Latest FIFA World Cup News
Messi mania in Argentina as soccer star mobbed at restaurant
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A steakhouse in the trendy Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo was mobbed by hundreds of frenzied soccer fans late Monday night when word spread that Lionel Messi was inside having dinner. People rushed to the exclusive Don Julio restaurant eager to...
Europe's top teams get ready to start Euro 2024 qualifying
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Three months after the World Cup ended, qualifying for the next European Championship starts this week with several of the biggest teams looking to rebound. France came within a penalty shootout of winning back-to-back World Cup titles, losing to...
Qatar: 4,000 World Cup huts sent to quake-hit Turkey, Syria
Qatar has sent 4,000 cabins built to house fans at last year's World Cup to earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria, authorities said Monday. The Associated Press watched as the latest batch of pre-fabricated cabins was loaded onto a cargo ship in the Persian Gulf. The Qatar...
Women's World Cup prize money gets big FIFA boost for 2023
The Women’s World Cup is getting an increase in prize money of more than 300% for this year’s tournament. The $152 million fund for the first 32-team tournament — covering prize money, team preparation and payments to players' clubs — is a huge boost from the 24-team edition...
FIFA president Gianni Infantino re-elected by acclaim
FIFA president Gianni Infantino was re-elected by acclaim to another four-year term on Thursday after suggesting the financial results under his leadership would keep an industry CEO in the job for life. Infantino had no opponent in the election and won by acclaim instead of a formal...
Women's team players ask FIFA for equal World Cup money
The global professional soccer players' union says it sent a letter signed by 150 women's national team players to FIFA calling for equal World Cup prize money. FIFPro confirmed that the letter, which also asks for equal treatment and conditions for women's teams playing in soccer's...
Gio Reyna on US roster after family tried to oust Berhalter
NEW YORK (AP) — Gio Reyna, whose parents tried to oust U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter after the 20-year-old midfielder was sparingly used at the World Cup, was selected Wednesday by interim coach Anthony Hudson for CONCACAF Nations League matches against Grenada and El Salvador. Reyna...
Why FIFA changed the format for the 2026 World Cup
The World Cup group stage format for 2026 was changed to 12 groups of four teams from 16 groups of three teams by FIFA’s Council on Tuesday, increasing the total to 104 matches from 64 in the 2022 tournament in Qatar. NEW FORMAT To win a World Cup, a nation will have...
FIFA expands 2026 World Cup again to create 104-game program
The expanded World Cup in North America got even more supersized on Tuesday. The governing body of soccer increased the size of the 2026 tournament for the second time — six years after the first — by approving a bigger group stage for the inaugural 48-team event. ...
Infantino holds FIFA power as voters share World Cup wealth
GENEVA (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino will be re-elected this week to lead a richer-than-ever soccer body with an ambition to add new and bigger competitions despite growing wariness of him in Europe. FIFA’s wealth after the World Cup in Qatar — $4 billion in reserves...
