Ian Darke shares his memories from his trip to Russia for the World Cup, and the FC crew discuss what made the 2018 tournament so entertaining. FIFA should investigate allegations that the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid team ran a campaign to undermin…
FIFA president Gianni Infantino tells Gab Marcotti about his hopes that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups change negative perceptions of Russia and Qatar. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played between Nov. 21 through December 18, FIFA president …
Relive the highs and lows from Russia’s unexpected but memorable World Cup journey through the eyes of ESPN’s Charlie Gibson.
Russia’s Artem Dzyuba and Igor Akinfeev believe the side played with their souls to make history by reaching the World Cup quarter finals.
MOSCOW — FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said on Wednesday that Russia’s staging of the 2018 World Cup had set the bar high for Qatar, the tournament’s next hosts in 2022.
“I feel for Qatar, because [Russia] has set the bar very, very high,” Samoura, referring to the next World Cup in four years’ time, said at a meeting with Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the upper house of Russia’s parliament.
Samoura asked Matviyenko to convey to Russian President Vladimir Putin FIFA’s “profound appreciation…
MOSCOW — Football’s governing body FIFA on Friday accused television channel BeoutQ, which is widely available in Saudi Arabia, of illegally broadcasting the opening games of the World Cup.
Following FIFA’s announcement, officials from Qatar — where a TV station holds the regional rights to air the tournament — traded barbed comments online with allies of Saudi Arabia in the latest episode of a long-running feud.
FIFA said in a statement that it was “exploring all options to stop the infringement…
FIFA president Gianni Infantino tells Gab Marcotti about his hopes that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups change negative perceptions of Russia and Qatar.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says the governing body would not discuss the possibility of having a 48-team World Cup in Qatar in 2022 at its congress next week, saying it would first discuss the matter with the host country.
“The FIFA administration will discuss with the hosts and then we will see,” Infantino told reporters in Moscow. “For the moment, what there is is a World Cup with 32 teams.”
Infantino, who said it was premature to discuss the issue at the FIFA Congress in Moscow on Wednesday,…
FIFA president Gianni Infantino tells Gab Marcotti about his hopes that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups change negative perceptions of Russia and Qatar.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said he is “not selling football’s soul” with plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams in 2022.
Infantino has been criticised after announcing that the 2022 tournament, rather than the 2026 finals as originally planned, could see 16 teams added to the format.
“I’m not selling football’s soul. I don’t have the right to do it and if I had it, I wouldn’t do it, of course. No-one is selling anything,” he told L’Equipe.
“I ask you to judge when it’s done. It’s at…
SAO PAULO — The 2019 Copa America in Brazil will feature Japan and Qatar and no teams from North America.
South America football body CONMEBOL said in a statement on Friday the two guest sides were included in the 12-nation tournament because of close links with the Asian Football Confederation.
“The 2019 Copa America in Brazil will be an emotional competition, in which anyone can win the title,” said CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez.
“In addition to the national teams of our member…
FIFA president Gianni Infantino tells Gab Marcotti about his hopes that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups change negative perceptions of Russia and Qatar.
Qatar wants talks with FIFA to discuss the feasibility of increasing the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams after football’s governing body expressed interest in enlarging a tournament already having to overcome operational challenges.
The Gulf nation took two days to publicly respond to calls on Thursday from South American football nations to fast-track the jump from 32 to 48 teams at World Cups by four years.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has already secured approval for World Cup expansion from…
FIFA president Gianni Infantino tells Gab Marcotti about his hopes that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups change negative perceptions of Russia and Qatar. Bayern Munich have hit back at an investigative report suggesting the club ignored Human Rights Watch warnings before entering into lucrative deal with Qatar Airways, saying “the opposite is the case.”
Qatar has been the subject of human rights investigations over abusive labour conditions for migrant construction workers, including in the building of stadiums and facilities for the 2022 World Cup.
Bayern Munich agreed a five-year deal with the state-owned Qatar Airways in February….
FIFA president Gianni Infantino speaks to ESPN FC’s Gab Marcotti about his hopes of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups being able to change any negative perceptions of both Russia and Qatar. A British coroner has blamed dangerous working practices for the death of a worker on a 2022 World Cup stadium building site in Qatar.
An inquest heard that Zachary Cox fell nearly 40 metres in January 2017 when a faulty hoist he was using to put a suspended walkway in place broke at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
The 40-year-old Cox’s safety harness snapped under the weight. He fell head first, sustaining brain injuries and a broken neck. Cox was born in South Africa but later lived…