January 2 – Russian World Cup fans could be offered Aeroflot flight tickets for just 5 rubles (9 cents) between cities where Russia’s team is playing. Russian president Vladimir Putin has been reported as saying it is a “good idea.”
January 2 – Local broadcast deals in Russia for the 2018 world cup have been agreed with FIFA after a fraught negotiation process that saw the Russians unwilling to pay the asking price for their home world cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 27 – Under-fire Russian football supremo Vitaly Mutko has now stepped down as chief organiser of the 2018 World Cup having two days ago relinquished his role as president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) after mounting global criticism of his alleged involvement in the Russian doping scandal that has seen the country banned from Olympic sport.
December 28 – It isn’t every day that a former World Football Player of the Year becomes president of his country but Liberia’s George Weah has made that remarkable transition after the second round of voting in a sometimes acrimonious election campaign saw him defeat 73-year-old Joseph Boakai who has been vice president for the last 12 years.
December 27 – The bitter in-fighting over who runs Sierra Leone football has taken another twist with FIFA’s Members Association Committee giving under-fire Sierra Leone FA (SLFA) president Isha Johansen a boost by ordering a series of reforms.
By Paul Nicholson
December 27 – Former Peru football boss Manuel Burga, 60, has been acquitted of a corruption charge by the Brooklyn jury that found Juan Napout, of Paraguay, and Jose Maria Marin, of Brazil guilty of similar charges before Christmas.
By David Owen
December 27 – Brighton and Hove Albion, the south-coast club making a decent fist of its return to the English top flight after 34 years, has spelt out the cost of last season’s promotion charge.
December 27 – Somalia took a step nearer to regaining control of their national stadium in Mogadishu after Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Kheyre, confirmed that African Union peace keeping troops stationed at Stadium Mogadishu would withdra from the stadium by 2018.
December 27 – Major League Soccer’s latest expansion team franchise has been awarded to an investment group from Nashville, Tennessee. Their team will being MLS play in 2020.
December 20 – The dates for the first Tackling Match-fixing conference has been released for March 9-10. To be held in Chelsea, London, at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel, the conference will be the first dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by governing bodies, clubs and sports lawyers in addressing what is the biggest threat to the integrity of football worldwide.
By Paul Nicholson
December 22 – Jose Maria Marin, former head of Brazil’s Football Confederation (CBF) and Juan Angel Napout, former head of Paraguayan football are spending their first Christmas in jail after the jury in what has been dubbed the FIFA-gate trial found them guilty of racketeering conspiracy and accepting bribes in return for commercial rights.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 22 – Under-fire Russian World Cup supremo Vitaly Mutko is on the verge of being ousted as head of the country’s football federation following the doping scandal that rocked world sport and heaped pressure on him to stand down.
By Paul Nicholson
December 21 – Spanish football’s lower divisions are showing a disturbing level of betting-related fixed matches. What is more concerning is that neither the Spanish federation (RFEF) or LaLiga are showing any signs of taking action to stop the match-fixers, clubs or players, despite having been made aware of the issues.
December 22 – With round 19 fixtures starting tonight with Liverpool’s visit to Arsenal for a Friday night early Christmas cracker, the halfway point of the Premier League season is passed. Round 18 fixtures saw another week of full grounds with all home clubs reporting attendance of more than 92% of their total capacity.
December 22 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is to send a high-level delegation led by AFC senior vice president Praful Patel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in early January 2018.