November 22 – FIFA, whose articles of association used to prevent it from betting partnerships as it was operating under Swiss chartable laws, has announced its first World Cup betting partner for an event that is taking place in a muslim country where all forms of betting are outlawed.
By Samindra Kunti in Doha
November 22 – Iran’s players boycotted their national anthem in a silent protest against the regime back home ahead of their World Cup curtain raiser against England.
November 22 – After weeks of uncertainty surrounding the fitness of Canada’s most important player, Alphonso Davies has said that is ready to start in Canada’s World Cup opener against Belgium.
November 22 – Six months later than scheduled, the 2022 World Cup is finally here. Controversy has dominated the media, but it’s now time for football to do the talking.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – Two weeks ago, as organisers put the finishes touches to 12 years of planning, the president of FIFA and his trusted number two – clearly alarmed about their showpiece tournament being undermined by constant criticism over Qatar’s human rights record – took the unprecedented step of pleading with the 32 finalists to concentrate on the football and not to preach morality.
November 21 – The main World Cup fan zone in central Doha, where thousands of fans will watch games over the next month, got off to an inauspicious start on Sunday amid scenes of chaos verging on the outright dangerous, according to multiple reports.
By Samindra Kunti in Doha
November 19 – In what was probably the most remarkable, unhinged and illogical rant ever made by a leading sports administrator, the kind of nonsense straight out of the Donald Trump play book, FIFA president Gianni Infantino embarqued on an almost-hour-long justification of the Qatar 2022 World Cup and chastisement of the western world.
By Samindra Kunti in Al Khor, Qatar
November 20 – After a twelve-year wait and the most controversial build-up in history, Qatar and the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani opened the World Cup on Sunday with a message of unity, tinged with a political and religious overtone, after months of intense scrutiny of the host nation’s human rights record.
November 21 – France’s hopes of retaining the World Cup, already severely compromised by the loss of several key players, have suffered the most crippling blow of all with striker Karim Benzema ruled out of the tournament.
November 21 – Saudi Arabia is continuing its football charm offensive, signing an MoU with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), and on the ground in Qatar opening a dedicated pavilion showcasing the country’s culture and football history.
November 21 – With the addition of three last minute regional sponsors, FIFA has announced that all its sponsorship packages for the Qatar 2022 World Cup have been sold out.
November 21 – At last a positive story from Qatar. Concacaf, in support of its qualified teams Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and United States, and is opening its Concacafe – a pop-up cafe in the heart of Doha.
November 18 – In a last-minute u-turn by World Cup organisers and FIFA, alcohol will not be sold at the eight stadiums in Qatar.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – Two days to go and counting to the first and most probably last winter World Cup, staged slap bang in the middle of the domestic season. Like it or not, it’s happening but rarely, if ever, has so much attention been focussed on matters off as well as on the field.
November 18 – The umbrella organisation representing Europe’s top leagues have agreed to allocate €2.3 million to Ukraine to allow domestic competition there to continue in the wake of the escalating Russian invasion.