By Samindra Kunti in Moscow
July 13 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Friday repeated his position that the Qatar 2022 World Cup will be played in a 32-team format, but has left open the door for an expanded 48-team tournament in four years time. The North American 2026 World Cup is the first World Cup to have the confirmed participation of 48 teams.
July 13 – It’s been one of the biggest open secrets of the footballing summer. But it still begs the question as to why a club would sack a manager who, in his first season, wins the Premier League and in his second the FA Cup.
July 13 – FIFA’s technical director Marco van Basten, arguably the greatest striker of his generation, has a word of advice for Neymar: cut down on the play-acting.
July 13 – Nigeria is heading ever closer to a FIFA ban unless it resolves the bitter internal rift over the role of Amaju Pinnick according to counsel to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Festus Keyamo.
By David Owen
July 13- Twenty years and five days ago France and Croatia played out a cagey, tense, tetchy World Cup semi-final that France were expected to win, but ended up making mightily hard work of. A game of similar characteristics may be anticipated on Sunday, when the same two countries meet at the Luzhniki in the final of Russia 2018.
July 13 – Juventus’ acquisition of Real Madrid and Portugal superstar for €112 million plus a €30 million per year salary, is not being welcomed everywhere in Italy.
By Paul Nicholson
July 12 – FIFA has stepped back into the beoutQ piracy debate ‘urging’ Saudi Arabia to support efforts to stop the copyright theft taking place in the country and saying that it will take legal action in Saudi Arabia to protect its rights.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 12 – As an entire nation digests the disappointment of football not coming home after all, Croatia’s star player insists his side were underestimated and deserved to reach the World Cup final at England’s expense.
July 12 – AC Milan’s Chinese buyer Yonghong Li has lost control of the club after US hedge fund Elliott Management announced it has taken over the Italian giants following Li’s failure to make a €32 million loan payment.
July 12 – Africa will never fulfil their potential on the World Cup stage unless they develop their youth properly and have strong enough characters on the field.
July 12 – The David Beckham-led investment group behind Miami’s Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise may have been slow to secure the slot but is now gathering pace with meetings scheduled today with city officials regarding the plans for an ambitious new multi-use stadium complex.
July 12 – US brand Kohler has become a global partner of Manchester United in a multi-year partnership that will see the company take the club’s sleeve branding.
July 12 – While racism has been virtually non-existent at the World Cup, the anti-discrimination group advising FIFA says broadcasters have focussed too much on picking out attractive females and that there has been too much sexism generally in and around cities.
July 12 – It will hardly register amid the disappointment of semi-final elimination but the English FA has been fined CHF70,000 after three players – Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Raheem Sterling – wore unauthorised equipment at the World Cup.
July 12 – Championship play-off winners Fulham – who in doing so guaranteed themselves a £160 million three-season Premier League income stream – have capitalised further on their promotion with a club record two-year sponsorship with global betting brand Dafabet.