Every time you ask FIFA whether they would sanction switching the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to the winter, you get the same answer: only if Qatar, as the host nation, officially requests us to do so.
And every time you ask Qatari organisers the same question, you also get the same answer: only if we are asked to do so by FIFA as world football’s governing body.
It’s a clever tactic,
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 4 – FIFA’s new anti-racism chief says tougher penalties need to be introduced to help eradicate abuse and wants to meet with both the perpetrators and victims. FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb, who runs the CONCACAF confederation that covers north and central America and the Caribbean, believes black players have been let down by football’s authorities and is determined to do something about it.
By Osasu Obayiuwana in Lagos
March 3 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has warned DR Congo’s government to stop interfering in its domestic football or face severe sanctions.
By Andrew Warshaw in Edinburgh
March 2 – FIFA are setting up a new crack unit to deal with the worrying resurgence of racism throughout the game, Sepp Blatter has announced.
March 1 – In a world first, a club TV channel has bought the broadcast rights to an international football league. Benfica TV has been awarded exclusive audio visual broadcast rights for all Barclays Premier League matches per season for from 2013/14 – 2015/16 in Portugal.
March 1 – An unlikely trade mission this week pitched former World Cup bidding foes together in a show of friendship and economic opportunity. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee and the US Embassy in Qatar concluded a joint trip to Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 1 – FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein (pictured) has summoned three of the candidates hoping to run Asian football to a summit in Jordan next week to make sure they have a proper agenda and are not just playing politics.
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 1 – The race to lead Asian football into a new era of unity and stability has suffered a dramatic blow amid reports that China’s Zhang Jilong (pictured), who has been in charge on an temporary basis for almost two years, has decided not contest the presidential election in early May.
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 1 – Football’s lawmakers, meeting in Edinburgh on Saturday, are to discuss the idea of trialling an electronic chip in players’ shirts that could potentially prevent cardiac attacks such as the one suffered by Fabrice Muamba (pictured) last year.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 1 – In a move that evokes memories of the 1986 World Cup being switched, FIFA has been forced to make a late change for next year’s under-17 women’s tournament after hosts Costa Rica failed to meet certain deadlines.
March 1 – Beleaguered Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers will not be stripped of any of their league titles over alleged undisclosed payments to players during the club’s former guise. But the company that used to run the club have been fined £250,000 by a commission appointed by the Scottish Premier League.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 1 – The Asian Football Confederation, stung by non-stop allegations of match-fixing, says the latest episode affecting a number of Lebanese players did not involve any of that country’s World Cup fixtures.
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
February 28 – FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke says the organisation has not received a shred of firm proof that Qatar broke any rules in securing their shock 2022 World Cup ballot victory.
By Mark Baber
February 28 – Louis Cooper, the 15 year old Hull City supporter, has taken the next legal steps against the West Yorkshire police and their decision to restrict travel and tickets for Hull fans for the upcoming Huddersfield game March 30.
February 28 – The Russian Football Union has re-elected the country’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko as its representative on FIFA’s executive committee Wednesday.