By Paul Nicholson
December 17 – Russia has swiftly dismissed any discussion that the crashing value of the Ruble could in turn lead to a withdrawal from hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup on economic grounds.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 16 – Europe’s clubs and leagues have devised a last-ditch strategy for keeping the Qatar 2022 World Cup close to the tournament’s traditional summer time slot in order to avoid an unpredecented and controversial switch to winter.
December 12 – Volgograd’s new football stadium for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, being built on the site of the old Central Stadium, will be completed in November 2017, according to local government officials.
By Paul Nicholson
December 10 – Russia is progressing with its 2018 infrastructure build and it is an impressive organisational machine to observe in this respect; Brazil could do well to take notes as it now prepares for the Rio 2016 Olympics. But where Russia and Brazil do appear to have commonalities is when it comes to not paying those working in the game.
By Paul Nicholson
December 10 – Russia’s Federal Agency of Tourism is estimating there will be 30-40% more tourists visiting Russia during the 2018 World Cup, than there were during the Sochi Olympic games. During the whole period of the Sochi games, 2 million people visited the city.
By David Owen in Monte Carlo
December 9 – FIFA President Joseph Blatter appears to have left open the possibility that the 2022 World Cup may – after all – be played in January and February, in a prospect that will horrify winter sports federations.
December 8 – After much on/off deliberation, the site for the new stadium in Kaliningrad for the Russia 2018 World Cup will be on the Oktrabrskij Island, rather than on the site of the existing stadium.
December 8 – FIFA says it has “no indications” that football is implicated in the alleged systematic doping culture in Russian sport.
By Paul Nicholson
December 3 – Questionmarks over whether the 2018 World Cup hosting would make it to Kaliningrad have been dispelled by Russia’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko who said that matches won’t be transferred to another city from Kaliningrad.
December 3 – With precision timing exactly four years after they won the vote to stage the 2022 World Cup, Qatar organisers have unveiled designs for their fourth planned venue, the 40,000-seat Qatar Foundation Stadium.
By Paul Nicholson
November 28 – More details of infrastructure build and budgeted spends are emerging for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Samara region is planning to spend more than RUB 77 billion (£1.1billion) in its preparations. While it has been announced that training bases will be set up in 20 Russian cities for national teams – World Cup matches will be played in 11 cities,
November 25 – As they await further developments in the ongoing saga over the investigation into the World Cup bidding process, 2022 hosts Qatar are pressing ahead with developing their infrastructure. Organisers have now unveiled the design for the renovation of the Khalifa International Stadium, the third venue formally proposed for the finals in the Gulf state.
November 23 – The 2017 Confederations Cup, the warm-up and main test event for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, will be played in Moscow, St Petersburg, Sochi and Kazan, said Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – The whistleblower who worked on Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid campaign says there is no doubt that Mohamed Bin Hammam – banned for life from football two years ago – was part of the team despite 2022 officials repeatedly denying he played any role.
November 20 – Russia’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko has said that the construction contract to build the 17 billion ruble ($365 million) stadium in Nizhniy Novgorod will be signed on November 25-26 with 50% of the payment being upfront.