March 31 – While FIFA president Gianni Infantino was banging the drum for world peace, respect, and the power of football to help unify in times of conflict, news from Iran broke of women being pepper sprayed by Iranian authorities as they turned up for Iran’s final World Cup qualifier.
March 31 – FIFA has said that 804,186 tickets have been sold during first sales phase for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
March 31 – You know the tournament is getting closer when it is time to launch the official ball. FIFA sponsor Adidas has unveiled the new ball for Qatar 2022, named Al Rihla.
March 28 – QatarEnergy has become a partner of the 2022 World Cup, joining Crytpo.com and BYJU’s who were unveiled as Qatar 2022 sponsors last week.
March 24 – FIFA has added Indian education technology provider BYJU’S as an official sponsor of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
March 23 – Excitement and anticipation is mounting ahead of next week’s World Cup draw in Qatar which will be conspicuous by the three slots that will still be open because of Russia’s war with Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic.
March 23 – Cryptocurrency sponsorship has come to FIFA with Crypto.com becoming the exclusive cryptocurrency trading platform partner for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
March 23 – FIFA has opened up another ticket buying window for the Qatar 2022 World Cup ahead of the Final Draw next week.
March 21 – FIFA has sent medical supplies to the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) and allocated $1 million to the FIFA Foundation for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
March 15 – Disgraced former Brazilian powerbroker Marco Polo del Nero has lost his final appeal, this time at Switzerland’s highest court, in his attempt to try and overturn a 20-year FIFA ban for taking bribes worth millions of dollars.
March 14 – FIFA are back in discussion with Amnesty International over the conditions for migrant workers in Qatar in connection with the World Cup. This time the discussion is not focussed on construction workers by on those in the service and hospitality sector.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 10 – Lawyers for Nasser Al-Khelaifi (pictured), the Qatari head of broadcaster beIN Sport and boss of Paris St Germain, have demanded a full acquittal of their client over bribery allegations relating to the sale of media rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cup.
March 9 – Switzerland’s public prosecutor has called for hefty prison sentences for Paris Saint-Germain and beIN Sport boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi and FIFA’s former number two Jerome Valcke (pictured) over alleged bribery relating to a World Cup TV rights deal.
March 8 – Foreign players based in Russia are being allowed to leave their clubs for the rest of the season without being punished.
March 4 – The Russian Football Union has confirmed it is going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to appeal against its ban from international competitions imposed by FIFA and UEFA as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.