By David Gold
April 11 – FIFA has handed a budget of almost $700 million (£440 million/€534 million) to Russia 2018, it was announced at a meeting of the World Cup Organising Committee’s Management Board.
By David Gold
April 11 – Gérard Enault, the former head of the French Football Federation (FFF) and the head of the bidding committee for France’s successful hosting of the 1998 World Cup, has died.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – Football disputes, such as late transfer payments, could in future be fast-tracked by clubs themselves rather than be dealt with by FIFA or the sporting courts.
Rarely has a classroom full of 14-year-olds been quite as stunned into silence by the announcement of the departure of their English teacher as mine was about 12 years ago now.
A quite brilliant teacher, poached from us in North London by Qatar, was leaving us. I left the classroom that day asking my friends: “Why Qatar? Who in their right mind would leave England to go to Qatar? Where even was Qatar?
By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – Germany is considering bidding for the 2020 European Championships following the huge success of the 2006 World Cup (pictured left), according to the new German Football Federation (DFB) President Wolfgang Niersbach.
By David Gold
April 10 – Russia 2018 has begun a tour with FIFA delegates of potential host cities for the World Cup being staged in the country in six years’ time.
By David Gold
April 10 – The Australian Football Federation (FFA) has been plunged into a new crisis after the billionaire owner of Newcastle Jets, Nathan Tinkler, decided to return his licence to operate the team in the A-League, citing an untenable relationship with the country’s governing body.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 10 – The biggest supporters group aligned to French club Olympique Marseille has taken the unusual step of urging their team to lose to title challengers Montpellier tomorrow – in order to stop Paris St. Germain (PSG) from clinching the trophy.
By David Gold
April 10 – UEFA has announced that it has awarded media rights in France for Euro 2012 and Euro 2016 to Al Jazeera’s beIN SPORT channel, TF1 and M6.
By David Gold
April 10 – UEFA President Michel Platini has been in Israel to visit the Shfayim technical and training centre near Tel Aviv, which was recently built with assistance from the HatTrick initiative.
By Duncan Mackay
April 10 – Former FIFA President Joao Havelange is back in intensive care suffering from heart and breathing problems, with doctors describing his condition as “serious”.
By David Gold
April 10 – Reports in the South African press claiming that only one of the prospective eight host cities, Rustenberg (its Royal Bafokeng Stadium pictured left), had signed host city agreements to stage matches during next year’s African Nations Cup, have been denied vehemently to insideworldfootball today.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 10 – The much maligned Europa League could be scrapped in favour of doubling the size of the Champions League according to a German report.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 9 – Former England caretaker manager Peter Taylor has vigorously defended his Bahrain team (pictured in red) in the wake of a FIFA investigation into their astonishing 10-0 win over Indonesia (pictured in white) in a World Cup qualifier.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 9 – Switching the Russian season to bring it into line with Western Europe has been attacked by veteran international midfielder Igor Semshov (pictured left) who says the revised schedule is killing the game in his country.