[AWARDS] Seven players from Spain’s World Cup championship team are among the 23 players nominated for the FIFA Ballon d’Or. FIFA Ballon d’Or(Golden Ball) is a new award following the merger of the FIFA Men’s World Player of the Year and France Football’s Ballon d’Or awards. LionelMessi, winner of both awards in 2009, is among […]
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Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Swiss minister to investigate FIFA corruption charges
Zurich weekly SonntagsZeitung reported that Swiss sports minister Ueli Maurer has ordered an investigation into reports of corruption in international sportsfederations, most notably Zurich-based FIFA, which has been rocked by reports of vote-rigging in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid processes. Many international sports federations are basedin Switzerland because of the country’s favorable tax […]
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Troubling news for U.S. bidders
[MY VIEW] These can’t be easy times for those backing the U.S. bid to host the 2022 World Cup. If the latest revelations into the World Cup 2018/22 bid processcascading out of control are to be believed, the U.S. bid could be dead in its tracks. Michel Zen-Ruffinen, the former FIFA general secretary, toldundercover reporters […]
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The cloud of corruption
[MY VIEW] Wednesday’s decision by FIFA’s ethics committee to provisionally suspend six men — including executive committee members Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii — for their roles in the Sunday Times’ sting operation examining the World Cup 2018/22 bid process was a measureof damage control. But the decision and subsequent media conference at which FIFA […]
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Blatter: 'A sad day for football'
[WORLD CUP 2018/22 BIDS] FIFA’s ethics committee provisionally suspended FIFA executive committee members Amos Adamu andReynald Temarii on Wednesday in response to the London Times’ sting operation in which they were caught discussing the trade of their votes for the 2018 and2022 World Cup hosts with undercover reporters in exchange for the funding of so-called […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Goal-line technology moves closer to reality
The International Football Association Board — soccer’s rule-making authority — moved closer toward approving goal-line technology when it agreed Tuesday to re-examine the issue. Itsmembers — representing FIFA and the four British home associations — reversed their decision of several months earlier. In a statement issued by FIFA, the IFAB said, “Thetechnology would apply solely […]
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Ranking the World Cup 2022 bid competition
[ANALYSIS] Recent comments by some of its Asian rivals suggest they view the United States as the favorite to earn the FIFA executive committee’s backing tohost the 2022 World Cup when it meets on Dec. 2 in Zurich. But the U.S. bid is by no means considered a lock. Here’s a look at its four […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
FIFA challenge puts Nigerian soccer in jeopardy
Nigeria’s foreign-based stars were expected to assemble on Monday for a training camp in Abuja to prepare for their African Cup of Nations qualifier at Guinea, but as things stand now, the matchwon’t be played. Nigeria has been suspended from all international activity by FIFA because of governmental interference. It’s not the first time Nigerian […]
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Federal court ruling threat to U.S. Soccer's authority
[JURISPRUDENCE] The one thing you should know about FIFA is that it abhors the court system, so the lawsuit moving forward in U.S. District Court in Illinois isnot good news for U.S. Soccer just two months before FIFA’s executive committee will decide whether to bring the World Cup back to the United States in 2018 […]
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NFL owners woo FIFA inspectors
[WORLD CUP 2018/22 BID]FIFA inspectors didn’t get to meet President Barack Obama at the White House but they were greeted by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who wanted to make sure they knew “Jerry’s Place,” the Cowboys Stadium he built at a cost of $1.3 billion, would be a perfect fit for the World Cup. […]