By Paul Nicholson
March 3 – FIFA is set to discuss a change to the planned first group stages for the expanded 2026 World Cup – increasing groups from three to four nations – at its next Council meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, later this month.
February 7 – Will Bolivia join the South American quartet of Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay in their bid for the 2030 World Cup? Argentina’s president Alberto Fernandez wants the Bolivians to be a part of the adventure.
January 31 – Lionel Messi says he regrets the exchanges he had with the Netherlands team during their controversial World Cup quarter-final in Qatar.
January 19 – FIFA has released a set of numbers and significant achievements/records that were generated by their World Cup month in Qatar. Top of those numbers is the claim that 5 billion people engaged with the tournament.
January 17 – The 2022 World Cup was heralded as a resounding success for fans from around the globe – it thrilled and moved people to tears of happiness and sorrow.
January 16 – FIFA have opened a disciplinary case against world champions Argentina for alleged “offensive behaviour” by players and violations of fair play at the final in Qatar.
January 13 – After Argentina won the World Cup for the second time in 1986, Diego Maradona was the king of football in Argentina. He was seen as a god in his country, given how well he delivered for the team. His successor, Lionel Messi was not born until June 24.
January 11 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr have denied reports that his contract includes a commitment to back a Saudi Arabian bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
January 9 – French coach Didier Deschamps is to stay until the 2026 World Cup after leading his country to the final of the last two editions of the tournament.
December 21 – Argentina’s World Cup heroes were forced to abandon an open-top bus parade in Buenos Aires on Tuesday as millions of ecstatic fans brought the city to a standstill.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 20 – Qatar’s World Cup chief Hassan Al Thawadi insists the tournament changed perceptions of the region and transformed his country.
December 20 – An analysis of the Argentine player data from World Cup qualifying to World Cup final by the CIES Football Observatory shows how coach Lionel Scaloni used 40 players en route to the big prize.
December 19 – World Cup organisers reportedly rejected a personal request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to deliver an address ahead of Sunday’s final.
December 19 – With the Qatar 2022 World Cup now complete, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa praised the hosting capabilities of Qatar in delivering the first World Cup in the Arab world and the second in Asia.
December 19 – Following a heartbreaking World Cup final defeat to Argentina, French coach Didier Deschamps left his future as manager of the national team in the balance.