By Andrew Warshaw at the Doha Goals conference in Doha
December 11 – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy added his voice to the growing calls to switch the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup to the winter when he made his first public speaking appearance since May today by addressing the conference here.
By Emily Goddard
December 11 – Christine Sinclair, who led Canada’s women’s football team to a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics – the team’s first podium finish since 1936 – has been named the winner of the 2012 Lou Marsh Award.
By Tom Degun
December 11 – Architecture firm Populous, who created the London 2012 Olympic Stadium in Stratford, has won the contract to design the Rostov-on-Don Stadium in Russia, which is one of twelve venues that will be used at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
By Tom Degun
December 11 – Attorney General Dominic Grieve has made an application to quash the original Hillsborough inquest verdicts.
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
December 11 – Senior officials from the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee (Q22) – organisers of the World Cup in 10 years’ time – have met with FIFA to update football’s world governing body on strategy and infrastructure plans.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – UEFA President Michel Platini is sticking to his firm stance against goal-line technology – exactly at the time it is currently being used for the first time in official competition.
By Tom Degun
December 10 – UEFA has announced the launch of a new under-19 club competition for the 2013-2014 season which will have close ties to the Champions League.
By Tom Degun
December 10 – The magnificent new 60,000 capacity Arena Grêmio has opened in Porto Alegre in Brazil despite the fact that it was controversially overlooked for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
By Emily Goddard
December 10 – Manchester United will travel to Sydney to play a friendly match against the Australian A-League All Stars as part of its 2013 preseason tour, it was confirmed today.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 10 – UEFA President Michel Platini says the pan-continental 2020 European Championship finals will be a help rather than hindrance for thousands of fans criss-crossing borders.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 9 – Mohamed Bin Hammam, still suspended from world football pending possible fresh sanctions after FIFA-appointed prosecutors completed their inquiry into alleged malpractice by the former head of Asian football, is set to make a rare public appearance in Europe.
Some thoughts on Euro 2020:
● Yes, a 24-team tournament is too unwieldy for most European countries to take on; but it is simplistic to suggest that this alone forced UEFA’s hand, necessitating the adoption of Michel Platini’s Grand Experiment – a competition spread around the great arenas of the European continent.
Turkey, pipped at the post for Euro 2016, could have coped with the expanded format and would, I’m sure,
By Andrew Warshaw
December 7 – John Mikel Obi, the Chelsea midfielder at the centre of the recent case concerning referee Mark Clattenburg who was cleared of racism, has himself been handed a three-match ban and fined £60,000 ($96,000/€74,000) by the English Football Association (FA) for threatening Clattenburg.
By Duncan Mackay at the Palace Hotel in Lausanne
December 7 – A Disciplinary Commission has been set-up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which could see South Korean footballer Park Jong-woo denied the bronze medal he won at London 2012 for his political protest.
December 7 – UEFA has announced an extension of its long-term marketing partnership with TEAM Marketing.