By Andrew Warshaw
December 2 – Five front-line sponsors have re-iterated their demands for FIFA’s reform process to have an independent voice – just as proposals for long-lasting change are put to the scandal-plagued organisation’s top brass.
December 1 – There were no surprises when FIFA announced the shortlist for the prize of World Player of the Year, at least as far as the men are concerned, with the usual suspects bidding for honours in the New Year.
November 30 – The five FIFA Presidential candidates have been asked to nominate their top three priorities if they end up being elected as part of an online survey organised by the pressure group NewFIFANow and run by its co-founder and British parliamentarian Damian Collins.
November 30 – One of Africa’s most notorious footballing figures says he never believed Sepp Blatter would find himself sanctioned by his own ethics committee as part of the ongoing corruption crisis.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 30 – Without a presidential candidate of their own, the South American confederation CONMEBOL says it will back Gianni Infantino (pictured) to succeed Sepp Blatter in February’s ballot, an early indication of the support the current UEFA general secretary may receive in addition to his own European members.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – The head of Brazilian football, Marco Polo del Nero, has finally bowed to the pressure and agreed to resign from FIFA’s Executive Committee after being a no-show for the last six months amid fears he could be caught up in the burgeoning corruption scandal.
November 26 – The list of the final 55 players who have been voted by their professional playing peers for inclusion into the 2015 FIFA FIFPro World XI has been released, with only two players not playing in European leagues in the list.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 26 – ‘Watch-gate’, the much-published saga which blew up when heads of all 32 finalists at last year’s World Cup plus members of the FIFA executive committee, 65 individuals in all, were given luxury watches by the Brazilian FA to mark its centenary on the eve of the tournament, is back in the news – with an intriguing twist.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 26 – Ethics officials have dismissed the suggestion that they do not have the power to remove Sepp Blatter from office – and reject claims that he has not yet received the report into their investigation against him.
November 25 – Manchester City and its fans may have escaped UEFA sanction for their persistent booing of the Champions League anthem before matches, but FIFA looks unlikely to so lenient with the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) who are being investigated for a second booing incident against China.
November 25 – FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne says FIFA should consider moving the 2022 Qatar World Cup closer back to the tournament’s traditional summer slot.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 25 – Sepp Blatter claims FIFA’s ethics committee, which he himself set up, does not have the power to remove him as president.
By Andrew Warshaw
24 November -FIFA’s much-touted reform package will finally be put before the organisation’s top brass next week amid considerable doubt about whether it will go far enough to help wipe out corruption.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 24 – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini will learn their respective fates over alleged financial misconduct by the end of December, FIFA’s ethics committee has confirmed.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 23 – With public scrutiny intensifying over what he did and didn’t know regarding the alleged 2006 World Cup cash-for-votes scandal, Franz Beckenbauer, largely untouchable in recent weeks, is to be questioned on Tuesday by external lawyers in connection with the affair, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) newspaper.