England’s wobbling World Cup bid has been reshaped and reorganised but for all the tactical changes forced on skipper Lord Triesman, the 2018 squad still seems to lack fire-power up front. There are some worthy big guns on board, like Lord Coe and Sir Keith Mills, both architects of London’s successful 2012 Olympic bid, and the articulate ex-Chelsea star Paul Elliott.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 23 – Tottenham Hotspur have stolen a march on their rivals by becoming the first club to sign up to London United’s submission for potential 2018 World Cup venues.
November 23 – American businessman Stan Kroenke (pictured) has bought 10 more shares in Premiership club Arsenal to put him closer to the threshold that forces him to make a takeover bid.
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November 23 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter (pictured) has called a crisis meeting of the Executive Committee following a series of incidents that have rocked football, including Thierry Henry’s handball and allegations of widespread match-fixing in Europe.
November 23 – Rebel clubs from the second tier championship in the United States and Canada will compete in a new North American Soccer League (NASL) from April next year, officials announced tonight.
November 23 – David Beckham (pictured) will be given the first option of buying Major League Soccer’s (MLS) 20th franchise team, Commissioner Don Garber has revealed.
November 22 – Adelaide United Aurelio Vidmar (pictured) has been suspended and fined heavily by his club for a racist remark that Australian officials feared could jeopardise their bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
By Duncan Mackay
November 22 – Qatar today signed a €17 billion (£15 billion) rail project with Deutsche Bahn that will play an important role in transporting football fans around the country if it is awarded the 2022 World Cup.
November 23 – Five-time world champions Brazil would be prepared to play an exhibition match against a joint Palestine-Israel team to help the peace process in the Middle East, the South American country’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said today.
By Duncan Mackay
November 22 – Australia has recruited Andreas Abold (pictured), who helped Germany win its bid to host the 2006 World Cup and South Africa 2010, to give its campaign to stage the tournament in 2018 or 2022 a major boost.
November 21 – Former Irish Football Association (IFA) chief executive Howard Wells (pictured) has said he is satisfied with his six-figure payout for unfair dismissal, which has been settled out of court.
By Duncan Mackay
November 22 – David Beckham (pictured) has been credited by Don Garber, the Commissioner of Major League Soccer (MLS), for his role in helping the sport establish itself in the United States.
November 21 – Iraqi officials has promised that they will appeal against a decision by FIFA to suspend the country’s football association because of state interference.
November 21 – Sergei Fursenko, the former President of Zenit St Petersburg and a close ally of Vladimir Putin, has emerged as a serious contender to become the new head of the Russian Football Union (RFU).
By Duncan Mackay
November 21 – Declan Hill (pictured), author of the book The Fix, which alleged major matches across Europe had been rigged, has hailed the revelations that a continental-wide police investigation has uncovered widespread evidence of corruption.