By Paul Nicholson
June 17 – In a region split by political division and posturing, the Qatar 2022 World Cup has forged a significant alliance, at least of outlook, within the country’s closest neighbours.
By Paul Nicholson
June 17 – International police organisation Interpol has issued a statement in response to what it says is a “false report” published in a leading British Sunday newspaper last weekend.
June 18 – The CIES Football Observatory has published an analysis of club and national contributions to 2014 World Cup players’ development. The ranking system illuminates which clubs have done the most in creating the talent on show in Brazil.
By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 17 – On paper, they look like world beaters, a veritable galaxy of international superstars – a good number of whom play their club football in the English Premier League.
June 17 – Group H takes over with the last of the first round group matches. A much fancied Belgium face North African powerhouse Algeria, while global super powers Russia and South Korea face off. Round 1 winners Brazil and Mexico re-enter the fray.
By Mark Baber
June 16 – China’s blooming sports lottery, which debuted in 2009, is expecting a big boost from the World Cup with revenues estimated to increase by US$13.5 billion-$16.2 billion over the coming month.
June 16 – INSIDEworldfootball journalists and columnists are peppered all around Brazil. Here chief correspondent Andrew Warshaw, currently loose in Brazil, rounds up some of the off-the-field activity so far.
By Paul Nicholson
June 16 – Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, a world cup legend having won the trophy as a player, a manager and then, as bid leader, winning the hosting rights for his country for the 2006 tournament, has said that he will now answer the questions of FIFA investigators.
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 16 – Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia players have refused to train in the past three days in protest against broken promises by the club’s owners that April’s wages would be settled.
June 16 – Reports are starting to emerge that David Beckham may ditch his plans for a Miami expansion, instead opting to join a consortium led by, as of yet unnamed, Asian investors who are interested in bidding for Chivas USA.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 16 – The clamour for goalline technology to be introduced at the World Cup left FIFA with little option and has been widely supported. Yet the first time it was used, it caused huge controversy during France’s 3-0 win over 10-man Honduras.
June 16 – Ghana beat the US in 2006 and 2010; Iran have won just one World Cup game out of nine World Cup games – against the US in 1998 (should Mr Garcia be investigating this clear threat to national interest?); this is Germany’s 100th World Cup game (still checking but pretty sure they have never been beaten by the US in a World Cup).
By Andrew Warshaw in Brazil
June 15 – Having seemingly finally run of patience over media allegations of corruption surrounding their World Cup bid, Qatar’s 2022 organisers have delivered their most forceful defense to date, directly linking the allegations to the timing of the ongoing investigation being conducted by FIFA’s ethics committee prosecutor Michael Garcia into the entire 2018 and 2022 process.
Now you may not readily think that democracy can be a hindrance to reform. To suggest that seems absurd. Yet in the case of FIFA that is indeed the stumbling block. Democracy is undoubtedly the best way to run things but the one person, one vote idea can have pitfalls as the working of FIFA demonstrates so vividly.
I say this because hard as it is to believe FIFA, in comparison with many other organisations including the United Nations,
By David Owen
June 15 – The Maracanã, along with Wembley probably the most famous stadium in world football, on Sunday hosts its first World Cup finals match for 64 years, when Lionel Messi’s Argentina take on tournament debutants Bosnia & Herzegovina.