More on FIFA World Cup

China dismiss soccer head coach Perrin – reports

Frenchmen Alain Perrin was dismissed as the coach for the Chinese football team after their failure to perform,
China’s coach Alain Perrin talks to reporters after his team drew Group C in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers during the preliminary joint qualification round 2 draw in Kuala Lumpur

Argentina, Uruguay want to co-host 2030 World Cup

COLONIA, Uruguay (Reuters) – Argentina and neighbouring Uruguay will bid to co-host the 2030 World Cup, Argentine President Mauricio Macri said at a joint news conference on Thursday with Uruguayan leader Tabare Vazquez. “We have decided that our best opportunity is to jointly nominate ourselves as candidates,” Macri said during a visit to Colonia, Uruguay. […]
Uruguayan President Vazquez and his Argentine counterpart Macri embrace each other during a joint news conference after their meeting at the Uruguayan Presidential ranch of Anchorena near Colonia City

FIFA ethics committee extends Valcke suspension

ZURICH (Reuters) – FIFA’s ethics watchdog has extended Secretary General Jerome Valcke’s suspension from world soccer as it prepares a ruling over accusations of corruption involving the sale of World Cup tickets. The French administrator has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which is among dozens of allegations rocking soccer’s governing body, caught up in […]
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke attends a news conference in Samara

Ethics watchdog recommends nine-year ban for FIFA’s Valcke

ZURICH (Reuters) – FIFA’s ethics watchdog has recommended a nine-year ban for secretary-general Jerome Valcke over alleged corruption involving the sale of World Cup tickets, among the dozens of scandals rocking soccer’s crisis-plagued governing body. Cornel Borbely, chief investigator for FIFA’s independent ethics committee, requested that Valcke be fined 100,000 Swiss francs after completing an […]
FIFA Secretary General Valcke arrives for news conference in St. Petersburg

Top 5 worst title defences

Many teams find it tough to hold onto their titles and crumble under pressure . Chelsea isn't the only team to have defended their title so poorly . We tell you who else couldn't .
Mourinho Chelsea

Scandal-hit Sepp Blatter named ‘Swiss of the Year’

Suspended world soccer chief Sepp Blatter was named "Swiss of the Year" on Thursday by a weekly magazine in his native Switzerland.
Former FIFA President Blatter reacts during a news conference after the Extraordinary FIFA Executive Committee Meeting at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich

One billion watched 2014 World Cup final on TV

LONDON (Reuters) – More than one billion television viewers watched last year’s soccer World Cup final between Germany and Argentina in Brazil although audience figures for the tournament were slightly down because of adverse kickoff times, according to a FIFA report on Wednesday. The report, produced by Kantar Media, said 695 million people watched at […]
Fans of Argentina react on Copacabana beach as they watch the 2014 World Cup final match between Argentina and Germany in Rio de Janeiro

Prosecutors seek Swiss help in German World Cup tax case

ZURICH (Reuters) – German prosecutors have asked Switzerland, home country of soccer world governing body FIFA, to help look into a suspicious payment linked to Germany’s hosting of the 2006 World Cup, including by sifting through bank data. The Frankfurt state prosecutor has sought legal assistance over a 6.7 million euro ($7.3 million) transfer from […]

Suarez, Neymar and Messi find a home in Russian zoo

If Barcelona's Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi ever get to Saransk, they will find their namesakes playing already in the local Russian zoo.
Real Madrid v Barcelona – Liga BBVA

FIFA approves reform package, delays World Cup expansion

FIFA's executive committee approved a package of planned reforms aimed at cleaning up soccer's scandal-plagued world governing body.
Journalists gather in front of FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich

Qatar rejects rights group report on “rampant” labour abuse

Qatar's government has rejected a report by Amnesty International which said abuse of migrant labourers in the Gulf Arab state remains "rampant".
Construction work goes on at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha

Labour abuse still ‘rampant’ in Qatar five years after world cup bid

Labour abuse remains 'rampant' in Qatar despite some reforms introduced since the Gulf Arab state won the right to organise the World Cup.
Members of the Swiss UNIA workers union display red cards and shout slogans during a protest in front of the headquarters of soccer’s international governing body FIFA in Zurich