FIFA Archives - Inside World Football

Late on parade Infantino given clear Congress message as UEFA’s FIFA Council delegates walk out

By Samindra Kunti in Asuncion, Paraguay

May 16 – European football leaders staged a dramatic walkout at the FIFA congress in protest against Gianni Infantino’s delayed arrival following his Middle East Trip with US President Donald Trump.

Tensions boiled over at what had promised to be a routine Congress. Europe’s Council members walked out was supported by a sizable number of European football associations.

FIFA

Better late than never, or better never than late? Infantino’s tour de force

May 16 – He may have turned up four hours late, and have key members of his ‘football family’ walk out on him at the interval in protest, but FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino barely missed a beat as he rattled through all the talking points that in his ivory tower make him a global powerbroker and now seemingly bigger than the sport he was elected to administer.

Federations

Palestine FA wins warmth of FIFA Congress but is brutally shut down by FIFA executive

May 16 – FIFA and its administration have once again kicked the issue of Israeli settlement clubs into the long grass, a tradition the world governing body has maintained for more than a decade.

FIFA

Dominguez asks FIFA members to rethink bigger when it comes to centenary World Cup

By Samindra Kunti in Asuncion, Paraguay

May 16 – South American football boss Alejandro Dominguez has once again beat the drum for a 64-team World Cup in 2030 to celebrate the tournament’s centenary. Taking the stage in his home country of Paraguay it was a remarkable exhortion of FIFA’s members to “think in a different way”.

FIFA

FIFA reports $2bn upward budget revision to $11bn for 2023-26 cycle

May 16 – Football Unites the World is FIFA’s slogan, but it is money that truly unites FIFA, and FIFA is about to have a whole lot more, announcing at its 75th Annual Congress in Asuncion Paraguay that its new budget for the 2023 to 2026 is $13 billion, exactly double the $6.5 billion of its previous 2019 to 2022 cycle.

FIFA

‘Besieged’ FIFA Congress to get underway in Asunción

May 15 – FIFA’s 75th Congress is set to get started today in Asunción, Paraguay, with plenty of controversy already surrounding the event, which has been marred by the late arrival of FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

World Cup 2034

Human Rights Watch and Fairsquare warn of migrant death in Saudi Arabia

May 15 – Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Fairsquare have warned of increased migrant worker deaths in Saudi Arabia, the host country of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Club World Cup 2025

No bad hombres at Club World Cup

May 14 – U.S. President Donald Trump, who famously coined the term ‘bad hombres’, should be pleased to learn that 15,000 such individuals will be barred from U.S. stadiums during this year’s FIFA Club World Cup. Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich has delivered a comprehensive list of violent football supporters to the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires, ensuring they’ll watch the tournament from afar.

FIFA

Sensational Brazil lift Beach Soccer World Cup for seventh time

May 13 – The Brazilian Beach Soccer team earned a record-setting seventh World Cup title in the Seychelles on Sunday, securing the crown with a 4-3 win over Belarus at the Paradise Arena in Victoria.

FIFA

FIFA to expand Women’s World Cup to 48 teams in 2031 in the US

May 12 – Following the expansion of the FIFA men’s World Cup to 48 teams, the FIFA Council has unanimously approved plans to increase the Women’s World Cup (WWC) to the same number of participating countries.

The expansion will take place at the 2031 edition, which is expected to be hosted by the United States should they win what looks like an uncontested bid for hosting rights.

FIFA

Cordeiro adds White House Task Force senior advisory role to FIFA duties

May 12 – The announcement last week of the personnel on the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026 was dominated by US president Donald Trump and the appointment of Andrew Guiliani, son of Trump’s former lawyer and former Mayor of New York Rudy Guiliani.

Buried underneath the political noise and posturing of the Task Force personnel was the news that FIFA also had a representative on key governmental working group.

Federations

FIFA to fill gender gap with women’s refugee team, but Afghan FA remains a FIFA member

May 12 – FIFA is to establish an Afghan women’s refugee football team, allowing exiled Afghan players to compete in matches recognised by the sport’s global governing body, but which will not count towards the country’s ranking.

FIFA

FIFA raises maximum fine for racist abuse to $5.938 million

May 12 – FIFA has made a major update to its disciplinary code aimed at strengthening the fight against racism in football. The decisions were made during a virtual meeting of the FIFA Council.

FIFA

Infantino to join Trump on his Middle Eastern tour forcing FIFA Council meet to become even more virtual

May 8 – FIFA have brought forward a Council meeting to facilitate Gianni Infantino’s joint trip with US President Donald Trump to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

First reported by The Athletic, the Council, FIFA’s highest decision-making body, will convene on Friday at 4pm CET online instead of in-person next week, on the eve of the FIFA Congress in Asuncion, Paraguay, because of Infantino’s Middle East trip. Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar will mark the U.S.