Paris (AFP) – A species on its way to extinction: Joao Havelange belonged to a group of all-powerful administrators who dominated the sporting world for decades. Here are five members of the exclusive club who ruled with an iron fist and bottomless pockets: Football: Joao Havelange President of football's world governing body FIFA from 1974 […]

New York (AFP) – The US judge overseeing the sweeping FIFA corruption scandal said Wednesday that he wanted government prosecution and defense lawyers to work toward a trial starting in September or October 2017. Judge Raymond Dearie told a pre-trial hearing in New York that it was no longer realistic to expect eight defendants who […]

Geneva (AFP) – FIFA's new general secretary, Fatma Samoura, said Friday her priority was restoring trust including among the organisation's corporate sponsors, with FIFA in "a very turbulent moment" after more than a year of scandal. Samoura took over as the number two at world football's governing body last month, after her appointment by President […]

Geneva (AFP) – A FIFA appeals committee has cut the suspension of former secretary general Jerome Valcke from 12 years to 10 and reduced Asian football powerbroker Chung Mong-joon's ban from six years to five, a statement said Tuesday. Valcke, who served as ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter's right hand man for nearly a decade, was […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA's new general secretary Fatma Samoura officially started work Tuesday, becoming the first woman and non-European to hold the powerful post at the scandal-tainted organisation. Samoura was named to the job in May, in a surprise move by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has sought to repair the reputation of world football's […]

Zurich (AFP) – Accounting and auditing giants KPMG confirmed on Monday they have ended their decade-long association with scandal-hit world football governing body FIFA. The Swiss branch of KPMG confirmed "the end of this partnership with immediate effect" in a statement to AFP. "In accordance with Swiss law, by letter dated June 9, we informed […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA on Monday sacked deputy general secretary Markus Kattner for financial 'breaches' involving secret bonuses worth millions of dollars, according to sources close to an inquiry by the world body. Kattner's downfall topples another member of ex-president Sepp Blatter's inner circle at football's world body. Kattner, a 45-year-old German-Swiss national, had been […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA's new president Gianni Infantino appealed Thursday for the public to judge the scandal-plagued world football body on its actions and not on hasty conclusions and speculation. "Given the events of the last few years I can understand that the public view FIFA with scepticism," Infantino said in an opinion piece published […]

New York (AFP) – Ex-FIFA official Julio Rocha pleaded not guilty in New York to corruption allegations Wednesday, the last suspect extradited from Switzerland in connection with the massive scandal rocking world soccer. The former president of the Nicaraguan Football Federation entered his plea to a raft of corruption offenses before a judge in Brooklyn […]

Paris (AFP) – Fatma Samoura, FIFA's first-ever female secretary general, may be an outsider in the football world but she is hoping her two decades of experience as a UN diplomat will help her restore the sport's "tarnished image". "My goal is to support the programme of president Gianni (Infantino) and to help football restore […]

Mexico City (AFP) – The head of FIFA's independent audit committee, Domenico Scala quit on Saturday in protest at what he called attacks on reforms of the scandal-tainted world football governing body by its leadership. Scala is angry at a FIFA Council move to control the nomination of members of independent oversight bodies such as […]

Paris (AFP) – FIFA's new secretary general Fatma Samoura on Saturday vowed "to help football restore its tarnished image" following a spate of scandals within the game's world governing body. "My goal is to support the programme of president Gianni (Infantino) and to help football restore its tarnished image," the Senegalese UN diplomat, named Friday as […]

Mexico City (AFP) – FIFA named a Senegalese UN diplomat as its first ever female secretary general on Friday, a historic move announced at a congress that sought to relegate world football's corruption crisis to the past. FIFA president Gianni Infantino made the surprise announcement in Mexico City that he had chosen 54-year-old Fatma Samoura, […]

Mexico City (AFP) – Senegalese UN diplomat Fatma Samoura is likely to be named as FIFA's new secretary general on Friday, which would make her the first female number two ever at world football's governing body, according to a source close to FIFA. The historic appointment is expected to be made at the FIFA congress […]

Mexico City (AFP) – FIFA's new president Gianni Infantino will preside over world football's annual congress in Mexico City on Friday to push through reforms aimed at rehabilitating the scandal-tarred organization. Infantino — who was elected in February after his predecessor Sepp Blatter was brought down by the corruption crisis — wants to turn the […]