Qatar 2022 joins forces with INTERPOL
By Andrew Warshaw
November 6 – Ten years before hosting the FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022 has signed an agreement with Interpol to ensure nothing is left to chance when it comes to safety and security.
World Cup
Russia 2018 World Cup stadium in Samara set to be moved because of flood danger
By Duncan Mackay
November 6 – Samara is to build its stadium for the 2018 World Cup on a different site to the one approved by FIFA, it has been revealed.
Confederations Cup must avoid “logistical nightmares”, warns Valcke
By Andrew Warshaw
November 5 – FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke says time is of the essence to ensure Brazil is ready for next summer’s Confederations Cup, the traditional World Cup dress rehearsal, and warns there must be no “logistical nightmares”.
FIFA to announce 2013 Confederations Cup venues next week
By Andrew Warshaw
November 1 – FIFA is to confirm next week whether it will have to drop any of the six venues being slated to stage matches at next year’s Confederations Cup, the traditional World Cup dress rehearsal.
Blatter always had a problem with the England game, claims Coe
By Andrew Warshaw
November 1 – Fresh revelations as to why England gained only two votes in its bid to stage the 2018 FIFA World Cup have been disclosed in a new autobiography by Sebastian Coe, who was regarded as one the country’s most influential 2018 voices before going on to organise the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
FIFA’s Task Force Football 2014 disbands
By Andrew Warshaw
October 31 – A star-studded FIFA panel charged with finding ways to make the game more of a spectacle in time for the next World Cup in Brazil has been disbanded.
Exclusive: FIFA regulations could rule out a Qatar 2022 winter World Cup
By Andrew Warshaw
October 29 – The global clamour for the 2022 World Cup to be switched to the winter to avoid Qatar’s stifling desert heat could be scuppered – by FIFA’s own regulations.
Valcke returns home after being hospitalised during Brazil 2014 meeting
By Andrew Warshaw
October 25 – FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke has returned home to Switzerland having been hospitalised in Brazil for four days with a kidney infection.
Fans warned to use licensed agents for 2014 FIFA World Cup hospitality
By Andrew Warshaw
October 22 – Match Hospitality, the exclusive rights holder of FIFA’s hospitality programme, says unauthorised companies are trying to jump on board to sell packages for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and has promised “Vigorous action” to protect its name.
Valcke taken ill in Brazil during 2014 World Cup meeting
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke is the latest top-ranking official to succumb to the pressures and stresses of the job after contracting a minor infection in Brazil.
Brazilian authorities take over notorious Rio slum ahead of 2014 World Cup
By Tom Degun
October 19 – Brazilian marines and paramilitary police have stormed one of Rio’s most notorious and dangerous slums in a bid to clean up the area before the city hosts the FIFA 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Rio’s doping control lab for 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics reinstated by WADA
By Mike Rowbottom
October 17 – Rio’s doping control laboratory, expected to play a major part in Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has been reinstated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following its partial suspension on January 18.
Valcke raises fresh concerns over Brazil’s preparations for 2013 Confederations Cup
By Tom Degun
October 17 – FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke has expressed his concern that Brazil’s six stadiums for the 2013 Confederations Cup will not be ready on time due to the slow pace of preparations.
De Boer backs Qatar winter World Cup
By Andrew Warshaw at the Leaders in Football Conference at Stamford Bridge in London
October 11 – The controversy over whether to switch the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar to the winter to avoid the searing June-July desert temperatures was reignited today – this time by one of Qatar’s very own ambassadors.
FIFA to avoid empty seats at World Cup with new ticketing system
By Andrew Warshaw at the Leaders in Football Conference at Stamford Bridge in London
October 10 – FIFA is to implement a new ticketing resale system for the 2014 World Cup designed to avoid the large swathes of empty seats that plagued the London 2012 Olympics, and the 2012 UEFA European Championship finals in Poland and Ukraine.