Mexican team put beef on backburner as they prepare for Brazil
May 23 – Mexico’s World Cup squad have decided to avoid eating beef during their preparations for fear of testing positive for the banned drug clenbuterol.
World Cup
All bets off as FA clamps down on English pros
May 22- All professional footballers in England will be banned from betting on football matches from next season following a string of damaging incidents that have rocked the domestic game.
FIFA move Sao Paulo stadium test date to ensure a big crowd
By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – A vital final test event at the troubled stadium that is hosting the opening game of the World Cup has been postponed for three days, raising fresh concerns that the Sao Paulo venue will be far from ready for the June 12 kickoff.
Brazilian players go legal with FIFA, complaining it is too hot for early kick offs
By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – FIFA is holding firm on kickoff times for the World Cup despite being threatened with legal action by Brazil’s athletes’ union (Fenapaf) which is calling for two-minute water breaks at the midway point of each half.
FIFA call for extra test event in Sao Paulo as Pele turns up the heat on corruption
By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – Brazilian legend Pele says the delays that have plagued the World Cup in his country have been “a disgrace” as FIFA called for a further test event at the stadium that is hosting the opening game. Sao Paulo’s Itaquerao, Cuiaba’s Arena Pantanal and Curitiba’s Arena da Baixada are all unfinished despite the tournament starting in less than a month, and Pele is dismayed.
Brazil races towards stadium handover day, as FIFA chiefs set up camp
By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has arrived in Brazil for the final time to oversee the run-up to the start of the World Cup, saying he expects “busy days ahead” to make sure everything is ready on time. Valcke arrived 24 hours after Brazil held the last two test events at its delayed stadiums, notably at the Sao Paulo venue that will host the opening game, and will visit all 12 host cities one last time “to see that the finishing touches”
Qataris release more detail of Al Wakrah Stadium schedule
May 20 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers have announced the second phase of construction at Al Wakrah, the first of the proposed venues to stage the finals. Last week the Qataris announced sweeping changes to their own labour laws though there was still criticism from pressure groups that they hadn’t gone far enough.
World Cup alone won’t put football on the map in United States
By Andrew Warshaw
May 19- United States soccer chief Sunil Gulati admits the game has some way to go at professional level to reach the levels of established domestic sports like American football and baseball – and, for that matter, to match the interest in football overseas.
Bayern Munich supply most players to World Cup provisional squad lists
By David Owen
May 19 – German giants Bayern Munich are the club providing most players to the provisional 2014 World Cup squad lists circulated by FIFA last week. The Bundesliga champions have 18 players on FIFA’s release list, two more than Manchester United, who were comfortably the most heavily-represented Premier League club, despite their difficult 2013-14 season.
Brazil street protesters get organised and gain momentum
By Andrew Warshaw
May 16- Just a month before the start of the World Cup, some of the most co-ordinated street protests of recent months have swept through Brazilian cities, once again targeting the huge cost of the tournament.
Qatar unveils major labour reforms of kafala and working conditions
By Andrew Warshaw
May 14 – Qatar authorities have made the most forceful pledge to date that they will scrap part of the country’s medieval kafala employment system that has caused so much outrage directed at the 2022 World Cup hosts – but stopped short of abolishing it completely.
World Cup tourist spending forecast to top $3 billion
By David Owen
May 13 – World Cup tourist spending in Brazil in June and July may exceed $3 billion, the Brazilian Government has forecast. In the latest of a series of announcements that appear designed, in part, to convince ordinary Brazilians that staging sports mega-events is a good investment for South America’s biggest country, the Ministry of Tourism unveiled research findings suggesting that foreign tourists would spend nearly $2,500 each, excluding airfares,
Qatar: Workers’ rights announcement expected, reality check called for
By Andrew Warshaw in Jordan
May 13 – Qatari authorities are set to make a landmark announcement on the contentious issue of workers rights within the next few days, possibly as early as Wednesday, as pressure continues to build on the 2022 World Cup hosts over the treatment of migrant employees.
Brazil mobilises 30,000 troops and police for pre-World Cup border patrol
By David Owen
May 12 – With just a month to go before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Brazilian Government has launched its largest mobilisation of armed forces, using 30,000 military personnel to patrol its entire 17,000-kilometre national border, one of the world’s longest.
English football faces bleak future unless home-grown player plans take root
By Andrew Warshaw
May 9- Radical proposals to halt the decline of English football at national level have been met with a mixed reaction but must be implemented to prevent a bleak future, according to English FA chairman Greg Dyke.
On Thursday proposals were unveiled to change the lower-division structure to enhance opportunities for England-registered players, reduce the number of foreign imports and boost the chances of national team success.