By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
October 20 – FIFA performed a complete U-turn today when they announced the preliminary match schedule for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, forcing teams to fly the length and breadth of the country.
By Tom Degun in Guadalajara
October 19 – Pressure has continued to mount on under fire Brazilian Sports Minister Orlando Silva after further evidence of alleged corruption emerged in the scandal that has left him fighting desperately for his position.
By David Gold
October 18 – An inquiry has been opened into the affairs of under fire Brazilian football chief Ricardo Teixeira, over allegations that he was involved in money laundering, the chief of the country’s fraud squad confirmed today.
By Tom Degun in Guadalajara
October 17 – Brazilian Sports Minister Orlando Silva has been left fighting for his job following serious corruption allegations that he has been involved in the embezzlement of millions of dollars in public funds.
By David Gold
October 16 – Brazil’s preparations to upgrade infrastructure, and to renovate and construct several stadia are in a battle against the clock to be ready in time for the 2014 World Cup, its President Dilma Rousseff has admitted.
By David Gold
October 14 – Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg are vying to host the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup in 2018, according to Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.
By Andrew Warshaw at the ISEM conference in London
October 13 – The world’s first ever non-profit-making organisation specialising in sharing security ideas for sporting events wants to set up a full-scale training programme to minimise the risk of crime and corruption and maximise safety.
By Andrew Warshaw at the ISEM Conference in London
October 12 – More and more major sports events will go to emerging markets like Qatar rather than established nations in years to come.
By David Gold
October 11 – FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke has praised the enthusiasm and commitment of Russia after the first meeting of world football’s governing body and the 2018 World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC).
By Andrew Warshaw
October 10 – Four days after Sport and Olympics Minister High Robertson described England’s doomed 2018 World Cup bid as the “biggest single failure” of his ministerial career, it was revealed today that the bid cost £6 million ($9.5 million/€7 million) more than everyone had been led to believe.
By David Gold
October 7 – MATCH Hospitality has continued its appointment of official 2014 FIFA World Cup Hospitality Programme sales agents, by giving Traffic Sports and Grupo Águia the rights to sell the packages in the host country Brazil.
By Andrew Warshaw at the Leaders in Football Conference in London
October 6 – Britain’s Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson today admitted that England’s inability to win the 2018 World Cup bid was “the biggest single failure” of his reign.
By Andrew Warshaw at the Leaders in Football Conference in London
October 5 – Ten months after winning the bid to stage the 2022 tournament, Qatar’s World Cup chief today admitted that the tiny Gulf state’s historic victory had been wounded by the constant negative publicity that accompanied the greatest upset in bidding history.
By David Gold
October 5 – The chief executive of England’s failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup, Andy Anson, has mocked FIFA’s response to a string of corruption allegations this year and says that he does not have faith in their ability to reform themselves.
By David Gold
October 4 – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has reassured FIFA that the country would stick to the commitments it made when it won the right to host the 2014 World Cup.