Egyptian Premier League start postponed for third time
By Mark Baber
19 December – The start of the Egyptian Premier League season, scheduled for 18 December has been postponed again by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA).
New Samara stadium site gets FIFA approval
December 19 – FIFA have given the greenlight to the relocation of the stadium in the Russian city of Samara which is slated to host the 2018 World Cup.
Zenit fans call for exclusion of non-white and gay players
By Andrew Warshaw
December 19 – Just when football authorities round the world are striving to eradicate homophobia and racism, supporters of Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg have demanded non-white and gay players be excluded from the team.
FIFA promises ‘comprehensive’ Brazilian security plan after Sao Paolo final abandoned
By Mark Baber
December 19 – The war of words following the abandonment of the Copa Sudamerica final in Sao Paolo overshadowed the handing over of the state-of-the-art Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza on Sunday, and any publicity coup for Brazilian World Cup organisers.
Kosovo “disappointed” with partial FIFA acceptance and push for full membership
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – Kosovo’s Football Federation (FFK) are to push for full membership of FIFA after receiving only partial acceptance from football’s world governing body.
South African FA President suspended for match-fixing
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – Two years after staging the World Cup and just weeks before hosting January’s African Cup of Nations, South African football has been plunged into crisis after the President of the country’s national federation, Kirsten Nematandani (pictured), was suspended along with four others in a new match-fixing scandal.
US Soccer Federation to launch National Women’s Soccer League
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) will be the name of a third attempt to create a lasting and credible women’s professional league in the United States of America.
Van Persie is Premier League’s top scorer in North American replica shirt market
By David Owen
December 18 – Robin van Persie has overhauled Wayne Rooney, his Manchester United team-mate, as the name on the top-selling Barclays Premier League player jersey in North America.
Bin Hammam throws in the towel
By Andrew Warshaw
December 17 – The most damaging scandal in the history of FIFA came to an abrupt conclusion today when Mohamed Bin Hammam dropped his long-running fight to clear his name, walking away after being banned for life by FIFA for “repeated violations” of the world governing body’s code of ethics while he was head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Blatter to question Serbia’s paltry sanctions from UEFA
By Andrew Warshaw
December 17 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter is to contact his opposite number at UEFA, Michel Platini, to question the meagre sanctions handed to Serbia by Europe’s governing body in the wake of the racism and violence that marred the under-21 tie against England in Kruševac in October.
Former FIFA vice-president Warner backs Bin Hammam
By Andrew Warshaw
December 17 – Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner insists Mohamed Bin Hammam would have had a “great chance” of beating Sepp Blatter in last year’s FIFA Presidential race had bribery allegations not derailed his campaign.
Andrew Warshaw: Football wasn’t born in Qatar overnight just because of 2022
It is just over two years since that momentous December day when Qatar stunned the footballing world by winning the race to stage the 2022 World Cup by a landslide.
At virtually every turn since, Hassan Al-Thawadi and his campaign team have had to cope with negative reporting about the methods used by the tiny Gulf state to achieve one of the most jaw-dropping results in the history of sports event bidding.
But if you think Al-Thawadi – the razor sharp,
FIFA extends Indonesia sanction deadline as festive gesture
By Andrew Warshaw
December 17 – FIFA has given Indonesia one final chance to put its house in order in what President Sepp Blatter described as a “Christmas gift”.
Exclusive: Sport is within our DNA, insists Qatar 2022 chief
Andrew Warshaw in Doha
December 17 – Pinned to a wall in the engine room of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup headquarters in downtown Doha is a detailed planner outlining what is headed “Programme Wide Masterplan: Stage One Draft.”
12 Bulgarian players arrested for match-fixing allegations
By Andrew Warshaw
December 14 – Bulgarian police have detained 12 players and two alleged organisers in the first arrests of an ongoing investigation into match-fixing.