October 18 – FIFA number two Fatma Samoura hopes the criminal investigation launched by Swiss prosecutors into the sale of World Cup rights to the Qatari-owned beIN Media group will not “disrupt” Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 16 – Former FIFA number two Jerome Valcke, back in the firing line after months of relative silence, has strongly denied colluding with the boss of Paris St Germain and beIN Sports, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, over suspected corruption linked to 2026 and 2030 World Cup broadcasting rights.
By Samindra Kunti in New Delhi
October 16 – Hosts India were eliminated from their first World Cup on home soil following a 4-0 trashing by Ghana. England, France, Brazil and Germany marched into the knock-out phase with ease.
October 13 – Switzerland’s Esther Staubli is set to make history by becoming the first European female referee – and only the second ever – to officiate in a FIFA men’s tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 12 – He was the FIFA trouble-shooter who was eventually fired himself and fell spectacularly from grace. But now Jerome Valcke, for eight years Sepp Blatter’s right-hand man, has gone public with a vigorous defence of his reputation.
October 10 – Fans have just one day left to register for the first round of ticket sales for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The ticket application window, which has been open since September 14, closes noon Moscow time on October 12.
October 10 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed that it has received Burkino Faso’s appeal challenging FIFA’s decision to replay the South Africa-Senegal World Cup qualifier but that it will not make any imminent decision.
October 10 – Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud’s much-acclaimed ‘scorpion’ kick is through to the final stage of the Puskas Award for the best goal of last season.
By Samindra Kunti in New Delhi, India
October 9 – India were outclassed 0-3 by the United States in their opening game of the U-17 World Cup, but local organisers have struggled with ticketing and basic services at venues on the tournament’s opening weekend.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 5 – Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have launched a three-nation bid to host the 2030 World Cup, the event’s centenary tournament.
October 5 – FIFA must do more to combat the increasing incidents of homophobic chanting according to European football’s anti-discriminatory body FARE.
October 3 – FIFA has fined the German football association (DFB) 32,000 Swiss francs for the disgraceful pro-Nazi chanting by a hard core section of fans during last month’s World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 2 – Football’s lawmakers could reconsider implementing video technology at next year’s World Cup following a string of contentious officiating decisions at international and club level that have called into question the system’s effectiveness.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 29 – Jack Warner, the most wanted man of all among powerbrokers snared by US authorities in the $200 million FifaGate corruption scandal, has lost a crucial round in his hitherto successful bid to avoid extradition from his native Trinidad and Tobago.
By Paul Nicholson
September 28 – After a year of being under the control of a FIFA normalisation committee, Greek football looks to be in a worse position than when FIFA parachuted itself in to take control. New data suggests that as many as 75% of the games in the country’s second tier Football League show signs of match-fixing under FIFA’s stewardship.