By Andrew Warshaw
November 3 – South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale still has work to do before convincing his own African confederation that he should become their preferred candidate for the FIFA presidential election.
By Mark Baber
November 3 – Talks are continuing Tuesday, amidst high hopes, as a joint FIFA and AFC delegation meets with key stakeholders, including the Indonesian president, to find a solution for Indonesian football and to lift the country’s suspension which is causing increasing damage to the football infrastructure of one of SE Asia’s leading footballing powers.
November 3 – Tax authorities in Germany have raided the headquarters of the German Football Federation (DFB) as part of an investigation into the country’s increasingly suspicious 2006 World Cup bid campaign.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 3 – The ability and willingness of FIFA to clean itself up following the biggest scandal in sporting history looks to have been undermined after Asia’s most influential sports administrator says a number of reform proposals will be rejected, not least term limits for senior officials.
“Pacience is an heigh vertu, certeyn, For it venquysseth… Thyneges that rigour sholde nevere atteyne.” Geoffrey Chaucer, the Franklin’s Tale
The Franklin was the 20th of Chaucer’s pilgrims to give his tale and, like so many of his fellow travellers en route to Canterbury, he gave forth on the secrets of success in love. Thus did England’s earliest literary great teach us a lesson about the virtues of patience.
By Samindra Kunti
November 3 – The Belgian FA KBVB is considering launching a claim for damages at FIFA after Sepp Blatter’s revelations about a possible fixed agreement to award the 2018 FIFA World Cup to Russia.
By Samindra Kunti
November 3 – The Dutch FA KNVB made a profit of €6.8 million during the 2014/15 season. Holland’s absence at Euro2016 will not threaten the financial health of the organisation but will impact future investment.
By Mark Baber
November 2 – A row has erupted in Hong Kong over the upcoming world cup qualifier against China. In the first leg Hong Kong fans booed the national anthem, for the second leg the match has been switched to the Mong Kok Stadium (capacity 6,679) in place of the Hong Kong stadium (capacity 40,000).
By Andrew Warshaw
November 2 – Luis Figo, who bid for the FIFA presidency last time round until withdrawing before the ballot, has given his backing to UEFA stand-in candidate Gianni Infantino for the February 26 vote.
November 2 – As German football authorities continue to come under pressure over the vote-buying slush fund allegations which they have strongly denied, a senior German politician has entered the debate by suggesting DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach should consider resigning.
By Paul Nicholson
November 2 – Russia’s 2018 preparations are ramping up with reports that the redevelopment of the Luzhniki stadium which will host the opening match and the final is ahead of schedule while elsewhere infrastructure projects are gathering pace with the Nizhny Novgorod regional government announcing it has allocated Ruble 1.9 billion for a subway link to its stadium.
By Samindra Kunti
November 2 – The Brazilian capital Brasilia is in danger of missing out as a host city for the Olympic football tournament as the city’s dire economic situation may prevent it from signing the required contracts.
November 2 – Manchester City’s Belgian captain Vincent Kompany has described as “a joke” UEFA’s decision to launch an investigation into the booing of the Champions League anthem by the club’s supporters.
By Paul Nicholson
November 2 – Delegates heading for the Securing Sport 2015 conference in New York that starts Tuesday will hear from one of the candidates for the FIFA presidency. Former South African government minister and anti-apartheid campaigner Tokyo Sexwale will give a keynote speech on the opening day, his first since declaring his candidacy.
By David Owen
November 1 – US Città di Palermo, the Sicily-based Serie A club, has acquired an official ‘Global Forex and Binary Options’ partner. The club – known for its pink and black, ‘the sad and the sweet’, colours, adopted in 1905 – has paired up with InstaForex, an online currency, metals and index-trading specialist headquartered in one of the planned 2018 FIFA World Cup host-cities, Kaliningrad.