By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
January 17 – Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes of moving into the Olympic Stadium after London 2012 are set to suffer a major blow later this week when a rival plan to renovate the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, a key part of their proposal, is unveiled.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 17 – The idea of staging the 2022 World Cup during the winter if Qatar became hosts was discussed weeks before last month’s vote, according to a senior member of the FIFA Executive Committee.
January 17 – Foreign Ministers from Southeast Asia have discussed for the first time the possibility of a joint bid from the region to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 17 – The North, Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation (CONCACAF) is gunning for a fourth automatic place at the next World Cup in Brazil.
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As members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) made their way last week to Pago Pago to vote for a new President, word reached me of an idea that could transform their futures and send a shockwave through the murky world of global football politics.
The idea of a breakaway Asian confederation, embracing Oceania and several easterly members of the current Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is being actively discussed.
At present it is hard to assess the timescale,
By Andrew Warshaw
January 16 – Acting President David Chung (pictured) has been elected to succeed the banned Reynald Temarii as head of the Oceania Football Confederation, strengthening the position of FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the process.
January 16 – Russian cities hosting 2018 World Cup matches should be linked by an €4 billion (£3 billion/$5 billion) integrated high-speed rail network, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 15 – Qatar’s landslide 2022 World Cup bid victory has burst into yet more controversy with two newspapers – one on either side of the Atlantic – questioning how they did it.
By Mike Rowbottom
January 14 – Ed Warner (pictured), chairman of UK Athletics, has explicitly denied the suggestion made this week by those handling Tottenham’s bid to redevelop the 2012 Olympic Stadium that his organisation has refused to engage with them on their plans for an athletics legacy elsewhere.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 14 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter appears to be on a collision course with UEFA boss Michel Platini over the possible introduction of goal-line technology.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 14 – The head of Asian football has come out fighting by insisting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be switched from summer to winter or be shared with other Gulf nations.
By Duncan Mackay in Lausanne
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
January 13 – Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron should intervene to prevent Tottenham Hotspur being given the Olympic Stadium after London 2012, Alan Pascoe said today.
By Andrew Warshaw in Nyon
January 13 – UEFA President Michel Platini insists goal-line technology will never be introduced – even though football’s lawmakers are giving it further examination.
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O what a tangled web we weave, when we first practise to deceive!
So tangled, in fact, that most attribute the quotation to Shakespeare when actually it was penned by Sir Walter Scott.
I make the point not to boast any great literary leaning but because had sports politics been on the agenda when it was written back in the 19th century then never would it have been more aptly described.
By David Owen
January 13 – Amos Adamu (pictured) is attempting to retain a seat on FIFA’s ruling 24-member Executive Committee for another four years.