February 8 – In one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal stunned 10-man Flamengo to reach the Club World Cup final with a 3-2 victory over South America’s Copa Libertadores champions on Tuesday.
By Samindra Kunti in New York
February 7 – The latest FIFA trial in Brooklyn has been paused after federal judge Pamela Chen reportedly tested positive for Covid-19.
February 5 – Al Ahly and Al Hilal have completed the lineup of the Club World Cup semi-finals where the African champions will play Real Madrid and the Asian champions Flamengo of Brazil.
February 3 – FIFA has beefed up its integrity regulations with new editions of its Disciplinary Code and Code of Ethics. Although the new rules were passed by the FIFA Council on December 20, they only came into force on February 1.
February 2 – On the same day that Saudi Arabia were confirmed as hosts of the 2027 Asian Cup, the Arab Kingdom faced criticism over rumours of the country’s tourism body’s sponsorship of the 2023 Women’s World Cup by human rights groups, who called it “a textbook case of sportswashing”.
February 2 – Former New Zealand international Maia Jackman has added her voice to the mounting discontent over the proposed Saudi sponsorship of the Women’s World Cup.
February 1 – African powerhouse Al Ahly of Egypt and OFC champions Auckland City will today kick off the 2022 Club World Cup, with Real Madrid, the European representative, once again the big favourites to win the competition.
January 26 – FIFA is reporting almost 400,000 visitors from more than 135 different countries visited its museum in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2022and internationally.
January 26 – FIFA’s new Global Transfer Report “with all-time record-setting” numbers has unsurprisingly revealed the dominance and power of the English top flight in the market. The 2022 outlay on player transfers stood at $6.5 billion, still below the pre-covid 2019 record of $7.35 billion.
January 25 – FIFA has suspended the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) over political interference after the federation’s presidential elections fell short of Zurich’s standards.
January 25 – FIFA has launched an education initiative to develop digital skills across its membership.
January 19 – FIFA has issued a report on the reforms it has undertaken to the player transfer system since 2017, but has emphasised that it has a “commitment to constantly adapt the regulatory framework to the current reality of football and the transfer system”.
January 19 – Referees at international tournaments over the next 12 months will explain the reason for VAR decisions to stadium crowds and television audiences in order to counter the growing discontent worldwide about game-changing inconsistencies.
January 19 – Football’s world players union and worldwide leagues have jointly denounced a decision by the game’s lawmakers to reject the idea of temporary concussion substitutes next season.
June 18 – News was released yesterday that a Swiss cantonal supreme court has ruled that FIFA’s firing of its former finance director and acting secretary-general Markus Kattner (pictured) in 2016 was “considered as unjustified”.