Brazil 2014: "This defeat will devalue the football of Brazil in the eyes of its citizens" (Zaluar)

"This historic defeat, the result of a psychological collapse of the Brazilian team in the space of 25 minutes, will influence, in the short term, how Brazilians see their football and their championships," said Achilles Zaluar, minister-counsellor at the Brazilian Embassy in France, speaking to…

Brazil 2014: Match Hospitality director arrested over illegal ticket sales, then released

Ray Whelan, the director of Match Hospitality, a Swiss company that holds and manages the hospitality programme rights for FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), was arrested in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) as part of the police's Jules Rimet operation (named for the French man who…

Brazil 2014: Brazilian government says economy of Forteleza has gotten €231m boost

The 860,000 tourists that descended on Fortaleza for six World Cup matches (four group matches, a round of 16, and a quarter-final) have injected 700m reais (approximately €231m) into the local economy, the Brazilian government announced on 07/07/2014. 360,000 people attended the matches at the…

Bundesliga: German league considers introducing goal-line technology and video refereeing

The DFL (German professional football league) plans to introduce goal-line technology and sees video refereeing as "a tool that could be very useful to reduce errors," said Christian Seifert, CEO of DFL, on 30/06/2014. "Goal-line technology works. We must think more intensively about introducing…

Qatar 2022: Doha tests exterior cooling system in two fan zones in anticipation of World Cup

The cooling system that will be used in the 2022 World Cup stadiums in Qatar was tested in two fans zones in Doha (QAT): one at Katara Cultural Village and the other in the Aspire Zone Foundation, both of which broadcast 2014 World Cup games beginning 28/06/2014 (the start of the round of 16 and…

Liga managers for 2014-15

Threatening sanctions, FIFA demands Nigerian government reinstate Federation officials

The Nigerian government must reinstate the NFF (Nigeria Football Federation) to its roles before 08/07/2014 or face penalties, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) stated in a letter to the NFF on 04/07/2014. A regional court had ordered the dissolution of the Nigerian…

FIFA Joseph Blatter calls for more places in the World Cup for Africa and Asia

"It can't be like this; the regions that supply the leading European teams with top players from their vast reservoir of talent and that make a huge contribution to the attractiveness of the top leagues [can't be] treated with such disdain at the level of the World Cup. We need a new deal…

Euro 2020: Germany may withdraw bid in order to "better focus" on Euro 2024

Germany may withdraw its candidacy to host the semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020 at the Allianz Arena (capacity 67,812) in Munich in order to "better focus on Euro 2024," Wolfgang Niersbach, president of the DFB (German Football Association), told the German newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost on…

FIFA: Electoral committee created to oversee presidential election of 29/05/2015

FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has set up an electoral committee to oversee the presidential election at the convention in 2015, the organisation announced in a circular to its 209 member federations, on 30/06/2014. The document was signed by Jérôme Valcke, FIFA general…