By Paul Nicholson
August 1 – Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has said that the 2018 World Cup will be played in 12 stadiums across 11 cities, and that there is no need to reduce the number of venues.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 1 – Former US presidential candidate John McCain has added his voice to calls for Russia to be stripped of the 2018 World Cup finals because of the Malaysian Airlines disaster and Russian support for separatists in the east of Ukraine.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 31 – Organisers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have been quick to respond to the latest wave of criticism over the mistreatment of construction workers saying they are “actively looking into” the latest reports and are “heavily dismayed” at some of the claims.
By Paul Nicholson
July 29 – With Russia and its 2018 World Cup hosting having become a focus of political comment in the West, in the East the Russians have remained focused on their task of delivering 2018. In recent days new stadia have been started and the debate over whether the number of host cities has intensified with sports minister Vitaly Mutko (pictured) currently on the road visiting the cities under threat.
July 25 – A newly published survey of UK, US and Brazilian consumers finds that Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Visa and Adidas were the most recognised sponsors of the World Cup in Brazil, achieving recognition among 50%, 39%, 41% and 36% respectively, amongst UK, US and Brazilian consumers.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 23 – Jaime Byrom, one of the founders of long-established FIFA marketing affiliate Match, is confident the World Cup ticket tout investigation in Brazil will not jeopardise the group’s relationship with world football’s governing body when it comes to future contracts.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
July 22 – The boss of the FIFA affiliate at the heart of the ongoing World Cup ticket tout investigation in Brazil has made an impassioned plea to the authorities to release its director caught up in the probe, insisting he has done nothing wrong and is simply the victim of a huge misunderstanding.
July 21 – Three Russian cities have been identified as being those which face being cut from the country’s 2018 World Cup programme.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – Qatar’s authorities have approved key measures to improve the treatment of foreign workers amid pressure to comply with international standards in the buildup to the 2022 World Cup.
By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Comments made by FIFA President Sepp Blatter at the World Cup closing press conference in Brazil have caused confusion in Russia both with the 2018 World Cup organisers and amongst the media.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 15- FIFA President Sepp Blatter delivered a generally positive report on the World Cup in Brazil – but admits his organization came up short when it came to dealing with discrimination.
Despite all the fears about lack of organization and street protests, the tournament was widely considered one of the best off the field – and perhaps THE best on it.
By Ben Nicholson
July 15 – The 2014 World Cup has set new records for both Twitter and Facebook, becoming the most talked about sporting event in history on social media and living up to its pre-tournament moniker of being ‘The Mobile World Cup’.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 14 – FIFA have made their first public comment on the ongoing World Cup ticketing scandal saying they fully support their long-term partner Byrom and its wholly owned subsidiary Match Services AG against the allegations concerning Match’s British accommodation chief Ray Whelan who is at the centre of an investigation by Brazilian authorities.
By David Owen
July 12 – As attention now switches to the new crop of club shirt deals – and Manchester United £600 million kit sponsor chase looks like the next ‘big’ one on the horizon – the 2014 World Cup Battle of the Brands drew to a close in Brazil this weekend with an all-Nike third-place play-off, followed by an all-Adidas final.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 14 – The choice of Lionel Messi as the recipient of the Golden Ball award as the best player at the World Cup was somewhat controversial after an in-and-out performance by the Argentine maestro in Sunday’s showpiece finale.