November 26 – The Swiss criminal investigation into FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his involvement with disgraced former federal prosecutor Michael Lauber looks set to resume, this time with two special prosecutors rather than one.
November 26 – Football’s lawmakers have rejected a proposal to increase halftime breaks to 25 minutes to provide the kind of entertainment that exists in US sports.
November 25 – With Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal becoming the sixth team qualified for the Club World Cup UAE 2021 and Conmebol’s representative to be decided by the Copa Libertadores final this weekend, FIFA have announced the draw will take place in Zurich on Monday, 29 November 2021.
November 24 – FIFA’s biennial World Cup revolution could cost domestic leagues and European governing body UEFA around €8 billion per season in lost TV rights and commercial revenues, according to a report commissioned by the leagues from KPMG and FTI’s Delta Partners.
November 24 – The life-saving intervention of Denmark’s players and medical staff after Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 has been nominated for FIFA’s Fair Play Award.
November 23 – Global governing body FIFA have wrapped up their inspection of candidate host cities for the 2026 World Cup with a final stop in Toronto, Canada. Next year, Zurich will select the final host cities for the tournament, the first global finals to be played in a 48-team format.
November 23 – FIFA have named their annual nominees for player of the year and it’s no surprise that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are once again in the running for the men’s award despite having a combined age of 70.
By Paul Nicholson
November 19 – FIFA has again come under attack for its political maneuvering in Africa, this time from a leading club president in Cameroon who has criticised the world governing body and its president Gianni Infantino for manipulating federation politics, and ignoring rulings made at CAS.
November 18 – The Kenyan government says the disbanding of the country’s FA remains intact despite positive initial talks with FIFA over the crisis.
November 16 – The Kenyan government has been directed by FIFA to immediately reinstate embattled Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa who has been arrested following last week’s disbanding of the federation by the government.
November 10 – FIFA will hold its annual awards ceremony virtually for the second year in succession. A decision that follows and current public health measures preventing the spread of covid.
November 8 – Qatari telecommunications operator Ooredoo has taken a tournament regional sponsorship with FIFA becoming the Official Middle East & Africa Telecommunications Operator for the World Cup Qatar 2022 and the Arab Cup Qatar 2021, to be held in December.
November 8 – FIFA’s chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, has come under renewed questions regarding his personal integrity over his involvement with sports technology startup PlayerMaker.
November 4 – FIFA has committed to new climate change targets at the COP26 climate conference, committing to reduce their carbon emissions and reach NetZero by 2040. Those pledges collide with FIFA’s plans for a biennial World Cup and the carbon footprint of the organisation’s own supremo Gianni Infantino.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 3 – After an investigation lasting almost six years, the former heads of FIFA and UEFA, Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, have been charged with fraud over the infamous “disloyal payment” that brought the careers of both powerbrokers crashing down.
