Mexico 1 Honduras 0
July 2 – The question on the lips of pundits and fans at Levi Stadium, Santa Clara, was “would tonight be business as usual or unusual business?” as Mexico and Honduras met for the right to face the United States in the Concacaf Gold Cup Final on Sunday in Houston.
Spain 5 Portugal 0
July 3 – With an imperious display, world champions Spain waltzed past neighbours Portugal at the Wankdorff Stadion in Bern, winning 5-0 to back up their status as tournament favourites.
By David Gold
June 5 – Tom Jones, the Associate Principal of Populous, the global design specialists whose Senior Principal John Barrow will be speaking at the Inside World Football Moscow Forum in June, says that Russia should think about the wider infrastructure required for the 2018 World Cup, and learn some lessons from the experience of South Africa in preparing to host a successful World Cup.
By Duncan Mackay
June 5 – Legal reasons today prevented suspended FIFA vice-president Jack Warner from publicly revealing details of e-mail correspondence between himself and Sepp Blatter, the President of football’s world governing body.
By Duncan Mackay
June 5 – Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the London 2012 Olympics, has claimed that many of the problems that have overwhelmed FIFA and its President Sepp Blatter recently could have been avoided if they had adopted anti-corruption World Cup bidding reforms he had proposed more than two years ago.
By David Gold
June 5 – Hazem Galal (pictured), a partner at PwC Brazil and a speaker at the Inside World Football Moscow Forum, has told insideworldfootball that Russia can learn from Brazil’s 2014 World Cup preparations, and in particular that it needs to get the balance between public and private investment right by providing the appropriate incentives and regulatory frameworks.
By Duncan Mackay
June 5 – English Football Association chairman David Bernstein has written to FIFA President Sepp Blatter to reassure him that they want to continue working with the world governing body but also to protest at some of the comments made by senior officials, including Argentina’s Julio Grondona and Spain’s Angel Maria Villar-Llona.
By Duncan Mackay
June 5 – Iran’s women’s football team are involved in a new row over their dress after they were banned from playing their second qualifying round of the London 2012 Olympics against Jordan in Amman because, it was claimed, they were wearing “inappropriate” clothing.
By David Gold
June 5 – Blackburn Rovers defender and New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen has joined forces with marketing expert Hamish Miller to begin Roar Sports Marketing, a mental toughness programme for elite sportsmen and women.
By David Gold
June 5 – Argentine newspaper La Nacion called for FIFA vice-president Julio Grondona (pictured) to resign for his admission that he knew there were no drug tests before a 1994 World Cup qualifying game against Australia.
By David Gold
June 5 – Nigeria’s 4-1 win over Argentina last Wednesday (June 1) is the latest and highest profile international friendly match to come under investigation by FIFA for suspected match fixing.
By Duncan Mackay
June 4 – Confusion over who is leading CONCACAF continued today when it was revealed that the Confederation’s acting President Lisle Austin (pictured) has been suspended for allegedly breaking the rules.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – Jim Boyce, Britain’s new FIFA vice-president, says anyone found guilty of corruption should be thrown out of the organisation and that he will not be afraid to stand up and say it.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – FIFA have hired former FBI director Louis Freeh to head the evidence-gathering team looking into claims that Mohamed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner offered $40,000 (£24,000) bribes to Caribbean voters during the recent Presidential campaign.
By David Gold
June 3 – Diego Maradona claims his lawyers will be taking legal action against Julio Grondona, the head of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and FIFA vice-president, for “slander, defamation and discrimination” as the row between the pair escalates.
By David Gold
June 3 – More people in Washington D.C. saw the Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United last weekend than anywhere else in the United States, new figures have revealed.
By Tom Degun
June 3 – Mike Lee, the former communications director of London 2012, has written a letter to a Parliamentary inquiry making a series of key recommendations on how the Football Association in England can improve their impoverished international standing in world football.