By Andrew Warshaw
March 5 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has re-iterated that there is a realistic chance video replays will be used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the most ground-breaking change in years in FIFA’s showpiece event.
By Paul Nicholson
March 3 – CONCACAF has publicly taken the gloves off in its fight to take control of the Caribbean, announcing it will open its own office in Jamaica later this month. The move will effectively see the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) removed from all competition organisation of qualifying events for CONCACAF championships.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – Buffeted by persistent reports of internal unrest, FIFA has put to work the independent external specialists engaged late last year to mediate in staff disputes.
March 3 – Fans will need special identity cards to attend the 2018 World Cup and this summer’s Confederation Cup in Russia in a move to combat hooliganism which reared its ugly head at Euro 2016 – with Russia in the thick of it.
By Samindra Kunti
March 3 – French football may be in relatively good shape, with Les Bleus topping their World Cup qualifying group, Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League’s round of 16 and Ligue 1 enjoying more international exposure, but behind the scenes a battle for the French FA’s presidency is raging, with Didier Deschamps having joined the war of words.
March 3 – The sensitivity within individual federations over this month’s Confederation of African Football presidency has been further underlined with Sierra Leone Football Association President Isha Johansen ordering an immediate enquiry into media reports credited to her Director of Competitions Sorey Ibrahim Sesay that she would not be voting for Madagascan challenger Ahmad Ahmad.
March 3 – A women’s team representing Tibet are upset and angry at having been denied visas to take part in a tournament in Texas. Most of the players were Tibetan refugees living in India and had applied at the US embassy in Delhi.
March 3 – MLS has a new snack partner with Cheez-It and Pringles named the official snacks of Major League Soccer. The Kellogg brands take over from Mondelez, which manufactures Oreo, Trident and Ritz. No figure was announced for the sponsorship.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – A majority of fans are still worried about corruption in football despite Gianni Infantino’s pledge when he took over as FIFA president a year ago that the crisis was over.
By Paul Nicholson
March 2 – Argentinian football is in a mess and it doesn’t look to be clearing up despite the efforts of a FIFA normalisation committee parachuted in last July to take over the running of the federation and attempt to bring order to the chaos.
March 2 – Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub, a hero in his homeland but who has long been accused by his critics of supporting terrorism against Israel, has been denied entry to Egypt in what appears to be a politically-motivated move.
March 2 – World players’ union FIFPro is advising foreign players against joining two of the 12 clubs in Malta’s Premier League after evidence emerged of poor treatment, including youngsters from Nigeria and the United States.
March 2 – The closing of the sale of AC Milan to a Chinese investment group rescheduled for March 3, now looks set to be extended further with club owner Silvio Berlusconi reportedly considering accepting a third, non-refundable, €100 million deposit on the deal.
By Samindra Kunti
March 1 – The Brazilian FA (CBF) has prohibited domestic clubs from playing top flight and division one games outside their state of origin. The ruling will have a dramatic impact on the struggling World Cup stadiums in Manuas, Natal, Cuiaba and Brasilia that have been battling to maintain operations.
March 2 – China’s new restrictions on foreign player quotas in order to boost domestic progress is widely expected to reduce lavish overseas spending.