From the vantage-point of today, the Garcia report has something of the air of the Dead Sea Scrolls – an important relic offering vital clues about how life was lived in a bygone era.
By Paul Nicholson and Samindra Kunti
June 28 – The Garcia report into the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding procedures is both as revealing as it is, for the most part, old news. It shows the political depths that the individuals on FIFA’s executive committee would go to solicit favours from bidders; it also shows how far bids will push their people and the rules to win. What it doesn’t do is find the smoking gun that would derail Russia or Qatar hosting 2018 or 2022.
By Mark Baber
June 28 – The outspoken Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has written to UEFA requesting an investigation into the circumstances around his country’s exit from the under-21 European Championship.
By Paul Nicholson
June 28 – FIFA reacted swiftly to the leak to German media of the Garcia Report into the 2018/ 2022 World Cup bidding process by posting the full report online. It was a smart move by FIFA that immediately took the focus of the media reports away from Qatar – who had been lined-up for a series articles from the report – and brought balance to the wider issues of the bidding process and activity of all the bidding nations.
June 28 – Football agent Jorge Mendes has denied that he helped Colombia and Monaco striker Radamel Falcao to evade tax in Spain. Mendes appeared 45 minutes before a judge in a closed doors court hearing in Madrid as part of a probe into whether Falcao could be prosecuted over tax evasion.
June 28 – The German Football Association (DFB) and Australian Football Federation (FFA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Sochi covering joint endeavours in football development.
June 28 – Manchester City invited 50 community leaders to the City Football Academy in Manchester to take part in a week-long summit offering training in community football leadership. The initiative, supported by club sponsor Etihad Airways, completed its activities this week.
By Paul Nicholson
June 27 – The Garcia report into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding, has been leaked to a German newspaper. Until now the report, named after FIFA’s former Ethics chief investigator Michael Garcia, has only been released in summary. A summary that was hotly contested by Garcia.
By Samindra Kunti in St Petersburg
June 27 – Confederations Cup organisers say they are satisfied with the way the group stages have gone, but acknowledge that the video assistant referees need time to fine-tune their decision-making. Dubbed as the ‘half time’ press conference, FIFA and its Russian organisers gave their view on the tournament so far and the issues arising.
June 27 – Manchester City is venturing into the area of eSports promotion and will host its first eSports tournament open to fans in the US – the Man City FIFA 17 Cup – on the Battlefy platform to coincide with the club’s pre-season 2017 tour to the US.
June 27 – TV revenues have revolutionised club football finances in Europe. But it is how those revenues are distributed that is crucial to the competitive integrity of leagues, the sustainability of clubs and the competitive balance between the rich and poor.
June 27 – Gérard Linard (pictured), the new chairman of the Belgian Football Association (KBVB), wasted no time criticising his predecessor Francois De Keersmaecker, saying that the federation needs to end its current malaise and modernise.
June 27 – Premier League newcomers have allayed fears over the safety of the Amex Stadium after it emerged the cladding for the stadium was produced by Reynobond, the manufacturer of the cladding used in the Grenfell Tower that was devastated by fire last week, claiming the lives of at least 79 occupants.
June 27 – FCA Mexico and the FCA National Dealer Association of Mexico have announced a two-year sponsorship of Mexico’s National Soccer team which will see the Jeep brand providing the official vehicles for the Mexican national team.
June 27 – Kenyan online betting operator SportPesa is to pull out of its sponsorship of the Kenyan Premier League and the Kenyan Football Federation after the government introduced a new law imposing a 35% tax rate of gross profit on all gambling activities.