Inside World Football - Page 1523 of 2022 - For the Business of Football

David Owen: Yes it has more immediate problems, but is FIFA spending too much?

And so, with a final flourish, Sepp Blatter got out his cheque-book and wrote out a cheque for $200 million. No, the FIFA President’s closing gesture at this week’s FIFA Congress was not quite that dramatic. But his promise of $750,000 to all 209 national associations and $7 million to each of the six confederations has the same effect.

To which my question is this: has this $198.75 million of apparently extra expenditure already been written in to FIFA’s budgets?

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UEFA cut City and PSG CL squad sizes but relax home-grown player quota

Gianni Infantino3

By Andrew Warshaw
June 13 – UEFA have been forced to backtrack over their home-grown player demands following pressure from the international players’ union, FIFpro.

Andrew Warshaw: Whistleblower keeps to script but fluffs his lines

As dusk fell over Sao Paulo’s spanking new stadium towards the end of the first half of the World Cup’s eagerly awaited kickoff, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his organisation must have felt the same as the rest of us.

Amidst a sea of yellow and a cauldron of noise, here was an opening match full of entertainment and adventure in contrast to the cautious, cat-and-mouse approach that so often fails to deliver at the start of the biggest sporting show on earth for fear of errors being made and confidence being damaged.

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Euro assault continues as Platini publicly refuses to back Blatter

Blatter and Platini parting ways

By Andrew Warshaw in Sao Paulo
June 13 – UEFA chief Michel Platini may not yet have made up his mind whether to take on Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency next year but even if he doesn’t, he will certainly not support the 78-year-old Swiss. Blatter made it clear at this week’s FIFA congress that he intends to stand for a fifth term but if he goes ahead, he won’t be able to count on Platini’s backing.

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Opening Game Stat Pack: Bra vs Cro

Brazil vs Croatia

June 12 – You might not believe it but in the hype and excitement around tonight’s World Cup opening match there is in fact another team on the ptich with Brazil. They are called Croatia, they come from Europe and they might be the rollover that the script has writen for them. For each match of the World Cup, in partnership wth the Association of Football Statisticians and its 11.11.com website, we will give you an at-a-glance guide to stats,

Africa

South African FA agree to Olympic financial scrutiny but no audit

Danny Jordaan

By Mark Baber
June 12 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) agreed Wednesday to provide six-monthly progress reports on its financial affairs to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee after worries over worries over debts amounting to a reported R100 million ($9.4 million).

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Garcia holds Congress centre stage and puts the ‘ethics’ noise in context

Michael Garcia5

By Andrew Warshaw in St Paulo
June 12 – Michael Garcia, the American lawyer who has become the central figure in the entire debate into corruption allegations swirling around FIFA, says he has left no stone unturned in his two-year probe to weed out any wrongdoing in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process.

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Excuse me, but what time does the Carnival begin around here?

Brazil eye

By Andrew Warshaw in Sao Paulo
June 12 – World Cup, what World Cup? Usually on the eve of the biggest sporting spectacle on the planet, colourful bunting is everywhere to be seen, flags fly proudly, there are welcoming smiles and horns blast away patriotically.

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Blatter defiant over Euro ‘insults’ as he awards $750K bonuses and … calls for video refs

Blatter at 2014 Congress

By Andrew Warshaw in Sao Paulo
June 12 – Twenty-four hours after being bluntly taken to task by UEFA for changing his mind over staying on as FIFA president and told he was largely responsible for the organisation’s tarnished image, Sepp Blatter, not for the first time, was the one to show his teeth.

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Becks now moves to plan C, but where and how will he find love in Miami

David Beckham and Lebron James

By Ben Nicholson
June 12 – The prospect of a Miami Beckham United gracing the MLS stumbled again after their plan B soccer stadium proposal has been shot down.

Matt Scott

Matt Scott: Words are just words, money will do the talking

IWFfifaworldcuprevenues

“Trade has all the fascination of gambling without its moral guilt.” Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy

When five of FIFA’s six commercial partners spoke out against the most recent corruption allegations surrounding FIFA, people across the world held their breath. Could the sponsors withdraw their financial support for FIFA? Could this effect revolutionary change at football’s world governing body?

Well, what does history tell us? Three years ago almost to the day,

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Israel saved from calls for suspension, but FIFA pressure builds for a Palestine deal

Israel and Palestine flags

By Andrew Warshaw in Sao Paulo
June 12 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s attempts to forge a lasting agreement between Palestine and Israel, one of his most pressing priorities, had to be put on the backburner today when there was insufficient goodwill to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that would have sent out a strong message that progress had been made.

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Blatter opens Congress with call for leadership and change

FIFA Congress

By Andrew Warshaw in Sao Paulo
June 11 – Sepp Blatter opened the formal part of the FIFA Congress today by tellingly pledging the organisation would continue to “lead by example” despite persistent allegations of corruption that came to head 24 hours earlier when he was asked to step down by European members.

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Sporting Lisbon claim €31m from Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia

Boj signs Levski

By Alexander Krassimirov
June 11 – Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon is poised to file a legal claim against Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia for the amount of €31 million. The dispute centres around the Portuguese claim that Levski have illegally signed Bulgarian striker Valeri Bojinov.

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Racial tensions bubble amongst fans over the LA ‘SuperClasico’

Galaxy vs Chivas

June 11 – Allegations have been made by supporters of Chivas USA that they were subjected to racist abuse by LA Galaxy fans during their MLS game last week.