko, for years one of FIFA’s most influential administrators, is complete after it was confirmed that the once all-powerful Russian football supremo has been forced to relinquish his last remaining role with the World Cup this summer.
March 6 – Now that FIFA have changed the rules on what the two bidders for the 2026 World Cup can and can’t do to promote their credentials, Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) President Fouzi Lekjaa has wasted no time rallying support from within his own confederation.
By Samindra Kunti in Zurich
March 5 – Russia 2018 anti-discrimination chief Alexey Smertin has reiterated that LGBT fans will be welcome at the World Cup this summer. Rainbow flags will be allowed to fly at stadiums during the tournament.
March 1 – Los Angeles’ hopes of being one of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup should the US-led bid win the vote appears to be back on track.