What We’re Reading

Today:
• Ex-USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski out as KC Current sporting director By Jeff Kassouf (ESPN)

• $9M land sale moves Melbourne pro soccer stadium closer to reality By Rick Neale (Florida Today)

• College football kickers were underpaid. then they started texting By Rachel Bachman (Wall Street Journal 🔒)

• Iranian soccer players who sought asylum in Australia say anthem silence was protest against Tehran By Rod McGuirk(AP)

• LAFC manager says US-Venezuela relations a factor in David Martinez move By Jon Arnold (USA Today)

Friday am:
• Life after Lionel Messi: American soccer isn’t ready for the void he’ll leave behind By Tom Hindle (Goal.com)

• Transfer Grades: How your team did in the summer window By Matthew Doyle (Tactics Free Zone 🔒)

• Inside KC soccer: Was Sporting Kansas City’s transfer window a disappointment? By Daniel Sperry (Kansas City Star)

• Nike signs groundbreaking front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with London City Lionesses By Asli Pelit (The Athletic)

• Folarin Balogun and the extraordinary chain of events that led to his transfer collapsing By Tom Burrows & Patrick Boyland (The Athletic)

Thursday am:
• How Ben Shelton and Trinity Rodman support each other’s pro careers By Cydney Henderson (USA Today)

• Who is behind Monarch Collective? The 10,000-fan bet that changed women’s soccer investment By Asli Pelit (The Athletic)

• MLS Next Pro announces format for 2026 postseason with new play-in round (localnews3.com)

• How a tifo comes together: Inside an icon of Nashville SC supporters’ culture By Ben Wright (Six One Five Soccer)

• How does prize money work in the English League Cup? By Jonty Colman (BBC Sport)

• Book review: Inventing the Boston Game By John M. Sloop (Six One Five Soccer)

Wednesday am:

• U.S. Soccer restructures sporting department: What it means for Pochettino, Hayes By Henry Bushnell (The Athletic)

🧵 Thread:

• Sources: MLS to return all of its teams to the U.S. Open Cup By Ben Wright and Joseph Lowery (Backheeled 🔒)

• From Fisher To FIFA World Cups: How Kathryn Nesbitt became a barrier-breaking soccer official By Mike Hogan (St. John Fisher Athletics)

• The strange transfer rule only MLS uses in global soccer By Roddy Cons (Diaro AS)

Tuesday am:
• Josh Kushner speaks out on failed FIFA deal By Dan Primack (Axios)

• What Argentina gets right about youth soccer — and what the U.S. gets wrong By Manuel Rueda (NPR)

• Mario Gallavotti: The fixer at the center of FIFA’s meltdown By Ali Walker, Gregorio Sorgi, Giulia Poloni (Politico)

• U.S. Soccer nears takeover of U.S. Youth Soccer. This is what it means for the sport’s future By Henry Bushnell (The Athletic) 🔗 fixed linked

Monday am:

• Women’s soccer coach Erica Dambach earns 300th Penn State win, thumps Bucknell By Gavin Leonard (The Daily Collegian)

• MLS legend Kei Kamara steps into Apple TV studio as he figures out what’s next By Jon Arnold (USA Today)

• Brown scientists help preserve a piece of World Cup history for Cape Verdean Museum (Brown University)

• Tuskegee University releases new docuseries for huge milestone By Kiya Wimbush-Robinson (ClutchPoints)

Saturday am:

• The new Bundesliga season is here, but has the glow gone? By Jonathan Harding (DW.com)

• How Borussia Dortmund are trying to recreate the exciting BVB of the past as they rebuild with youth under Niko Kovac By Adam Bate (Sky Sports)

• Amid drama, FIFA alliances could change international soccer forever By Jon Arnold (USA Today)

• Beyond the Beautiful Game: How Roberto Baggio’s Buddhist journey delivered resilience By Clemente Lisi (Religion Unplugged)

⚖️ UEFA vs. FIFA: U.S. District Court filing: Application for order to be able conduct discovery for use in a foreign proceeding (h/t Margaret Fleming)

Thursday am:
• 22 Under 22 Tiers: Sorting the best crop of young players in MLS history By Matthew Doyle (Tactics Free Zone 🔒)

• Des Moines ceases negotiations with Krause Group for downtown soccer stadium (kcci.vom)

• DAZN buys sports commercial distributor EverPass by Wayne Friedman (MediaPost)

• Penn State commit Payton Galuski, 1st girl to earn boys’ soccer all-state nod, won’t play this fall for Waterford-Halfmoon By Kyra Santicola (Times Union)

•  Gay soccer star Esther González shocks fans with move to anti-gay Saudi Arabia By Cyd Zeigler (OutSports)

Wednesday am:
• Angel City’s prolonged coaching carousel testing patience of frustrated fans By Kevin Baxter (Los Angeles Times)

• Chicago Stars returning to Northwestern Univ.’s Martin Stadium Martin Stadium in 2027 (Sports Business Journal)

• Another set of Sullivan brothers are making waves in Bangladesh By Sanjay Sujanthakumar (The Guardian)

• What Is FIFA training compensation? By Astor Henríquez (Global Sport Law & Management)

• Navigating ticket requests for family and friends of players involves a different type of game-day strategy By Ethan Joyce (Sports Business Journal)

• At least 1 in 4 ex-NFL players who died from 2016 to 2021 had CTE, study finds By Brian Dakss (CBS News)

Tuesday:
• U.S. international Rose Lavelle suffers head injury in Gotham FC tie By Jeff Kassouf (ESPN)

• Kaylyn Kyle lands new role with beIN Sports after MLS exit By Sam Neumann (Awful Announcing)

• Soccer fans boo U.S. anthem as Canadians react to breakdown in trade negotiations
By Kevin Maimann (CBC)

• Pressure mounts on Guillermo Hoyos as Inter Miami stuck in five-game winless rut By By Michelle Kaufman (Miami Herald)

• Nordic soccer associations have ‘lost confidence’ in FIFA boss Infantino (Associated Press)

• El Paso County declares Aug. 24 ‘Ricardo Pepi Day’ By Jocelyn Flores (KTSM)

Monday:
• MLS: Emergency Playoff Post By Andrew Visnovsky (Ad Victoriam Sports)

• Esther González joins Saudi club Al Qadsiah after Gotham FC departure By Jeff Kassouf (ESPN)

• Arkansas football, soccer athletes in limbo after appeals court issues stay in eligibility case by Matt Jones (wholehogsports.com)

• Adorable interruption! Baby pitch invader crashes San Jose-Minnesota (MLSSoccer.com)

Friday:
• MLS wants every game to matter. Its new expanded playoff format edges it closer to reality By Paul Tenorio (The Athletic)

• San Jose hired Gavin Wilkinson after ‘restorative’ clearance from MLS without NWSL involvement By Henry Bushnell (The Athletic)

• Loons’ Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad leaving for Austin FC By Andy Greder (Pioneer Press)

• PennWest California (NCAA Division II) freshman soccer player found dead in vehicle; boyfriend and his mother charged By Mike Darnay and Erika Stanish (CBS News)

• UAB turmoil continues as another head coach (women’s soccer head coach Lisa Mann) ‘currently out’ By Matt Stahl (AL.com)

Thursday am:
• UNC men’s soccer coach Carlos Somoano envisions a 2-semester season. Could it work? By Michael Koh (Chapelboro.com)

• 8 Questions, 8 Answers: With Long Island’s USL League One expansion team president Sara Whalen-Hess By Michael Lewis (Front Row Soccer)

• Erling Haaland’s main rivals for the Premier League Golden Boot By Emlyn Begley
(BBC Sport)

Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala collapses on field again By Matt Pearson (DW.com)

Premier League to broadcast on-field referee-player audio live (DPA)

Wednesday am:
• Roger Bennett is a man of the people: Men in Blazers’ secret to World Cup By Victoria Hernandez (USA Today)

• WAFCON showed no shortage of young talent. When signing players, clubs must ‘handle with care’ By Tamerra Griffin (The Athletic)

• How investors profit from soccer even as Premier League club losses skyrocket By Joseph Wilkins (CNBC)

• Miami ranked No. 1 among USA’s top soccer stronghold cities, says new study By Gerrish Lopez (TimeOut)

Tuesday am:
• Earthquakes’ baffling Gavin Wilkinson hire insults fans and Bay FC: ‘A slap in the face’ By Ann Killion (San Francisco Chronicle)

• Inside the Basque ‘dream team’ that produced Iraola, Arteta and Alonso By Daniel Taylor and Laia Cervelló Herrero (The Athletic)

• $2.90 billion and counting – why Premier League spending could set new record By Mohamed Moallim (BBC Sport)

• ICE detained a Venezuelan soccer pro. His case shows the immigration backlog crisis.
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (NPR)

• Addressing NWSL’s ACL epidemic By Annie Peterson (The IX Sports)

Monday am:
• FAQ: Latest on FIFA, Infantino mess as opposition applies pressure By Gabriele Marcotti (ESPN)

• The 3 weeks that brought Gianni Infantino and FIFA to the brink By Margaret Fleming (Front Office Sports)

• Jeff Bezos is buying into Liverpool – this is why By Miguel Delaney (The Independent)

• Sources: NYCFC II moving to New Jersey’s Middlesex County By Michael Battista (NY Soccer Journal)

• New Jersey residents deserve answers about 2026 World Cup before pursuing 2031 Women’s World Cup New Jersey Editorial Board (USA Today)

Friday am:
• Expansion or relocation? How the NWSL ecosystem makes it hard to keep up with the price of winning By Asli Pelit (The Athletic)

• Frank Lampard believes Haji Wright is ready for the Premier League By Donald Wine II (Stars and Stripes FC)

• Anthony Taylor: ‘Critical former refs add to culture of fear’ By Dan Roan (BBC)

• UEFA launches ‘Clearline’ platform to explain VAR decisions and criteria to supporters By Yosua Arya (Goal.com)

• Police in Ecuador seize 1,000 pounds of cocaine bearing the face of soccer star Erling Haaland; woman arrested (CBS News)

• Fulham responds after fiery friendly ends with walk-off as Malaga scores penalty in empty net By Will Castle (The Independent)

• Kaylyn Kyle announces MLS departure My Matt Yoder (Awful Announcing)

• Ted Lasso accidentally stumbles into women’s soccer’s biggest coaching problem By Asli Pelit (The Athletic)

Thursday am:
• Leagues Cup director touts passion in fourth edition of MLS vs. Liga MX tournament By Jon Arnold (USA Today)

• Canada, Brazil pressing ahead with Under-20 Women’s World Cup amid FIFA turmoil By Lori Ewing (Reuters)

• What Bob Iger’s Angel City ownership can illuminate about his impending Lakers acquisition By Kevin Baxter (Los Angeles Times)

• ‘It was a bit surreal’: When World Cup star Michael Olise joined a New York pick-up game… in socks By Melanie Anzidei (The Athletic)

• Cleared security, but detained anyway: A former college soccer captain’s 17 days inside ICE custody (Latin Times)

• South Korea crisis deepens over sexual favors for foreign referees scandal By Daniel Austin (BBC News)

Wednesday am:
• FBI probe into Argentina soccer funds clouds new Miami-area sports complex By Shirsho Dasgupta, Antonio María Delgado & Jay Weaver (Miami Herald)

• Mexico soccer federation accused of accepting ‘bribe’ for backing FIFA boss Infantino while betraying its allies By Marcos Olvera & Calum Roche (Diario AS)

• Exclusive: Infantino’s opponents developing new framework for running world soccer By Matt Hughes & Nick Ames (The Guardian)

• ‘Flawed’ Funding System Behind Silence of Smaller Nations in FIFA’s Civil War By Nick Mulvenney (Reuters)

• Montréal signs ex-Arsenal, United star Alexis Sánchez By Jeff Carlisle (ESPN)

Tuesday am:

• U.S. Soccer finally puts its foot down on the Gianni Infantino FIFA scandal, demands ‘meaningful change’ By Jonathan Tannenwald (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Fox’s World Cup reign is over. Can Netflix usher in a new era with the 2027 Women’s World Cup? By Meg Linehan (The Athletic)

• Here’s who stands to gain the most from a Jeff Bezos-Liverpool FC deal By Weston Blasi (Marketwatch)

• Unmasking London City’s Spanish superstar: Alexia Putellas By Emma Sanders (BBC)

• Brazilian player falls down hole celebrating goal that was then disallowed (The Guardian)

• Barred Somali World Cup ref Omar Artan ‘grateful’ for UEFA Super Cup shot (ESPN)

• The World Cup may have boosted spending. That isn’t the same as economic growth. By Patrick Tuohey (Better Cities Project)

Monday am:
• Infantino’s World Cup sell-off debacle has rocked football but FIFA’s crisis has deep and rotten roots By Jonathan Wilson (The Guardian)

• Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s father and longtime agent, dies at 68 By Ramiro Barreiro and Pato Saita (AP)

• Mexico winger Hirving Lozano’s San Diego FC impasse ends, on loan to Galaxy By Jon Arnold (USA Today)

• Jonathan Klinsmann interview: ‘I was really close…to never playing again, never walking again’ By Greg O’Keeffe (The Athletic)

• NISA’s Club de Lyon FC says Argentinian pro soccer player detained by ICE in Fort Lauderdale while preparing to board flight to Los Angeles By Don Jacobson (UPI)

• BYU women’s soccer motivated to send retiring coach, legend Jennifer Rockwood out on high note By Sean Walker (ksl.com)

• Inter Miami’s Segovia returned home to volunteer in Venezuela after earthquakes By Michelle Kaufman (Miami Herald)

Friday am:
• Emma Hayes urges U20 WWC focus to improve player development By Jeff Kassouf (ESPN)

• Mexico’s football federation stands in solidarity with Gianni Infantino By Victoria Hernandez (USA Today)

• FIFA’s top executives were given an ultimatum to sell stake in the World Cup By Tariq Panja (New York Times)

• AC Boise aim to turn record-breaking support, Spanish influence into long-term soccer success in USL By Chuck Booth (CBS Sports)

🙏 A TREASURE OF AMERICAN SOCCER: Soccer America needs and deserves to be around forever By Michael Lewis (Front Row Soccer)

Thursday am:
• How U.S. Soccer wants to ‘challenge’ and rebuild America’s youth soccer system By Henry Bushnell (The Athletic)

• For Larry Berg, a life in soccer became ‘a calling’ in quest to be MLS commissioner By Jonathan Tannenwald (Philadelphia Inquirer 🔒)

• Portugal legend Luis Figo calls on Infantino to resign in blistering op-ed By Seth Vertelney (USA Today)

• Saudi wealth fund and Jared Kushner’s Affinity finalize $55 billion EA Sports deal By Joseph Wilkins (CNBC)

• Ted Lasso doesn’t know what to do with women’s soccer By Judy Berman (Time)

Wednesday am:
• Gianni Infantino summons senior FIFA leaders for crisis meeting Wednesday in Morocco in wake of failed World Cup sale plan By Dan Sheldon (The Athletic)

• Jordan FA president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein  accuses FIFA, Gianni Infantino of blackmail (ESPN)

• JPMorgan finds Itself in another global soccer fiasco By Tariq Panja (New York Times 🔒)

• U.S. cities chasing millions of dollars from FIFA after hosting World Cup games
By Adam Crafton (The Athletic)

• U.S. Soccer ignores history in retaining Mauricio Pochettino through 2030 World Cup By Mark Zeigler (San Diego Union Tribune)

Tuesday am:
• Under-fire FIFA boss Gianni Infantino begs Trump White House to save his job: sources By James Franey (New York Post)

• Ken Griffin’s billions and billions: The hedge-fund titan is an unabashed big spender, from pièds-a-terre to politics. By Gary Sernovitz (The New Yorker)

• Former MLS star (2001 Best XI) Diego Serna faces drug trafficking charges after Miami airport arrest for carrying nearly 9,000 hydrocodone pills in two backpacks (local10.com)

• Denver Summit FC minority owner, Colorado native Jordan Angeli reflects on club’s debut season By Marissa Kraus (Denver Gazette)

• Coaching, mental health and getting help: A conversation with Matt Beard’s brother By Katie Whyatt (The Athletic)

• Game changers: How EA Sports made a video game the epicenter of soccer culture By Leander Schaerlaeckens (ESPN)

Friday am:
• How Gianni Infantino engineered World Cup to sell his doomed plan By Martyn Ziegler (The Times 🔒)

• Could Infantino lose FIFA presidency after World Cup plans were rejected? By Mark Ogden (ESPN)

• Four reasons why FIFA’s World Cup plan never stacked up By Faisal Islam (BBC)

• Trump quiet as Infantino World Cup scheme collapses By Margaret Fleming (Politico)

• Women’s soccer continues to be used as a pawn in Gianni Infantino’s Fifa tenure By Suzanne Wrack (The Guardian)

• Longtime 49ers exec Paraag Marathe leaves team to focus on European soccer (AP)

Friday am:
• FIFA’s sales pitch revealed: more tournaments, more debt … but no mention of women’s game By Matt Hughes (The Guardian)

• Inside Yan Diomande’s meteoric rise from Florida high-school soccer to $154 million Real Madrid transfer By Kyle Bonn (The Sporting News)

• Soccer announcer Andrés Cantor on World Cup success and controversial Balogun call By Alex Sherman (CNBC Sport)

Thursday am:
• NWSL player Penelope Hocking suspended for stepping on opponent’s hair By Seth Vertelney (USA Today)

• A four-part series on Spain‘s triumph at the 2026 World Cup is coming to Prime Video by the end of the year By Lily Ford (Hollywood Reporter)

• Mauricio Pochettino, U.S. Soccer ‘close’ on deal to renew USMNT coach: Sources By Paul Tenorio, Tom Bogert, Henry Bushnell and David Ornstein (The Athletic)

• 1966 World Cup glory remembered — through eyes of the players’ children By Owen Slot (The Times)

• Ex-USMNT star Desmond Armstrong talks about his trailblazing career: The longtime Nashvillian has been a steward for local youth soccer By Logan Butts (Nashville Scene)

• Referees call for VAR tweak (BBC News)

• European soccer officials eye Qatari sports executive to challenge Infantino By Ali Walker & Sophia Cai (Politico)

Wednesday am:
• MLS owners to hear proposed changes to league’s roster, spending rules: Sources By Paul Tenorio and Tom Bogert (The Athletic) 

• World Cup exit spurs U.S. Soccer push to fix pay-to-play By Ava Hult (Front Office Sport)

• 18 months after cutting all sports, Sonoma State brings most of them back, including men’s and women’s soccer By Alex Simon (SFGate)

• Politically connected stakeholders received free World Cup tickets from Harris County (Texas Voice)

• Barely one-third of Toronto’s FIFA FanFest premium tickets sold, early data shows By Isaac Callan (Global News)

• Most Kansas City restaurants saw negative impact from 2026 FIFA World Cup, survey finds By Greg Dailey (KCTV5)

• World Cup 2026 leaves lasting legacy in New Jersey (NJBiz)

Tuesday am:
• Italy in shambles again! Paolo Maldini and Leonardo resign from FIGC roles after just two weeks over Andrea Pirlo rejection By Moataz Bellah El Hadedy (Goal.com)

• Premier League to crack down on goalkeepers faking injury (ESPN)

• The 2026 World Cup is over, but the onslaught of soccer relentlessly rolls on By Leander Schaerlaeckens (The Guardian)

Monday am:
• Austin FC academy players under investigation by police and FBI for allegations of youth-on-youth sexual abuse By Alexander Abnos and Pablo Iglesias Maurer (The Guardian)

• Can MLS capitalize on World Cup momentum? Garber’s successor faces defining challenge By Ben Strauss (ESPN)

• The Oakland Roots wanted to bring professional sports back to the Coliseum. It’s cost them dearly By Kate Talerico (San Francisco Chronicle)

• USWNT defender Emily Sonnett stretchered off in Gotham FC match By Seth Vertelney (USA Today)

L.A. got a World Cup beer surge, not the economic jackpot it expected By Annika Duneja (Los Angeles Times)

101 things I learned on a World Cup road trip across America By Daniel Story (The i Paper / iNews 🔒)

• What We’re Reading: March 18-July 24

---

Enjoy free unlimited access for 30 days.

‣ Daily TV listings for U.S. and global soccer
‣ In-depth USMNT & USWNT coverage
‣ Exclusive interviews with players, referees and coaches
‣ Expert analysis of the top stories in American soccer
‣ Unlock comments and join the conversation.

Start Free Trial

Cancel anytime.

---

CHECK OUT MORE STORIES

MLS Weekend: Philly and St. Louis surge

Americans Abroad: 7 U.S. players in the UEFA Champions League

Soccer on TV

Soccer America’s Americans Abroad Guide (2026-27 men)

Mauricio Pochettino speaks to various issues upon entering his second cycle 

Americans Abroad (France): Gio Reyna is ‘the heart of’ Strasbourg

USL: Players ratify Championship CBA

College soccer on TV: Sept. 8-13

NWSL: Jameese Joseph traded to Utah Royals

PSG goes for three in a row as Champions League returns

Follow Us

• Facebook
• X
• Bluesky
• TikTok