Tag: FIFA

• 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.

• 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!”

• 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 - 05:37 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.

• Saturday, January 9th 2016 - 07:34 UTC

  Platini drops out of FIFA presidential race; Infantino and Ebrahim Al Khalifa, leading candidates

  

  Suspended UEFA chief Michel Platini has withdrawn from the FIFA presidential race as he fights to clear his name following an eight-year ban. Platini was banned by FIFA's ethics judge in December over a “disloyal” $2 million payment he received from Sepp Blatter in 2011. It virtually ended his dreams of succeeding Blatter at the helm of FIFA in the Feb. 26 election.

• Thursday, December 31st 2015 - 08:22 UTC

  Switzerland hands bank documents from FIFA corruption to US prosecutors

  

  Swiss authorities have handed over the first round of bank documents seized in their FIFA corruption investigation to U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday. The Federal Office of Justice in Switzerland says the documents relate to “bank accounts allegedly used for bribes connected with the grant of marketing rights to soccer tournaments in Latin America and the USA.”

• Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 07:27 UTC

  FIFA signs first sponsorship deal (since corruption scandal) with China's Alibaba Group

  

  FIFA has signed its first sponsorship deal since the corruption scandal engulfed world football's governing body. The eight-year agreement with Chinese company Alibaba Group, the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company, is for the Club World Cup spanning 2015 through 2022.

• Saturday, December 12th 2015 - 04:09 UTC

  Infantino will lead UEFA's Euro 2016 draw in Paris; Platini's 90 day ban stands

  

  Michel Platini cannot take part in UEFA’s Euro 2016 draw in Paris on Saturday after losing his appeal against a 90-day FIFA ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The decision Friday means he also won’t be able to participate in the UEFA Executive Committee meeting before the draw.

• Friday, December 4th 2015 - 07:29 UTC

  FIFA corruption: new round of arrests of South American football officials

  

  Sixteen more top football officials were charged in a dramatic widening of the FIFA corruption scandal on Thursday, as US prosecutors vowed to leave no stone unturned in their quest to root out graft. Several senior FIFA officials from the past or present were named in a 92-count US Justice Department indictment which came after a series of dawn raids at a luxury hotel in Zurich hosting FIFA officials.