By Paul Nicholson in Mexico City
May 13 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino took the unexpected step of unveiling the first key appointment of his regime today, naming Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura (pictured) of Senegal as his Secretary General, the first woman in its history to be handed FIFA’s most senior management position.
When delegates from FIFA’s 209 member federations convene for their annual congress in Mexico later today, the man who wanted so much to be king will be conspicuous by his absence. Had the cards fallen differently, it would almost certainly have been Michel Platini and not Gianni Infantino taking centre stage in Mexico City at the start of the post-Sepp Blatter era.
By Paul Nicholson in Mexico City
May 12 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s first act in his new job was to host a Legends match at his new office in Zurich. He seems to have liked the idea so much he has repurposed it for his first Congress as president, but this time bringing in the legends (a reported 200) to sprinkle stardust around Mexico City.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 11 – The 2026 World Cup hosts will not be chosen until May 2020, three years later than originally scheduled, as FIFA beefs up eligibility rules.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 10 – A group of anti-Israeli activists is urging FIFA not to just bury the plight of Palestinian footballers in the occupied territories when it holds its annual congress in Mexico on Friday.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 10 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has expressed his sadness at Michel Platini failing to overturn his ban for breaching FIFA’s ethics code – hardly surprising given the process by which Infantino landed the top job in world football instead of his former boss.
May 10 – The last of the football officials still held in Zurich after the May 2015 raids by Swiss police and US Department of Justice officials, has finally had his extradition to the US finalised.
By David Owen
May 9 – Contaminated meat is continuing to pose a challenge for FIFA dope testers. Data published recently by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on anti-doping rule violations in 2014 – World Cup year – disclosed that of just over 2,000 samples taken by FIFA, 18 produced adverse analytical findings, identifying the presence in the sample of a prohibited substance.
May 6 – FIFA ethics judges have handed down life bans on two senior South American officials who have already pleaded guilty as part of the FBI probe into widespread football-related bribery and corruption.
By James Dostoyevsky
May 5 – The ban of CFU President Gordon Derrick, which prevents him from running for CONCACAF president, is possibly one of the most lawyered documents we have seen of late. But it is a tale of law and its manipulation that is not over as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is to be asked to rule on the case.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 4 – FIFA ethics prosecutors want a lifetime ban imposed on former FIFA vice president and ex-CONCACAF leader Jeffrey Webb, who has admitted taking bribes as part of the widespread corruption probe being conducted by United States authorities.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 3 – FIFA has been controversially ordered by sport’s highest court to accept Gibraltar as a member, opening the tiny British overseas territory’s path to potentially being added to the 2018 World Cup qualifying programme.
By Matt Scott
April 29 – Kuwait’s government has launched legal action against FIFA and other international federations implementing its ban from international sporting competition.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 28 – Eager to put down a marker and enhance his reputation in the early days of his FIFA presidency, Gianni Infantino has taken the somewhat bold step of suggesting a goodwill friendly between North and South Korea amid escalating tensions between the two countries.
By Paul Nicholson
April 28 – Football focus may be on end season results and the upcoming Copa America and European Championships, but behind the scenes the Women’s game is making its own mark breaking new ground in unusual places.