South African FA President suspended for match-fixing

Kirsten Nematandani_South_Africa_FA_President

By Andrew Warshaw

December 18 – Two years after staging the World Cup and just weeks before hosting January’s African Cup of Nations, South African football has been plunged into crisis after the President of the country’s national federation, Kirsten Nematandani (pictured), was suspended along with four others in a new match-fixing scandal.

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Bin Hammam throws in the towel

Mohamed Bin_Hammam_171212

By Andrew Warshaw

December 17 – The most damaging scandal in the history of FIFA came to an abrupt conclusion today when Mohamed Bin Hammam dropped his long-running fight to clear his name, walking away after being banned for life by FIFA for “repeated violations” of the world governing body’s code of ethics while he was head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

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Andrew Warshaw: Football wasn’t born in Qatar overnight just because of 2022

Andrew Warshaw_IWF

It is just over two years since that momentous December day when Qatar stunned the footballing world by winning the race to stage the 2022 World Cup by a landslide.

At virtually every turn since, Hassan Al-Thawadi and his campaign team have had to cope with negative reporting about the methods used by the tiny Gulf state to achieve one of the most jaw-dropping results in the history of sports event bidding.

But if you think Al-Thawadi – the razor sharp,

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Cyprus FA President to hold meeting to reunite divided island

Costakis Koutsokoumnis

By Andrew Warshaw

December 14 – A hugely symbolic development in relations between the football authorities on both sides of the political divide in Cyprus will take place in the New Year when the President of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), Costakis Koutsokoumnis, holds a formal meeting with representatives on the Turkish-controlled north of the island.

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FIFA close Mohamed Bin Hammam bribery case

Mohamed Bin_Hammam_AFC

By Andrew Warshaw

December 14 – The FIFA-appointed corruption buster looking into the conduct of Mohamed Bin Hammam, the man who tried to challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA Presidency, has admitted no new charges will be brought to support the claim that Bin Hammam bribed Caribbean officials during his doomed election campaign.

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