Tag: FIFA

The sports world was justifiably furious with FIFA’s nonsensical plans for the 2030 and 2034 World Cup

FIFA always finds a way to get worse.

Since its inception, FIFA has been the epitome of everything wrong with sports. It’s an organization that values financial gain (often through corrupt means) and shows no real regard for the global impact of its decisions.

But just when you think FIFA can’t get any worse than it did by holding a winter World Cup in Qatar, FIFA finds a way to sink lower.

On Wednesday, the soccer’s governing body announced an unprecedented plan for the 2030 World Cup. The first three games will be held in the South American nations of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to celebrate 100 years of the tournament. Then, those three nations and their opponents will travel across the Atlantic to play the rest of the tournament in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

So, we’re now looking at a 48-team tournament being played in six countries and three continents.

With this decision, FIFA shamelessly disregarded its environmental impact. You’re looking at stadium construction and travel at such a large scale, it continues to be irresponsible of FIFA. Spain, Portugal and Morocco have also dealt with brutally hot summers recently, and who’s to know what that would look like in 2030?

Yet, there’s a reason for this tricontinental tournament, and it’s classic FIFA corruption at work. By including three CONMEBOL nations along with UEFA and CAF in 2030, FIFA can say that South America, Europe and Africa used their turns in the hosting rotation. That brings 2034’s turn back to Asia where Saudi Arabia — and its appalling human rights record — is essentially guaranteed hosting rights as Asia’s entire confederation will unite behind a Saudi bid.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who shared a suite with FIFA president Gianni Infantino during the 2022 final — waited no time to announce the Saudi bid, which will mean that we’re looking at another winter World Cup in a country with abysmal human rights.

Mind you, FIFA *still* hasn’t announced a host for the Women’s World Cup in 2027, and it could be another year until that decision gets made. No wonder soccer fans were furious with this latest move from FIFA.

FIFA Puskas Award: Watch every 2023 nominee

There will be some fierce competition for the award given to the year’s best goal

FIFA has released a list of 11 goals nominated for the 2023 PuskĂĄs Award.

The award was established in 2009 to honor the best goal of the year, and this year there are nominees from all over the globe.

This year, the award’s qualifying period spanned from the end of the men’s World Cup last December until the end of the women’s World Cup on August 20.

MLS is represented through FC Cincinnati’s Álvaro Barreal, whose stunning volley against Pittsburgh in the U.S. Open Cup earned him a place on the shortlist.

Three goals from the women’s World Cup were nominated, including Sam Kerr’s solo effort against England in the semifinal.

The winner will be announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony, with a date for the event yet to be announced.

Here are the 11 nominees for this year’s PuskĂĄs Award.

Infantino booed as 2026 World Cup tour stops at Dallas Cowboys game

The FIFA president is getting used to this kind of reception

As he continues inspecting venues for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino found himself in a familiar position on Sunday: getting booed.

Infantino was in attendance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as the Dallas Cowboys easily defeated the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets 30-10.

In addition to two Dak Prescott touchdown passes, the FIFA head witnessed former MLS first-round draft pick Brandon Aubrey go five-for-five on his field goal attempts, including a 55-yarder.

The FIFA president is touring several venues in North America as his organization ramps up preparations for the first 48-team World Cup.

The tournament will be hosted by 11 American cities, along with three from Mexico and two from Canada.

AT&T Stadium is considered one of the favorites to host the final, along with MetLife Stadium outside of New York, Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

When shown on the big screen, Infantino was given a similar reception to the one he’s used to getting at various soccer games.

Seated to Infantino’s left was Eric Shanks, the CEO of Fox Sports, which holds the broadcast rights for the 2026 World Cup.

Speaking to NBC DFW, Infantino praised the Cowboys stadium, saying that venues in America are “light years ahead” of the rest of the world.

“This stadium is absolutely fantastic, the AT&T Dallas Stadium, it’s incredible,” Infantino said.

“It is incredible we are here of course because we organize a World Cup in a couple of years time and it’s important to see all the stadiums and all the venues.

“It’s important to see what is done for the fans and I have to say in America, you are light years ahead compared to the rest of the world.

“We are here to learn, we are here to check and we are here to organize the biggest FIFA World Cup ever, with six million people coming to the U.S. and six billion watching it from TV.”

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Messi first MLS player named to Best FIFA Men’s Player shortlist

Messi made one more bit of MLS history by making FIFA’s shortlist

Lionel Messi leads a list of 12 nominees on the shortlist for the 2023 Best FIFA Men’s Player award.

Messi is the first player from an MLS club to be nominated for the award, which he has won twice previously in 2019 and 2022.

After his heroics helped Argentina bring home a third World Cup in 2022, Messi is — as is the case with this year’s Ballon d’Or — a solid favorite to win the award.

Messi’s most frequent competitor for big international awards, Cristiano Ronaldo, was left off the list, which instead features no fewer than five current Manchester City players.

Here are all 12 players on the shortlist for the 2023 Best FIFA Men’s Player award.

USWNT captain Horan named in Best FIFA Women’s Player shortlist

Horan is one of 16 players nominated

U.S. women’s national team captain Lindsey Horan was one of 16 players named to the shortlist for the 2023 Best FIFA Women’s Player award.

The prize will be given for performances from August 1, 2022 through August 20, 2023.

Just like the Ballon d’Or, Spain star Aitana BonmatĂ­ will be favored to take home the Best FIFA Women’s Player after winning a double with Barcelona and leading Spain to the World Cup title.

Alexia Putellas, BonmatĂ­’s teammate for club and country, has won both awards in back-to-back years.

While Sophia Smith made the 30-player shortlist for the Ballon d’Or, the USWNT and Portland Thorns star was not selected among the 16 finalists for the FIFA award. Instead, Horan was nominated after a strong World Cup with the USWNT and helping Lyon to a league title in 2022-23.

Here are all 16 players on the shortlist for the 2023 Best FIFA Women’s Player award.

FIFA hands Spanish federation president Rubiales 90-day suspension

He might not resign, but Rubiales is still sidelined

Luis Rubiales may not want to go, but he’s going to have to sit things out for a few months.

On Saturday, FIFA announced that its Disciplinary Committee had provisionally suspended the controversial Spanish federation (RFEF) president for 90 days while working through proceedings against him.

Rubiales is suspended “from all football-related activities at national and international level,” and has additionally been ordered to make no attempts himself or through third parties to contact Jenni Hermoso or those close to her. The RFEF has also, as an organization, been given the same directive while the disciplinary proceedings take place.

Rubiales had been reportedly on the brink of resigning Friday after coming under intense criticism for, among other things, kissing Hermoso as Spain received their medals following a triumphant World Cup final. Hermoso has issued a statement saying that she did not consent to the kiss at any point.

Instead, Rubiales launched into a defiant speech in which he said he would not resign numerous times. Whatever Rubiales’ aim was, the result was that Spain’s entire World Cup-winning squad said they’re on strike until the “current leaders” are no longer in power.

RFEF situation continues to unravel

Anyone expecting the RFEF to accept that the situation requires change on its part has not been paying attention. The federation backed manager Jorge Vilda after 15 players attempted a strike in 2022, and took to social media to reiterate that stance after the World Cup final.

An RFEF statement that was released and then quickly deleted on Saturday said that “Jennifer Hermoso lies in every statement she makes against the president,” and went on to threaten to take legal action against the Pachuca attacker.

The consequences for the RFEF continued not long afterward, as 11 members of Vilda’s staff resigned from their roles over Rubiales’ conduct.

— Carrusel Deportivo (@carrusel) August 26, 2023

The RFEF later posted a more brief statement acknowledging Rubiales’ suspension, adding that the federation head “will legally defend himself in the competent bodies.”

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USWNT drops to all-time low FIFA ranking after World Cup failure

It’s the first time the USWNT is outside the top two since the rankings were introduced in 2003

For the first time in the history of the FIFA women’s rankings, the U.S. women’s national team has dropped out of the top two.

The USWNT dropped from first to third in the newest edition of the rankings, which were released on Friday. Sweden, which eliminated the USWNT in the World Cup round of 16 and ultimately finished third, moved from third in the rankings to first.

Spain, the World Cup champion, moved from sixth to second.

The USWNT had been atop the FIFA world rankings for six years, having held the top spot since June 2017. Since FIFA introduced the rankings in 2003, the USWNT had always been in the top two.

The fallout from the USWNT’s World Cup failure has been swift. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski stepped down last week after four years at the helm, and was replaced by Twila Kilgore on an interim basis.

This week, USWNT captain Lindsey Horan made some eye-opening comments about the World Cup, stating her belief that the team wasn’t adequately set up to succeed, and hinting that the structural changes made for the Sweden mach were initialed by the players, rather than the coaches.

August 2023 FIFA women’s rankings

  1. Sweden
  2. Spain
  3. USA
  4. England
  5. France
  6. Germany
  7. Netherlands
  8. Japan
  9. Brazil
  10. Canada

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FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales

The pressure continues to grow on the Spanish federation president

FIFA has announced that its disciplinary committee has opened proceedings against Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales.

Rubiales is under fire for kissing Spain star Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal ceremony following Spain’s win over England in Sunday’s World Cup final.

A statement from FIFA issued on Thursday read:

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee informed Luis Rubiales, President of the Spanish Football Association, today that it is opening disciplinary proceedings against him based on the events that occurred during the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ on 20 August 2023.

The events may constitute violations of article 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will only provide further information on these disciplinary proceedings once it has issued a final decision on the matter.

Hermoso released a statement on Wednesday saying that FUTPRO, the Spanish players’ union, would be representing her in the matter.

FUTPRO would then declare that it was demanding action on behalf of Hermoso, saying: “From our association we ask the Royal Spanish Football Federation to implement the necessary protocols, ensure the rights of our players are upheld and adopt exemplary measures.”

The pressure on Rubiales has been gradually intensifying since the incident, with Spain’s acting prime minister Pedro Sánchez saying this week that an apology from Rubiales “wasn’t sufficient.”

Enrique Cerezo, the president of AtlĂŠtico Madrid, said on Thursday that Rubiales should step down, making AtlĂŠtico the fourth La Liga club to call for the resignation of the federation president.

The Spanish federation has said it will hold an emergency Extraordinary General Assembly on Friday to discuss the issue with Rubiales.

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We regret to inform you that Gianni Infantino is at it again

It was yet another speech from the FIFA president that was equal parts bizarre and offensive

Gianni Infantino never seems to go too long before putting his foot in his mouth and on Friday, the “days since Gianni said something regrettable” sign was set back to zero again.

This time, Infantino tried to inspire the global female population with some of his typically soaring rhetoric. It was, as it tends to be so often with the FIFA president, deeply weird.

“I say to all the women – and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home – I say to all the women that you have the power to change. Pick the right battles, pick the right fights. You have the power to change,” Infantino said at a press conference ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final between England and Spain.

“You have the power to convince us, men, what we have to do and what we don’t have to do. You do it, just do it. With me, with FIFA, you will find open doors. Just push the doors, they are open.

“And, do it also at national level in every country, at continental level, in every confederation. Just keep pushing, keep the momentum [going], keep dreaming, and let’s really go for full equality.”

OK!

Infantino seems to relish these World Cup moments, taking advantage of having the globe’s attention to deliver speeches that are equal parts bizarre and offensive. Who could forget the true masterwork of this genre, the “today I feel gay, today I feel disabled, today I feel a migrant worker” speech from the 2022 World Cup?

As many noted, Infantino’s push to inspire women was slightly disingenuous because in many cases, the person they’d need to “pick the right battles” with would be, well, him.

It is certainly not a bad thing to have more women taking action globally, but Infantino is either not aware or doesn’t care that he is literally the worst person on earth to deliver this message.

Infantino is not the only person holding women’s soccer back, but he is also very much the most important person when it comes to enacting change. To ask others to convince him when he should already be convinced is just about the height of dark irony.

Norway and Lyon star Ada Hegerberg responded to Infantino’s call for action in appropriately sarcastic fashion.

Best of luck Ada!

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A look at all eight previous Women’s World Cup finals

A look back at every single Women’s World Cup final

The Women’s World Cup final is set as England and Spain face off in a battle of first-time finalists.

Spain continues to overcome recent team turmoil and defeated Sweden 2-1 in Tuesday’s first semifinal, while England knocked off host nation Australia in Wednesday’s second semifinal.

While Sam Kerr and Australia didn’t get their fairytale ending, the Matildas still have one game left, Saturday’s third-place match against Sweden.

A matchup of first-time finalists means Sunday’s final is set to crown a first-time champion. While we wait for this weekend’s action, let’s take a look back at all the previous Women’s World Cup finals and see who the 2023 champs will be joining in eternal soccer glory.