FIFA President Sepp Blatter has tasked a panel led by German football legend Franz Beckenbauer with finding an alternative to penalty kicks as a way to settle matches, saying the sport “lost its essence as a team sport” with penalty shootouts.
Brazil’s sports ministry accepted an apology from FIFA Thursday after FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke said the 2014 World Cup organisers needed “a kick up the backside”. Valcke said the French phrase he used simply meant "to pick up the pace".
Leading corruption watchdog Transparency International said Thursday it was cutting ties with FIFA due to its continued frustrations with the efforts of the football governing body headed by Sepp Blatter to address corruption.
FIFA's beleaguered president Sepp Blatter apologised on Friday for the furore caused by his claim that racism did not exist on the field but stopped short of a full apology and dismissed calls for his resignation.
FIFA head Sepp Blatter (pictured) has sparked a wave of angry reactions for downplaying the problem of racist abuse on the football pitch. The backlash is especially furious in England, where two top players are being investigated for racial slurs.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Friday that he will release documents that could name officials who took kickbacks from the ISL agency, the football body’s former partner that collapsed in 2001, in what was a major corruption scandal.
FIFA on Thursday asked its ethics committee to investigate 16 Caribbean football officials suspected of corruption. The investigation centres around alleged payments offered or accepted to support FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam.
FIFA on Wednesday suspended Caribbean football official Lisle Austin for one year, and in a separate ruling, banned six Hungarian and Bosnian officials for life over the fixing of international friendlies.
France face a difficult qualifying path to the 2014 World Cup after they were drawn in the same group as Spain, the reigning world and European champions, as well as Georgia, Belarus and Finland.
The 203 teams vying for 2012 FIFA World Cup qualification will find out their draw on Saturday. As host, Brazil does not need to qualify, leaving 31 other places to fill.
