The spotlight at next week's FIFA Congress will fall on the presidential election - but the real key to the future of football's beleaguered governing body is embedded in a document with the unglamorous title 'Draft statutes - Congress 2016'.
India has been termed the sleeping giant of world football by FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) president Sepp Blatter, and to awaken the dormant potential of the region, the international football association has launched a new program in partnership with the football associations of seven Indian states.
A member of the financial watchdog committee at soccer's ruling body FIFA has been charged with fraud, money-laundering and breach of trust by police in the Cayman Islands.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Sebastian Coe has long been one of the most outspoken critics of doping in athletics yet the newly-elected president of the sport's governing body has remained silent this week in the face of potentially its most damning drugs scandal yet.
FIFA will go ahead with its controversial decision to stage World Cup matches at midday in tropical venues, president Sepp Blatter said on Tuesday as soccer's governing body announced a bafflingly complex procedure for Friday's draw.
Running highlights from FIFA's congress. World soccer's governing body has voted on a series of reforms and will elect a new president later on Friday (all times GMT): 13.30 The voting process is proving a long, drawn out affair. After an hour's voting, we have crawled to L for Latvia with little to get excited about apart from the brief appearance of Davor Suker, Golden Boot winner as the top scorer at the 1998 World Cup, as he cast Croatia's vote. Time then for a reminder that for a candidate to be elected in the first round, he must obtain at least 138 votes, two-thirds of the 207 votes cast. If this does not happen, a second round is held. This time, a simple majority -- 104 votes, which represents more than 50 percent of the votes -- is sufficient for a candidate to be elected. If no candidate gets that majority, the one with fewest votes will be eliminated and a new round will be held. This continues until one candidate obtains a majority. 12.45. Having begun his speech by promising to "die with my boots on", Sexwale ends it by withdrawing from the race, "I have got a surprise for you. My campaign ends today and I suspend my participation. With only four people it is your problem now." Markus Kattner, FIFA general secretary then reminds delegates of the voting procedure, reminding them not to photograph their ballot papers.
The United States Soccer Federation said in a statement on the new charges that its hosting of the 2016 Copa America Centenario tournament would go ahead as planned.
- 'No independent governance committee, investigator or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization' - 'FIFA's ethics committee was created to increase the transparency of the organisation, that's what we wanted, but in the end it has just caused more confusion for FIFA'
Copa America kicks off in Chile on Thursday as a widening US-led investigation lifts the lid on rampant corruption among the sport's top officials.
Ambani's holding group launched the Indian Super League, an elite competition of newly created teams, in 2014 with the aim of attracting investment and big global names, much like the Indian Premier League has in cricket. 'It was 100% a wasted opportunity'.
An ambitious project to awaken a sleeping giant of Asian soccer looks like confirming Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's famous remark that India pricks up its ears only when comparisons with China are made. With China embarked on a multi-billion dollar mission to become a soccer superpower by 2050, India looks set to follow suit with its own plan to raise its status in the game to match its burgeoning economic power. Come October, India, most famously described as soccer's sleeping giant by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, will launch a programme to engage more than 11 million children in soccer-related activities.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
International Ski Federation (FIS) president Gian-Franco Kasper has warned FIFA against holding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the same time as the Winter Olympic Games.
Some of the big moments of the sporting world from 2010-2019!
Buoyed after the country was awarded the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup'S hosting rights, the All India Football Federation is set to bid for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Club World Championships.
Soccer's governing body FIFA has agreed to ban the third-party ownership (TPO) of players, its president Sepp Blatter said on Friday, seven years after first promising to outlaw the practice.
From the FIFA World Cup finals to the spot-fixing scandals that rocked Indian cricket, we pick the key sporting events on the 2014 calendar.
The Serbian FA (FSS) blamed their Albanian rivals for incidents which forced Tuesday's Euro 2016 qualifier to be abandoned but will press for several dozen home fans who invaded the pitch to be charged, the governing body said.
The scandal revolves around accusations that money was demanded from top athletes to 'bury' medical tests showing drug use
'It was a spectacular crime, wasn't it? Sepp is on the same scale. He's up there with Lance.' Director Stephen Frears, in an exclusive interview with Rediff.com
You can see Messi, Suarez and other South American superstars play in the Copa America. Why then are soccer fans ignoring the oldest football tournament and looking forward to the European championships, which begins in France on Friday?
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
In Mumbai to launch a business venture, Portuguese football legend Luis Figo, winner of the Ballon d'Or in 2000 and the FIFA World Player of 2001, discusses Barcelona, Real Madrid...
The Davis Cup will remain an annual tournament despite persistent complaints from some players that it over-burdens an already-crowded schedule, the head of the sport's governing body said on Tuesday.
Dani Alves has blamed the media for Brazil's unsuccessful World Cup campaign but conceded that the team did not prepare properly ahead of the humiliating 7-1 defeat by Germany in the semi-final.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.
