By Duncan Mackay in Moscow
April 13 – A trip to inspect the stadium being built for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi to see whether it should be one of the venues for the 2018 FIFA World Cup had to be abandoned when FIFA delegates were unable to land because of thick fog in the city.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 13 – The decision to grant the 2012 European Championships to Poland and Ukraine has once again been brought into sharp focus with UEFA President Michel Platini attacking the “bandits and crooks” who have made Ukrainian hotel costs prohibitive for the average fan.
By David Gold
April 14 – Egypt have named 73 players in a provisional list for their men’s football squad ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 12 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter looks likely to be conspicuous by his absence when the draw is made at Wembley later this month for the London 2012 Olympic football tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 12 – A Swiss aid organisation has launched a campaign targeting FIFA for holding World Cups in countries with poor human rights records.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 12 – A potential new buyer for beleaguered Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers has been delayed because of a string of draconian proposals to heavily penalise clubs who fall into debt.
Mario Balotelli (pictured below) is not the only footballer whose antics make you think there is much wrong with the game. Apart from his well publicised problems with his manager, the Manchester City player also managed to set fire to his house after a fireworks display in his bathroom. It is just as well not all footballers are like Balotelli. Not that the inane way they often answer questions on television give you much confidence that they think before they speak.
By David Gold
April 12 – World champions Japan (pictured in blue) have laid down a marker for the London 2012 women’s football tournament with a 4-1 win over Brazil (pictured in yellow) to lift the Kirin Cup in Kobe.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter (pictured left) wants to make a personal visit to Brazil to address those involved in the controversial World Cup bill that has caused so much consternation.
By David Gold
April 11 – Zenit St Petersburg have been fined 100,000 rubles ($3,400/€2,600) after their fans (pictured left) were found guilty of racist chanting during a victory against Lokomotiv Moscow last week.
By David Gold
April 11 – FIFA has handed a budget of almost $700 million (£440 million/€534 million) to Russia 2018, it was announced at a meeting of the World Cup Organising Committee’s Management Board.
By David Gold
April 11 – Gérard Enault, the former head of the French Football Federation (FFF) and the head of the bidding committee for France’s successful hosting of the 1998 World Cup, has died.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – Football disputes, such as late transfer payments, could in future be fast-tracked by clubs themselves rather than be dealt with by FIFA or the sporting courts.
Rarely has a classroom full of 14-year-olds been quite as stunned into silence by the announcement of the departure of their English teacher as mine was about 12 years ago now.
A quite brilliant teacher, poached from us in North London by Qatar, was leaving us. I left the classroom that day asking my friends: “Why Qatar? Who in their right mind would leave England to go to Qatar? Where even was Qatar?
By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – Germany is considering bidding for the 2020 European Championships following the huge success of the 2006 World Cup (pictured left), according to the new German Football Federation (DFB) President Wolfgang Niersbach.