Spain, Italy, France and Portugal reportedly "could be invited to participate in the 2019 Copa América in Brazil." CONMEBOL "will consider the proposal in the coming weeks." The European teams "would be invited if the tournament is expanded from the current 12 teams to 16" (DPA, 3/31).
Members of the FA council "are set to vote on a range of governance reforms on Monday despite criticism its proposals do not go far enough." Among the prospective reforms "are an increase in the number of women on the FA board and an expansion of the FA council to better reflect the game's diversity." A majority vote by council members on Monday will "ensure the proposals are sent for final approval by shareholders at the FA's annual general meeting in May" (PA, 4/2).
Inspectors looking at working conditions at sites for the 2018 World Cup in Russia have claimed that North Koreans at the stadium in St. Petersburg are being treated like "slaves." In a "damaging development" for FIFA and local organizers, inspectors said that the migrant workers "have been housed in pitiful conditions in storage containers with no heating," forced to work 16-hour shifts and with "most of their pay apparently being sent directly to the North Korean government" (LONDON TIMES, 4/1).
Former UEFA President Michel Platini accused former FIFA President Sepp Blatter of being determined to make him "his last scalp." Platini said that Blatter "tried to save his own skin." He added, "Blatter does not defend anyone else, he never defended me. He's the most selfish person I have seen in my life" (BBC, 3/30).
Operation Hydrant, the specialist police unit investigating the sexual abuse of children in football, has reportedly "received a number of reports about incidents within the current sport." The new figures -- 187 reported incidents from '96 onward and 23 relating to '11 or later -- "demonstrate that football’s sexual-abuse scandal is not, as widely presumed, purely a matter relating to another time" (London GUARDIAN, 4/1).
