December 23 – Vanishing spray, used for several years in South America to stop defensive walls encroaching at free kicks, is to be employed throughout next year’s World Cup by referees.
December 23 – Favourites Bayern Munich crowned a momentous year by winning the Club World Cup in Morocco and finally ending the brave challenge of Raja Casablanca who did the host nation proud by reaching the final.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – Moroccan football is celebrating its greatest ever club triumph after little-known domestic champions Raja Casablanca upset Ronaldinho’s mighty Atletico Mineiro to reach Saturday’s final of the Club World Cup.
December 18 – In a review of its development activities in 2013, FIFA has reported that it has invested $200 million in football development over the past year.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 17 – Having increasingly preached zero tolerance when it comes to racism, FIFA have dealt their severest penalty to date by banning Croatia midfielder Josip Simunic for 10 matches, ruling him out of next year’s World Cup.
December 12 – FIFA has widened its Live Your Goals initiative in women’s football and is inviting member associations to submit applications. Submissions should be made by 25 February and should detail the women’s football development initiative the federation wants to implement.
December 11- The opening game of the FIFA World Club Cup today in Morocco will see the first time the official Handshake for Peace has been integrated formally into the match protocol. The Handshake for Peace campaign is a joint initiative between FIFA and the Nobel Peace Center in Norway and will feature at all the matches in the Club World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – Almost unnoticed in the aftermath of the World Cup draw in Brazil, FIFA’s Club World Cup competition was getting under way in Morocco today – finally presenting the north African country with their own international tournament.
December 10 – The usual suspects have again lined up to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award as the world’s best player – but there is no place in the final shortlist for the world’s most expensive player, Gareth Bale.
December 10 – Last weekend’s fan violence in Brazil, at the final round of the season’s Serie A fixtures, has not put off a scramble for World Cup match tickets, with 86% of requests for match tickets coming from Brazilian fans.
December 9 – The next round of 2014 World Cup match ticket sales opened yesterday on the FIFA online ticketing site. This round of sales will be open until 30 January 2014 and applications can be made for 62 of the 64 matches (the opening game in Sao Paulo and final in Rio are excluded).
December 9 – As World Cup organisers prepare for a rush of bookings following last week’s draw, with fans working out exactly how much they can afford and how to get the best deals, FIFA have amended kickoff times of seven matches for the purposes of television coverage.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – In a landmark vote that has already caused huge jubilation across the country, India will stage its first major FIFA tournament after being handed the 2017 under-17 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 2 – Brazil’s troubled build-up for next year’s World Cup – stadium delays and accidents, safety concerns, street protests – takes centre stage again this week but there are a number of other pressing global issues facing FIFA’s chiefs as they head to Salvador, Brazil, for a series of meetings ahead of Friday’s eagerly anticipated draw for the 32-team 2014 World Cup finals.
December 2 – FIFA has extended its media platform with the launch of its first app in five languages – English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. The world’s governing body predicts the app will download over 70 million copies in the first few months, making it the world’s most downloaded sports application.