By Andrew Warshaw at Soccerex in Manchester
August 7 – Breaking a three-month silence since losing to Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan gave the broadest hint yet today that he wants to have another crack at the job but left a number of questions unanswerered, not least where his votes might come from next time.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 7 – While Michel Platini bides his time before declaring exactly how he intends to improve FIFA if elected its president, his only heavyweight rival for the job so far has stolen a march on the UEFA chief.
September 6 – FIFA presidential candidate Zico, regarded very much as an outsider, has issued a 10-point manifesto saying he wants to rebuild the organisation based around “democratisation, transparency, governance and the permanent evolution of world football”.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 4 – Anyone who thought the eagerly anticipated first meeting of FIFA’s much-trumpeted Reform body would result in ground-breaking advances will be disappointed but its leader insists “important steps” have been taken in the way world football’s governing body is run.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 3 – In a dramatic early twist in the race to succeed Sepp Blatter, South Korean FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon has lambasted his own confederation by accusing them of breaking electoral and ethical rules and calling for an official inquiry.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – FIFA’s much-touted Reform Task Force convenes for the first time today and tomorrow amid considerable doubt over whether it will finally be able to bring about desperately needed concrete change in the wake of the unprecedented corruption crisis that has engulfed the organisation.
September 2 – Prospective FIFA presidential candidate Zico has written to all his potential rivals asking them to engage in an early debate about the future of the organisation.
By Paul Nicholson
September 2 – Timing is everything but a gathering of the world’s federal prosecutors for a conference in Zurich, where FIFA is headquartered, has a certain tragi-comical resonance.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 28 – Michel Platini’s eagerly awaited first press conference since announcing he is running for FIFA president turned into a giant anti-climax when he refused to answer any questions about his candidacy, much to the disappointment and annoyance of scores of journalists who had travelled to Monaco specifically to hear his blueprint for the future.
By Mark Baber
August 28 – In the latest moves in the FIFA corruption case, an Argentine judge has suspended the US extradition request for Argentine businessmen Hugo and Mariano Jinkis in lieu of more information from US prosecutors, whilst the US has insisted on priority over Nicaragua in extraditing Julio Rocha from Switzerland.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 28 – Former South African political prisoner turned human rights icon Tokyo Sexwale says he is still unsure whether to take on UEFA president Michel Platini and South Korea’s former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon in the race to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president next February, but will make a decision “in due course”.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 27 – FIFA have kickstarted their latest attempt finally forge a workable compromise in the Middle East that satisfies both Palestinians and Israelis.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 27 – FIFA presidential candidate Michael Platini will publish his manifesto in the next six to eight weeks and not, as had been anticipated, at his first session with the international media at the conclusion of Champions and Europa League business in Monaco tomorrow.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 26 – FIFA presidential contender Chung Mong-Joon, whose candidacy is in danger of hitting the buffers before it has hardly taken off, has issued a damning and defiant indictment of the entire election process as he tries to grab the moral high ground in the face of persistent speculation about his past.
August 26 – FIFA have denied claims by Indonesia that officials are planning a visit in October with a view to overturning the ban on the country for government interference.