FIFA

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Rights Groups Slam 2034 World Cup Choice

Saudi Arabia will host tournament 12 years after it was held in Qatar

(Newser) - The World Cup was hosted by Qatar in 2022, and it will return to the Arabian Peninsula in 2034. FIFA announced Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has been chosen to host the men's soccer tournament, drawing protests from human rights groups, NBC News reports. A joint statement from 21 groups,...

After Racial Taunts, Team Slaps Fan With Lifetime Ban

Italian soccer club will keep trying to identify any other 'evil people'

(Newser) - A soccer club in Italy has identified a fan who shouted racial abuse at a player during a match and barred him from its games for life. Udinese said in a statement that it will keep working with police and stadium security to identify anyone else involved, the AP reports....

Punch Cancels All Professional Soccer in Turkey

Faruk Koca, president of Super Lig club MKE Ankaragucu, arrested for assault on referee

(Newser) - The Turkish Football Federation has suspended play across its five professional leagues after the president of a top-tier soccer club punched a referee in the face. Chaos erupted Monday as MKE Ankaragucu drew Caykur Rizespor in a Super Lig match in Ankara, with Rizespor evening the score in the seventh...

FIFA Lays Down Hammer on Spain's Ex-Soccer Chief

Luis Rubiales is barred from sport for 3 years for misconduct after he kissed player during World Cup

(Newser) - FIFA banned Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish soccer federation, from the sport for three years on Monday for misconduct at the Women's World Cup final, where he forcibly kissed a player on the lips at the trophy ceremony. FIFA didn't publish details of the verdict...

2030 FIFA World Cup Will Be Held on 3 Continents

First 3 games will be played in South America

(Newser) - The 2026 men's soccer World Cup will be the first to be held in three countries—the US, Canada, and Mexico—but 2030 will go a step further with games in three continents. FIFA, world soccer's governing body, announced Wednesday that the tournament will be hosted by Spain,...

FIFA Chief on Equal Pay: 'Pick the Right Battles'

Gianni Infantino catches flak for telling women players to 'convince us men'

(Newser) - Equal pay has long been a bone of contention for women's soccer, and FIFA's president appears to be on the side of achieving "equality" overall, but his recent wording on the subject is rankling some fans. Speaking at the FIFA Women's Football Convention ahead of Sunday'...

This Person Wasn't Supposed to Be on World Cup Field

FIFA looking into how celeb chef Nusret Gokce, aka Salt Bae, ended up celebrating with Messi, team

(Newser) - Protocol has it that only FIFA officials and the winning team are allowed to handle the World Cup trophy, but the soccer governing body has now launched an investigation after one person who wasn't supposed to be on the field Sunday after Argentina's victory had his hands all...

Team Pushes Back at FIFA: Human Rights 'Non-Negotiable'

German Football Association protests after armband ban at World Cup in anti-gay Qatar

(Newser) - The captains of at least seven World Cup teams planned to wear rainbow armbands in support of LGBTQ+ rights during matches in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal , before FIFA threatened sanctions. Told the captains would receive yellow cards for the infraction or be removed from the field, per USA Today ...

Ex-FIFA Boss: World Cup in Qatar Was a Bad Call

Host nation lacks accommodations for all attendees

(Newser) - The former president of FIFA, world soccer's governing body, says he wanted this year's World Cup to be held in the US but has now decided it was a "mistake" to award it to Qatar. Sepp Blatter says that when FIFA's executive committee made the decision...

FIFA Names World Cup Hosts
FIFA Names World Cup Hosts
Jun 16, 2022 6:45 PM CDT

FIFA Names World Cup Hosts

Locations in US, Mexico, and Canada are chosen for 2026 tournament

(Newser) - Soccer's governing body announced Thursday that 11 US cities will host 2026 World Cup matches, as will three cities in Mexico and two in Canada. It's the first time that three nations have combined to host the tournament, ESPN reports. The tournament has included 32 teams, as it...

Iranian Women Attend Soccer Match for First Time Since '81

Females have been banned for decades

(Newser) - They had to sit well apart from the men, and the place was practically empty, but thousands of Iranian women in merry jester hats and face paint blew horns and cheered inside a Tehran stadium Thursday at the first FIFA soccer match they have been allowed to freely attend in...

Pro-Brexit Chants Could Mean Trouble at World Cup

FIFA could punish England if fans chant pro-Brexit songs at Thursday's game versus Belgium

(Newser) - England could face punishment if fans at the World Cup chant insulting pro-Brexit sentiments, FIFA has said. Per the Telegraph , rules against “insulting or political slogans” and “uttering insulting words or sounds” at the biggest event in soccer might mean sanctions against the team should fans veer from...

Hope Solo Accuses Ex-FIFA Head of Sexual Assault

She says Sepp Blatter groped her backstage during a 2013 awards show

(Newser) - Soccer player Hope Solo says she was sexually assaulted by the former president of FIFA during the 2013 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, the New York Daily News reports. The goalkeeper for the US Women's National Team tells Portuguese newspaper Tribuna Expresso that she "had Sepp Blatter grab...

Exec Whose Admissions Started FIFA Scandal Is Dead at 72

Chuck Blazer 'felt profound sorrow and regret for his actions,' his lawyers say

(Newser) - Chuck Blazer, the disgraced American soccer exec whose corruption admissions set off a global scandal that toppled FIFA President Sepp Blatter , died Wednesday, reportedly in New Jersey. He was 72, the AP reports. At a November 2013 court hearing during which Blazer entered guilty pleas to 10 federal charges, Blazer...

Teen Runs Up $7.6K Bill Playing Xbox

He's claiming ignorance over Dad's credit card bill

(Newser) - A Canadian kid is in deep poutine after charging more than $7,600 onto his father's credit card while playing a FIFA video game on his Xbox, the CBC reports. Lance Perkins says he was "floored" when he got the bill Dec. 23. Perkins' 17-year-old son told him...

FIFA Stunner: Defiant Blatter Banned 8 Years

'I'll be back': Sepp Blatter shows zero remorse

(Newser) - Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were each banned for eight years by the FIFA ethics committee on Monday in a stunning removal of world soccer's most powerful leaders. FIFA President Blatter and his one-time protege Platini were kicked out of the sport for conflict of interest and disloyalty...

US Indicts 16 More in FIFA Corruption Probe

'The betrayal of trust set forth here is outrageous'

(Newser) - Five current and former members of FIFA's ruling executive committee were among 16 additional men indicted on corruption charges Thursday as part of US prosecutors' widening investigation into soccer corruption. The indictment takes down an entire generation of soccer leaders in South America, a bedrock of FIFA and World...

FIFA Chief Now Under Criminal Investigation

By Swiss authorities

(Newser) - FIFA President Sepp Blatter was placed under criminal investigation by Swiss authorities today as a probe into soccer corruption reached the highest levels and left his grip on the top job in peril. The Swiss attorney general's office opened proceedings against Blatter for possible criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of...

US Asks Swiss to Extradite 7 FIFA Honchos

The men have already objected

(Newser) - The US has submitted a formal request for Switzerland to extradite seven FIFA officials arrested in Zurich as part of a corruption probe that has rocked soccer's world governing body . Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice today said that the requests were received from the US embassy in Bern....

Russia, Qatar Could Be Stripped of World Cups

Swiss investigators announce massive bank investigation

(Newser) - Banks in Switzerland have reported 53 possible acts of money laundering in the investigation of FIFA's 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests, the country's attorney general said today. Michael Lauber described a "huge and complex" case that targets "criminal mismanagement and money laundering" in the...

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