By Andrew Warshaw in Manama, Bahrain
May 11- Football’s long-running Middle East impasse erupted into chaos and confusion today as FIFA decided once again to delay a ruling on Israeli clubs playing in the occupied territories.
May 11 – FIFA’s Congress ratified the decision of the FIFA Council to open up the bidding for the 2026 World Cup and give member associations from CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and the OFC time to express their interest in hosting the tournament. The deadline for submissions is August 17.
By Andrew Warshaw in Manama, Bahrain
May 11 – The Greek official controversially selected by FIFA to become the new lead judge of its ethics committee was nominated by UEFA in the latest twist to the biggest story to emerge in the build-up to Thursday’s 211-member Congress.
May 10 – Iraq will take a step closer to a return to hosting international football in their country today. FIFA’s Congress will vote on a proposal from its Council to allow friendlies in the country. Iraq has most recently been playing its home World Cup qualifiers in Doha, Qatar.
May 11 – Brazil is still the country that provides most players to clubs worldwide with 1,202 Brazilians plying their trade outside of Brazil. France has the second highest number of players overseas with 781 (107 of them in England) and Argentina is the third highest with 753.
May 11 – With Tottenham Hotspur rapidly ramping up commemorative events and merchandise for the club’s final game at White Hart Lane before the stadium is pulled down to make way for a new 61,559 seat arena, chairman Daniel Levy has said the club could now spend two years at Wembley while construction takes place.
By Andrew Warshaw in Manama, Bahrain
May 10 – Whatever spin Gianni Infantino puts on it – and he has promised to give his side of the story at the end of tomorrow’s full Congress – FIFA’s ousted ethics chiefs insist they were given no notice whatsoever of the decision to remove them from office and that the lack of a transition period will set FIFA’s much-touted reform process back several years.
By Paul Nicholson
May 10 – Issues of racism and discrimination have been thrust into the spotlight again with the Sulley Muntari case sadly showing that football has a lot more work to do on the issue. FIFA’s response has been depressingly ambivalent; of the “it’s not nice but what do you expect us to do” variety. So what about Russia, the World Cup and the widely documented issues facing that country as it prepares to welcome the world in 2018.
By Samindra Kunti
May 10 – Ruling out the merger of the I-League with the Indian Super League (ISL) in the immediate future, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has drawn up a roadmap for the domestic game, but much confusion remains.
By Andrew Warshaw in Manama, Bahrain
May 10 – FIFA’s entire governance apparatus – or lack of it – has come crashing down after the two men mainly responsible for cleaning up the organisation were ousted from their positions today in what will be regarded by many as the ultimate purge orchestrated by Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
By Andrew Warshaw in Manama, Bahrain
July 10 – Organisers of the three-country north American 2026 World Cup bid insist the bid will be clean and not be faced with any allegations of wrongdoing.
May 10 – Winning matches means scoring more goals than the opposition. That means creating more goal chances – the chances and the clearer cut those chances then the greater the possibility of winning.
By Andrew Warshaw in Manama, Bahrain
May 10 – FIFA have decided to leave open the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup until August, rejecting an attempt by the United States, Canada and Mexico to fast-track their plans.
May 10 – Two of FIFA’s six confederations, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, have strengthened their collaboration by signing a fresh Memorandum of Understanding “to encourage knowledge, exchange and to enhance football development in the respective territories.”
By Samindra Kunti
May 10 – The Dutch FA, the KNVB, have named Dick Advocaat as the Netherlands’s new coach. Advocaat will take Oranje’s reigns for a third time, with Ruud Gullit set to become his assistant.
After a protracted search for a new coach the Dutch FA confirmed Advocaat’s appointment at a press conference at their headquarters in Zeist. In March Danny Blind was dismissed after the Netherlands had failed to qualify for Euro 2016 and after a string of disappointing results in their World Cup qualification campaign.