Paris, France | AFP | FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams starting with the 2026 tournament prompted one major question: who can host the global showpiece in its revamped format? North America is the favourite and in pole position with other former candidates relegated to outsiders. …
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Zurich, Switzerland | AFP | FIFA’s ruling council on Tuesday unanimously approved an expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026, with a format of 16 groups of three nations. “The FIFA Council unanimously decided on a 48-team #WorldCup as of 2026: 16 groups of 3 teams,” a …
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Delighted to win The Best FIFA award. Wouldn’t be possible without my teammates, coaches and you who support me every day. Thanks everyone! pic.twitter.com/1E1VkaYbTu — Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) January 9, 2017 Zurich, Switzerland | AFP | Cristiano Ronaldo claimed FIFA’s inaugural best player of the year award on Monday, the …
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Osaka, Japan | AFP | Silvio Romero struck twice as Mexican side Club America beat Asian champions Jeonbuk Motors 2-1 on Sunday to set up a dream Club World Cup semi-final with Real Madrid. Local favourites Kashima Antlers salvaged some pride for Asia, however, when the Japanese title holders toppled …
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London, United Kingdom | AFP | Disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter accused his successor Gianni Infantino of showing a lack of respect for him in an interview with the BBC. The 80-year-old — who on Monday lost his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over a …
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Zurich, Switzerland | AFP | Despite a big win and draw against highly ranked Congo Brazzaville and Ghana recently, Uganda Cranes dropped a place in the latest FIFA rankings released Thursday. Ghana and Congo however tumbled in the rankings. It turns out the 0-1 defeat in a friendly against lower …
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Athens, Greece | AFP | World football governing body FIFA said Friday they were appointing a normalisation committee to run the daily affairs of the crisis-hit Greek football federation. The move follows months of bickering between the federation and the Greek government over discrepancies between national laws and the independence …
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Zurich, Switzerland | AFP | FIFA president Gianni Infantino built momentum towards expanding the World Cup Friday as some powerbrokers appeared to back the move, while sceptics will have to be convinced before a final call in January. Growing the cash cow tournament from 32 to as many as 48 …
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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 …
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Joao Havelange, who has died at 100, was the man who made FIFA a global powerhouse, only to resign under a cloud of corruption that has darkened the world footballing body’s reputation. His death was confirmed Tuesday by the Samaritano Hospital in Rio …
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