By Paul Nicholson
March 3 – CONCACAF has publicly taken the gloves off in its fight to take control of the Caribbean, announcing it will open its own office in Jamaica later this month. The move will effectively see the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) removed from all competition organisation of qualifying events for CONCACAF championships.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – Buffeted by persistent reports of internal unrest, FIFA has put to work the independent external specialists engaged late last year to mediate in staff disputes.
March 3 – Fans will need special identity cards to attend the 2018 World Cup and this summer’s Confederation Cup in Russia in a move to combat hooliganism which reared its ugly head at Euro 2016 – with Russia in the thick of it.
By Samindra Kunti
March 3 – French football may be in relatively good shape, with Les Bleus topping their World Cup qualifying group, Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League’s round of 16 and Ligue 1 enjoying more international exposure, but behind the scenes a battle for the French FA’s presidency is raging, with Didier Deschamps having joined the war of words.
March 3 – The sensitivity within individual federations over this month’s Confederation of African Football presidency has been further underlined with Sierra Leone Football Association President Isha Johansen ordering an immediate enquiry into media reports credited to her Director of Competitions Sorey Ibrahim Sesay that she would not be voting for Madagascan challenger Ahmad Ahmad.
March 3 – A women’s team representing Tibet are upset and angry at having been denied visas to take part in a tournament in Texas. Most of the players were Tibetan refugees living in India and had applied at the US embassy in Delhi.
March 3 – MLS has a new snack partner with Cheez-It and Pringles named the official snacks of Major League Soccer. The Kellogg brands take over from Mondelez, which manufactures Oreo, Trident and Ritz. No figure was announced for the sponsorship.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – A majority of fans are still worried about corruption in football despite Gianni Infantino’s pledge when he took over as FIFA president a year ago that the crisis was over.
By Paul Nicholson
March 2 – Argentinian football is in a mess and it doesn’t look to be clearing up despite the efforts of a FIFA normalisation committee parachuted in last July to take over the running of the federation and attempt to bring order to the chaos.
March 2 – Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub, a hero in his homeland but who has long been accused by his critics of supporting terrorism against Israel, has been denied entry to Egypt in what appears to be a politically-motivated move.
March 2 – World players’ union FIFPro is advising foreign players against joining two of the 12 clubs in Malta’s Premier League after evidence emerged of poor treatment, including youngsters from Nigeria and the United States.
By Samindra Kunti
March 1 – The Brazilian FA (CBF) has prohibited domestic clubs from playing top flight and division one games outside their state of origin. The ruling will have a dramatic impact on the struggling World Cup stadiums in Manuas, Natal, Cuiaba and Brasilia that have been battling to maintain operations.
March 2 – Spanish giants FC Barcelona are reportedly in the final stages of contract negotiation with Qatar Airways for a new four-year sponsorship that will see the club earn €50 million from the airline.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 2 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the FIFA-appointed official who led the inspection team that evaluated the credentials of all 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding candidates, is going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a last-ditch attempt to clear his name and overturn a three-year ban for seeking unpaid intern work in Qatar for relatives.
March 1 – Mexican beer brand Modelo has signed a four-year sponsorship deal with CONCACAF that will make it the Official Beer of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, as well as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.