By Duncan Mackay in Rio de Janeiro
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
November 23 – Russia’s Government are making final plans for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to travel to Zurich next week to support the country’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup – putting an end to doubts over whether he would make the trip.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 23 – The head of Spain/Portugal’s World Cup 2018 bid says he is confident of getting at least eight votes when the ballot takes place next week for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
November 23 – F1 racing legend Frank Williams has accelerated the development of his interests in Qatar by giving his support to the country’s bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 22 – Jack Warner, FIFA’s longest serving vice-president, has described as “stupid” a forthcoming BBC investigation into World Cup bidding.
November 22 – French legend Zinedine Zidane has been appointed as a special advisor by Real Madrid, one of his former clubs.
By Duncan Mackay in Rio de Janeiro
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
November 22 – Ruud Gullit has claimed that Holland and Belgium’s joint campaign to host the 2018 World Cup still has a chance of winning next week despite being the lowest ranked of the four European bidders.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 22 – The growing animosity between Qatar and the United States over which of the two should host the 2022 World Cup intensified today within the inner sanctum of FIFA.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – The United States is pulling out all the stops in an effort to prevent its 2022 World Cup bid being derailed by FIFA’s suggestion that there are insufficient financial guarantees to support the campaign.
By Tom Degun in Monte Carlo
November 20 – Sergey Bubka, one of the most influential figures in world sport, has accused London 2012 of going back on its promise to guarantee a legacy for athletics after the Olympics by short-listing a proposal from Premier League Tottenham Hotspur that would involve ripping up the track after the Games.
By Mike Rowbottom
November 19 – Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), believes that footballers – and supporters – have to be represented in the boardroom if the national game, and the future supply of young English players, is to be safeguarded.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 19 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter admitted today his organisation was split over the severity of the penalties meted out to six officials caught up in the World Cup bidding scandal.
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So now we know. The conclave that will assemble next month in Zurich to decide where the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be played will be at most 22 strong.
Though some might think this appropriate – it is after all the same as the number of players who take to the field for a game of football – the suspensions of Nigeria’s Amos Adamu and Tahiti’s Reynald Temarii will clearly reinforces the reputation for sleaze with which FIFA has long been saddled just as the attention of the world is once again about to descend upon it.
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
November 18 – The head of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid team today welcomed FIFA”s decision to clear them of any vote-trading collusion saying he always knew they had done nothing wrong.
By Duncan Mackay in Zurich
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
November 18 – British Prime Minister David Cameron has invited FIFA vice-president Jack Warner to lunch in Zurich next week as lobbying for the 2018 World Cup intensifies, it has been reported.
By Duncan Mackay in Zurich
November 18 – Two members of FIFA’s ruling Executive Committee accused of corruption were today prevented from voting in the decision to award the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 after they were banned for three and one years respectively by the organisation’s Ethics Committee.