By Andrew Warshaw
November 13 – African football chief Issa Hayatou says acceding to Morocco’s request to postpone the Africa Cup of Nations would have been “to sign our death warrant” as yet another country added to the crisis by saying it couldn’t afford to step in and stage the event.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 13 – Qatar is failing to make fast enough progress in dealing with the ill-treatment of migrant workers, Amnesty International has warned in a fresh report. Six months after the 2022 World Cup hosts laid down plans for major reforms, Amnesty says few concrete steps have been taken.
By Paul Nicholson
November 13 – Perhaps the real winner of the report on the inquiry into the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process is FIFA itself and its president Sepp Blatter, who will be standing for a fifth term as president next year.
By Paul Nicholson
November 13 – While the inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process clears all the bidders of any wrongdoing that affected the outcome of the December 2012 vote, it is likely that there will be individual casualties as a result of the investigation.
By Paul Nicholson
November 13 – The 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be played in Russia and Qatar, as originally voted for by FIFA’s executive committee on December 2, 2010. The inquiry into the FIFA World Cup Bidding process has found no smoking guns, no bags of cash under tables or even in safety deposit boxes, and no evidence of root and branch corruption that would warrant removal of the biggest event in world sport from the current mandated host countries.
They say a week is a long time in football and the pace of change at FIFA has indeed been remarkable in the four years since the decision to award Russia and Qatar the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting rights.
Since 2010, 12 of the 24 people who voted on the destinations of those World Cups are no longer involved in the FIFA ex-co. Some, such as Ricardo Teixeira, were proved to have been guilty of taking irregular payments at one time or another.
November 12 – AC Milan have built on their popularity in Japan signing a sponsorhsip with leading retail store chain Lawson. The deal was announced at a Sponsor Day at the club by CEO and VP Barbara Berlusconi.
November 12 – The Gulf Cup, West Asia’s biennial eight-nation tournament, kicks off Thursday with the usual mixture of excitement and controversy and many seeing it very much as a dress rehearsal for the Asian Cup in January.
By Mark Baber
November 12 – Movistar, which has been the main sponsor of the Spanish national team since the Euro 2012 championship in Poland and Ukraine, has extended its sponsorship to cover the period up to and including the Euro 2016 Championship in France.
November 12 – The Asian Football Confederations (AFC) has announced its nominees for the 2014 AFC Player of the Year. The AFC Annual Awards will be held in Manila, Philippines, on November 30 in conjunction with the AFC’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
November 12 – Amid persistent crowd disturbances and allegations of corruption that do little to enhance the country’s staging of the 2018 World Cup, the Russian Football Premier League is the latest partner to be signed up by the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) to protect the country’s top division from emerging threats to safety, security and integrity.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 12 – As FIFA prepares to reveal partial conclusions of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid investigation, a Spanish newspaper claims Qatar will not be unduly compromised and that the finger is more likely to be pointed in the direction of Russia and England.
By Pail Nicholson
November 12 – As part of its 2018 World Cup planning the Russian emergencies ministry is setting up special task groups in FIFA World Cup host cities.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 11 – As widely anticipated, Morocco has been expelled from the forthcoming African Cup of Nations after refusing to host the competition on schedule due to fears over the spread of Ebola. Morocco had repeatedly asked the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to delay or postpone the three-week competition that is due to kick off in January fearing that fans and players might spread the virus even though the three west African nations devastated by Ebola are unlikely to qualify.
November 11 – FIFA have moved quickly to dispel a report that claimed Sepp Blatter believes Qatar will be stripped of hosting the 2022 World Cup.