© Getty ImagesAt its meeting held on 27 February 2014, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctioned the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) for breaches relating to the FIFA Goal Regulations.The ABFA has been ordered to pay a fine of CHF 30,000 for breaching art. 5 par. 1 and par. 4 of the FIFA Goal Regulations after having agreed to mortgage a property that was the subject of a FIFA Goal Programme investment with Antigua Commercial Bank without FIFA’s prior consent.In accordance with art. 10 b) and art. 14 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the ABFA has also been issued with…
Author: FIFA News
© Getty ImagesThe FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned Uruguayan club Institución Atlética Sud América and four Argentinian clubs – IA Central Córdoba, CA Independiente, Racing Club and CA Rosario Central – for breaches relating to the international transfer of players. It marks the first time that clubs have been sanctioned for so-called “bridge transfers” following investigations conducted by FIFA TMS – the FIFA subsidiary charged with ensuring that international transfers of professional male players are conducted correctly through the Transfer Matching System (TMS), the use of which has been mandatory since 2010.In general, bridge transfers involve clubs collaborating to transfer…
© FIFA.comFIFA continues to facilitate the dialogue on matters related to labour rights in Qatar, with FIFA President Blatter and FIFA Executive Committee member Dr Theo Zwanziger welcoming FIFPro representatives and player Zahir Belounis to the Home of FIFA in Zurich today.The exchange came as part of a series of meetings initiated by FIFA with football stakeholders as well as other entities including human rights and labour organisations, and trade unions. These meetings are being led by FIFA Executive Committee member Dr Theo Zwanziger, mandated by the FIFA President to oversee these matters.FIFA President Blatter opened the meeting by giving…
© Getty ImagesFIFA can today confirm the worldwide extension of a sanction imposed by UEFA on a Moldovan official in connection with an incident of attempted match manipulation that occurred during the qualifying round of the UEFA European Women’s Under-17 Championship.On 13 February 2014, the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body decided to sanction Vasile Mungiu, an official at the Anenii Noi Sports School in Moldova, with a lifetime ban from all football-related activities. The decision came after Mungiu admitted to attempting to manipulate the match between Moldova and Latvia on 4 August 2013, when he approached the coach of the…
© Foto-netThe International Football Association Board (IFAB) convened at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on Saturday for its Annual General Meeting (AGM), chaired by FIFA President Blatter.Today’s meeting was the 128th AGM since The IFAB was formed in 1886 and the first since the historic foundation meeting on 13 January 2014, which marked a new era for football’s rule-making body in becoming an independent association under the Swiss Civil Code.FIFA President Blatter opened the meeting by highlighting the importance of the new structure, which includes two new advisory panels – a Technical Panel and a Football Panel – ensuring…
A total of 473,076 tickets for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ were allocated during the second random selection draw for all matches except the Opening Game in Sao Paulo and the Final in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian fans received around 60 per cent of the inventory during this sales phase. Across all general public sales phases on FIFA.com including the sale of the participating teams’ quotas, 1.5 million tickets have been allocated to supporters to date: 57% to Brazilians and 43% to international fans. Brazil remains the nationality with the most assigned tickets (906,433 allocated tickets so far), followed by the…
© Getty ImagesFIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) as well as Zambian clubs Zanaco FC, Power Dynamos FC and National Assembly FC for breaches relating to the international transfer of players. The FAZ has been fined CHF 50,000 for transferring eight players – three professional players and five amateur players – without an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and outside registration periods. The three professional players were also transferred outside the FIFA TMS International Transfer Matching System (ITMS), the use of which is compulsory for international transfers of professional players. The FAZ, in connection with the…
© LOCThe special committee which was instigated by Brazil’s Ministry of Sports following an emergency meeting on 21 January 2014, consisting of representatives of Atletico Paranaense, the state of Parana and the city of Curitiba, has managed in recent weeks to develop a comprehensive recovery plan which includes the solving of the financial challenges involved. Through this collective approach, the committee achieved the implementation of immediate action for propelling the progress necessary in the works at the Arena da Baixada. Based on the financial guarantees now provided by the local authorities and Atletico Paranaense for the stadium works including the…
© Foto-netThe agenda for the 128th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of The International Football Association Board (IFAB) – taking place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on Saturday, 1 March – has been released today. The meeting will be chaired by FIFA President Blatter and follows on from the historic foundation meeting of The IFAB on 13 January 2014, which marked a new era for football’s rule-making body in becoming an independent association. Key elements of this revised structure, including the composition of the two new advisory boards, will be part of the deliberations at this year’s AGM. In…
© Foto-netUnder the chairmanship of FIFA President Blatter and in the presence of FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, the President of the Israel Football Association (IFA), Avi Luzon, and the President of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), Jibril Al Rajoub, as well as representatives from the AFC and UEFA, met at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on Monday for an evaluation session of the Task Force Israel-Palestine. During the meeting, the parties analysed the implementation of the parameters agreed at the meeting on 23 September 2013 for the facilitation of the movement of players, coaches, referees, officials and equipment into,…
© Getty ImagesThe Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in Qatar shall provide FIFA by 12 February 2014 with a detailed report on the improvement of working conditions in Qatar. This was communicated today by FIFA in a letter from Secretary General Jérôme Valcke to those responsible in Qatar. The report will then be used to prepare for the hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels on 13 February 2014, which will be attended by Dr. Theo Zwanziger as the FIFA representative mandated to deal with this matter.FIFA expects to receive information on the specific steps that Qatar has taken…
© FIFA.comFIFA TMS has released its third consecutive annual report covering the international transfer of professional players, with Global Transfer Market 2014 showing that transfer activity rose by four per cent to 12,309 transfers last year for a combined transfer compensation value of USD 3.7 billion. The report provides a unique insight into the patterns and trends that have developed in the international transfer market over the 2013 calendar year from a national, regional and global perspective. This includes compelling analysis of market activity and mobility patterns, transfer fee spending, player characteristics and the involvement of club intermediaries in player transfers. Global…
© Getty ImagesFIFA can today confirm the worldwide extension of sanctions imposed on a number of individuals by the Asian Football Confederation, The Football Association, the Slovak Football Association and the El Salvador Football Association, in connection with match manipulation or alleged integrity offences. The sanctions relate to the following cases: • On 6 January 2014, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary Committee rendered final decisions in the cases involving three Lebanese match officials, Ali Sabbagh, Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb, after their attempts to manipulate an AFC Cup match in April 2013. Referee Ali Sabbagh received a lifetime ban…
Legendary six-time World Referee winner, Pierluigi Collina, and international football players Deco, Pavel Nedved, Roberto Carlos, Fernando Hierro, are among the personalities that have confirmed they will join Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane at the 11th Annual Match Against Poverty taking place on 4 March at the STADE DE SUISSE National Stadium in Bern, Switzerland. Proceeds from the Match will support recovery efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, that struck the Philippines on 8 November. Presiding over the match for the ninth time will be legendary referee Pierluigi Collina.…
© FIFA.comThe FIFA Task Force for Women’s Football, chaired by Moya Dodd, co-opted member of the FIFA Executive Committee and AFC Executive Committee member, held its first meeting today at the Home of FIFA in Zurich.During its first session, the task force formed by several experts and specialists discussed the current status of the sport and focused on the creation of a FIFA strategy for women’s football in the short and longer term.Governance, development, marketing, communications and gender equality were among the topics tackled. The creation of a FIFA Women’s Club World Cup was also discussed and will be examined…
© FIFA.comThe FIFA Referees Committee, meeting in Zurich yesterday (14 January 2014) under the chairmanship of Jim Boyce (Northern Ireland), has appointed 25 referee trios and eight support duos representing 43 different countries for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.FIFA has implemented a comprehensive programme to ensure that the referees for its flagship competition are in peak condition come 12 June.Just as it did for the 32 participating teams, the road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ began for an initial group of 52 trios of referees from all over the world in September 2011 when FIFA took the important…
© FIFA.comA landmark announcement in the history of FIFA’s development initiatives was made at the Home of FIFA today, 14 January 2014, with the direct financial support programmes of world football’s governing body hitting the USD 1 billion mark for the first time since their inception by FIFA President Blatter in 1999. In the past 15 years, FIFA’s 209 member associations and six confederations have received a total of USD 778 million and USD 331 million respectively. The funds have been mainly used for infrastructure projects, planning and administration, technical development, men’s and women’s domestic competitions and youth football. The…
© Foto-netFIFA and Visa, the leading global electronic payments company, today announced the extension of their relationship until 2022. As a top-level FIFA Partner, this extension secures Visa’s global marketing rights and product category exclusivity for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ and more than 40 FIFA events scheduled throughout the time period, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Visa initially signed up as a FIFA Partner in 2007 and activated its first global sponsorship rights at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa. Those rights allow…
© Getty ImagesCristiano Ronaldo has been named the best player in the world for the second time after 2008 by carrying off the FIFA Ballon d’Or award, while German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer has claimed her first women’s prize. Jupp Heynckes, the former coach of Bayern Munich, and Germany’s women’s national team coach Silvia Neid have taken home the FIFA World Coach of the Year awards for men’s and women’s football respectively. The award winners, who were voted for by national team coaches and captains as well as by the international media representatives selected by FIFA and French football magazine France…
© Getty ImagesIt was a landmark day in the 127-year history of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on Monday as a signing ceremony in Zurich marked the beginning of a new era for the board as an autonomous organisation. The IFAB – the body in charge of acting as the guardian of the Laws of the Game – is now officially registered as an independent association under the Swiss Civil Code, with its own statutes that define the purpose, structure and responsibilities of the board and its bodies. During the meeting at the Home of FIFA, the founding members…