By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 5 – No sooner had he been re-elected FIFA president for another four years than Gianni Infantino subjected himself to an hour of media scrutiny with his pet project, an expanded Club World Cup in 2021, top of the agenda.
By Paul Nicholson
June 5 – With all the recent distractions of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s geo-political game-playing around a 48-team Qatar 2022 World Cup out the way, preliminary qualification begins tomorrow for a good ‘old-fashioned’ 32-team one, with the road to Doha beginning in Mongolia.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 5 – Admitting that he had made mistakes, Gianni Infantino nevertheless gave himself and FIFA’s collective membership a comprehensive – and at times Blatter-esque – pat on the back today as he reviewed his first three years as FIFA president and looked forward to the next four.
June 5 – French President Emmanuel Macron has angered European football chiefs by wading into the debate over UEFA’s proposals to overhaul the Champions League in 2024.
Macron reportedly urged UEFA to abandon the concept during an opening event for the Women’s World Cup that begins Friday and was delivered in front of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
By Samindra Kunti in Paris
June 4 – Alejandro Dominguez (pictured) reinforced his allegiance with Gianni Infantino FIFA Congress with Conmebol pledging to support the FIFA president’s re-election by acclamation.
June 5 – Lennart Johansson, the longest-serving president of UEFA and one of the great statesmen of European football who campaigned tirelessly for fair play on and off the field, has died at the age of 89.
By Samindra Kunti in Paris
June 5 – On the sidelines of the AFC Extraordinary Congress Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), reaffirmed India’s intention to bid for the 2027 Asian Cup after his federation dropped out of the race for the 2023 edition, which was awarded to China by Asia’s governing body on Tuesday.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 4 – It’s a fait accompli as they say in France. Gianni Infantino will be re-elected FIFA president in the French capital on Wednesday.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 4 – Under-fire African football chief Ahmad, who unconfirmed reports say is under investigation by FIFA’s ethics gurus, today pleaded for unity among his colleagues with a rallying cry he clearly hoped would ward off mounting attacks on his presidency of FIFA’s largest confederation.
By Paul Nicholson in Paris
June 4 – After the revolution comes evolution. If no-one has ever coined that phrase then Concacaf should claim it because it aptly describes the regional confederation’s emergence from the dark days of May 2015 and the movement towards the light of new competitions, better governed operations and, perhaps most importantly, a return to international parity in the eyes of the rest of the world.
By Paul Nicholson in Paris
June 4 – This Thursday in Ulaanbaatar the first ball of the 2022 World Cup will be kicked when Mongolia and Brunei Darussalam being the first round of AFC qualifying. In December in three years time the last ball will be kicked in Doha Qatar. The focus is on Asia, said AFC president Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 4 – World Cup hosts Qatar have been handed the next two Club World Cups in December this year and in 2020 – the last before the tournament is controversially overhauled – in an apparent move by FIFA to test the tiny Gulf state’s capability and infrastructure.
By Paul Nicholson in Paris
June 4 – China were officially awarded the hosting rights for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Paris today, promising AFC member nations “that we will not let you down”.
June 4 – FIFA has lifted Sierra Leone’s international ban following a meeting of the world governing body’s ruling council in Paris, allowing FA president Isha Johansen to attend the FIFA Congress here on Wednesday.
June 4 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Qatar 2022 World Cup organisers have partnered via their key Dream Asia and Generation Amazing initiatives to collaborate across legacy and education areas thoughout Asia for the next four years.