By Andrew Warshaw
March 16 – No sooner had he been re-elected FIFA president for another four years than Gianni Infantino indulged in yet another unexpected monologue today, this time defending his organisation’s global standing and, more tellingly, his own personal reputation.
By Samindra Kunti in Kigali, Rwanda
March 16 – Gianni Infantino has been re-elected FIFA president by acclamation for a four-year term until 2027. Football’s boss has also cleared a path that could see him seek to stay in power until 2031.
By Samindra Kunti in Kigali
March 16 – With FIFA’s wealth at an all-time high and his power base consolidated, FIFA president Gianni Infantino called on “unity” in the football family with the world federation in a “strong” and “stable” position, having “regained the trust of sponsors and institutions”.
March 16 – It took penalty shoot-outs for both hosts Uzbekistan and Iraq to overcome South Korea and Japan to qualify for the finals of then AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan.
March 16 – Speaking at the FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, FIFA’s chief of global development Arsene Wenger outlined plans for FIFA to create a youth development academy in every country of the world by 2026.
March 16 – Spain’s La Liga has thrown the book at FIFA for overhauling the international match calendar without sufficient consultation, in particular expanding the Club World Cup from seven to 32 teams from 2025.
March 16 – The umbrella body representing all of Europe’s major leagues has slammed FIFA for acting “unilaterally” in introducing a new 32-team Club World Cup and playing 104 matches – 40 more than in the past and including a new round-of-32 stage – when the World Cup is expanded to 48 nations in 2026.
March 16 – Holders Real Madrid cruised into the Champions League quarterfinals as French superstar Karim Benzema’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 win over Liverpool in their last-16 second leg tie that wrapped up a 6-2 aggregate victory.
March 16 – German champions Bayern Munich have formed a partnership with Major League Soccer champions LAFC to identify and develop young talent for their own teams but also for the international market.
March 16 – Consumer electronics brand TCL, has become an official sponsor of Conmebol’s Copa Libertadores club competition for the 2023-2026 cycle.
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 15 – After no fewer than five failures, an unenviable record, Morocco believe they have finally found a way to stage the World Cup.
By Samindra Kunti in Kigali, Rwanda
March 15 – The World Cup will never be quite the same again. FIFA and its council decided that the global finals must be seemingly endless, the 48-team finals have now grown into a group stage of four teams and a tournament of 104 matches, eight to reach the final. In all the competition will last six, or seven days longer.
March 14 – Scotiabank have renewed its long term sponsorship of Concacaf’s major events, including the title sponsorship of the Champions League which is currently at the round of 16 knock out stage for the 2023 edition and in the final year of its current format before expansion in 2024.
March 15 – The Confederation of Brazilian Football (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues has ousted long-standing FIFA Council member Fernando Sarney (also Brazilian) as a South American representative on the world federation’s top body.
March 15 – Erling Haaland became the third player in Champions League history to score five goals in a single game as he led Manchester City to an 7-0 rout of RB Leipzig in the second leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday.