By Paul Nicholson
July 1 – Could there be a gentle thawing of political and business relations between the West and East – at least the European West? And is the 2018 World Cup the bridge to a wider and renewed co-operation with Russia?
By Paul Nicholson
June 30 – With build projects for the final two stadia in Yekaterinburg and Kaliningrad being approved by Russian central government, the 30 day countdown to the first official event of the 2018 World Cup has begun. The Preliminary Draw will be held in St Petersburg on July 25 with 141 teams in the pots that will be drawn by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke.
By Mark Baber
June 24 – Long awaited reform of Qatar’s ‘kafala’ sponsorship system, promised by the Qatari government, have hit a significant obstacle as the country’s Advisory Council reportedly voted against adopting the draft law and agreed to send amendments, which would strengthen the rights of employers, back to committee for further study.
By Paul Nicholson
June 23 – Russia has formalised a 30 billion rubles ($560 million) cut in its 2018 World Cup spending. The government cuts will be around planned infrastructure projects with hotel development plans being the hardest hit. There are no plans to cut spending on stadia and construction will continue unaffected.
By Paul Nicholson
June 18 – The Russians may be on target with their infrastructure build for the World Cup in 2018, but they look to be way off target with their preparation of a team for the home championship. Defeat against Austria in the Euro 2016 group qualifiers again raised doubts over whether Italian Fabio Capello is the right manager for the Russian team.
By Paul Nicholson in Moscow
June 12 – Russia is forging ahead with its transport infrastructure build whether there is a crisis within FIFA or not, said Nikolay Asaul, deputy minister of transport of the Russian Federation, speaking at the World Football Forum in Moscow.
By Paul Nicholson in Moscow
June 10 – Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko (pictured) has reiterated that Russia’s bid for 2018 was a clean bid and that there was no corruption. Mutko spoke after a series of meetings between the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee and a FIFA delegation in the Oblast Government House in Samara.
By Mark Baber
June 9- With women’s football reaching new heights of popularity, the timing of Monday’s announcement that the FA Women’s Cup, described by the FA as “the most popular cup competition in female football,” will be sponsored by energy firm SSE was immaculate.
By Paul Nicholson
June 9 – With FIFA meeting Russia 2018 World Cup organisers in Samara early this week to discuss progress, on Thursday in Moscow clubs, host cities and suppliers and builders of the 2018 infrastructure will be meeting at the World Football Forum conference to share information and discuss the challenges they are facing.
By Paul Nicholson
June 8 – Alexei Sorokin, head of the organising committee for the Russia 2018 World Cup, has expressed frustration at having to repeat that the Russian bid was clean and transparent. Sorokin will speak again later this week at the World Football Forum in Moscow where he will outline progress in the preparations for 2018.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 3 – As the FIFA corruption scandal continues to snowball, Qatar’s World Cup organisers, whose recent statements when facing criticism over staging the tournament have been relatively diplomatic, have clearly lost their patience with outspoken English FA boss Greg Dyke.
By Mark Baber
May 29 – Manchester United have denied being linked to Traffic, the sports management form central to the corruption in South America and CONCACAF uncovered in recent days, whose academy they signed a deal with in 2008.
By Mark Baber
May 27 – The Football League has outlined its plans for title sponsorship of the League and League Cup, officially confirming Capital One will no longer be sponsoring the League Cup, whilst negotiations continue over title sponsorship of the Football League – with Sky Bet very much in the frame.
In a statement on its official web site the Football League confirmed Sky Bet will continue as title sponsor of the Sky Bet Championship,
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 26 – You know instinctively when battle lines start to be drawn for FIFA presidential elections. A raft of media organisations camp outside the various confederation hotels keen to pick up any gossip in terms of how the ballot is likely to play out and any late tactical changes of allegiance.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 27 – Before his dramatic and surprise detention at the hands of Swiss law enforcement officers early this morning, it was business as usual for CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, and high on the agenda was World Cup representation and the number of nations qualifying for the finals. Webb, who has consistently campaigned for more World Cup representation for his Continent, says increasing the finals from its present 32-team format is not the best way to go about it.