By Mark Baber
October 12 – Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, three of Africa’s most populous nations which have been underperforming on the international football stage, unconvincingly made it through to the second round of qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2018 following their 1st round 2nd leg matches this weekend.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 12 – Claims that Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini did not get a fair hearing when provisionally suspended last week have been totally rejected amid growing speculation that they could both end up being thrown out of world football for years rather than months.
By Mark Baber
October 12 – The FA has announced a new refinancing arrangement which will save at least £12 million a year and which marks a landmark for the FA as the new Wembley turns into an asset rather than a drag on the finances of the FA Group.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 12 – It’s shaping up as the Euro 2016 of the minnows. When Michel Platini decided to expand the European Championship finals from 16 to 24 teams, reaction was mixed with many predicting the quality of competition would be reduced.
October 12 – Sepp Blatter may not be able to take part in any footballing matters while under suspension by FIFA’s ethics committee but he says he is proud of his achievements, according to a Swiss newspaper.
October 12 – Russia has officially named the 12 stadia in the 11 cities that will host the 2018 World Cup and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 – and eight of them are named after the cities in which they will be held.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 12 – Just like the man he is endeavouring to succeed, UEFA president Michel Platini is appealing against his provisional 90-day suspension imposed by FIFA’s ethics committee while they further investigate his receipt of that infamous SFr2 million payment.
October 12 – Barcelona are standing behind their mercurial superstar Lionel Messi in his fight against being punished for alleged tax fraud.
By Ben Nicholson
October 10 – The one-off CONCACAF Cup game between Mexico and the US, which Mexico won to decide who will be the region’s representative at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, was well and Trumply politicised. A record 93,000 crowd packed the Rose Bowl and viewing figures are also expected to have broken records for a national team game.
October 9 – Another of the seven FIFA executives arrested at their hotels in Zurich on May 27 has had US extradition requests approved by the Swiss Federal Office of Justice.
As rumours swirled around Zurich on Wednesday that ethics investigators were about to throw the book at Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s headquarters was bathed in thin autumn sunshine and looked a paragon of normality. From the outside at least.
By Mark Baber
October 9 – Serbia’s team coach was attacked by stones, smashing one of the windows, ahead of Thursday’s Euro2016 qualifier in the central Albanian town of Elbasan. Violence was predictable following the abandonment of the earlier fixture in which a drone with a Greater Albania flag was flown over the stadium in the Serbian capital causing crowd trouble and the Albanian team to refuse to continue the match.
By Matt Scott
October 9 – Olympiacos, the Greek champions whose owner is under criminal investigation for alleged match-fixing, have signed a title-sponsorship deal with an online-betting company.
FIFABy David Owen
October 9 – The most powerful administrator in world sport has added his voice to the mounting clamour for far-reaching reform at FIFA.
From my name, you might think me as Welsh as a laverbread breakfast. But I’m not, so I have been able to observe the recent Welsh sporting resurgence with cool, objective detachment.