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☆ Captains can wear a choice of eight armbands at the FIFA Women's World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Lori Ewing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MANCHESTER, England, June 30 (Reuters) - Captains will be permitted to wear armbands with messages about inclusion, gender equality and peace at the Women's World Cup, an about-face for FIFA after rainbow armbands were not allowed at the men's tournament last year in Qatar. Team skippers will have the choice of eight different topics as part of FIFA's "Football Unites the World" campaign, selected in consultation with the 32 participating teams, players and United Nations agencies. Men's team captains from England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had planned to wear "OneLove" armbands at the men's World Cup to protest Qatar's laws against same-sex relationships. "Football unites the world and our global events, such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, have a unique power to bring people together and provide joy, excitement and passion," Infantino said in Friday's statement. Captains have three options: they can wear the "Football Unites the World" armband, an armband corresponding to the theme of their choice for the entire tournament, or the armband corresponding to the theme of the specific match day.

Persons: Gianni Infantino, Infantino, It's, Fatma Samoura, Lori Ewing Organizations: FIFA, Team, Football, United Nations, Thomson Locations: MANCHESTER, England, Qatar, FIFA's, Wales, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand

☆ Women’s World Cup teams permitted to wear armbands that highlight ‘social causes’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Amanda Davies | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —World soccer governing body FIFA will allow a variety of different armbands that highlight “a range of social causes” to be worn at the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the organization said Friday. “FIFA, in partnership with several United Nations agencies, will use the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ to highlight a range of social causes, selected following extensive consultation with stakeholders including players and the 32 participating member associations,” FIFA said in a statement. “But football does even more than that – it can shine the spotlight on very important causes in our society. Several European teams were set to participate in the “OneLove” campaign to promote inclusion and oppose discrimination, but those countries were prevented by FIFA from doing so. There is no explicit mention of LGBTQ rights in Women’s World Cup armbands, beyond the “themes” of “gender equality” and “inclusion.”The Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be played from July 20 to August 20 with the opening game taking place in Auckland when co-hosts New Zealand play Norway.

Persons: ”, “, Gianni Infantino, Hadja Lahbib, Nancy Faeser – Organizations: CNN, FIFA, “ FIFA, United Nations, ” FIFA, Football, Inclusion, UN Human, Indigenous Peoples, Equality, UN, Peace –, UNHCR, UN Refugee Agency, Education, –, Cultural Organization, UNESCO, UN Women, World Health Organization, WHO, Qatar –, Belgian Foreign Affairs, German, New Zealand Locations: Australia, New Zealand, Qatar, Infantino, Auckland, Norway

☆ Australia, NZ consider joint bid for 2029 Club World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, June 28 (Reuters) - Football Australia (FA) chief James Johnson believes FIFA's expanded Club World Cup is going to be a big success and is mulling a joint bid with New Zealand to host the second edition in 2029. Australia and New Zealand will co-host the Women's World Cup in July and August this year and Johnson has already said that could be a springboard for a joint bid for the men's version, possibly in 2034. "That's something we could look at, as well as the men's World Cup – but that's (after) we've delivered the best ever Women's World Cup." The last edition of the Club World Cup featuring seven teams will be hosted by Saudi Arabia later this year. The ninth Women's World Cup kicks off in Auckland and Sydney on July 20.

Persons: James Johnson, FIFA's, Johnson, Gianni Infantino, Infantino, Gianni, we've, Nick Mulvenney, Michael Perry Organizations: SYDNEY, Football Australia, New, New Zealand, FIFA, Sydney Morning Herald, League, UEFA, Club, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Australia, New, United States, Saudi Arabia, Auckland, Sydney

☆ United States to host expanded Club World Cup in 2025 - FIFA
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 23 (Reuters) - The first edition of FIFA's new 32-team Club World Cup will be held in the United States in 2025, world soccer's governing body said on Friday. FIFA had confirmed in March that the revamped Club World Cup will be played every four years from June 2025. The FIFA Council unanimously appointed the United States as the competition's hosts for the first edition of the expanded format. "The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men's club football," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. The current version of the FIFA Club World Cup -- an annual competition with seven teams -- will be discontinued after 2023.

Persons: Gianni Infantino, Rohith Nair, Toby Davis, Christian Organizations: FIFA, America, FIFA Club, Real, League, Manchester City, FIFA Council, FIFA Congress, Thomson Locations: United States, Mexico, Canada, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Europe, Bangkok, Thailand, Indonesia, Argentina, Bali, Peru, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Bengaluru

☆ Michael Boxall: New Zealand abandons soccer match against Qatar at halftime after racial abuse allegation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( George Ramsay | Kevin Dotson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The New Zealand team said it refused to continue because defender Michael Boxall was racially abused by a Qatar player and no action was taken. “Michael Boxall was racially abused during the first half of the game by a Qatari player,” New Zealand Football said in a statement on social media shortly after the abandonment. In a statement on its website, New Zealand football said the alleged racial slur against Boxall, who is of Samoan heritage, was heard by several players. CNN has also contacted the Qatar Football Association for additional comment. But the staff of New Zealand also, they supported the statement of the New Zealand player; we support our player.

Persons: Michael Boxall, “ Michael Boxall, “, Al Annabi’s, Boxall, Andrew Pragnell, Carlos Queiroz, ” Queiroz, … It’s, ”, Madrid’s Vinícius, Gianni Infantino, Vinícius Organizations: CNN, New Zealand, ” New Zealand Football, Qatar Football Association, New, Qatar FA, Generali, “, Qatar, Whites, ”, FIFA, Alkass Sports Locations: New Zealand, Qatar, Qatari, Zealand, Austria, Wien, ”

☆ Brazil wears all-black kit for the first time in its history as part of team’s anti-racism campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Duarte Mendonca | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Brazilian men’s national team wore an all-black kit for the first time in its 109-year history during a friendly match against Guinea in Spain on Saturday as part of the team’s anti-racism campaign. Pau Berrena/AFP/Getty ImagesFIFA President Gianni Infantino visited the Brazilian delegation Thursday, announcing his full support for the anti-racism campaign. As for the match, Brazil won 4-1 with goals scored by Joelinton, Rodrygo, Eder Militão and Vinícius. Vinícius was invited by Infantino to participate in a FIFA anti-racism committee with players who will help suggest a course of action to deal with discriminatory behavior in football, the FIFA president said on Thursday. Brazil is set to play its next friendly match on Tuesday against Senegal in Lisbon, Portugal.

Persons: “, Vinícius, Pau Berrena, Gianni Infantino, Joelinton, Eder Militão, Guirassy, Pele, Infantino Organizations: CNN, men’s national, Guinea, Espanyol, FIFA, Federation, Real, Valencia, Getty, Brazilian, Brazil, Brazilian Federation, Senegal Locations: Spain, Barcelona, Brazil, Real Madrid, AFP, Lisbon, Portugal

☆ Exclusive: Soccer-Brazil forward Vinicius Jr to lead new anti-racism committee - FIFA
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BARCELONA, June 15 (Reuters) - Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr will lead a special FIFA anti-racism committee made up of players who will suggest stricter punishments for discriminatory behaviour in football, president Gianni Infantino told Reuters on Thursday. Infantino told Reuters that as well as applying disciplinary and competition punishments, FIFA will also pursue legal action against abusers in countries where racism happens in football matches. "I asked Vinicius to lead this group of players that will present stricter punishments against racism that will later be implemented by all football authorities around the world. "We will implement very blunt and strong punishments to end once and for all with the problem of racism in football. "We need to stop the games, apply disciplinary and competitive measures and all of it needs to be coordinated with local authorities and governments.

Persons: Madrid's Vinicius, Gianni Infantino, Vinicius, LaLiga, Infantino, It's, Fernando Kallas, Toby Davis Organizations: FIFA, Reuters, Madrid, Valencia, Brazil national, Guinea, Brazilian FA, CBF, Spanish FA, Infantino, Thomson Locations: BARCELONA, Brazil, Barcelona, Valencia, Spain

☆ ‘The Flash’ Review: Electric Company
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Flash, the latest DC Comics superhero to get his very own big show, isn’t the outfit’s usual brooding heavyweight. a billionaire), but an electrified nerd who joined the super-ranks by accident, not by birthright or by design. He’s really, really fast on his feet, you bet. That’s a relief, particularly given how the movie tries to clobber you into submission. If the bludgeoning feels more inescapable these days, it’s partly because the major studios now bank so heavily on superhero movies.

Persons: He’s, It’s, Barry Allen, Ezra Miller, Ron Livingston, Maribel, liveliness, Miller, ”, Gardner Fox, Harry Lampert, Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino Organizations: DC Comics

☆ 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup set to become most attended women’s sporting event in history
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Matt Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Ticket sales for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand overtook those of the previous edition of the tournament on Thursday, according to FIFA, soccer’s global governing body. The 1,032,884 tickets sold means the event is set to surpass France’s 2019 World Cup as the most attended standalone women’s sporting event in history, FIFA said. “The future is women,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino on his Instagram, “And thanks to the fans for supporting what will be the greatest FIFA Women’s World Cup ever! “The momentum is building in the host countries and across the globe, and I look forward to seeing you there to witness the stars of women’s football shine on the world stage.”Earlier this year, Australia’s opening fixture against the Republic of Ireland was moved to Stadium Australia in Sydney, which has a capacity of 83,000, in response to what FIFA described as “significant interest in tickets.”The Women’s World Cup runs from July 20 through August 20.

Persons: “, ”, Gianni Infantino Organizations: CNN, FIFA, New Zealand, Australia Locations: Australia, New, Republic of Ireland, Sydney

☆ Over one million tickets sold for Women's World Cup - FIFA
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 8 (Reuters) - This year's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is on track to become the most attended standalone women's sporting event ever with over one million tickets sold, FIFA said on Thursday. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the ninth edition of the Women's World Cup, which starts on July 20, has sold 1,032,884 tickets, surpassing the previous tournament in France in 2019. "The future is women, thanks to the fans for supporting what will be the greatest FIFA Women's World Cup ever!," Infantino said in a statement. FIFA had already announced that Australia's opening match against Ireland will change venue to the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia, the tournament's largest stadium, due to high public demand for tickets. This will allow up to 100,000 fans to attend the World Cup's opening games, with the match between co-hosts New Zealand and Norway taking place hours before in Auckland.

Persons: Gianni Infantino, Infantino, Janina Nuno Rios, Ed Osmond Organizations: FIFA, Ireland, Australia, New, Thomson Locations: Australia, New Zealand, France, Norway, Auckland, Mexico City

☆ Players at Women's World Cup guaranteed at least $30,000 each in FIFA first
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, June 7 (Reuters) - Each player at the Women's World Cup will be guaranteed at least $30,000 after a ground-breaking move by FIFA to disburse some of the prize money to individuals rather than national federations. All 23 members of the winning team will take home $270,000, part of a $110 million total prize pool that is roughly 300% higher than what FIFA offered for the 2019 tournament. The $30,000 minimum directed prize money is more than twice the average salary of $14,000 for paid players surveyed in FIFA's 2022 benchmarking report. For the upcoming Women's World Cup, member associations will also receive increased funding based on performance, with winners taking $4.29 million home and delegations earning $1.56 million for participating in the group stage. The total performance-based prize funds still significantly trail what was the on the offer at the men's tournament last year, where $440 million total prize fund was awarded.

Persons: Gianni Infantino, FIFPRO, Amy Tennery, Lori Ewing, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: YORK, FIFA, FIFA Congress, Thomson Locations: Australia, New Zealand, New York

☆ Spanish football admits it has racism problem after Vinicius incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MADRID, May 22 (Reuters) - Spanish soccer has a racism problem, football federation chief Luis Rubiales said on Monday, after Real Madrid lodged a complaint following alleged insults hurled at their Brazilian star Vinicius Jr. It is "a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country." "Probably Vinicius is more right than we think and we all need to do more about racism," Rubiales said. Real Madrid said on Monday they have lodged a hate crime complaint following the incident in Valencia. It is the 10th episode of alleged racism against Vinicius that has been reported to prosecutors this season, according to LaLiga.

☆ Build a stadium, FIFA's Infantino urges Kyrgyzstan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BISHKEK, May 6 (Reuters) - FIFA President Gianni Infantino urged Kyrgyzstan on Friday to build a national football stadium to host international games and address the lack of infrastructure. The former Soviet republic has no modern stadiums built to international standards that can host FIFA-level matches, and its national team's FIFA ranking has fluctuated between positions 201 and 75, currently standing at 96th. "I spoke to the (Kyrgyz) president (Sadyr Japarov) about the national stadium of football," Infantino said. The men's football team qualified two times in a row for the Asian cup. Reporting by Marlis Myrzakul Uulu Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FIFA confident of agreement on Women's World Cup TV rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, May 6 (Reuters) - FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura is confident the global governing body's threat of a Women's World Cup TV blackout in Europe this year will bring broadcasters to the table with improved offers for the rights. Some 1.12 billion viewers tuned into the 2019 World Cup in France across all platforms, according to a FIFA audit of the tournament. Infantino said broadcasters had offered only $1 million-$10 million for the rights for this year's tournament in Australia and New Zealand, compared to $100 million-$200 million for the men's World Cup. Former FIFA Council member Moya Dodd said this week that the governing body had itself devalued the rights of the Women's World Cup by historically bundling them with those of the men's tournament. The ninth Women's World Cup kicks off in Sydney and Auckland on July 20.

☆ FIFA responsible for undervaluing Women's World Cup, says Dodd
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 3 (Reuters) - Former FIFA Council member Moya Dodd has criticised Gianni Infantino's threat of a Women's World Cup broadcast blackout in Europe this year and said the governing body is responsible for the tournament being historically undervalued. Dodd, an ex-Australia international, said the broadcast industry had undervalued the women's tournament as FIFA had sold the rights together with the men's. "Effectively, the industry was trained to pay big money for the men's World Cup and treat the women's equivalent as worthless. "If in fact the Women's World Cup gets 50-60% of the viewers of the men's, as FIFA says, that should amount to a sum in the billions," she added. The Women's World Cup will be held from July 20-Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

☆ FIFA President Threatens Not to Broadcast Women’s World Cup in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rachel Bachman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘To be very clear, it is our moral and legal obligation not to undersell the FIFA Women’s World Cup,’ FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. Photo: fabrice coffrini/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesFor much of the 32-year existence of the Women’s World Cup, FIFA distributed the broadcast rights to the event like a “buy one, get one free” promotion: If broadcasters bought the rights for the men’s World Cup, they also got the rights to the Women’s World Cup. After the 2019 Women’s World Cup drew more than 1 billion global viewers, FIFA began a years-long transition to charging broadcasters a separate fee for the women’s tournament, in line with the event’s audiences.

CNN —FIFA President Gianni Infantino has threatened a Women’s World Cup broadcast blackout in five major European countries over unacceptable offers of media rights for the tournament. The UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and France are the five European countries Infantino was referring to in his remarks. “To be very clear, it is our moral and legal obligation not to undersell the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Therefore, should the offers continue not to be fair (towards women and women’s football), we will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup into the ‘Big 5’ European countries,” Infantino added. Australia and New Zealand will co-host the 2023 Women’s World Cup from July 20 until August 20.

☆ FIFA threatens Women's World Cup broadcast blackout in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Europe's top soccer nations face a broadcast blackout for this year's Women's World Cup unless media can improve on their "disappointing" offers for the rights, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. "To be very clear, it is our moral and legal obligation not to undersell the FIFA Women’s World Cup," Infantino said at a World Trade Organization meeting in Geneva. "Therefore, should the offers continue not to be fair, we will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women's World Cup into the 'Big 5' European countries." The World Cup, being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, starts on July 20. Some 1.12 billion viewers tuned into the 2019 Women's World Cup in France across all platforms, according to a FIFA audit of the tournament.

☆ FIFA Threatens Women’s World Cup TV Blackout in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tariq Panja | Andrew Das | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Broadcasters also appear to be taking a cautious stance on assigning a value to Women’s World Cup rights that have never previously been on the market. This year is the first time FIFA has decoupled the women’s tournament from the men’s; previously, the women’s rights were bundled as an extra in the bidding for the men’s World Cup rights. He noted that while viewing figures for the women’s tournament are between 50 percent and 60 percent of those for the men’s World Cup, the amounts offered for the women’s games have been much lower than that: In Europe alone, he said, they were “20 to 100 times lower than for the men’s FIFA World Cup.”“Whereas broadcasters pay $100-200 million for the men’s FIFA World Cup,” Infantino said, “they offer only $1-10 million for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. This is a slap in the face of all the great FIFA Women’s World Cup players and indeed of all women worldwide.”There has been a substantial interest in women’s soccer in Britain, Europe’s biggest market, which peaked when England beat Germany to win the European championship on home soil last year. According to news media reports, the BBC and ITV — the two main British broadcasters — have offered about 9 million pounds ($11.2 million) for the World Cup rights, the highest among European broadcasters.

☆ Women’s soccer is having a moment — except in the boardroom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Norway’s Karen Espelund was “appointed” not “elected” to the position due to her role as chair of the Women’s Football Committee, UEFA told CNN Sport over email. Norwegian Football Association President Lise Klaveness told CNN that the popularity of soccer isn't mirrored in female representation at UEFA. We tend to forget that because we compare it to the phenomenon of men’s football,” Klaveness says. The prize money for this year’s women’s World Cup, which kicks off on July 20, will increase by 300% to $150 million, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced last month. “They don’t really know: What are the differences between men’s and women’s football?

☆ 'Buried dreams': Players, fans dismayed after Indonesia loses U-20 hosting rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

International soccer's governing body FIFA stripped Indonesia of hosting rights on Wednesday over what an Indonesian official said was a failure to honour its commitments to the tournament. FIFA made the decision after Indonesia's football federation (PSSI) said it had cancelled the draw because Bali's governor refused to host Israel's team. The head of an Indonesian fans' association, Ignatius Indro, said PSSI and the government should ensure politics did not interfere in football. The loss of hosting rights was a "failure" for the Southeast Asian country, he said. PSSI said losing hosting rights would harm the national side's chance of taking part in other FIFA tournaments, and the economic losses would amount to millions of dollars.

☆ FIFA Triples Women’s World Cup Prize Money for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Rachel Bachman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. women’s players celebrate after winning the 2019 Women’s World Cup. FIFA is increasing the prize money for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to $110 million, more than triple what it was in 2019, and says it could award equal prize money with the Men’s World Cup by 2027 if broadcasters increase their bids for the women’s event. FIFA president Gianni Infantino , speaking at the organization’s Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, said the international soccer federation was “embarking on a historic journey for women’s football and for equality. And this will lead us to a path to equal pay.”

☆ FIFA says 2026 World Cup will have record 104 matches
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format" FIFA said. The 32-team World Cup in Qatar last year had a total of 64 matches completed in 29 days. Confederation champions from 2021-2024 will be eligible to play in the Club World Cup, which means Chelsea and Real Madrid have already qualified. The current version of the FIFA Club World Cup -- an annual competition with seven teams -- will be discontinued after 2023, with a new yearly club competition approved from 2024. "With 56 days, the total combined number of rest, release and tournament days remain identical to the 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup editions," FIFA added.

☆ Global Players’ Union Calls for Equal Conditions and Prize Money at Women’s World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Rachel Bachman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Players from 25 national women’s soccer teams, backed by a global professional players’ union, are calling for equal conditions and prize money at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Fifpro, an umbrella organization that represents 65,000 men’s and women’s soccer players and their unions worldwide, sent a letter last October to FIFA president Gianni Infantino outlining the players’ proposals. The letter, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, comes to light four months ahead of the Women’s World Cup that kicks off July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

☆ Brazil prepares to bury Pelé in the city he made a soccer mecca
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Forty-five years after Pelé played his last game, it’s hard to imagine modern soccer, or Brazil, without him. Pelé will be buried Tuesday in the city where he grew up, became famous, and helped make into a global capital of soccer. The coffin of Brazilian soccer great Pelé is carried Monday to the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos, Brazil. He made soccer important for Brazil and he made Brazil important for the world,” he said. Pelé led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals.

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