FIFA are proposing the sale of 20 per cent of a new subsidiary
“The news on Tuesday, first reported by the Financial Times, that FIFA is preparing to sell off part of its commercial operations spread shock and outrage across the sporting world. Football’s world governing body plans to sell a 21 per cent slice in FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a new subsidiary under which commercial operations and events — such as the World Cup, which, as detailed recently by The Athletic, is the key driver in FIFA’s finances — will be consolidated. The intention is to raise $4.2billion (£3.2bn) from outside investors and the narrative quickly formed: FIFA wants to sell (part of) the World Cup. The rebukes have been swift. By Wednesday night, three of the six confederations under FIFA’s hand had criticised the move, as had several member associations — none of whom were apparently consulted before plans broke into the public domain. Shows of support have been a minority act. Money, as ever with FIFA and football generally, is central to the plot. But what, exactly, is FIFA proposing under these plans? How do they compare to other sports and other entities within football? And why all the controversy? As is often the case, FIFA led its argument on this with big numbers. FFE is designed to be a specific, purpose-built entity, maximising FIFA’s take from commercial and events operations. Citing valuation forecasts carried out by JP Morgan Chase, a global bank, FIFA reckons FFE will be worth $20billion. Of that, it hopes to raise $4.2bn via an equity sale — hence the 21 per cent stake on offer to external investors. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)
In a sport obsessed by money, is Gianni Infantino’s indecent proposal really such a surprise?
“When Gianni Infantino looks in the mirror, what does he see? How does he feel as he returns to his seat on the private jet provided by one of FIFA’s sponsors? What goes through his mind as he pulls a napkin over his lap at Cipriani and carries on dining with the FIFA legends? He must feel pretty good upon returning to the VVIP suite at Los Angeles’ $5.5billion (£4.1bn at the current rate) SoFi Stadium to pick up where he left off with the billionaire class, not to mention the stars of stage and screen. Bravo, Gianni. Not bad for the kid who didn’t fit in. The kid picked on at school for his freckles and ginger hair. The kid who didn’t speak good German upon arriving in Switzerland from Italy. The son of economic migrants. Look at him now, the self-made Infantino. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)
Guardian: Uefa agrees to boycott Fifa competitions if World Cup sell-off plans proceedjt
YouTube: FIFA in clash with UEFA over plan to sell World Cup stakes, How Did The World Cup Become A $40 Billion Crime Scene?
“He is very online but does not like the media. He flies all over the world in a fancy private plane provided by Qatar. He presides over a large organisation, with committees and a big rulebook, but makes all the key decisions and only tells a few people what he is doing. He loves shiny things and fireworks. He wants to do more business with the Kushner family and believes he is underpaid. His preferred strategy is to double down, flood the zone and ask for more — it is an approach that has worked well for him so far. Some people think he is amazing, some do not. Can you tell who it is yet? No, not him, the other one. Yes! It’s FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is back in the news again after a break of… 24 hours? 
“The 2026–27 Bundesliga will be the 64th season of the 
“As everyone knows, the best way to let everyone know that you’re absolutely fine and that the haters and the losers definitely haven’t got under your skin is to post an 887-word statement, 
“The 2026–27 Eredivisie, also known as VriendenLoterij Eredivisie for sponsorship reasons, will be the 71st season of 
“
“The 2026–27 Premier League will be the 35th season of the 
“How was soccer invented? There are many conflicting beliefs concerning how the sport came to be. Known as football in most of the world, it is undeniable that this is one of the most popular sports today. Let’s explore how soccer was invented and spread over the years. … Regarding how soccer was invented in modern times, the codification of the sport began in the public schools of Britain at the beginning of the 19th century. Within the private school system ‘football’ was a game in which the hands were used during periods of play and grappling allowed, but otherwise, the modern shape of soccer was being formed. …”
“Like everywhere, the world’s smallest island nation has been gripped by football fever for the past six weeks. But once Spain lifted the World Cup trophy on Sunday, almost every trace of football on Nauru stopped. Football is almost non-existent on this Pacific island. Nauru has never fielded a team in an official international match and it has just one – hard sand – pitch. … But things may be slowly changing as a group of volunteers – led by British former academy player Charlie Pomroy – seek to introduce the game to what was once the world’s richest nation per capita but is now heavily reliant on foreign aid and has one of the highest obesity rates in the world. … A social media post from the Nauru Soccer Federation congratulating the new world champions and setting out a dream that ‘one day we hope to be in Spain’s position’ may have been fanciful, but the groundwork is real in what it says is the last country not to have had a senior international side. …”
Lautaro Martinez nods Lionel Messi’s cross into the net to send holders Argentina into the World Cup final
“… But Spain’s World Cup-winning side of 2026 should be considered among the most convincing winners in the history of this competition. In eight games, they only conceded one goal, never trailed at any stage, and controlled matches in midfield without being negative or unambitious. By the end — 
“Perhaps it’s too early, with the shreds of gold tape still fluttering through the New Jersey sky, to make a proper assessment. That will only come when everything has sunk in properly, when memories have had the chance to settle and shape themselves, when the consequences of certain events have become clear. But let’s try anyway to make some sort of assessment of where the World Cup that ended with 
“… 
“… Standing off to one side, his arms tightly folded across his chest, Kylian Mbappe wears a face like thunder. As he paces across the room to join his team-mates’ huddle, they abruptly fall quiet. The clatter of his studs across the floor ruptures the silence. Reaching Dembele, Mbappe puts his hand on his team-mate’s shoulder and says: ‘Good job.’ Then, leaning in and lowering his voice to a menacing whisper, he adds: ‘Never do that again.’ A look of horror flashes across Dembele’s face. The scene — it should be said — is a work of pure fiction. …”
“Football’s greatest prize is up for grabs at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. It is Spain vs Argentina in the World Cup final. Europe’s champions take on their South American counterparts. Lionel Messi, 39, faces 19-year-old Lamine Yamal — perhaps the 
“By late Wednesday afternoon, the roads in Barcelona had begun to empty. I was still an hour from the place where I planned to watch the Argentina-England semifinal, checking the dashboard clock, afraid I would miss the beginning and more afraid that this beginning might be Lionel Messi’s last. On the indoor, air-conditioned field in Atlanta, under a roof closed against the Georgia heat, Messi wasn’t hurrying. The semifinal began as a rock fight: churning legs, desperate tugs, lunging tackles, the ball repeatedly disappearing beneath the urgency of reaching it. England’s younger players pressed and collided and chased. Inside all that motion, Messi walked. …”
“As Cristian Romero readied to receive a pass 10 yards from his goalline, Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon sensed a mistake in the making. The center-back’s posture was not ideal after he took a scoot backwards to collect, facing the left sideline as his opponents lustily converged. He would only have half a second to settle a bouncing ball, shift his momentum, and find a passing lane in the rapidly closing seam between the England duo. Easier said than done on most days, but this particular Wednesday was not most days. First touch: ball settled. Second touch: right foot shunting the ball to his left. Third touch: left foot, ball coolly slotted to an awaiting Nahuel Molina. …”
“Four teams remain at this summer’s World Cup, and that means our rankings odyssey is almost over. But not quite yet! With the quarter-finals in the books, it’s time to update our rankings of the top 50 players at the tournament. These are informed by The Athletic’s player ratings model, which provides an objective assessment of each player’s contribution in a match. The list will stay at 50 names and players will not simply vanish as their teams are eliminated in the knockout rounds, though they may well be leapfrogged by others who get more time to show what they can do on the World Cup stage. …”
“Spain defeated France, 2-0, in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, first scoring off a penalty kick. The second goal came following a breakdown in France’s defense in the 58th minute. Here’s a 3-D view of Spain’s second goal. …”
“World Cup games mean more. England have only ever played 80 games in the finals, which is to say, not much more than two Premier League seasons in the 76 years since they first entered. Those games draw huge audiences: more than 17 million in the UK watched Saturday’s win over Norway, even though it was after midnight by the time it finished. In most countries, 
“A fresh row over racism towards the 
Ghana’s Inaki Williams celebrates after a scoreless draw against England in the World Cup in Foxborough last month.
“Fifa match officials’ novel use of the term ‘mistaken identity’ reared its head again in sensational circumstances during 
“Lionel Messi and Argentina are in the World Cup semi-finals — but, once again, not without controversy. A breathtaking goal from Julian Alvarez in the 112th minute, curled into the top corner from just outside the penalty area, and a late third from Lautaro Martinez ended Switzerland’s resistance to seal a 3-1 win and set up a mouthwatering semi-final against old enemy England on Wednesday. But a bizarre sending-off for Switzerland’s Breel Embolo, moments after Dan Ndoye had cancelled out Alexis Mac Allister’s opener, was the main talking point. Embolo was dismissed after a VAR review for ‘mistaken identity’, with footage proving he dived after a challenge from Leandro Paredes. …”
A HYDRATION BREAK DURING NETHERLANDS VERSUS TUNISIA AT THE 2026 WORLD CUP. 
Bellingham scored twice, though Norway were furious about his first
Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev holds France star Kylian Mbappe during a match against Paraguay at Philadelphia Stadium on July 4
At Habana Outpost in Brooklyn, Wednesday was, finally, just another day.
Brooklyn Public House provided a quiet setting for lunch for the first time in weeks.
“It has been a busy few days for World Cup conspiracy theorists. First came the decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red-card ban for USMNT’s round-of-16 match against Belgium. That unprecedented act would inevitably have attracted raised eyebrows, but the fact that U.S. President Donald Trump telephoned FIFA president Gianni Infantino to raise objections to the red card immediately sparked speculation about nefarious motives. … This is, however, typical for football’s biggest tournament, where the high stakes, global audience and potential for political interference all offer the perfect environment for conspiracy theories to flourish. We’ve put on our tin foil hats and discovered some declassified documents to bring you the best of the World Cup conspiracy theory, past and present. …”
“>We assess the teams who played in the tournament’s last 16 before the next round of games begins. 1) France (no change 
“Sections of Egyptian and Cape Verdean fans have accused their Argentinian counterparts of violent behaviour during the past two matches played by the reigning champions at the World Cup. The accusations, coupled with at least 
Ruben Vargas scores Switzerland’s winning penalty
“Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to one of the great World Cup comebacks as they came back from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 and seal their place in the quarter-finals. Argentina had found themselves behind at half-time in the tournament for the first time in 16 years after Yasser Ibrahim’s 15th-minute header and a Messi penalty saved by Mostafa Shobeir. The reigning champions appeared on the brink of elimination when Mostafa Ziko put Egypt 2-0 up in the 67th minute, after already having seen a goal ruled out for a VAR intervention on a challenge in the build-up. Lionel Scaloni’s side had other ideas, though. …”
“Chris Richards keeled over, and Tyler Adams sobbed. Weston McKennie slumped in a chair, mind spinning, stare blank, while Matt Freese wandered and Tim Ream pondered the end. They, the U.S. men’s national soccer team, had just been banished from their home World Cup, 
“The whiff of unfulfilment lingers around 
Mbappe described Celeste Amarilla as “despicable” after her multiple social media posts following France’s World Cup win over Paraguay on Saturday.
“England held on with 10 men to withstand a late bombardment by Mexico in the Estadio Azteca and triumph 3-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The game exploded in six mad first-half minutes. First Jude Bellingham headed in the opener after a brilliant run by Bukayo Saka down the right on 36 minutes, then he exchanged passes with Harry Kane to add his second on 38 minutes. 
“It takes a lot to stop Erling Haaland — and now Brazil know it only too well. The five-time world champions will not be adding a sixth title this summer after Haaland’s late header and a blistering low shot in stoppage time earned Norway a place in the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time with a 2-1 win. A cagey game always looked like it would take one monumental performer to settle it and it was no great surprise that Haaland stepped up, his brace taking his tally to seven at this tournament, joint top with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot standings. …”
“Folarin Balogun will be available to play the USMNT’s World Cup round-of-16 match against Belgium after his one-game red-card ban was suspended, FIFA has confirmed. 
“Mexico City is hosting only five games in this year’s World Cup, but you wouldn’t know it from walking the streets, which are awash in soccer paraphernalia. Everyone seems to be wearing a green Mexico jersey, thanks to corner vendors hawking unlicensed merch for as little as $15, much to the chagrin of FIFA, whose official shirts often cost upward of $100. On game days, fans swarm the city’s main avenues, turning paved roads into dance floors, spraying bucketloads of foam and hurling one another into the air. El Tri, as Mexico’s team is known, has had a generational run this year, winning four games in a row without conceding a single goal — a streak that will be tested on Sunday night against England, where I’m originally from, in the last game at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. The team’s triumphant performance has united millions of fans in jubilation at a tense political moment for Mexico, amid rising violence, political polarization and an anticartel pressure campaign on the part of the United States, one of the other World Cup hosts. Even cartel-related bloodshed has seen a lull during the tournament. I’m enjoying the moment. I cover the draining issue of crime and violence here and, like everyone else, have welcomed the chance to obsessively follow the beautiful game for a few weeks. In my quarter-century living in Mexico City, I had never witnessed the level of euphoria that this tournament has unleashed. The games themselves are packed, sky-high ticket prices notwithstanding, and free official fan fests are filled to the breaking point. In barrios across the city, people have crowded around televisions in street stalls to watch the action together and create their own sprawling fiestas, leaving FIFA again struggling to cash in on public viewings. The noise of loud watch parties echoes around apartment blocks. Drink deals by enterprising street vendors have beer and tequila shots going for just a couple of dollars, ignoring government efforts to limit alcohol consumption ahead of potentially riotous celebrations. … Mexico’s problems are not forgotten. The country is deeply scarred by years of staggering homicide rates and disappearances, many of them wrought by cartel gunmen. President Claudia Sheinbaum remains popular, but her governing party has faced a rash of corruption allegations in recent months implicating several high-profile public servants in cartel crime. …”
“Darcy Norman, a former performance director for U.S. Soccer and the German Football Association, is talking about the mindset required when a team steps into the Azteca. ‘It is a bit like the Shackleton experiment,’ says Norman. Ernest Shackleton, an Irish explorer, is remembered mainly for the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. It aimed to be the first to cross Antarctica, but his vessel, Endurance, was trapped and lost in sea ice. This turned a great explorer into a great survivor, as the voyage went down in legend for the extraordinary escape by those on board and a heroically safe return. …”
The closing ceremony of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in January 2026 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco.
“Egypt beat Australia in a penalty shootout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The North African nation progresses to the round-of-16 game in Atlanta on July 7, where they will face the winner of Argentina’s game with Cape Verde, which kicks off at 6pm EDT (11pm BST) tonight in Miami. Australia started the game well with Cristian Volpato hitting the bar with a long-range shot inside the first five minutes. Egypt, though, were soon in control and opened the scoring on 13 minutes as midfielder Emam Ashour headed in a Karim Hafez cross at the far post. …”
“It’s a warm June afternoon in 2009. The teams look uneven. At 30, I am the second-oldest player in our lineup. Lloyd, Nathan and Ben are early 20s – they can all play. Micky the German isn’t in top condition, and at 34 is past his peak. But at a conservative estimate every member of the opposition has two more decades in their legs. A couple of them might be pushing 70. We’re in kit. They are in jeans. We have trainers. They’re in boots – working boots, not ‘cleats’. And yet after an hour we have been beaten to a pulp. The final score evades my memory, but it might be the only six-a-side I’ve ever played in where ‘next goal wins’ wasn’t a vaguely justifiable way to end things. How had this team of old men beaten us? A word you may have heard more often than usual in 
Scissors Kick 