By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 28 – In the face of the worst crisis to hit FIFA under his leadership, Sepp Blatter called a meeting of his emergency committee today and came face to face with his nemesis, UEFA boss Michel Platini.
By Samindra Kunti
May 28 – Belgian club KV Mechelen are gunning for European qualification again as they take on Charleroi in the playoffs. A refurbished stadium must revive a club that went nearly bankrupt in 2003.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 28 – Western-led calls for Sepp Blatter to resign as FIFA president in the wake of the gravest corruption crisis to hit his organisation were described today as “blasphemy” by one of Africa’s federation presidents who said his continent was more firmly behind the veteran Swiss than ever.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 28 – Visa has issued the most critical statement yet from any major World Cup sponsor in response to the spate of arrests of past and present FIFA officials on racketeering and bribery charges that have made worldwide headlines.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 28 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has broken his silence over the stunning corruption claims that have sent shockwaves through the sport by claiming that he personally welcomed efforts taken to clean up the sport.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 28 – Accusing FIFA of indulging for two generations in a “World Cup of Fraud”, US justice authorities today laid bare the full and sensational extent of corruption at the heart of football’s world governing body in the Americas. Those indicted by the US authorities are accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150m over a 24-year period.
By Paul Nicholson in Zurich
May 27 – More details surrounding the seven arrests in Zurich this morning have been releasesd by US law authorities who have stepped up their assault on CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, its executives and associated marketing parties. The information details the nine FIFA officials and five company executives who have been “indicted for racketeering, conspiracy and corruption”.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 27 – Neither FIFA president Sepp Blatter nor his number two Jerome Valcke are implicated in either of the corruption cases that have plunged world football’s governing body into fresh crisis just 48 hours from its presidential election.
By Mark Baber
May 27 – Pirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera has delivered a warning to Inter Milan, saying that his company’s sponsorship of the team, which expires in 2016, doesn’t make sense without winning cups and without European football.
By Mark Baber
May 27 – The Football League has outlined its plans for title sponsorship of the League and League Cup, officially confirming Capital One will no longer be sponsoring the League Cup, whilst negotiations continue over title sponsorship of the Football League – with Sky Bet very much in the frame.
In a statement on its official web site the Football League confirmed Sky Bet will continue as title sponsor of the Sky Bet Championship,
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 26 – You know instinctively when battle lines start to be drawn for FIFA presidential elections. A raft of media organisations camp outside the various confederation hotels keen to pick up any gossip in terms of how the ballot is likely to play out and any late tactical changes of allegiance.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
May 27 – Before his dramatic and surprise detention at the hands of Swiss law enforcement officers early this morning, it was business as usual for CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, and high on the agenda was World Cup representation and the number of nations qualifying for the finals. Webb, who has consistently campaigned for more World Cup representation for his Continent, says increasing the finals from its present 32-team format is not the best way to go about it.
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson in Zurich
May 27 – Dawn raids at a Zurich hotel have plunged FIFA into crisis with the reported arrest of six officials by Swiss law enforcement authorities. No sooner had news of the arrests been made than FIFA was hit by a second bombshell within a few hours when the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) announced it has opened criminal proceedings in connection with the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups “against persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and money laundering”.
By Paul Nicholson in Zurich
May 27 – The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 that kicks off in Canada in 12 days time is poised to break ticket sales records and fulfill predictions that this will be the breakthrough competition that unequivocally establishes the women’s game in world football.
By Mark Baber
May 26 – Liberia have been given the go ahead by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to play international matches on home soil following the 9 May declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the country is officially “Ebola Free.”