By Andrew Warshaw
December 10 – FIFA and World Cup organisers have been quick to re-assure an anxious public that the shocking scenes of violence at a Brazilian championship game at the weekend, screened across the world, were far removed from what can be expected next summer.
December 9 – Sports ministers from across the world were convening in Qatar today to explore the idea of creating a G20 sports grouping to mirror the economic equivalent. Sports officials from a raft of nations including South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Italy were taking part in the summit as part of the three-day Doha Goals conference.
By Paul Nicholson
December 6 – “There is a bit of mystery about pot X,” said FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke at the 2014 World Cup draw in Costa do Sauipe in Brazil. There was no mystery once the draw was made and the teams were allocated – the World Cup is without doubt underway.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – It’s being described as the European ‘floater; and it could have major ramifications at today’s eagerly awaited World Cup draw in Brazil. Under a new formula designed to ensure an even geographical spread, before the main draw even takes place one of the nine unseeded European teams from Pot Four will be drawn at random by organisers and switched to Pot Two alongside Ecuador, Chile and the five African contenders,
By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has appealed to Qatar’s critics to “calm down” over questioning its suitability to stage the 2022 World Cup but insists his organisation will not shirk from its responsibilities to monitor the issue of workers’ rights in the Gulf state which has caused such widespread alarm.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – The stadium hosting the opening match of next year’s World Cup will not be ready until a mere eight weeks before the start of the tournament. Twenty-four hours after the Brazilian government promised that the Sao Paolo venue damaged when two crane workers died in a recent accident would be finished by February, FIFA president Sepp Blatter revealed that it would in fact not be completed until “April 14th or 15th”.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 4 – With the eyes of the world on Friday’s World Cup draw, the last thing the Brazilian local organisers need is more negative publicity about preparations for the tournament. But FIFA has said that up to three of the 12 stadiums being used will not meet the end-of-year deadline for completion. Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba, Curitiba’s Arena da Baixada and Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians stadium – which is hosting the opening game and where two workmen were killed in a crane accident last month –
By Paul Nicholson
December 4 – Adidas officially launched the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil ball, the Brazuca, at Parque Lage in Rio de Janeiro last night. Normally launched alongside the World Cup draw, which takes place at a beach resort near Salvador this Friday, adidas chose to stay in Rio for its global launch and a spectacular 3-D light show.
By Paul Nicholson
December 4 – Put aside winter or summer 2022 and overseas players’ contracts and workers’ rights generally - big issues that have to be dealt with – what else is happening in Qatar? Is there actually any football being played or is that on hold until 2022?
By Andrew Warshaw
December 2 – The international players’ union FIFPro has again urged Qatar’s World Cup organisers to abolish the kafala employment system for footballers in the wake of the Zahir Belounis case that made worldwide headlines following meetings with Qatar 2022 officials at the weekend with players’ contracts and rights at the top of the agenda.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 29 – Zahir Belounis, the French-Algerian footballer who has returned home after finally securing his exit permit to leave Qatar courtesy of a wave of international support, says he has nothing against the country itself but everything against the club that hired him.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
November 28 – Zahir Belounis, the French-Algerian footballer finally granted his exit visa from Qatar, would not have been allowed to leave without huge international pressure on the Qatari authorities, according to his brother. But, claims Mahdi Belounis, hundreds of thousands of Euros owed to Zahir – who had claimed 18 months of unpaid wages – remained unpaid right up until his departure from the Gulf state today.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 28 – Brazil’s World Cup preparations, dogged by the probability that many of its 12 stadia will not be completed before FIFA’s end-of-year deadline, have been further rocked by the deaths of two workers at the Sao Paulo venue due to host the symbolic opening game next year.
By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – Trapped French-Algerian footballer Zahir Belounis’ was finally granted his exit visa today and will leave Qatar on Thursday, bringing to an end a tortuous saga that made worldwide headlines and heaped embarrassment on the Qatari authorities.
November 27 – On the field, Brazil’s famous yellow jersey is one of the most iconic pieces of apparel in world football. Off it, the recent unveiling of the kit Brazil will wear when it hosts the World Cup next summer has sparked the latest battle in the war for shirt supremacy between fierce rivals Nike and Adidas.