Speaking on an inspection trip to Brazil, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke put the potential profit for the 2014 World Cup at $200 million dollars. The figure is the difference between the predicted $3.5 billion in revenue and the $3.3 billion in expenses that includes prize money, payments to clubs for use of players, and disbursement of funds to associations for what Valcke termed "financial aid.

By Chris Wright

"Carling or Becks? Carling...or Becks? Budweiser!"

FIFA, eh? Watching over us all with ever-loving grace. Fighting the good fight. Tackling the real issues that threaten to undermine our beloved game with feverish haste and ruthless efficiency.

Just a little over a year after Spain won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the draws for the qualifying rounds of the next FIFA World Cup have been made. Host nation Brazil invited stars past and present such as Ronaldo, Cafu and Neymar to conduct the draw along with FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke in Rio de Janeiro.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Sergio Aguero's desire to play for a big club has been fulfilled, as he'll soon suit up for Manchester City.

City has signed the Argentine international, agreeing to a $63 million transfer fee with his current club, Atletico Madrid. The move makes him the second most expensive Premier League signing of all time, behind only Chelsea's Fernando Torres.

Their Words We don't have stadiums, we don't have airports, we don't have a national transportation system in place and we are one month away from the preliminary draw. FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke on Brazil 2014. Other Sources U.S.-Mexico Gold Cup final will be a close-fought affair despite form - from SI.

Nice logo, but not much else it turns out has either been completed or is on schedule it seems (still, and I yes, I know we've heard this before). Associated Press writer David Nowak has more:

MOSCOW (AP) -- FIFA remains concerned at the slow pace of Brazil's preparations for the 2014 World Cup, saying soccer officials in South America appear to have invested more energy in winning the tournament than organizing it.

O secretário geral da Fifa, Jerome Valcke, anunciou nesta sexta-feira que não haverá prorrogação nas partidas eliminatórias do Mundial sub-17.
Com isso, as partidas que terminarem empatadas vão diretamente para a decisão por pênaltis. O objetivo da medida, de acordo com Valcke, é "resguardar a saúde dos jogadores e dos árbitros".

Reinforcements should be on the way for Mexico's Gold Cup roster.

FIFA will allow Mexico to replace the five players who were suspended for a positive test for clenbuterol, according to the Associated Press.

Guillermo Ochoa, Francisco Rodriguez, Edgar Duenas, Sinha and Christian Bermudez all tested positive for the substance on May 21, blaming the test results on contaminated meat.

Chuck Blazer's, FIFA's USA member whistleblowing has irked the CFU

In all of the talk of FIFA "reform" and "breakaways", let us not lose sight of CONCACAF as one of the most dysfunctional regional associations.

After all, this "crisis" was precipitated by Chuck Blazer's whistleblowing of $40,000 bribes being paid out in a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) arranged by Jack Warner in lieu of votes for Mohammed Bin Hammam, the challenger to Sepp Blatter.

Sepp Blatter as mad King Lear. "What crisis?"

" Close pent-up guilts,
Rive your concealing continents, and cry
These dreadful summoners grace. I am a man
More sinned against than sinning." (King Lear)

Sepp Blatter could very well use those words for his re-election happening tomorrow.

Just five months after assuming the presidency of the Puerto Rican Football Federation (FPF), Eric Labrador is in the eye of a hurricane.

This article was written by the premier soccer journalist of Puerto Rico, Esteban Pagán Rivera, and appeared on Monday in Primera Hora.

Soccer fans this weekend saw the best of the beautiful game pushed aside by the worst. As Barcelona were dismantling Manchester United with passing and play that was textbook in perfection, the drip-drip-drip of allegations coming out of FIFA's headquarters in Switzerland was deafening.

- Jason Davis Zurich is the hub of the universe, at least for now. Blatter's reign of willful exploitation of the world's game is just a day away from a disheartening four year extension, and only the English (and now, as I write this, the Scottish) seem to care enough to question the process. Jerome Valcke's public pronouncements that everything is fine would be meme worthy if they weren't so depressing and even emoticons in his email to Jack Warner don't provide much glee.

The weekend's events have caused the English and Scottish Football Associations to call for a postponement of Wednesday's scheduled FIFA presidential election.

FIFA executive committee members Mohammed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner were suspended after an ethics hearing on Sunday, and Bin Hammam withdrew his candidacy for FIFA president, leaving current president Sepp Blatter as the lone candidate in the race.

Their Words "I said to Jack, 'What are you doing? In 21 years we have never bought a vote, we have had elections and been in office all that time and never bought a vote'." CONCACAF general secretary Chuck Blazer. Other Sources Jack Warner: analysing the Fifa allegations - from The Guardian's David Conn: Doubts have long been expressed about how the Goal money is distributed.

Sepp Blatter's answers did not satisfy many at today's press conference

Just when FIFA President Sepp Blatter had the chance to reassure any sceptics that he is the right man to lead world football's governing body for a fourth straight term along comes a bizarre performance from him in a specially arranged press conference at FIFA House in Zurich this evening.

- Keith Hickey FIFA has become a parody of itself, a farce. By associating ourselves with these crooks and saying nothing, we are complicit in their crimes against the sport and against every fan who takes joy from it. Trusted with safeguarding the sport, they have instead turned it into their whore.

He maybe a bit of a fascist but he's made the IOC a cleaner organization

FIFA is imploding from within as each passing minute brings about more and more details of corruption with Jack Warner deciding to turn whistle blower. It's all a bit rich coming from a man who has millions profiting from his position within the FIFA hierarchy.

On Saturday, we indulge in the pleasures of the beautiful game. On Sunday, we wake up with a global headache.
A collective romance with fair play grounds the entertainment value of sporting events. We love the idea of a level playing field, stories in which the best competitor wins, or in which the well-played match is its own reward.

What a week it has been at FIFA H.Q. Could the den of thieves finally be about to be gutted and the old guard sent packing, bribes and all?
By Sunday afternoon, the final stretch of campaigning for the Presidency had become an ugly fire-fight between incumbent Sepp Blatter and the challenger Mohamed Bin-Hammam, with the Swiss apparently emerging from the conflagration the winner after his rival withdrew.

FIFA cleared the re-election of Sepp Blatter as FIFA president today.

"No investigation against Blatter is warranted," according to Petrus Damaseb, the ethics committee deputy chairman.

A full inquiry into Mohammed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner having made bribes to the Caribbean Football Union officials in exchange for their votes in the presidential elections will be conducted later till which time both executive members are suspended.

Update: The FIFA Ethics Committee has opened proceedings against Jack Warner and Mohammed Bin Hammam over possible charges of bribery (official FIFA statement). The committee is due to meet (and most likely decide) on May 29th, just a couple of days before the June 1 elections date (and funnily enough, on a Sunday, right after the Champions League final).

By FRANCO PANIZO

FIFA is under some serious heat right now due to the latest accusations of corruption in its recent World Cup bidding, and to little surprise the world's governing body is trying to alleviate that.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has questioned England 2018 bid chairman Lord Triesman for not make allegations of unethical behavior sooner.

A Fifa anunciou, nesta segunda-feira, que o Rio de Janeiro receberá o primeiro grande evento relacionado Copa do Mundo de 2014. Como já era esperado, a Marina da Glória vai receber o sorteio das eliminatórias para a competição, que reúne delegados de todas as confederações do mundo do futebol.