City AM Football Power List shows that systems, not individuals, control sport June 4, 2026 Ed Warner, one of the judges for the City AM Football Power List, gives his take on what the rankings reveal about the game. Here’s your gentle starter for 10: who’s the most powerful man in world football? Easy, right? Gianni Infantino. But who are the 24 people you’d rank immediately behind Fifa’s president? I’ve [...]
City AM Football Power List 2026: Who really runs the world’s most popular sport? June 4, 2026 The City AM Football Power List seeks to answer a simple question: ahead of the 2026 World Cup, who really runs the planet’s favourite sport? To answer it, we assembled a panel of experts from across the sports industry and picked their brains for nominations and, ultimately, a top 25. You can read more about [...]
City AM Football Power List explained: What it is, who judges it and how ranking works June 4, 2026 Football has never been bigger or more prevalent, so as a thrilling club season flows into the biggest and most commercial men’s World Cup ever, it feels like an ideal time to try to answer the question: who are the most powerful people in the sport? That was the task we at City AM set [...]
Fifa World Cup under drone terrorism threat, security experts warn May 26, 2026 Fifa World Cup organisers will be on alert amid fears domestic terror cells could surface at next month’s tournament, security experts have warned. The quadrennial tournament heads to North America next month for its next iteration – spanning 104 matches in the United States, Canada and Mexico – and keeping the millions of attending fans [...]
Madonna, Shakira and BTS announced for Fifa World Cup half-time show May 14, 2026 Madonna, Shakira and BTS will perform in the first ever World Cup half-time show, curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. The three global superstar acts are set to appear on the pitch at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey during an extended interval to the final on Sunday 19 July. Martin announced the line-up today [...]
Fifa’s World Cup model is grotesque and will drive away credible future hosts May 14, 2026 The FA and other potential future World Cup hosts should take Fifa to task over an event model that makes no sense for rational bidders, says Ed Warner. Great news! It’s just got cheaper to get to the World Cup. NJ Transit has slashed the price of a return train from Penn Station to the [...]
Fifa defends World Cup ticket prices: ‘We had to apply market rates’ May 6, 2026 Fifa president Gianni Infantino has defended the price of tickets at this summer’s World Cup, insisting football’s world governing body “had to apply market rates”. Tickets for the tournament are the most expensive in its history and have triggered a wave of criticism, including a formal complaint from a fans’ group to the European Commission. [...]
Why we can’t just dismiss Infantino’s sports diplomacy with Trump May 3, 2026 Former FCDO special adviser, Flint Global’s Alan Sendorek, discusses the sport diplomacy playing out with Fifa’s Infantino and Trump at its centre. Gianni Infantino’s efforts to cultivate a visibly warm relationship with Donald Trump have been mocked in many quarters. From the award of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize to hailing the President as ‘my [...]
Death of Football Focus is a signal for every brand at the World Cup May 1, 2026 Brands will spend fortunes on this summer’s World Cup but they should heed the BBC’s warning when scrapping Football Focus, writes Amar Singh. I grew up with Football Focus. Saturday lunchtime, Bob Wilson in a grey suit, grainy footage of some Division Two ground in the rain. It was the traditional seat-warmer for a weekend [...]
2026 World Cup prize money boosted as Fifa counts on $11bn revenue bonanza April 29, 2026 Fifa has topped up prize money for the 2026 World Cup after teams raised concerns about the cost of competing in a tournament that spans the US, Canada and Mexico. Football’s world governing body has approved an increase in total payouts from the $727m it announced in December to $871m, raising the guaranteed sum for [...]