By Samindra Kunti
February 23 – New Caledonia and New Zealand have qualified for the Under-17 Football World Cup in India after defeating Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea in two nail-biting semi-final clashes at the U17 OFC Championship.
By Paul Nicholson
February 21 – The prospect of a 48-team World Cup is opening up new frontiers and finding new friends for FIFA President Gianni Infantino who was in Myanmar last week meeting ASEAN members (a sub-region of the Asian Football Confederation) encouraging them to consider how they could participate in the expanded format.
February 20 – After weeks of relative silence, Franz Beckenbauer’s much publicised business dealings while he was at FIFA have come under fresh scrutiny, this time over the award of the 2010 World Cup to South Africa.
February 17 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino insists he has not asked Russian sports supremo Vitaly Mutko, the chief 2018 World Cup organiser, to resign over the doping scandal that has rocked his country.
By Paul Nicholson
February 16 – It seems Gianni’s jet fetish may still be alive and kicking despite a FIFA Ethics investigation and reminders on rules about accepting gifts or favours that could prove later to be compromising. The FIFA president took a private jet on November 26, 2016 from Moscow to Kazan, provided by Russian sports minister and FIFA Council candidate Vitaly Mutko.
February 16 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino says multiple hosting of the World Cup can work perfectly well and that 2026, when the process is likely to start, could even be staged by up to four neighbouring countries.
February 16 – FIFA’s ethics committee has opened formal proceedings against two former Central American officials after investigators recommended they be banned for life for alleged corruption.
By Paul Nicholson
February 15 – The Council of Europe has launched an investigation into FIFA, its business activities and its governance, according to former president Anne Brasseur who said she was “very concerned” at FIFA reform progress.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 13 – Concern is intensifying amongst campaign groups and human rights organisations over FIFA’s failure to resolve the ongoing dispute over Israeli lower-league clubs playing official games on settlements in the occupied West Bank.
February 13 – Zvonimir Boban, FIFA’s new deputy general secretary, has been quick to play down any embarrassment caused by Marco Van Basten over the Dutch icon’s revolutionary blueprint for the future of football.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 10 – FIFA looks set to rule by end of this month whether under-fire Russian World Cup supremo Vitaly Mutko is eligible to join its all-powerful ruling Council.
February 10 – The Scottish FA is appealing against a CHF 20,000 fine imposed by FIFA after their players wore armbands featuring the poppy symbol as an act of remembrance during their Armistice Day match with England on November 11.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 9 – The head of the umbrella body representing Europe’s clubs has issued another stern rebuke against FIFA president Gianni Infantino, this time over the proposed expansion of the Club World Cup.
February 6 – Bolivia’s appeal against being docked points for fielding an ineligible player in two World Cup qualifiers has been rejected by FIFA’s appeals panel.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 3 – The role and reputation of Sportradar in detecting global match-fixing and irregular betting patterns has received a major boost after FIFA decided to hire the specialist firm in place of its own detection division.