August 1 – The women’s World Cup finals will expand to 32 teams in 2023, putting it on a par with the men, though prize money will still doubtless remain an issue.
August 1 – Australia have been the first of the declared bidders for the hosting of the 2023 Women’s World Cup to reaffirm their interest in the expanded competition which is being put out to retender.
By Paul Nicholson
July 31 – Musa Hassan Bility, the CAF executive committee member banned by FIFA less than 24 hours after filing a complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), has written an Open Letter to the FIFA Council calling into question the governing body’s “weaponised” Ethics committee.
July 30 – FIFA wants to fast-track an expansion of the next Women’s World Cup to 32 teams and has reportedly asked council members to approve adding eight more teams within days and without a formal meeting.
July 26 – The penultimate edition of the Club World Cup in its current guise will kick off in Qatar on December 11 with the final taking place 10 days later.
July 25 – The now completed confederation championships for CAF, Concacaf and Conmebol have brought change to the FIFA men’s rankings.
By Samindra Kunti
July 23 – Six I-League clubs have written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino with a request for help to safeguard the league which they believe is under threat from the Indian Super League.
July 15 – FIFA has announced that it will hold a special conference for technical directors and women’s national team coaches in Milan on September 22 to analyse the women’s World Cup just completed.
July 12 – Host nation Brazil will open the U-17 World Cup in October against Canada in Gama, a satellite city of the capital Brasilia. Goias and Cariacica will also be tournament host cities.
July 11 – FIFA is doubling its minimum ban for racist incidents to 10 games and will in future allow players to make victim statements at disciplinary hearings as part of an overhaul of its disciplinary code – the first for 15 years – taking effect from Monday.
July 10 –The total potential sponsorship value of women’s football globally is currently undervalued by a massive $1.2 billion globally, according brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance.
July 7 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has strongly rejected allegations that he has personally not done enough to tackle the sexual abuse scandal pervading Afghan women’s football.
July 7 – FIFA has confirmed that eight countries have expressed an interest in bidding for the 2021 edition of its men’s under-20 World Cup.
July 5 – FIFA has gone on the attack following stinging criticism of its alleged lack of action to deal with the scourge of sexual abuse pervading the women’s game.
July 5 – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he is “living in peace” despite his ban from the world game but has accused his critics, notably his successor Gianni Infantino, of showing “no respect” for his 41 years at the organisation including 17 in charge.