By Andrew Warshaw
May 28 – Twenty-four hours after UEFA and Europol signed a key agreement to tackle match-fixing head-on, the spotlight has immediately fallen on tonight’s friendly between Scotland and Nigeria, one of a string of World Cup warm-up games.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 27 – President Sepp Blatter says he is determined to resolve the impasse between Palestine and Israel as the clock ticks towards the FIFA Congress in Sao Paolo just before the World Cup when the issue is officially on the agenda amid threats that delegates might be asked to call for Israel’s expulsion. Blatter is back in the region for crucial talks with both sides but admits it could prove difficult to persuade Israel to agree to a compromise that would allow Palestinian players and officials to move freely in the occupied territories.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 23 – Three weeks before the start of the World Cup in Brazil, FIFA has warned that fans could be barred from stadiums if they are found to have bought tickets from unauthorised sources. FIFA said it would cancel any tickets “discovered as illegally sold or re-sold with the bearers risking not being permitted entry.”
By David Owen
May 16 – “Yes, of course.” With these words, Joseph Blatter, FIFA’s President, sent social media networks into a frazzle today. What the boss of world football had done, under questioning on Swiss TV channel RTS, was acknowledge that FIFA’s decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup in the blazing heat of a Gulf summer was a mistake.
May 12 – Having spent months tirelessly trying to get Brazil’s preparations up to speed, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says with future World Cups he should perhaps take more of a back seat after having to deal with so much pressure.
May 12 – The rapidly growing strength of women’s football has been underlined with FIFA’s announcement that five countries have put forward bids to stage the 2019 World Cup. France and England from Europe, South Korea from Asia, New Zealand and South Africa have all declared an interest in hosting the tournament.
By David Owen
May 12 – FIFA appears to have opted for a tentative approach in its long-running efforts to reform the agent system. An official circular recently sent to FIFA members preparing for next month’s Congress in Sao Paulo seems to indicate that a possible 3% cap on remuneration payable to “intermediaries” would be by recommendation only.
May 8 – The FIFA/CIES sports management programme has expanded its footprint into the Middle East with the announcement of an official partnership with the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD). The university will be the academic partner of the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES).
By Paul Nicholson
May 5 – FIFA’s revamp of its development programmes in 2013 and the changes in the regulations have made the year a big one for FIFA’s a team that has been responsible for spending $500,000 a day on development activity and corporate social responsibility projects.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 30 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has revisited the home-grown player debate by arguing that too few are given a chance to prove themselves because of the foreign invasion.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 28 – FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has endorsed the ongoing probe being conducted by the organisation’s ethics investigator Michael Garcia into the voting process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
By Paul Nicholson
April 28 – Speaking in Toluca, Mexico, CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb said that he would support the re-election of current FIFA president Sepp Blatter for a fifth term if he decided to stand.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – Mark Pieth, the Swiss governance expert appointed by FIFA to propose recommendations for change following the worst corruption-tainted period in its history, says the organisation must allow an ongoing investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup ballots to take its course if it wants to retain any sense of credibility.
By Mark Baber
April 17 – This week has seen the launch of the Panini Online Sticker Album for the 2014 FIFA World Cup hosted on FIFA.com in association with presenting partner Coca-Cola, and the roll-out of the official video game for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, published by EA Sports for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
By Richard van Poortvliet
April 3 – FIFA has refused to kick Russia out of this year’s World Cup in Brazil, after two American senators asked for the country to be banned due to their role in the unrest in Ukraine.