FIFA Men's World Cup

CONCACAF has unveiled a new qualification format for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after COVID-19 forced a rejig of the usual system, the governing body for soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean said on Monday.

The new format, which will feature all 35 of the region's members, has been split into three rounds with the first being played in October and November with teams ranked from No. 6 to No. 35 in CONCACAF as of July 16 drawn into six groups of five.

World Cup fans will be able to watch an unprecedented four games a day on television, spread out over 11 hours, during the group stage of the Qatar 2022 tournament after the 2022 World Cup schedule was confirmed on Wednesday.

With the relatively short travel distances for the venues in and around Doha, it could be possible for fans who travel to the 32-team tournament to attend multiple games each day.

The early games will kickoff at 1300 local (6 a.m. ET) with the fourth match starting at 2200 local (3 p.m. ET) and finishing just before midnight.

World Cup 2022 is scheduled to begin Nov. 21 in Qatar, less than 18 months from now, but it will not be without controversy.

CAPE TOWN — Thursday marks 10 years since South Africa hosted a World Cup highly charged with symbolism but dogged by questions about the wisdom of spending billions on a sports event that might have been better used elsewhere.

Hosting the first soccer World Cup in Africa was seen as a coming of age for the embattled continent.

But the month-long tournament, which had a $3-billion (USD) price tag, also came at a time when the country faced an enormous backlog of social needs such as housing, hospitals, water and electricity.

MILAN — Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini admires Uruguay forward Luis Suarez for biting him during a heated match at the 2014 World Cup, he said in his autobiography.

Suarez, who escaped punishment during the game, was later banned for four months plus nine internationals — but Chiellini said he bore no grudge towards him.

"Malice is part of football, I wouldn't call it illegitimate. To get past a rival you have to be smart," the Juventus captain said in the book "Io, Giorgio".

"I admire his cunning," he added. "If he lost it, he'd become an ordinary forward."

MANCHESTER, England — The head of Qatar's 2022 World Cup organising committee has vowed to ensure the tournament remains affordable for fans despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.

The gulf state will host the 32-nation tournament in November and December 2022 and while Hassan Al Thawadi, head of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, is hopeful the public health situation will be vastly improved he acknowledges the ripple-effects for the economy will be a challenge.

The format and dates for CONCACAF's qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are up in the air due to the sports shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, confederation president Victor Montagliani said Monday. 

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Montagliani admitted that CONCACAF could wind up changing how it determines which three teams will earn direct berths in the World Cup and which one will head to an inter-continental playoff. 

NEW YORK — Two former 21st Century Fox executives and a South American sports marketing company pleaded not guilty on Thursday to criminal charges in New York in the long-running corruption probe surrounding FIFA, the world governing body for soccer.

The former Fox executives, Hernan Lopez and Carlos Martinez, and Full Play Group SA entered their pleas to crimes including wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy at an arraignment before U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has become the focus of fresh FIFA corruption allegations after the release of a new U.S. Department of Justice indictment which says bribes were paid to football officials to secure their votes for hosting rights.

Suspicion and rumours have long surrounded both the 2010 vote by FIFA's executive to hand the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. But on Monday, for the first time, prosecutors set direct, formal allegations down in print.