By Andrew Warshaw
June 22 – Gianni Infantino may have emerged unscathed from the corruption scandal that brought FIFA to its knees before he took over as president, but that has not prevented continuing scrutiny of the way he is running the organisation.
June 22 – A meeting between FIFA and Ghanaian officials, scheduled for today and aimed at restructuring the national FA after it was dissolved in the wake of the Kwesi Nyantakyi scandal, has been postponed indefinitely.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 21 – As Morocco continues to digest being crushed in its bid to stage the 2026 World Cup (as well being the unluckiest team at the World Cup), Gianni Infantino has given the biggest hint yet that he supported the winning north American bid.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 19 – Having been trounced in their bid to stage the 2026 World cup, a record fifth loss, Morocco are coming back for yet more – by order of the king.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 15 – Palestinian football has suffered a second off-the-field blow in a matter of days after FIFA announced it is taking disciplinary action against Jibril Rajoub (pictured), the federation’s tub-thumping leader, for threatening Lionel Messi.
By Mark Baber
June 13 – The dispute between authorities in Egypt and FIFA over the latter’s sale of exclusive World Cup broadcast rights in Egypt to Qatar-owned beIN sports has intensified with Egypt’s Competition Authority (ECA) saying it will oblige FIFA to allow the state broadcaster to broadcast 22 matches, including those of the Egyptian national team.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 13 – Gianni Infantino claimed personal credit today for turning round FIFA’s fortunes since becoming its president just over two years ago – both from a financial and transparency standpoint.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 12 – The vote for the 2026 World Cup may take centre stage at Wednesday’s FIFA Congress in Moscow but not for the first time the crisis in Middle East football is giving the FIFA hierarchy one gigantic head-ache.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 11 – The chances of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being expanded to 48 teams appear to have faded as quickly as they arose.
Plans for a feasibility study have been put on hold and the idea pulled from Wednesday’s FIFA Congress after FIFA President Gianni Infantino said agreement from the Gulf nation is a “precondition.”
June 6 – FIFA has filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland against the ticket website Viagogo on the eve of the World Cup as part of a crackdown on unauthorised sales.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 5 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino suddenly appears to be backtracking on bringing forward plans for a 48-team World Cup to the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
June 5 – Osiris Guzman, the Dominican Republic federation president who famously once used a speech to compare Sepp Blatter to Jesus Christ, Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill all rolled into one, has found himself going the same way as FIFA’s former president after being banned by FIFA’s ethics committee from all involvement in the game for 90 days pending a full inquiry.
June 4 – Ethiopian football has a new leader, albeit after a protracted election process, in Esayas Jira who takes over Juneidi Basha after polling 87 of 145 votes at the national federation’s General Assembly.
June 3 – FIFA will return to London for the third edition of their Best Awards in September. Nominations will be released July 23, after the World Cup final in Russia, with public voting open until August 10.
June 1 – Timed just two weeks before the FIFA Congress in Moscow, FIFA has lifted its suspension imposed on Guatemala 18 months ago over its failure to comply with anti-corruption rules.