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If you see a man wearing a glazed expression, a hard hat, a pair of UGG boots and an England shirt signed by Fabio Capello, don’t call the police.
It’s probably just a FIFA World Cup bid inspector.
Harold Mayne-Nicholls and his doughty band on Thursday completed their hectic perambulation around the nine bids and 11 countries still hoping to stage either the 2018 or the 2022 World Cup.
By Duncan Mackay in Doha
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 17 – Qatar are hoping that the announcement of Zinedine Zidane as the most high-profile of their ambassadors will help revive their bid to host the 2022 World Cup after FIFA cast serious doubt over its chances.
September 16 – Bristol City’s hopes of hosting World Cup matches in 2018 if England are awarded the tournament have receeded even further after their bid to build a new stadium at Ashton Vale suffered another blow.
By Duncan Mackay in Doha
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 16 - Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup has suffered a serious setback after FIFA’s inspectors warned that the country was too small to host the tournament and it would present significant “logistical challenges”, at a stroke undermining one of the key planks of its campaign.
September 16 – British pop star Sting will next week open a stadium in Poznan, western Poland, the first of four due to host matches in the 2012 European football championships, city authorities announced today.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 16 – Japan Airlines is the latest partner to to be signed up by Japan’s 2022 World Cup bid, bringing to 19 the number of official backers.
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September 15 – The Government department led Vitaly Mutko, the leader of Russia’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup and a member of FIFA’s ruling Executive Commitee, is under criminal investigation, it was revealed tonight.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 15 – Ben Buckley, the head of Football Federation Australia (FFA), has dismissed claims that not enough is being done to promote the game domestically and that too much emphasis is being placed on the country’s bid to stage the 2022 World Cup.
By Duncan Mackay in Doha
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 14 – FIFA’s inspectors today begun the final visit of their tour of the countries campaigning for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups when they landed here to look at Qatar’s bid.
September 14- A new scheme has been launched to promote Poland’s and Ukraine’s joint hosting of he 2012 European Championships with world heavyweight boxing champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko among the first to sign-up.
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By Andrew Warshaw
September 14 – Patrick Mboma is the latest footballer to be unveiled by Japan as a World Cup ambassador as the country strives to make up ground in the bid to stage the 2022 tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 13 – One of Australia’s leading football officials has issued a damning indictment of the sport’s development in the country, insisting it needs a radical shake-up to restore credibility.
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Gerard Houllier’s return to the Premier League was, perhaps, one of the most predictable of events of the season. What is more, he will bring to Aston Villa the conviction that his departure from Liverpool in 2004, after six years in charge, left him with unfinished business in England.
Houllier has a mission to accomplish and he sees the Midlands club as his last great chance to leave his mark on the English game.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 13 – UEFA President Michel Platini insists he has still not made up his mind about who to back for the 2018 World Cup but is now “100 percent sure” the tournament will come to Europe.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 12 - Australia should be awarded the 2022 World Cup because the 2000 Sydney Olympics was such an outstanding success that showed the country is capable of staging majors events better than anyone else, Cathy Freeman has claimed.