By David Gold
April 2 – Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana, which is intended to host the final of 2014 World Cup, will need a new roof, Brazil Football Federation President Ricardo Teixeira has confirmed.
By David Owen
March 31 – Two 2014 World Cup stadiums are struggling to meet FIFA’s construction deadline, world football’s governing body has indicated.
By David Gold
March 31 – FIFA has been assured that São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro will be ready to host games at the 2013 Confederations Cup by Brazil Football Confederation President Ricardo Teixeira (pictured).
By David Gold
March 27 – Brazil’s Sports Minister Orlando Silva responded to FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s criticism of the country’s preparations for the 2014 World Cup by reassuring him that they were making good progress and that he was confident everything would be ready in time for the showpiece tournament.
March 25 – Brazil Sports Minister Orlando Silva is seeking help from the country’s Congress to simplify bidding processes and speed-up work ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
March 15 – Nine hotels will be opened by Hilton Worldwide in Russia ahead of the 2018 World Cup, taking its total number of hotels in the country to 16, as it looks to expand its presence there.
By David Gold
March 14 – Time to organise the dates and venues for the 2013 Confederations Cup is running out according to FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, who says that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was easier to organise than the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
By Duncan Mackay in Doha
March 9 – Qatar today launched a new non-profit organisation aimed at sharing information about security at major sports events around the world and helping them prepare to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
March 8 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter reprimanded Brazilian politicians for promising that the opening match of the 2014 World Cup would be staged in Sao Paulo.
March 4 – FIFA’s decision to allow South America a possible six slots at the 2014 World Cup has been blasted as “completely ludicrous” by Chuck Blazer, the FIFA Executive committee member from the United States and secretary general of CONCACAF.
March 4 – England’s failed 2018 football World Cup bid tried to use Prince Andrew’s relationship with the Qatari royal family to secure a voting alliance, it was claimed tonight.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – Football’s world governing body today decided not to change the allocation of places for the 2014 World Cup finals despite several regions clamouring for more representation.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 28 – Sepp Blatter faces one of the most politically sensitive weeks of his FIFA Presidency when he tries to keep all his members happy over the controversial issue of 2014 World Cup berths.
February 23 – British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that hosting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could help to improve attitudes towards homosexuality in the Middle East during an official visit to the Gulf state.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 7 – Sepp Blatter appears to have performed a major U-turn over the 2022 Qatar World Cup, now declaring the tournament will be held in summer after all.