By Andrew Warshaw
June 5 – Despite the stadium delays, overspending and widespread adverse publicity about crime and poverty, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has come out fighting ahead of the World Cup which kicks off in a week.
By Paul Nicholson
June 5 – Lionel Messi would be worth almost twice as much in the transfer market than Cristiano Ronaldo, while the total asset value of Barcelona’s playing squad is still worth more than €100 million than Real Madrid, and almost twice that of Manchester United, according to the CIES Football Observatory Annual Review which looks at market value of players in Europe’s Big 5 leagues.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 5 – The Oceania Footbball Confederation will make no comment over its alleged role into how Qatar won the right to stage the 2022 World Cup until FIFA’s ethics committee investigator has completed his inquiries.
June 5 – While preparations for the high-profile main event move into their final few days, football with a more grassroots appeal is playing a key role on the sidelines of the World Cup.
By David Owen
June 5 – Not for the first time, wage growth is casting a shadow over English club football’s financial performance. The latest issue of Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance, covering the 2012-13 season, has found that the widely-watched wage:turnover ratio of the 20 Premier League clubs reached a record high of 71%. This was after wages rose by an enviable 8% to £1.8 billion.
Brazil v Croatia. 5pm local time. São Paulo.
What a relief it will be when the first ball is kicked. When the world is reminded what the fuss is about. That there’s historic football to be played. We hope and expect it will bring great joy to hundreds of millions because we’ve become all too familiar with the negatives. Oh those negatives.
The riots, the protests, the huge political and social concerns over the money spent,
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – The Australian football federation (FFA) has denied any wrongdoing in its failed bid for the 2022 World Cup, insisting it broke no FIFA rules.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – UEFA president Michel Platini has hit back forcefully at reports linking him to corruption allegations over Qatar’s victorious 2022 World Cup bid. Hours after INSIDEworldfootball exclusively quoted a source close to Platini that discussions the Frenchman held with disgraced former Qatari powerbroker Mohamed bin Hammam were solely about bin Hamman’s efforts to secure a rival to Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency and nothing to do with 2022,
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – While considerable focus is on the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo next week, the executive committee agenda which precedes it this coming weekend could be just as appetising, containing a number of highly significant items that have dominated the political landscape in recent months.
June 4 – Spanish tax authorities have re-opened the Neymar tax case by claiming Barcelona have evaded a payment of €9.2 million in the signing of Brazilian World Cup superstar.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
June 4 – Czech football association FACR has signed a sponsorship deal with betting operator Synot which will replace the Gambrinus beer brand as the title sponsor of the country’s top tier league.
The material published in the latest Sunday Times expose has sparked renewed calls for Joseph Blatter, FIFA’s 78-year-old President, to stand down. This is not remotely surprising. And, indeed, I concur there are strong arguments for his current term being his last – even though, in the real world, he still looks well-placed to sail triumphantly to a fifth term from 2015.
I also think, though, that the question of Blatter’s personal future tends to distract attention from the more important issue.
So UEFA will register its protest about events in FIFA by sitting down in Sao Paulo at next week’s Congress just as Sepp Blatter, as is widely expected, announces that he will stand for another term as President? My goodness what a protest. This I am sure Nyon thinks is the Lionel Messi moment for the men in suits when a wonderful shimmy delivers a beautiful, game changing goal. Don’t you believe it.
In fact when I heard about this UEFA protest against Blatter I merely flicked open my cuttings book and went back to another FIFA Congress,
By Mark Baber
June 3 – Official World Cup sponsor Hyundai, who recently extended their deal with FIFA up to 2022 is rolling out advertising campaigns focused largely on brand-loyalty and the passion of fans for football and their cars. So far it has avoided of the major faux-pas of recent campaigns.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
June 3 – UEFA chief Michel Platini rejected a request by Mohamed bin Hammam to take on Sepp Blatter in 2011 for the presidency of FIFA, INSIDEworldfootball has learned. High-ranking UEFA sources have confirmed that Platini held “a number of informal discussions” with bin Hammam shortly before the December 2010, vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups but that these were solely about the presidency and nothing to do,