By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 6 – Everything seemed to be running so smoothly for the FIFA administration. A trouble-free election victory for Gianni Infantino, the shortest of Congresses, a first ever women’s football convention extolling the sporting virtues of female players and the eagerly anticipated opening of the Women’s World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 6 – There are precious few welcoming banners, hardly any fanfare and no signs of the thousands of fans who traditionally pour in from across the globe to watch the men’s version of the tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 6 – Amid uproar, chaos and allegations of bias and mismanagement, the image of African football administration has once again descended into farce after its executive ordered a replay on neutral ground of the controversial African Champions League final second leg between Esperance of Tunisia and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.
June 6 – The next few weeks are exciting ones for Concacaf. The Women’s World Cup in France sees the US defends its crown, and in just over a week the confederation’s expanded blue riband men’s national team event, the Gold Cup, kicks off at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.
June 6 – Brazil’s Neymar remains in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. On Wednesday he limped off the field in a 2-0 warm-up win over Qatar with a ligament injury that will keep him out of the Copa America on home soil.
June 6 – Ugly scenes between a minority of England fans and Portuguese police marred the Nations League semi-final in Guimaraes, tarnishing the image of travelling England fans once more. The Football Association has condemned the fans involved as “an embarrassment”.
June 6 – A potentially pivotal two-day summit of Europe’s leading clubs to discuss controversial proposals to revamp the Champions League has been plunged into disarray with the Spanish and English both openly rebelling against the plans.
June 6 – Concacaf have announced plans for the development of the women’s game in its region – under the Concacaf W moniker – with the objective of providing every girl in their confederation footprint with an opportunity to play football.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 5 – No sooner had he been re-elected FIFA president for another four years than Gianni Infantino subjected himself to an hour of media scrutiny with his pet project, an expanded Club World Cup in 2021, top of the agenda.
By Paul Nicholson
June 5 – With all the recent distractions of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s geo-political game-playing around a 48-team Qatar 2022 World Cup out the way, preliminary qualification begins tomorrow for a good ‘old-fashioned’ 32-team one, with the road to Doha beginning in Mongolia.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 5 – Admitting that he had made mistakes, Gianni Infantino nevertheless gave himself and FIFA’s collective membership a comprehensive – and at times Blatter-esque – pat on the back today as he reviewed his first three years as FIFA president and looked forward to the next four.
June 5 – French President Emmanuel Macron has angered European football chiefs by wading into the debate over UEFA’s proposals to overhaul the Champions League in 2024.
Macron reportedly urged UEFA to abandon the concept during an opening event for the Women’s World Cup that begins Friday and was delivered in front of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
By Samindra Kunti in Paris
June 4 – Alejandro Dominguez (pictured) reinforced his allegiance with Gianni Infantino FIFA Congress with Conmebol pledging to support the FIFA president’s re-election by acclamation.
June 5 – Lennart Johansson, the longest-serving president of UEFA and one of the great statesmen of European football who campaigned tirelessly for fair play on and off the field, has died at the age of 89.
By Samindra Kunti in Paris
June 5 – On the sidelines of the AFC Extraordinary Congress Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), reaffirmed India’s intention to bid for the 2027 Asian Cup after his federation dropped out of the race for the 2023 edition, which was awarded to China by Asia’s governing body on Tuesday.