“From power struggles to global politics, an exploration of FIFA reveals the organization’s checkered history — and what it takes to host a World Cup,” is how Netflix bills its documentary series, “FIFA Uncovered,” which airs on Nov. 9 — 11 days before the kickoff of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. (In 2015, the […]
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Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Soccer united against Putin — 10 years too late
The soccer world agreed at the weekend that war is a terrible thing, and Russia’s illegal and murderous invasion of Ukraine must be condemned by all decent nations and people. It’s good to know that the possibly insane Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has finally crossed the line. Up until last week, soccer had been remarkably lenient […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Wednesday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. FIFA wraps second set of visits to potential World Cup hosts By Tim Booth (AP) 2. Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini indicted for fraud in Switzerland By Stephanie Halasz, Aleks Klosok and Jack Bantock (CNN) 3. Ajax stayed true to Ten Hag, their strategy and their ethos – and they’re flying By Raphael Honigstein […]
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FIFA wants your feedback on a biennial World Cup — let them have it
The timeless British soccer journalist Brian Glanville turned 90 last week, reminding me of his famous quote about former FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The now disgraced functionary, Glanville once observed, has “50 ideas before breakfast, and 51 of them are bad.” Which brings to mind the current initiative of his successor, Gianni Infantino, who is […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Tuesday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. FC Dallas owner Dan Hunt says firing Luchi Gonzalez gives team best chance for playoff push By Jon Arnold (Dallas Morning-News) 2. The overlooked consequences for national teams in a biennial World Cup universe By Brian Straus (SI.com) 3. Discovery commissions The Men Who Sold The World Cup, FIFA World Cup scandal documentary By […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: Antonia M. Apps
“It’s not unprecedented to have the Justice Department weigh in on the appropriate use of the money. The scale of this corruption case is much larger than your typical corruption case, so the dollars are greater than you would normally see.” — Antonia M. Apps, a lawyer with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy and a […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: FIFA Disciplinary Committee
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Mexican Federation with a fine of 60,000 Swiss francs [$65,000] and the condition that they play their next two official home games behind closed doors as a consequence of the anti-gay chants heard in the matches against the Dominican Republic and the United States, played in Guadalajara on […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Friday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. Years before Champions League final, Christian Pulisic and Zack Steffen suited up for the Philadelphia Union By Sam Stejskal (The Athletic) 2. Lilian Thuram sees MLS’s Black Players for Change as a template By Brian Straus (SI.com) 3. Swiss bank Julius Baer to pay $80 million in deferred prosecution deal for FIFA soccer corruption […]
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino: Soccer needs to consider reforms like salary caps and caps on transfer and agent fees
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said soccer’s world governing body is considering a wide range of reforms that it will propose so international club soccer is able to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic better than it entered the current crisis. “I already said it,” Infantino said in an interview with the Paris sports daily L’Equipe […]
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What soccer can do to pressure Qatar ahead of the World Cup
I don’t want to depress you any more than necessary in these stressful times, but next year is a World Cup year. The 2022 event, to be hosted in the tiny Middle Eastern state of Qatar, has become like one of those ominous dates in your calendar you hope that time will somehow defy. The […]