Paris, France | AFP | Premier League champions Chelsea are the subject of a FIFA investigation, reportedly for possible breaches over the signing of foreign youth players, world football’s governing said on Wednesday. “We can confirm that an investigation is ongoing,” a FIFA spokesperson told AFP. “However please note that we …
Read More »South Africa accept World Cup replay order
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa said they accepted a FIFA order to replay a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Senegal that was manipulated by a Ghanaian referee. “Following extra information from FIFA, we resolved on moral and ethical grounds that we cannot benefit from corrupt activities,” a …
Read More »South Africa to discuss ‘devastating’ FIFA order
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa football bosses will meet Monday to discuss a “devastating” FIFA order that a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Senegal must be replayed after the referee manipulated the result. National association president Danny Jordaan said Saturday in a statement that issues for debate could …
Read More »Merkel urges tougher rules to end sky-high transfers
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday urged football governing bodies UEFA and FIFA to tighten rules governing transfers and stamp out spiralling record spending on players. “I view the financial developments in professional football as critically as many people,” she told Mittelbayerische Zeitung daily. “Such sums are …
Read More »First Mogadishu night-time football match in decades
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Football fans in Mogadishu were preparing Friday to cheer on their teams in the first night-time match since chaos descended on the Somali capital nearly three decades ago. The tournament for 16- and 18-year-olds at the Konis Stadium, renovated by FIFA, will be played under …
Read More »FIFA orders SAfrica to replay Senegal WC qualifier
Paris, France | AFP | FIFA on Wednesday ordered a World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal to be replayed after the referee was banned for match fixing. The November 2016 tie, which will be restaged in November, was won by South Africa 2-1 after Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey …
Read More »Ronaldo nominated for FIFA player award
Paris, France | AFP |Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo leads the nominees unveiled on Thursday for the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2017 award. The 32-year-old Portuguese captain is favourite to retain the title he won last year after success in both the Champions League and La Liga. Among the 24 …
Read More »Football: FIFA lifts ban on Sudan
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | World football body FIFA said Thursday it had lifted a ban imposed on Sudan last week for government interference in the sport. The move follows the reinstatement of Mutasim Gaafar Sir Elkhatim as president of the Sudan Football Association. He had been forcibly removed from …
Read More »Football: Blatter regret at overstaying FIFA tenure
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, forced out as head of world football’s governing body amid a corruption scandal in 2015, admitted on Sunday he regretted not stepping down earlier. The 81-year-old was banned over ethics breaches, bringing an end to his 17-year reign as FIFA …
Read More »FIFA discloses damaging Qatar World Cup bid report
Lausanne, Switzerland | AFP | FIFA on Tuesday released a long-withheld report on alleged corruption in awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar after more leaks deepened the controversy surrounding the vote. World football’s governing body had previously declined to publish in full the 400-page report into awarding the …
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