Inspiration 92.3 FM

August 11, 2022

August 11, 2022 IFMSPORTS

World Cup Set To Start One Day Earlier Than Planned

FIFA will move the start date of the 2022 World Cup one day earlier to allow host nation Qatar to play in the first match.

It had been due to kick off on November 21, 2022, with Senegal facing Netherlands at Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha.

But competition hosts have always played in the first game of the last four tournaments since 2006 and Qatar do not want to be an exception.

As such, they will now play against Ecuador to open the 2022 World Cup on November 20, 2022, with kick off at 7pm GMT.

The decision still needs to the ratified by the Bureau of the FIFA Council, but no issues are expected.

The winter World Cup is the first of its kind, with the tournament usually taking place during the European summer months.

The decision to award hosting rights to Qatar has resulted in a number of logistical problems, as well as criticism over the nation’s human rights record and corruption allegations.

There will be a break in the middle of the 2022/23 European club season in order to accommodate the World Cup, with the Premier League pausing after the November 12/13 weekend before starting up again on Boxing Day in December.

Sepp Blatter And Michel Platini: Former Heads Of Fifa And Uefa Cleared Of Corruption Charges By Swiss Court

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and vice-president Michel Platini have both been found not guilty following their fraud trial.

The pair stood trial over a payment of 2m Swiss francs (£1.6m) made by Blatter to Platini in 2011.

Both men had denied wrongdoing and said the transfer was belated payment for Platini’s advisory work for Fifa.

Blatter, 86, and Platini, 67, were banned from football in 2015 and indicted last November.

Their 11-day trial over the 2011 payment took place at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland and concluded on 22 June.

In his testimony, Blatter said he asked Platini to be his adviser when he was first appointed president of football’s world governing body in 1998.

He said former France captain Platini wanted 1m Swiss francs (£816,030) per year but Blatter told him Fifa could not afford that fee.

They instead settled on 300,000 Swiss francs (£244,809) per year, with the outstanding total to be paid at a later date.

Platini stopped working for Fifa in 2002 but did not pursue the payment until 2010, telling the court he had not needed the money at the time of his departure, when – according to Blatter – Fifa was in any case “broke”.

The Swiss Office of the Attorney General accused Blatter and Platini of “fraud, in the alternative of misappropriation, in the further alternative of criminal mismanagement as well as of forgery of a document”. Platini, who was also charged as an accomplice, said he felt the ban was a deliberate attempt to stop him from becoming Fifa president in 2015.

March 8, 2022

March 8, 2022 IFMSPORTS

FIFA Says Foreign Players Can Suspend Contracts With Russian Clubs

Foreign footballers playing in Russia can suspend their contracts and temporarily leave the country.

Fifa made the announcement as a result of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian football clubs and national teams were last week suspended from all competitions “until further notice” by Fifa and Uefa.

“Fifa would like to reiterate its condemnation of the ongoing use of force by Russia in Ukraine,” it said.

In the statement, the world governing body added: “Foreign players and coaches will have the right to unilaterally suspend their employment contracts with the clubs in question until the end of the season in Russia (30 June 2022).

“Players and coaches will be considered out of contract until 30 June 2022 and will therefore be at liberty to sign a contract with another club without facing consequences of any kind.”

Fifpro, the players’ union, said the measures didn’t go far enough.

“While some measures adopted today are helpful amendments, the decision to allow foreign players to only suspend their contracts and thus only temporarily leave Russian clubs is too timid.

“It will be hard for players to find employment for the remainder of the season with uncertainty looming over them and, within a few weeks, they will be in a very difficult situation once again.

“These players should be allowed to terminate their contracts.”

The Russian Football Union said it will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) to appeal against its ban from international competitions.

Russian side Spartak Moscow have been kicked out of the Europa League and the 2022 Champions League final, originally due to be played in St Petersburg on 28 May, has been moved to Paris.

On Air Now:

Tag: FIFA

World Cup Set To Start One Day Earlier Than Planned

MORE STORIES

Sepp Blatter And Michel Platini: Former Heads Of Fifa And Uefa Cleared Of Corruption Charges By Swiss Court

FIFA Says Foreign Players Can Suspend Contracts With Russian Clubs

MORE STORIES

USEFUL LINKS

DOWNLOAD OUR APP

FOLLOW US

queue

Watch Live