FIFA President Sepp Blatter has agreed with the organization's lawyers that he will not use official FIFA platforms or personnel to issue statements in his defense in response to an investigation by Swiss prosecutors, two sources close to the matter said.
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.
A Swiss national who has run soccer's powerful governing body for the past 17 years, 79-year-old FIFA boss Sepp Blatter has now for the first time become the focus of a criminal investigation.
Yokohama beat Shandong to book Asian Champions League last 16 berth
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar and PSG's owner, was a happy man as he enveloped PSG players Messi, Mbappe and Angel Di Maria with a warm hug.
Bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was criticised by its own investigator.
European football's governing body UEFA has urged FIFA to stop pushing its plan for a two-year World Cup and instead to engage in "genuine consultation" over reform of the international match calendar.
FIFA's executive committee approved a package of planned reforms on Thursday aimed at cleaning up soccer's scandal-plagued world governing body, proposing integrity checks and term limits for senior officials and a new separation of policy and management positions.
'The stigma that FIFA is a corrupt body has to be erased once and for all. One fears that will not happen until Sepp Blatter goes'
'The ban and the timing of lifting it is unfair to Gokulam Kerala because we had been preparing for the tournament for about two months.'
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whose election promises included expanding the World Cup finals to 40 countries, on Monday proposed an even larger tournament involving 48 teams.
The stadiums at Qatar offer plenty of wisdom and chutzpah on how to take our own lives forward.
The election to replace outgoing Sepp Blatter will take place at an extraordinary congress on February 26 in Zurich.
'It was not an agreement, this was his proposal and of course it (then) went to the vote at the (FIFA) executive committee'
The 2022 World Cup will not be held in Qatar because of the scorching temperatures in the Middle East country, FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger said on Monday.
The British comedian who showered FIFA president Sepp Blatter with fake dollar bills has been charged by Swiss police after being arrested and interrogated, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.
Kosovo is to be allowed to play friendly matches against FIFA member-states at club and international level with some limitations, world soccer's governing body said on its website (www.fifa.com) on Monday.
A European-led boycott of FIFA or the World Cup is unrealistic.
I-League 2 team Sudeva FC launches collaboration with VfB Stuttgart for grassroots development
Each of FIFA's 211 member associations would receive $500,000 in the coming days as well as any remaining entitlements for 2019 and 2020, it added. The coronavirus outbreak has brought soccer to a standstill and clubs have struggled to cope with the loss of revenue.
A source close to FIFA said that as Blatter has not been arrested, charged or indicted, it would probably be for him to decide whether he stays in his post until February, when he is due to step down.
Normally the ceremony is conducted before the kick-off of the first game of the tournament.
In an interview with the Le Monde newspaper published on Monday, the head of Europe's powerful UEFA football federation said the money was for work he did for FIFA president Sepp Blatter from 1998 to 2002.
The Russian Football Union's director general, Aleksandr Alaev, urged football fans from across the world to ignore "some critical remarks" on the country hosting the tournament.
Granada and Bilbao complete match suspended after supporter's death
Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Valcke, the banned former FIFA secretary general, and Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chief executive of Qatar's beIN Media, over World Cup broadcasting deals.
Senators call for reforms of US soccer body at FIFA corruption hearing
His message contained some defiance: he vowed to fight the ban, insisted he had done no wrong and hit out at those who had questioned his integrity and honesty.
The country is scheduled to host the FIFA tournament from October 11-30.
The 2026 soccer World Cup could be split between up to four countries, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday, announcing the organisation would encourage applications to co-host the tournament.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino's salary has still not been confirmed three months after he took office, the head of soccer's global body said on Thursday.
On a day when Cristiano Ronaldo made history by becoming the first footballer to score goals in five World Cups and also become the second oldest man to score a goal at the biggest sporting spectacle on the planet, FIFA honoured the oldest soccer player to score a goal at a World Cup.
FIFA must make the 2026 World Cup bidding process 'absolutely bullet-proof' because the entire organisation's credibility is at stake, new president Gianni Infantino said on Friday.
Disgraced FIFA officials, suspended UEFA chief Michel Platini and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi were amongst the names found on Sunday in leaked documents which reveal offshore financial dealings.
Crisis-hit world football governing body FIFA faces one of the most important days in its 112-year history when it elects a new leader on Friday hoping to usher in a fresh era after decades of tawdry controversy.
- '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'
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.
Rafael Callejas, the former president of Honduras, on Monday flew to the United States where he has been indicted for alleged links to a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme at the world soccer governing body FIFA.
Video assistant referees (VARs) will be used at the World Cup for the first time in this year's finals in Russia, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Friday, and teams will be allowed a fourth substitute in matches that go to extra-time.
World football body FIFA put Jerome Valcke, its second-ranking official, on leave on Thursday just hours after an ex-footballer raised allegations he was involved in a plan to resell 2014 World Cup tickets for a lucrative profit.
