November 29 – A chartered plane carrying 81 people, including top-flight Brazilian team Chapecoense, has crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin in Colombia, seemingly after an electrical failure.
By Samindra Kunti
November 29 – Palmeiras clinched a record ninth Brazilian league title with a week to spare by beating Chapecoense 1-0 at home on Sunday. The 2016 title ends a 22-year drought for the Sao Paulo-based club. But celebrations have been muted by the tragic plane crash over Colombia Monday night. The plane was carrying the team to the Copa Subamerica final in Medellin.
November 25 – Former Peruvian FA chief Manuel Burga is to be extradited to the United States to face criminal conspiracy charges for his alleged role in football’s far-reaching global corruption investigation.
November 23 – The former president of the Ecuadorean FA has been convicted of money laundering in his own country and handed a 10-year sentence in the latest blow to CONEMBOL linked to the US-led case.
By Samindra Kunti
November 18 – The Brazilian FA, the CBF, and Samsung have parted ways. Samsung is the fifth major sponsor the CBF has lost since the FIFA scandal engulfed the world game and shone the spotlight on decades of corruption in Brazilian football.
November 16 – Lionel Messi is leading a media boycott by the Argentine national team because of “grave and disrespectful” allegations made against a number of his teammates.
November 7 – All Uruguayan domestic league football was suspended at the weekend after the death of a 21-year-old Penerol fan shot by rival Nacional supporters in September.
By Samindra Kunti
November 7 – The Brazilian FA, the CBF, have appointed their first female head coach with Emily Lima (pictured) chosen to succeed Oswaldo Alvarez.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 4 – In the latest move in its drive to reform itself and enhance its credibility after becoming shamefully embroiled in world football’s corruption scandal, CONMEBOL have named José Manuel Astigarraga as its new secretary general.
October 27 – So often portrayed as one of the main culprits in the world football corruption scandal, CONMEBOL has opened legal proceedings against its American sponsorship partners International Soccer Marketing Inc (ISM) in a bid to recover damages of $18 million paid in commission for exclusive broadcasting rights.
By Samindra Kunti
October 27 – The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) may enforce changes to the domestic football calendar that could threaten the existence of the Primeira Liga, a breakaway tournament.
October 27 – The football world is paying tribute to Carlos Alberto Torres, captain of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning team – regarded as possibly the greatest national side of all time – and scorer of one of the sport’s most memorable goals who has died aged 72 at his home in Rio de Janeiro.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 25 – The US-led probe into football corruption took another significant twist on Thursday when a Florida-based sports channel, GoITV Inc, sued Fox Sports Latin America alleging that Fox executives had paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to CONMEBOL officials in exchange for lucrative television rights to tournaments, according to the Washington Post.
By Samindra Kunti
October 14 – The lure of the US for the South Americans seems unabated by the multiple arrests and pending trials of more than 30 of their federation executives on corruption charges. Regional confederation CONMEBOL is considering a one-legged final of the Copa Libertadores, with the US as a possible venue.
By Samindra Kunti
October 12 – Brazil will be the biggest winner of CONMEBOL’s decision to expand its top club competition, the Copa Libertadores, by six teams. Brazil will have two more representatives in the expanded competition, the South American equivalent of the Champions League.