FIFA President Gianni Infantino said migrant workers gain pride from hard work when he was questioned on Monday about workers suffering in Qatar while building World Cup infrastructure.
Despite the abuses, Infantino claimed workers would feel proud at being given the chance to construct stadiums for this year's tournament in the Gulf nation, earning a living rather than being given charity.
PARIS (AP) — Former France great Michel Platini has filed a criminal complaint against FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
A statement on behalf of Platini, who previously served as president of UEFA and was Infantino’s boss at the time, was released Tuesday.
LONDON (AP) — In a small ground-floor office suite in London's affluent Mayfair district, FIFA's control over world football was eroded with a handshake and low-key unveiling.
The deeper alliance between the two most powerful football confederations from Europe and South America — by opening a joint office — comes just as FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been left chastened by the collapse of his pursuit of biennial World Cups.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The appearance by video of the head of Ukrainian soccer, wearing an armored vest from the streets of Kyiv, brought the impact of Russia’s war into the FIFA Congress on Thursday.
“We have regularly received sad news of the deaths of members of the Ukrainian football community,” Andriy Pavelko said in a recorded message to the gathering in Qatar including delegates from Russia.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Through the enduring howls of outrage over Qatar, Gianni Infantino is not completely isolated from the divisiveness of the looming World Cup.
“I was one of those as well criticizing when I was elected president,” the FIFA leader recalled.
LONDON (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino remains the proud holder of the Russian Order of Friendship medal from Vladimir Putin. Not even the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has proved enough for Infantino to publicly distance himself from the autocratic leader.
LONDON (AP) — The invasion of Ukraine drew more punitive measures across the sporting world on Friday when Russia was stripped of the Champions League final in St. Petersburg and Formula One dropped the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.
Doubts and disputes over FIFA's push for biennial World Cups contributed to Britain and Ireland dropping plans for a joint bid to host the 2030 edition and opting on Monday to pursue the 2028 European Championship instead.
Throughout his election campaign and first year leading African football, Patrice Motsepe has struggled to shake off the perception of being under FIFA’s influence, particularly when it comes to the push by Gianni Infantino for biennial World Cups.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Long-time African soccer leader Issa Hayatou won an appeal ruling Saturday to overturn a one-year ban for alleged commercial wrongdoing imposed by FIFA where he was once interim president.
BEIJING (AP) — FIFA’s fading plan for biennial World Cups was labeled a threat from soccer to all other sports by the International Olympic Committee on Thursday.
IOC President Thomas Bach chided FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino, an IOC member for the past two years, for not being in Beijing to hear the criticism.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Avram Grant, the former manager of the Chelsea soccer club and one of the most powerful men in Israeli sport, will be investigated by FIFA after being accused of sexually harassing multiple women in an investigative report.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The president of South America's soccer confederation has reiterated that teams from the region would boycott FIFA's plans for a biennial World Cup and said there is “no chance” that such a proposal will go through.
GENEVA (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino linked his plan for biennial World Cups on Wednesday to giving more hope to Africans who risk their lives crossing the sea to Europe.
In a speech to European lawmakers, Infantino said soccer was being dominated by the few who “have everything” and it needed to be more global and inclusive.
LONDON (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino assured players during talks Thursday that a reshaped international calendar will tackle their workload and fixture congestion concerns, while backing away from heavily pushing biennial World Cups.
LONDON (AP) — Money talked loudest and clearest when FIFA pitched to more than 200 member countries Monday for its biennial World Cups plan that is opposed by leaders of European and South American soccer plus the Olympics.
Olympic leaders aimed their ire at FIFA’s president over his push for staging more World Cups, during an IOC-hosted meeting that Tibetan students tried to interrupt on Saturday in a protest against the Beijing Winter Games.
GENEVA (AP) — Opponents of the plan for biennial World Cups seem scared of being toppled from the top of world soccer, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday.
Infantino’s speech to African soccer leaders was a clear criticism of the European and South American countries which have dominated every World Cup and are threatening a boycott of biennial men’s tournaments.
LONDON (AP) — Premier League clubs united in their opposition to plans for biennial World Cups when they discussed the FIFA overhaul of the international calendar at a meeting on Thursday.
The 20 teams also all opposed a FIFA proposal to reduce the five windows for international men's matches to just two in a year.
GENEVA (AP) — Europe’s top soccer leagues cautioned that FIFA’s biennial World Cup plan is still on the table and they vowed Friday to resist the proposed overhauls of the international match schedule.
If Gianni Infantino was in any doubt how divisive his rule of world football has become, it was revealed to the FIFA president during an hour-long video call with leaders of European federations.
Trying to convince UEFA members to back his plans for biennial World Cups, Infantino instead faced a torrent of criticism in a recording obtained by The Associated Press.
ZURICH (AP) — FIFA is set to make the 2022 World Cup finals tournament draw in Qatar on April 1 — with two of the qualifying teams still unknown because of match schedule delays in the COVID-19 pandemic.
GENEVA (AP) — FIFA’s drive to get approval in December for holding World Cups every two years stalled Wednesday, one day after its president met with fierce resistance from European soccer leaders.
More than a dozen European nations are considering the option of last resort in the fight to prevent biennial World Cups: quitting FIFA, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.
Plans to double the frequency of World Cups were pitched by FIFA President Gianni Infantino on a private call on Tuesday with many leaders from the 55 European member associations that are resisting the transformation of the global game.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino believes the suspended World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina should be decided on the pitch.
The Sept. 5 match in Sao Paulo was suspended after seven minutes due to alleged breaches of COVID-19 protocols.
PARIS (AP) — The French football league's board adopted a motion Wednesday to oppose plans to play the men's World Cup every two years, arguing that the tournament is a world heritage that should not be “trivialized" and that such a move would disrupt calendars.
LONDON (AP) — European clubs joined forces on Friday to rebuke FIFA for trying to railroad through plans for biennial World Cups, warning of a destructive impact on world football.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has infuriated the European Club Association, which is accusing the global governing body of being in breach of legal obligations with its rush to radically overhaul the sport and gain more control.
LEUVEN, Belgium (AP) — Cycling’s 2025 road world championships were awarded to Rwanda on Friday in a first hosting by an African country.
The capital city Kigali “will provide a magnificent backdrop” for the weeklong championships which were first held in 1921, International Cycling Union president David Lappartient said.
LONDON (AP) — Intensifying its opposition to FIFA's push for biennial World Cups, UEFA complained Wednesday that Gianni Infantino's world body has yet to respond to its request for talks to discuss the concerns of European nations.
LONDON (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino found a curious salesman to push his plan to double the frequency of World Cups: a coach who spent his career until now complaining about the spate of international tournaments.
ZURICH (AP) — The global group of national soccer leagues said Wednesday it will oppose FIFA’s plans to play the men’s World Cup every two years.
“A biennial World Cup would negatively disrupt the football economy and undermine players’ welfare in a calendar that is already overloaded,” the World Leagues Forum said in a statement.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has “grave concerns” about FIFA's plans to stage World Cups every two years and is astonished by the lack of consultation by Gianni Infantino's governing body, according to correspondence obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.
Demanding that all players be released for World Cup qualifiers, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has asked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lift quarantine requirements for footballers to allow them to travel next week to play for their countries.
TOKYO (AP) — It’s been a busy few weeks of globe-trotting to soccer finals for FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
There was the Copa America final on July 10 followed by an overnight flight on a Qatari-owned private jet from Rio de Janeiro to London to see the European champion crowned.
GENEVA (AP) — European club soccer still faces threats from leaders of the failed Super League project and the FIFA president, Spanish league CEO Javier Tebas claimed Thursday.
“The concept of the Super League hasn’t died,” Tebas warned club and league officials in an online meeting hosted by the 30-nation European Leagues group.
GENEVA (AP) — World soccer was put on notice by FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Friday to imagine — and maybe expect — big changes to its international competitions in the coming years.
FIFA agreed to study whether the men’s and women’s World Cups could be played every two years instead of four, with Infantino asking out loud if they could alternate with continental championships to fill the calendar with annual national-team tournaments.
ROME (AP) — A botched anti-racism campaign launch involving a painting of apes. Consistent failures to punish clubs whose fans direct monkey chants at Black players...
As European teams set out on their paths to the 2022 World Cup, scrutiny of Qatar is far from subsiding...
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino brokered a deal to give politically connected South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe a clear run to lead the African soccer confederation after the other three contenders withdrew over the weekend and backed Motsepe...
GENEVA (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended his work with Saudi Arabia on Friday, and dismissed calls from Norway to boycott the 2022 World Cup in Qatar over human rights concerns...
Human rights activists are denouncing FIFA President Gianni Infantino's starring turn in a promotional video for the Saudi Arabian government in which he claims the kingdom has made important changes...
GENEVA (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino can continue in office while under criminal investigation in Switzerland, the soccer body’s ethics committee ruled Wednesday.
Preliminary investigations into Infantino’s conduct -- relating to his undisclosed meetings with Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber and taking a private flight on FIFA business from the Caribbean to Geneva -- have been closed...
HOLYWOOD, Northern Ireland (AP) — Playing soccer matches in the long term without fans is unsustainable, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Friday as a fast-spreading new virus caused havoc with sporting events...