Entertainment

• Wednesday, January 27th 2016 - 07:59 UTC

  Infantino secures support from CONCACAF for his FIFA presidency bid

  

  Gianni Infantino has won the support of the seven-member Central American Football Union in his bid for the FIFA presidency. Leaders of the UNCAF federations, which are part of CONCACAF, endorsed the UEFA general secretary in a letter on Monday that Infantino posted on his Twitter page.

• Monday, January 25th 2016 - 08:29 UTC

  Paraguay's Dominguez, expected to be confirmed Conmebol president on Tuesday

  

  Conmebol the South American football confederation rattled by corruption and massive arrests of its former members (except Uruguay's), involved in the major FIFA scandal, has a president, and if nothing happens from here to election day, 26 January, he is Alejandro Domìnguez, (43) a Paraguayan economist, belonging to one of the richest families in the country.

• Friday, January 22nd 2016 - 12:41 UTC

  Infantino proposes spreading FIFA' World Cup across regions and not limited to wealthy countries

  

  The World Cup could be spread across entire regions, emulating the continent-wide 2020 European Championship, if Gianni Infantino wins the FIFA presidential election next month. The UEFA secretary general used his manifesto to say FIFA should not limit the tournament to be being held in one or two countries. The 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea was the only time the event has been co-hosted.

• Friday, January 22nd 2016 - 04:04 UTC

  Infantino secures backing from several European federations for his FIFA presidency bid

  

  Gianni Infantino has secured the backing of the German and Icelandic FAs and could end the week with significant support from Europe’s 53 federations after meetings in Nyon. The Iceland FA confirmed support on Thursday, with Infantino tweeting “Many thanks to the Football Association of Iceland for the support. Together we can take FIFA forward!”

• Saturday, January 16th 2016 - 10:31 UTC

  Dead fish and garbage in Rio's Guanabara Bay question Brazil's Olympic celebrations

  

  Thousands of dead fish washed up on the shores of Rio’s Guanabara Bay during the week, not far from where events are being held at this year’s Olympic Games, environmental officials said. The incident was the latest involving water quality in the bay, where sailing, open water swimming, and triathlon races are due to take place during the Games in August.

• Saturday, January 16th 2016 - 10:25 UTC

  Tight budgets are forcing many Brazilian cities to cancel Carnival celebrations

  

  Cities across Brazil are cancelling carnival celebrations as increasing economic woes hit Latin America's largest economy. Local governments are citing tightened budgets, with lower tax revenues and more important projects in need of funding.

• Friday, January 15th 2016 - 12:09 UTC

  FIFA fines federations for homophobic remarks from fans, including Argentina, Chile and Uruguay

  

  Anti-gay chants by fans have led to fines for six football associations. Match reports revealed that fans of Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay yelled homophobic remarks during qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 05:48 UTC

  Rio mayor confident the city has the funds to host the 2016 Olympic Games

  

  The mayor of 2016 Olympic host city Rio de Janeiro insisted authorities had the finances to avoid disruption to the summer Games despite Brazil’s recession. Latin America's largest economy is suffering from a deep recession and soaring inflation -- a contrast to the boom times of 2009, when Rio won the right to host the Olympics.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 05:37 UTC

  Suspended FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke has been sacked

  

  “The FIFA Emergency Committee decided on 9 January 2016 to dismiss Jérôme Valcke from the position of FIFA secretary general with immediate effect. Jérôme Valcke is therefore no longer the secretary general of FIFA,” a FIFA statement said on Wednesday.

• Tuesday, January 12th 2016 - 07:10 UTC

  Messi undisputed king of the 'beautiful game': fifth Ballon d'Or

  

  Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year on Monday, after watching his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo walk off with the prize for the previous two years. The Argentine Barcelona forward finished ahead of Ronaldo and Brazil forward Neymar as he scooped the award for a record fifth time overall, having previously won it four years in a row from 2009 to 2012.