By David Owen
October 3 – Management of one of the world’s most iconic football stadia – Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã – looks set to change hands. Brazilian media reports state that the Government of Rio de Janeiro and the concessionaire of the venue, opened in 1950 and partly rebuilt ahead of the 2014 World Cup, are negotiating termination of the current management contract.
September 16 – With the Rio Paralympic Games in full swing, the Johan Cruyff Foundation has opened a Special Cruyff Court for blind and visually impaired people on the premises of Urece, an organisation that gives blind and partially sighted people the opportunity to play sports.
August 2 – Argentina’s new national coach Edgardo Bauza has made it a priority to try and persuade Lionel Messi to come out of international retirement as he starts to think about next month’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
By Samindra Kunti
July 21 – Brazil’s women will start as one of the favourites for the Olympic gold medal next month, but the host nation’s players fear the permanence of the team may be under threat.
July 20 – Is the timing deliberate? Just as Angel Maria Villar llona announced his bid for the UEFA presidency, so his son Gorka Villar has left CONMEBOL, where he was director general, by “common accord”.
July 19 – FIFA have named Armando Pérez, owner of the Belgrano club, as head of the normalising committee to temporarily manage the affairs of Argentine football.
July 14 – Professional footballers in Chile have announced strike action for the weekend of 22, 23 and 24 July if the country’s football association (ANFP) does not comply with the wishes of players’ association Sifup, according to the international players’ union FIFPro.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 29 – Lionel Messi has been urged to reconsider his surprise decision to quit international football by Diego Maradona, Argentina’s president Mauricio Macri and, it seems, virtually the whole of his country.
By Paul Nicholson
June 27 – Lionel Messi has hung up his international boots, his last act for Argentina being missing a penalty in the final shoot out last night that saw Chile win the Copa America Centenario in the US.
June 27 – As if losing to Chile on penalties in the final of Copa America for the second successive time wasn’t painful enough Argentina are embroiled in an escalating crisis off the field with FIFA saying they have taken control of the national federation and will help pick an emergency panel to manage its affairs.
By Samindra Kunti
June 16 – Brazil have wasted no time in sacking their coach Carlos Dunga after their shock exit from the Copa America Centenario being played in the US. Corinthians coach Tite has become the frontrunner to succeed Dunga. But in a federation haunted by endless allegations of corruption, at the top of the CBF pyramid there will be no change.
By Samindra Kunti
May 3 – The Brazilian FA, the CBF, has confirmed that Brazil will play their World Cup qualifier against Colombia in September in Manaus.
By Samindra Kunti
April 29 – The Brazilian parliamentary inquiry (CPI) into corruption in football – actually called CPI da Mafia de Futebol – has requested interviews with former president of the Brazilian FA Jose Maria Marin (pictured) and Traffic founder Jose Hawilla, both currently confined to the United States as part of their agreements with the US Department of Justice as it continues its football corruption prosecutions.
By Samindra Kunti
April 26 – The Brazilian FA, the CBF, have kicked off a week of seminars discussing the future of Brazilian football. Brazil coach Carlos Dunga (pictured) and Italy coach Antonio Conte opened the proceedings.
By Samindra Kunti
April 15 – The tug of war between FC Barcelona and the Brazilian FA (CBF) over where Neymar plays this summer is continuing with the CBF insisting on Neymar playing both the centenary Copa America in the US and the Olympic Games in Rio.