By Andrew Warshaw
September 29 – Palestinian football authorities are crying foul after being ordered by FIFA to play a crucial World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia on neutral ground.
By Paul Nicholson
September 24 – Sylvia Schenk, the former German athlete and lawyer who leads the Sport working group of the Sport and Rights Alliance has said that Qataris have a “right to catapult themselves into modernity and I find it a very exciting development”, Referring to the programme of labour reform that Qatar has begun, she said that the “World Cup can be an accelerator for change beyond the infrastructure”.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 21 – Despite a string of examples of racism in Russian football and resultant sanctions by the game’s authorities, former national team captain Alexei Smertin (pictured) insists it is not an issue in his country.
By Paul Nicholson
September 17 – Qatar has started site work on its sixth stadium, the 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium which will host the opening match and final of the 2022 World Cup and which will be the centrepiece of the event.
By David Owen
September 2 – As television and the globalised market for players fuel the increasing internationalisation of the fan bases of leading football clubs, digital technology is of growing importance for clubs seeking to communicate with, and generate revenue from, these supporters.
September 3 – Premier League club Chelsea have unveiled plans to redevelop their Stamford Bridge stadium to increase capacity from 41,798 to 61,000. The drawings are on display to fans this week at the stadium.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 12 – Qatar hopes to finally reveal how many stadiums it will use in total for the 2022 World Cup by the end of this year.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 27 – The millions of fans who tuned in across the globe to watch Saturday’s 2018 World Cup draw could have been forgiven for thinking everything in Russia’s garden was rosy.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 24 – As they prepare for their biggest day since being awarded the tournament, Russia’s 2018 World Cup organisers are being constantly reminded about the issue of racism that shows little sign of diminishing.
By Paul Nicholson
July 15 – Russian focus on preparing a competitive team for the 2018 World Cup has intensified following the departure of Fabio Capello after a string of poor results, with a search for a new – Russian national – coach underway. The federation is also on the hunt for a new president with Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko emerging as frontrunner to return to a post he has held before.
By Paul Nicholson
July 14 – Russian preparations for the 2018 World Cup may be progressing smoothly when it comes to building stadia and planning transport infrastructure, but dissatisfaction with the national team’s progress under coach Fabio Capello has resulted in his contract being terminated three years before the finals.
By Mark Baber
July 8 – Russian Sports Minister and YouTube sensation Vitaly Mutko has been nominated to stand as a candidate in September’s election for a new president of the Russian Football Union (RFS).
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.