February 27 – FIFA presidential candidate Michael van Praag steps up his campaign bid early next week by unveiling his manifesto on Monday – then flying straight to the Conmebol Congress in Paraguay to lobby for support.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 27 – Kuwait’s Olympic supremo Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, one of the most influential powerbrokers in world sport, has formally put his name forward to take up one of Asia’s slots on the FIFA executive committee. Ahead of Saturday’s deadline, Skeikh Ahmad has been officially nominated by his home football federation, prompting immediate speculation that he may ultimately be setting his sights on the FIFA presidency in 2019.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 26 – Kuwait’s Olympic supremo Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, arguably the most powerful figure in Asian sport, looks set to throw his hat into the ring to take up one of Asia’s slots on the FIFA Executive Committee.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 25 – Michel d’Hooghe, FIFA’s longest-standing executive committee member, has been cleared of any misconduct in the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, bringing an end to what he described a few weeks ago as the hardest period of his life.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
February 19 – Promising to prioritise grass-roots football and a fairer distribution of funds as well as increase the number of World Cup finalists, Portuguese icon Luis Figo today became the first candidate for FIFA president to launch an official manifesto as distinct from simply mission statements.
February 19 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been quick to react to former Italian national coach Arrigo Sacchi’s complaint that there were too many black players in Italian youth football.
February 16 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter is leaving no stone unturned in his determination to secure the African vote at the presidential election in May.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – As FIFA prepares to formally approve plans to switch the 2022 Qatar World Cup to winter to avoid the searing June-July Gulf heat, the president of the International Ski Federation (FIS) has denounced football’s world governing body for selfishness over the effect such a decision would have on the winter sports schedule.
By David Owen
February 12 – Women footballers are preparing to take centre-stage at the World Cup in Canada this Summer, but a new report shows they remain on the margins of the sport’s power game.
February 11 – Mark Pieth (pictured), the Swiss expert hired by FIFA president Sepp Blatter to submit recommendations for reform to improve the organisation’s battered image, has suggested that much-publicised leaks about his work may be linked to the current presidential election campaign.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 11 – Women’s football looks set to make a significant breakthrough with the introduction of a women’s Club World Cup to mirror the annual men’s event that comprises the regional club champions from each of FIFA’s six confederations plus the host country’s league winner.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 10 – Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, one of the three candidates vying to take over from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, is the latest official to express his concern at FIFA allegedly changing a key independent report into reform of the organisation.
February 10 – Sepp Blatter and the three candidates vying to dethrone him have been successfully vetted, making them eligible to officially battle for the presidency of FIFA on May 29.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 9 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s chief legal adviser faces allegations of watering down a key report into reform recommendations in order to spare Blatter from potentially damaging criticism.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
February 6 – While the three contenders bidding to unseat FIFA president Sepp Blatter fine-tune their tactics, Jerome Champagne, the first to put his name forward more than a year ago, has strengthened his criticism of Europe for deliberately squeezing him out of the race.