Singapore (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday vowed "zero tolerance" for child sex abuse in football following a series of allegations in England. "There are few things in life, not just football life, worse than child (sex) abuse," he told reporters in Singapore.

Zurich (AFP) – A complaint has been filed to a court in the Swiss city of Zurich against a FIFA-imposed ban on the transfer of under-age players, lawyers representing the complainant said on Thursday. The Zurich firm Nater Dallafior Rechtsanwälte launched the lawsuit at a court in the city on Wednesday on behalf of a […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA plans to close its loss-making $142 million World Football Museum, a landmark project of ousted president Sepp Blatter, which was only opened eight months ago, a FIFA source said Friday. While football's world body denied any immediate closure, it estimated a loss of more than $30 million for 2016 and said […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA's chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak on Wednesday stepped down from his post after 22 years in the job, football's world governing body announced. The 68-year-old is the latest figure from FIFA's 'old guard' to step down from the organisation. FIFA said it would develop the work Dvorak had accomplished in its […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA's disgraced former secretary general Markus Kattner has begun legal action to challenge his "unjustified" sacking, a source close to the German told AFP on Tuesday. The 46-year-old, who was also FIFA's financial chief, was fired with immediate effect on May 23 after the discovery of a secret bonus scheme that paid […]

Panaji (India) (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino played down an embarrassing rebuke by Asia's football body on Tuesday after it scrapped elections to the world body's new council in protest at the barring of a candidate. The FIFA boss watched as Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegates voted 42-1 against adopting the agenda for their […]

Panaji (India) (AFP) – An Asian football congress was scrapped after just 20 minutes on Tuesday as members overwhelmingly rejected its agenda in protest at FIFA barring a candidate from elections to its powerful new council. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegates flew from all over the region to a luxury hotel in Goa, India to […]

Panaji (India) (AFP) – An Asian football congress was scrapped after just 20 minutes on Tuesday as members rejected its agenda in protest at FIFA barring a Qatari official from elections to its powerful new council. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegates flew from all over the region to a luxury hotel in Goa, India to […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – FIFA's decision to disband a racism task force came under fire Monday despite reassurances offered by their new secretary-general Fatma Samoura. The 54-year-old Senegalese — the first woman and non-European to serve on the FIFA executive — said the world body could live with the perception held by many that […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Nothing sinister should be read into the disbanding of the FIFA task force on racism as it had simply achieved its goals, FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura said on Monday. The 54-year-old Senegalese — recruited to some surprise from the United Nations in May and the first woman and non-European to […]

Paris (AFP) – Former Netherlands striker Marco van Basten has been named as FIFA's new Chief Officer for Technical Development, world football's governing body announced on Friday. FIFA said the 51-year-old's new role will see him take charge of "all technical areas ranging from football technology innovation to refereeing". He will start next week. "It's […]

Geneva (AFP) – FIFA said Saturday that it had appointed accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct its audits, after KPMG ended their decade-long association with the scandal-hit world football governing body in June. "The Bureau of the FIFA Council has appointed PwC Switzerland as the new statutory auditors of FIFA," it said in a statement. […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA on Friday named a new chief finance officer to replace the disgraced Markus Kattner. The Swiss-German was fired after being involved in a staggering multi-million dollar self-enrichment scandal through illicit bonus payments and pay rises that also helped bring down former president Sepp Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke. Swiss Thomas […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Joao Havelange, who died Tuesday at 100, turned FIFA into a global business behemoth and helped bring the Olympics to Rio, only to resign in disgrace after a corruption scandal. The Samaritano Hospital in Rio de Janeiro confirmed that Havelange, who had been treated there in July for pneumonia, died […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Joao Havelange, who died Tuesday at 100, turned FIFA into a global business behemoth and helped bring the Olympics to Rio, only to resign in disgrace after a corruption scandal. The Samaritano Hospital in Rio de Janeiro confirmed that Havelange, who had been treated there in July for pneumonia, died […]