May 29 – Just as he did at the FIFA presidential election two years ago, Liberia’s maverick, controversial and still-in-place federation president Musa Bility is breaking Africanranks and will vote for the joint North American bid for the 2026 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 29 – One month after the British government delayed renewing his visa amid increasing diplomatic tension between London and Moscow, Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich no longer needs one to visit the UK after managing to quickly become an Israeli citizen.
May 29 – Jose Hawilla (pictured), the ‘Mr Big’ in the football corruption cases brought by the US Department of Justice and who co-operated to bring down a cabal of crooked football administrators, has died in a Sao Paulo hospital aged 74.
May 29 – Being arguably the most powerful woman in sport and certainly in football has not stopped FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura encountering prejudice.
May 29 – The Chinese are ramping up their engagement with the World Cup with Bull, a Chinese electrical devices provider, agreeing a deal with Tencent, for a series of eSports events and marketing campaigns throughout the country during the Russian tournament.
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 29 – Substitute Gareth Bale scored twice for Real Madrid to win the Champions League 3-1 win against much-fancied underdogs Liverpool. Mohamed Salah dislocated his shoulder and Loris Karius was the anti-hero, conceding two astounding goals that led Madrid to glory. Madrid’s win was historic in collecting a 13th European Cup. The victory may also have signified the end of an era.
By Paul Nicholson
May 25 – FIFA’s Moscow Congress on June 13 will not be asked to vote on president Gianni Infantino’s $25 billion new competition proposals. But it will be asked to push forward the 48-team World Cup agenda with the approval of a feasibility study for the expansion of Qatar 2022.
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 25 – Real Madrid will seek to win a record third consecutive Champions League title when they face Liverpool in Kiev on Saturday. But the excitement of the match is already over for about a thousand Liverpool fans who won’t make it to the Ukrainian capital after their flights were cancelled.
May 25 – Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has sold a minority stake in the club to 49ers Enterprises, an investment entity affiliated with the San Francisco 49ers NFL team.
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 25 – Lyon defeated Wolfsburg 4-1 to win the Champions League for a third consecutive time. They recovered form a goal down to run out classy 4-1 winners against ten Germans in a dramatic 30 minutes of extra time.
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 25 – Accusations of match-fixing rocked Ukrainian football this week but UEFA Executive Committee member and former Ukrainian FA boss Grigoriy Surkis has blasted the timing of the police raids and the inertia of the local FA in not having dealt with the problems. He called for a thorough investigation. Kiev hosts the Champions League final on Saturday.
May 25 – The digital streaming market received a significant credibility boost with the China’s MIGU being granted digital and telecoms rights from state broadcaster CCTV for the 2018 World Cup.
May 25 – The budget beleaguered FIFA World Football Museum that has been a major casualty under FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s sweeping cost cuts, has phoenix-like re-emerged for the Russian World Cup to host major exhibition at Hyundai Motorstudio Moscow.
May 25 – An attack on a referee in an amateur game between two Turkish teams based in north London has attracted outrage after video footage of the incident was released in the media.
May 25 – For the second year running London will host the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final 2018. The finals organised by FIFA video gamemaker Electronic Arts will be played from August 2-4, though the venue is still to be announced.