By Andrew Warshaw
July 28 – The much-anticipated Reform Task Force set up by FIFA in response to its burgeoning corruption crisis appears to have hit a potentially serious snag after Domenico Scala (pictured), favourite to land the job as the body’s chairman, said he would not take it on unless he was guaranteed full independence.
July 28 – Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has bought yet more time in his bid to avoid being extradited from his native Trinidad and Tobago to the United States to face corruption charges as part of the FBI probe into widespread corruption involving senior football officials.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 28 – Far from being in any way responsible for the corruption crisis that has embroiled FIFA, Sepp Blatter in fact deserves the Nobel Peace prize for the way he has run the organisation, according to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 27 – Was it deliberately held back in order to have maximum impact at Saturday’s World Cup draw?
By Andrew Warshaw
July 24 – FIFA’s number two, secretary-general Jerome Valcke, has admitted for the first time that he will leave the organisation when Sepp Blatter is replaced but says the next urgent priority is an emergency summit with front-line sponsors as a result of the corruption crisis enveloping the organisation.
July 24 – Another of FIFA’s top World Cup sponsors has expressed its concern at the lack of progress in cleaning up the organisation and says the recently established Reform Task Force does not go nearly far enough.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 24 – Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who failed in an attempt to wrest the FIFA presidency away from Sepp Blatter in May, says the veteran Swiss should not be allowed to oversee the reform process at his corruption-plagued governing body and should leave it to his successor.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 23 – The United Nations’ chief sports administrator admits Sepp Blatter has “made some very bad mistakes” during his 17-year tenure but does not believe the outgoing FIFA president is corrupt.
By Mark Baber
July 22 – FIFPro has revealed details of a case they have been working on involving children from Africa being trafficked to Laos, telling FIFA “the current Transfer Matching System (FIFA TMS) does not guarantee the protection of minor players.”
By Andrew Warshaw
July 22 – Domenico Scala, the no-nonsense and increasingly influential Swiss-Italian who has been at the forefront of pushing for meaningful change at FIFA, has emerged as the favourite to lead the newly established body charged with implementing concrete, lasting reform in the post-Sepp Blatter era.
July 22 – The professional prankster who broke through security to gatecrash Sepp Blatter’s press conference on Monday is to be charged with trespassing by Swiss authorities.
By David Owen
July 22 – FIFA’s ad hoc electoral committee met on Tuesday, just a day after February 26 was fixed as the date of the election that is expected to bring down the curtain on Sepp Blatter’s near 18-year reign as President of world football’s governing body.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – One of the potential contenders for FIFA president and a long time bitter rival of Sepp Blatter has said that leaving him until February 26 to stay in the job shows the organisation “have yet to come to their senses”.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – Michel Platini could announce as early as this weekend or the start of next week that he will stand for FIFA president after consulting colleagues attending the 2018 World Cup draw in St. Petersburg.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
July 20 – Sepp Blatter’s often tempestuous and acrimonious reign as FIFA president will finally come to an end on February 26 next year, the date set today for an extraordinary congress to elect his successor after what will be almost 18 years in charge.