By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
November 5 – The man who led the official FIFA inspection team that evaluated the credentials of 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar says November-December must be ditched as a possible date for a winter tournament, warning it would cause untold chaos for the international calendar.
By Mark Baber
November 5 – FIFA have extended a ban on recently elected Italian football federation (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio worldwide for six months a racist comment he made in August.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 5 – Polish construction company PB Dombud has won the PLN 20.5 million (€5 million) contract to modernise Gornik Zabrze’s stadium. The upgraded and expanded stadium will be increased to a capacity of 31,871 spectators.
November 5 – South African football authorities have called on fans to surrender their illegal guns following the recent fatal shooting of national captain Senzo Meyiwa that shocked the entire nation.
November 5 – As racism in football shows no sign of abating in Russia and elsewhere in eastern Europe, the problem continues to tarnish the game in multi-cultural countries where racial tolerance is supposedly part of society – including England.
By Ben Nicholson
November 5 – MLS 2014 season TV viewership figures for ESPN show a slight rise from 2013, following the trend of increased attendance figures. However, excepting 2013, each year since 2006 has recorded more viewers than 2014, proving there is still much to do in terms of popularising the MLS on television.
November 5 – The issue of black players boycotting the 2018 World Cup in Russia because of racism has been raised once again, this time by renowned anti-apartheid campaigner Tokyo Sexwale who is a key FIFA adviser.
November 5 – Israeli football usually makes the news when linked to the Middle East crisis but television pictures flashed around the world of dreadful scenes during the Tel Aviv derby have plunged the domestic game into disgrace.
By Mark Baber
November 4 – FIFA have lifted the threat to suspend Nigeria after the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan persuaded the two warring factions in the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to seek a compromise. As part of the deal, the Chris Giwa faction withdrew their court case which had led to a ruling that the election of the FIFA-backed faction had been invalid.
Why now, who leaked the information and what could the impact be on FIFA? Those are just three intriguing questions being asked in the wake of the stunning revelations in the New York Daily News that Chuck Blazer, who strode the corridors of power at FIFA for more than a generation, turned FBI informant to spy on several of his colleagues.
When FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar in favour of England and the United States it was a statement that resonated way beyond the confines of the world¹s football grounds and into the geopolitical sphere.
One day at FIFA HQ, Zurich, I expect to see the familiar world weary face of actor Bill Murray on the path to the entrance, crouched on the steps peering into the flowers. Looking for a Groundhog. There have been more ‘Groundhog Days’ than I’d care to remember around the subject of, you know, begins with a Q. Ends in 2022. Well it will end at some stage of 2022, or even 2023. Who knows when exactly?
By Ricardo Setyon
November 4 – Currently in their Centenary season, Palmeiras is the Brazilian club with the most deeply rooted links to Europe. But its 100th birthday is proving an unhappy one as it battles out of relegation danger, conflict with contractors over its new stadium, and poor finances that require a continual bail-out from its owner.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 4 – Amid an intensifying impasse, Morocco has been given a fresh deadline of Saturday to decide whether they will host January’s showpiece Africa Cup of Nations – with a final decision to be taken three days later by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
By Andrew Warshaw
November 3 – Almost four years after awarding Qatar the 2022 World Cup, FIFA appears to have edged ever-closer to an unprecedented decision to break with tradition and stage the tournament in winter because of the fearsome Gulf mid-summer heat.