Climate activists are planning protests Sunday against FIFA’s sponsorship deal with Saudi state-owned oil and gas giant Aramco at World Cup sites and fan zones across the country. Organizer Zan Dubin told POLITICO the protests are aimed at pressuring FIFA to drop Aramco while calling attention to the way oil company advertising becomes part of…
OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s rousing Davos speech, where he called on middle powers to not become losers to the world’s “hegemons,” delivered a message that positioned Canada as an influential convening power. Now, with billions watching — including during this afternoon’s match between Germany and Côte d’Ivoire in Toronto — the World…
The United States is failing in its responsibility as a World Cup host country, Iranian officials argued in a government statement shared exclusively with POLITICO that declared Mexico the tournament’s off-field winner. “The 2026 FIFA World Cup is played not only in stadiums but also in the streets, airports and public squares,” said Mohammad Reza…
POLITICO has been crunching the numbers to see how all 48 of this year’s World Cup participants rank in several other off-field categories, which we’ll share more of over the weekend. In today’s item, we’re looking at countries sorted by their FIFA rank against their citizens’ assessment of how close they are to living their…
ROME — Donald Trump isn’t the only problem on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s mind. Failure to qualify for the FIFA men’s World Cup for the third consecutive time triggered a major political and public outcry in the football-obsessed country that has now morphed into a bitter fight over who controls the sport. Meloni’s Brothers…
While Curaçao’s players were training for their match against in Ecuador, government officials from the World Cup’s smallest-ever competitor hosted a two-day conference in Kansas City to promote it as a destination for American investment. The Caribbean island of around 158,000 people located just north of Venezuela is a semi-autonomous part of the Kingdom of…
Demands are growing for a political reckoning over ticket scams at the World Cup — and beyond. The National Independent Venue Association and Fan Alliance, organizations representing and advocating for entertainment venues and artists respectively, sent a joint letter to Congress on Thursday, calling on lawmakers to ban speculative and ghost tickets, cases where resellers…
In the biggest edition of the World Cup yet, there’s a good chance we’ll see more goals than ever before – and we’ve already witnessed some bangers and golazos. Messi continues to do what he does best and make history. Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland are joining the fun. And we saw Germany score an…
Total Football is here. The first World Cup match of a busy Saturday was a European clash between the Netherlands and Sweden, where the Oranje came out victorious with a commanding, overwhelming 5-1 victory at Houston stadium. The result takes them to the top of Group F, albeit temporarily until Japan faces Tunisia. Ronald Koeman’s…
SEATTLE STADIUM — Mexico and Scotland have their ducks, but the USA has its chicken, thanks to Chris Richards. Paxo, a rubber chicken, made an appearance at the World Cup on Friday in Seattle with Richards’ parents, Ken and Carrie. Paxo found his way to Richards after he picked the chicken up on the field…
