By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
April 30 – Australia’s bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup has hit a major barrier which could seriously undermine it after it was reported Australian rules officials are demanding up to $100 million (£61 million) to allow them to use the iconic-Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
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April 30 – England have appointed an independent search marketing consultancy to try to gather more support on the internet for its bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
April 29 – The Premier League should be available through four television broadcasters by August after BSkyB today reached a legal settlement with the media regulator Ofcom.
By Duncan Mackay in Dubai
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
April 28 – Qatar today unveiled a $4 billion (£2.6 billion) plan here to build or renovate 12 stadiums with high-tech cooling systems as part of its bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
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April 28 – Every Premier League club in the country is to show its support to England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup with a series of activities for the last two weeks of the season, it has been announced.
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April 28 – UEFA President Michel Platini has criticised what he calls the “liberalism” in Premier League financial regulations which he claims led to Portsmouth going into administration.
April 27 – Guus Hiddink has led a delegation from the Netherlands and Belgium bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup to South Korea, where he is still considered a national hero after leading the national team to third place at the tournament in 2002.
April 26 – Frank Lowy (pictured right), the chairman of Football Federation Australia (FFA), has claimed that he is not concerned by Sepp Blatter’s claims that the Middle East deserves to host the World Cup, which have been perceived as being encouragement for Qatar’s bid for the 2022 tournament.
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April 26 – The main contractor working on construction of the stadium being built in Lviv for the 2012 European Championship has been replaced following criticism by UEFA President Michel Platini on the slow pace of progress.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
April 25 – Jack Warner, the highly-influential vice-president of FIFA, has turned down a trip to meet Vladimir Putin next month to discuss Russia’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup and has temporarily stepped away from his international football commitments.
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April 24 – England 2018 have announced British Airways as an official partner of their bid for the World Cup.
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By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
April 24 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter today backed to Qatar’s bid to bring the 2022 World Cup to the Arab world.
April 23 – British Sky Broadcasting Group today officially launched its legal appeal to delay Ofcom’s recent ruling that the nation’s biggest television company must wholesale its premium sport content to rivals and provide a new pricing structure by May 14.
April 23 – Karren Brady’s successor as Birmingham City chief executive, Michael Dunford (pictured), has resigned after only six months in the job, it was announced today.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
April 23 – England will face former captain Bryan Robson (pictured) when they play a friendly in Thailand in a move that appears designed to win the vote of Worawi Makudi, the President of the the country’s football association and a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, for its bid to host the 2018 World Cup.