By Andrew Warshaw
August 3 – An exclusive South African report has revealed that Danny Jordaan, the public face of the 2010 World Cup, has hired an elite set of lawyers to defend him in the ongoing FIFA corruption scandal.
August 1 – Four months after pleading not guilty, former Guatamalan football chief Brayan Jimenez has changed his plea to guilty in a US court to charges racketeering and wire fraud as part of the FifaGate scandal and faces up to 20 years in prison.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 29 – FIFA’s new Senegalese secretary-general Fatma Samoura, whose appointment raised a number of eyebrows as she had no prior experience in football, believes the time she spent working in war zones for the United Nations has more than prepared her for the challenges that lie ahead.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 28 – Fresh speculation has emerged as to why long-serving African football chief Issa Hayatou stayed away from FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s recent visit to Nigeria, his first to an African nation since succeeding Sepp Blatter.
July 28 – The FA Cup, the world’s oldest and most prestigious domestic knockout competition, breaks new ground this coming season with the introduction of a fourth substitute in extra time for the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final.
July 28 – As anticipated, German football supremo Wolfgang Niersbach has decided to appeal his one-year ban over the scandal surrounding possible vote-buying during Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid.
By James Dostoyevsky
July 27 – UEFA is finally moving to replace Michel Platini as its president. In mid-September, the European football’s governing body, which organises some of football’s financially most profitable competitions, will have to chose between three men from three different backgrounds.
July 27 – FIFA have confirmed the worldwide extension of the two-year ban imposed on the vice-president of the Equatorial Guinea Football Association, Gustavo Ndong Edu, for match-fixing.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 26 – Gianni Infantino may be embroiled in allegations about ethics violations but away from the firing line he is making it his business to solicit the goodwill of those who voted for him to become FIFA president.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 26 – The career of German football supremo Wolfgang Niersbach (pictured), not so long ago touted as a possible UEFA president in succession to Michel Platini, has been halted firmly in its tracks after he was banned for one year by FIFA’s ethics committee in the first sanction resulting from the investigation into Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid, throwing into question his position on the top tables of both FIFA and UEFA.
July 22 – FIFA ethics judges have opened a case against former Thai powerbroker Worawi Makudi, who faces a four-year ban for alleged election forgery and other misconduct.
July 21 – The first ‘live’ experiments with video refs complete today in New Jersey, US. The trials are part of a workshop organised by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which governs the rules of the game, in cooperation with the MLS.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – As Gianni Infantino awaits the most important verdict to date in his brief FIFA tenure, the FIFA president has come under yet more scrutiny over alleged dirty tricks – this time over accusations that he tried to influence the outcome of September’s UEFA presidential election.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 20 – The decision on whether to open a formal investigation into alleged ethics breaches by FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been delayed until the end of this week.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 18 – Under-fire FIFA president Gianni Infantino should learn this week whether he is to be formally investigated for breaking ethics rules.