April 10 – FIFA’s 2026 bid inspection team have moved on from Mexico City to Atlanta in the US for the second leg of their three-country, four-stop evaluation tour.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 9 – The next crucial stage in the race to stage the 2026 World Cup gets under way today when FIFA begins the all-important process of evaluating the respective bids of USA-Canada-Mexico and Morocco by sending its panel of technical experts into the respective regions.
April 9 – Fans, especially those from England, should “think twice” before travelling to Russia for the World Cup because consular services will be less effective as a result of the recent diplomatic expulsions following the nerve agent poisoning affair, the White House has warned.
April 9 – Russian Railways has become an official sponsor of the 2018 Russia World Cup, taking a third-tier regional association alongside Alfa-Bank and Rostelcom.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 4 – Morocco’s claim of unfair treatment by FIFA in the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup has been strongly rejected by football’s world governing body which has moved swiftly into face-saving overdrive in an effort to maintain credibility.
April 4 – Dominica has become the second CONCACAF nation after St Lucia to come out and confirm it is backing Morocco for the 2026 World Cup despite being part of the same confederation as the rival United 2026 bid.
April 4 – With Qatar having already stated it is supporting Morocco for the 2026 World Cup, Saudi Arabia has said that it is going the other way as the race to clinch Asian backing hots up.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 30 – Gianni Infantino’s insistence that the voting process to choose the 2026 World Cup hosts will be scrupulously fair and clean has come under grave scrutiny amid suspicions of underhand tactics by FIFA over the scoring system being used to assess the two contenders.
April 3 – Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused the UK and US of using the poisoning scandal to try and take the World Cup away from her country.
April 3 – The first signs that CONCACAF may not vote as a bloc in favour of the three-nation US-Canada-mexico 2026 World Cup bid have emerged after St Lucia became the first country in the region to announce publicly that it would be backing underdogs Morocco.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 29 – As the two contenders to stage the 2026 World Cup await the all-important inspection visit from FIFA’s evaluation team next month, clear evidence has emerged that Europe will be split when the actual vote takes place on June 13.
March 29 – The fear of racism rearing its ugly head at the World Cup in Russia has intensified following alleged abuse directed at French players by Russian fans during a high-profile friendly this week.
By Andrew Warshaw in Casablanca
March 28 – The chairman of Morocco’s 2026 World Cup bid has issued a firm challenge to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to play fair and remain neutral when the first open vote in the modern era to select the hosts takes place in June.
March 28 – The United 2026 bid are promising “an opening day like no other” to herald in a “new era in football”, with three games across the three countries – Canada, Mexico and the US.
By Andrew Warshaw in Marrakesh
March 27 – There’s no doubting Hicham El Amrani’s passion and self-belief. Or that the CEO of Morocco’s 2026 World Cup bid is extremely well connected.