The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Singapore as the priciest ahead of Zurich, Hong Kong, Geneva and Paris.
New FIFA president Gianni Infantino sent a clear message that his leadership style would be very different from his predecessor Sepp Blatter when he flew to his first official overseas appointment by budget airline on Friday.
The victory celebration over, new FIFA president Gianni Infantino's first major decision in charge of the troubled world football organisation will be to appoint a secretary general, effectively a chief executive, to run day-to-day operations.
New FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on his first full working day he still did not know what he would be paid as head of soccer's global governing body. The Swiss said he expected the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup, delayed last year by a scandal which has engulfed FIFA, should begin in the next couple of months. The 2018 and 2022 tournaments, to be staged in Russia and Qatar, had to be the "best in history", he added. Speaking after an informal match with FIFA employees and guests, Infantino said he had still not discussed his salary following his election on Friday.
Asian football said it was looking forward to working with new FIFA President Gianni Infantino, despite the region's two candidates losing out to the Swiss in Friday's election, and called for unity to help push the reform process forward.
Key developments and reaction when world football's governing body FIFA elected Gianni Infantino as new president and voted in a series of reforms at its congress on Friday
Selected quotes from Swiss Gianni Infantino's first news conference after the former UEFA general secretary was elected president of scandal-hit world soccer's governing body FIFA on Friday:
Venezuelan soccer official Rafael Esquivel has agreed to be extradited from Switzerland to face charges in the United States in an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the sport, the Swiss government said on Friday.
Six months ago Gianni Infantino was a low-profile right-hand man to European soccer boss Michel Platini. He was the striking, shaven-headed character who pulled balls out of glass pots during televised UEFA competition draws. Barely-known by the general public, he was also the man behind a complex attempt to force Europe's clubs to reign in their spending, but which ended up leaving fans and even club directors confused. On Friday, Infantino was chosen as the new president of FIFA, a position which made his predecessor Sepp Blatter as instantly recognisable as some of the world's leading statesman. It was a remarkable leap for the affable Swiss-Italian. The polyglot lawyer only entered the FIFA race in late October, one day before the deadline, as a stop-gap candidate after Platini had been placed under investigation for ethics violations.
Running highlights from FIFA's congress. World soccer's governing body has voted on a series of reforms and will elect a new president later on Friday (all times GMT): 13.30 The voting process is proving a long, drawn out affair. After an hour's voting, we have crawled to L for Latvia with little to get excited about apart from the brief appearance of Davor Suker, Golden Boot winner as the top scorer at the 1998 World Cup, as he cast Croatia's vote. Time then for a reminder that for a candidate to be elected in the first round, he must obtain at least 138 votes, two-thirds of the 207 votes cast. If this does not happen, a second round is held. This time, a simple majority -- 104 votes, which represents more than 50 percent of the votes -- is sufficient for a candidate to be elected. If no candidate gets that majority, the one with fewest votes will be eliminated and a new round will be held. This continues until one candidate obtains a majority. 12.45. Having begun his speech by promising to "die with my boots on", Sexwale ends it by withdrawing from the race, "I have got a surprise for you. My campaign ends today and I suspend my participation. With only four people it is your problem now." Markus Kattner, FIFA general secretary then reminds delegates of the voting procedure, reminding them not to photograph their ballot papers.
FIFA approved major reforms at a congress on Friday, part of world football's effort to end the culture of corruption that has plagued its governing body for years. The measures were adopted by 179 members, while 22 voted against and six abstained at a congress in Zurich that will also elect a replacement to FIFA's disgraced president Sepp Blatter. The reforms were developed since June by a committee led by Francois Carrard, a Swiss lawyer tasked with a similar cleanup effort at the International Olympic Committee more than a decade ago. Among the most crucial measures are changes in the role of FIFA's president and its executive committee. The president's job has been altered to function like a corporate chairman of the board, providing strategic guidance but with less management authority. FIFA's executive committee, which had become an epicenter of graft, has been re-branded as a FIFA council, and will operate similar to a corporate board of directions. FIFA's secretary general, previously number two to the president, will serve as world football's CEO.
Tokyo Sexwale withdrew from the FIFA presidential race minutes before the vote on Friday, announcing his decision at the very end of his candidate's speech.
Longtime FIFA president Sepp Blatter is disappointed the global soccer body's appeal committee upheld his ban from the sport, he told a Swiss newspaper in an interview published on Friday.
Prince Ali is one of five candidates standing to replace Sepp Blatter to try to lead FIFA out of its crisis.
Following is a list of high-ranking officials to have been implicated or punished in the bribery and corruption crisis that has engulfed FIFA.
Crisis-hit world football governing body FIFA faces one of the most important days in its 112-year history when it elects a new leader on Friday hoping to usher in a fresh era after decades of tawdry controversy.
World soccer's governing body FIFA will proceed with an election to pick a new president on Friday to replace the disgraced Sepp Blatter and vote on a set of reforms aimed at restoring its credibility after the worst graft scandal in its history.
FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne has protested to football's world governing body about the number of observers allowed into the hall for Friday's election, saying he believed they were working for his rivals.
FIFA has rejected a demand from a presidential candidate to use transparent voting booths at next week's election to ensure delegates do not photograph their ballot papers when they choose the head of football's world ruling body.
World soccer's governing body, FIFA, is expected to pass wide-ranging reforms at a Congress in Zurich next Friday, when a new president will also be elected.
The spotlight at next week's FIFA Congress will fall on the presidential election - but the real key to the future of football's beleaguered governing body is embedded in a document with the unglamorous title 'Draft statutes - Congress 2016'.
CONCACAF, the corruption-plagued soccer organisation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, could face dramatic consequences, including being disbanded, if it fails to reform, the organisation's lawyers have told its members.
Michel Platini was banned for eight years in December along with FIFA president Sepp Blatter over a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2 million) made to the Frenchman in 2011 by FIFA with Blatter's approval for work done a decade earlier.
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand played out two draws to keep his full point lead in the Zurich Chess Challenge.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand continued his fine form to outwit Anish Giri of Holland and move into the sole lead after the end of the second round of Zurich Chess Challenge, in Zurich, on Sunday.
Nearly $1 million in funds from soccer's global governing body FIFA may have gone missing from Guatemala's soccer federation last year, according to sources and an internal audit seen by Reuters.
The Iraq Football Association (IFA) pledged their support for Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein in next month's FIFA presidential election.
India's ranking is worst among the five BRICS countries
Real Madrid and their neighbours Atletico Madrid have both been banned from signing new players for the next two transfer windows for breaching rules over the transfer of minors, soccer's governing body FIFA said on Thursday. The ban does not cover the current transfer window, which runs until the end of this month. "The two clubs were found to have violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of minor players," said FIFA in a statement.
With a fifth world player of the year award safely tucked away in the trophy cabinet, Lionel Messi can set his sights on one of the next milestones in his remarkable career: reaching 500 goals for club and country. The Barcelona and Argentina forward can add to his jaw-dropping tally of 479 in 609 official games -- 430 for Barca and 49 for his national team -- in Sunday's La Liga match at home to Athletic Bilbao. The 28-year-old from Rosario, who picked up the FIFA Ballon d'Or on Monday, is looking close to his best following a two-month injury layoff late last year and netted a hat-trick when second-placed Barca crushed Granada 4-0 at the Nou Camp last weekend in their most recent outing in Spain's top flight.
FIFA said on Wednesday it had fired General Secretary Jerome Valcke, once one of the global soccer body's most powerful figures, amid alleged corruption involving World Cup ticket sales.
Here are some special moments from the gala night in Zurich on Monday...
Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year on Monday from his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who had walked off with the award for the previous two years.
'In 2015 I watched films in so many places. I attended several film festivals around the world -- Berlin, Tribeca (New York), Telluride, Toronto, Zurich, Mumbai, Dharamsala and Goa,' says Aseem Chhabra, author of a forthcoming book on Shashi Kapoor.
Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) on Wednesday handed over the first batch of evidence to US authorities for its investigation into alleged bribery schemes for soccer marketing rights.
From a bloodied face of Spanish club Atletico's Madrid's Mario Mandzukic, to Australia's ICC World Cup triumph, Sania Mirza's fabulous run and more scintillating moments are frozen in time in this beautiful photo-feature.
US sports television network ESPN has invited the five candidates in FIFA's presidential election to participate in a debate on the future of the crisis-hit governing body for world football.
The European football federation (UEFA) said it was "disappointed" in FIFA's decision today to ban Michel Platini for eight years over an ethics violation, expressing support for the Frenchman's right to an appeal, according to AFP.
His message contained some defiance: he vowed to fight the ban, insisted he had done no wrong and hit out at those who had questioned his integrity and honesty.
Here is the full text of the statement issued by FIFA on Monday detailing the suspension of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and European soccer boss Michel Platini for eight years.
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