By David Gold
December 5 – Four African teams remain in the hunt for a place at the London 2012 Olympic Games football tournament, with Senegal facing Gabon and Egypt taking on hosts Morocco in the crucial semi-finals.
By David Gold
December 5 – Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (pictured right) is in line for his third successive FIFA Ballon D’Or award after being confirmed on the final three-man shortlist alongside Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo (centre) and team mate Xavi (left).
By Andrew Warshaw
December 5 – Beleaguered former Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam will have the first of his two appeal hearings on January 23 at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
By David Gold
December 4 – Sócrates, one of the world’s greatest midfielders and Brazil’s captain at the 1982 World Cup, has died in a São Paulo hospital at the age of 57, casting a shadow over the final weekend of the Brazilian Championship.
By David Gold
December 2 – Football Federation Australia (FFA) has welcomed and accepted the recommendations of the Smith Review, following the publication of the organisation’s strategic plan earlier this week.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 1 – Twenty-four hours after FIFA unveiled their new reform chief, their plans immediately hit the buffers today when the anti-corruption watchdog that has been advising them for weeks said they wanted no part of the new operation and were cutting all links with world football’s governing body.
By David Gold
December 1 – Football Federation Australia (FFA) has set the national team the target of qualifying for and reaching the second round of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
By David Gold
November 30 – Poland’s Football Association (PZPN) has sacked secretary general Zdzislaw Krecina over a corruption scandal that could still bring down the organisation’s head, Grzegorz Lato.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 30 – The Swiss academic charged with cleaning up FIFA has recommended limited terms for the organisation’s inner sanctum – including the President (pictured left) – and far more scrutiny when it comes to screening key decision makers.
By David Gold
November 29 – Ajax Amsterdam’s members have asked club legend Johan Cruyff, and his four fellow Advisory Board members, to step down from their positions to resolve a bitter dispute between them.
By David Gold
November 29 – The head of Poland’s Football Association (PZPN), Grzegorz Lato, has promised he will comply with an investigation, triggered by Sports Minister Joana Mucha, which is looking into allegations he was involved in corruption.
By David Gold
November 29 – Turkey has decided to reduce the maximum prison term individuals convicted of involvement in match fixing can serve from 12 years to three, as a match fixing scandal continues to be investigated by the country’s Football Federation.
By David Gold
November 28 – Players competing in the Italian football league are buying more than €100,000 (£86,000/ $134,000) worth of Government bonds as they hope to help alleviate the financial gloom afflicting the debt ridden country.
By David Gold
November 28 – UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino (pictured) has reiterated the organisation’s commitment to eradicating match fixing from football, calling it their “top priority”.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – The football world was plunged into mourning today after Wales manager Gary Speed was found dead at the age of 42 from an apparent suicide.