November 23 – On Saturday Argentina will come to a standstill as River Plate host Boca Juniors in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final. A fortnight ago, the teams shared the spoils, 2-2.
November 1 – Qatar Airways has become the Official Global Airline Partner of South American confederation Conmebol’s club competitions with immediate effect. The deal will last 4.5 years, taking them through the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
October 23 – Four years after the death of Julio Grondona, once the second-most powerful man in world football, Argentina has temporarily regained a place at the top table of FIFA.
October 18 – With the threat of further scandal hanging over their confederation, Uruguayan clubs have voted in favour of removing their former FA president Wilmar Valdez (pictured) from his FIFA Council role, a move that will be taken forward to Friday’s Conmebol congress for formal action by member federations.
By Samindra Kunti
October 9 – Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro will face Fernando Haddad in a run-off vote for the Brazilian presidency on October 28 in an election that has been marked by the campaign involvement of a large number of Brazilian footballers.
October 5 – The Brazilian top flight will be interrupted during next year’s Copa America, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) revealed in announcing the calendar for the 2019 season.
August 29 – Santos’ Copa Libertadores game against Independiente was abandoned when police clashed with angry fans, who had been informed hours before kick-off that the first leg had been awarded 3-0 to the Argentine club.
August 24 – The Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo’s main football stadium and venue for the opening of the 2014 World Cup, will not play host to Copa America matches in 2019. CONMEBOL, South America’s governing body, had envisaged the stadium as a host venue, but influential Corinthians president Andres Sanchez opposed the idea and got his way.
August 22 – In another blow to the reputation of South American football administration, FIFA have intervened to take control of the Uruguayan federation after it was plunged into chaos following the sudden resignation of president Wilmar Valdez (pictured) last month.
August 21 – Unconfirmed reports say FIFA has opened a preliminary investigation into the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) over the resale of tickets for World Cup qualifying matches which, if true, would represent another blow to the credibility of Conmebol in the wake of the FifaGate scandal.
August 16 – Santiago has been chosen by Conmebol as the venue for the first single Copa Libertadores final in the competition’s history as the Continent’s flagship tournament moves into the line with Europe in 2019 and does away with a two-legged climax.
August 14 – At least 10 fans of one of Ecuador’s most popular clubs Barcelona SC have been killed and 30 injured after the bus they were travelling in overturned.
August 13 – South America’s governing body CONMEBOL have denied that Alejandro Dominguez, the Paraguayan president of the organisation, is wanted to testify by investigators from the FIFAGate case. The denial follows a report by Argentinean newspaper Clarin.
August 6 – Former Bolivian football boss Carlos Chavez, one of those caught up in the FifaGate scandal, has died in hospital in Brazil according to local reports.
August 3 – The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has praised Brazil’s participation in the Russia World Cup and defended the country’s talisman Neymar from the on-going criticism he has received.