By Andrew Warshaw
May 15 – Despite his indefatigable globetrotting as FIFA president, Sepp Blatter has avoided setting foot in the United States for fear of being caught up in an FBI investigation into the organisation he has run for 17 years.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 14 – Four and half years after the vote to hand the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, one of FIFA’s former vice-presidents has been banned for a second time for his conduct in the build-up to the contest – this time for eight years.
By Alexander Krassimirov
May 14 – When it comes to money Bulgaria can be gloomy place for football with clubs desperate for cash, players often unpaid and sponsors in short supply. But this month the Bulgarians have had some good news with FIFA approving the country’s $1.1 million ‘Goal’ application to build a new training camp for the national team near Sofia.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 12 – World Cup qualifiers with a high risk of racist incidents are to be targeted by FIFA as it steps up the fight against discrimination. A new monitoring system of specialists will be put in place both during the 2018 qualifying competition, which covers some 900 games globally, and the finals themselves in Russia.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 11 – Sepp Blatter will try one last time to forge a compromise to prevent Palestine’s call for Israel to be suspended from FIFA from being put to the vote at the FIFA Congress on May 29.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 8 – Sepp Blatter reckons the upcoming women’s World Cup could be the biggest breakthrough yet for the sport and that more women should occupy positions of administrative power at FIFA.
May 7 – The head of Israeli football has launched a pre-emptive strike, metaphorically speaking, to try and stop a Palestinian proposal to ban his federation from FIFA being supported at the FIFA Congress later this month.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 5 – Palestine’s proposal to suspend Israel from world football has been confirmed by FIFA as being on the agenda of its Congress in Zurich on May 29 despite the efforts of Sepp Blatter to find a solution.
By Andrew Warshaw at the Dead Sea, Jordan
May 4 – FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein has been quick to distance himself from a BBC report that he would personally consider sacrificing himself in order to strategically back one of the other contenders to take on Sepp Blatter.
By Andrew Warshaw in Manama, Bahrain
May 1 – The head of Palestinian football insists his association will not give in to any pressure to withdraw its proposal calling for Israel to be thrown out of the sport at the FIFA Congress later this month. Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub says nothing has changed for the better in the West Bank and Gaza in terms of the free movement of players and equipment since a year ago when he was persuaded to drop a similar proposal.
29 April – FIFA presidential candidate Louis Figo is heading to Bahrain for the Asian Football Confederation Congress, hoping to win votes with his platform promise of increased future World Cup final places for the AFC’s members.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – FIFA have been quick to respond to a resolution tabled by a group of European politicians calling for a re-rerun of what they describe as the “illegal” bidding process for the 2022 World Cup which has been dogged by unsubstantiated corruption claims ever since Qatar won the vote by a landslide in December 2010.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 23 – A rightwing Israeli non-governmental organisation has stepped up the propaganda war of words over the treatment of Palestinian footballers in the West Bank and Gaza by blaming Palestinian football leader Jibril Rajoub for deliberately stirring up trouble.
April 23 – Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub (pictured) insists he will not back down from demanding Israel be suspended from world football until and unless the Israelis are seen to have totally lifted their restrictions on free movement of players and officials between the West Bank and Gaza.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 22 – A coalition of non-governmental organisations has written to FIFA President Sepp Blatter and the three candidates bidding for his job urging them to make tackling human rights a priority as soon as the May 29 election is over – especially when it comes to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.