Why Manchester City’s £86m Bouaddi signing should ring alarm bells in French football Sport Business Manchester City’s €100m (£86m) signing of Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi is more than just another example of a super-rich European giant hoovering up a promising talent. It is also the latest sign of French football’s talent drain, a phenomenon fuelled by the Premier League’s ever-growing spending power and the financial struggles of most of Ligue [...]
Pre-season tours: Inside the economics of football’s summer money-spinners Sport Business Football’s summer tours have turned into travelling commercial platforms bringing together big fees, sponsors, merchandise, media and global fan growth, explains Simon Dent. For most football supporters, pre-season used to mean low-key friendlies against a local non-league team, some heavy-legged players and a chance to see the new signing for 30 minutes. For clubs, it [...]
Exclusive: Criticised World Cup referee was suffering extreme heat strain, data shows Sport Business A Fifa referee labelled the worst at the World Cup was experiencing a level of heat strain associated with impaired decision making, new data has revealed. Uzbek official Ilgiz Tantashev was widely criticised for his handling of France’s last-16 win over Paraguay, who escaped without any bookings despite committing repeated violent fouls. French outlet L’Equipe [...]
Trump speaks up for Infantino at last as Fifa boss fights world football rebellion August 11, 2026 US president Donald Trump has belatedly come to the aid of Gianni Infantino, saying it would be “a terrible mistake” to replace the under-fire Fifa boss. Infantino is fighting to save his job after three of Fifa’s four biggest confederations declared they had lost trust in him over plans to sell off stakes in a [...]
Norwegian FA chief Klaveness cools Fifa election talk and takes swipe at Blatter August 7, 2026 Norwegian football chief Lise Klaveness has played down her Fifa presidency ambitions and taken a swipe at Sepp Blatter, the former boss of the embattled governing body. Klaveness, a former international player, is a long-standing and outspoken critic of Fifa and has been touted as a potential challenger to current kingpin Gianni Infantino. Infantino is [...]
Mexico breaks ranks and dents Uefa-led bid to oust embattled Fifa kingpin Infantino August 7, 2026 Mexico’s football association has broken ranks and delivered a blow to Uefa-led hopes of ousting embattled Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Infantino has been attempting to stave off a rebellion from the confederations of Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, Central and North America, who have all strongly condemned his secret attempts to effectively privatise the World [...]
Trump regime distances itself from Infantino as under-fire Fifa boss faces calls to quit August 3, 2026 The Trump administration has denied answering the call of Gianni Infantino as the under-fire Fifa boss scrambles to save his job. Infantino is facing a possible vote of no confidence from Fifa members following last week’s fierce backlash to his plan to sell stakes in a new subsidiary that would hold the commercial rights to [...]
Uefa to boycott World Cup over Infantino’s Fifa sell-off following unanimous vote July 30, 2026 All European nations have vowed to boycott the World Cup if Fifa proceeds with plans to sell off stakes in a new commercial vehicle following a Uefa crisis summit. England’s Football Association and the other 54 members of European governing body Uefa held emergency talks today to discuss their response to Fifa’s proposal. All Uefa [...]
World Cup sponsors could pay price if Infantino’s Fifa sell-off goes ahead July 29, 2026 It’s not just match-going football fans who fear the financial ramifications of Fifa’s sell-off of commercial rights; World Cup sponsors could also find themselves paying more or getting less for their money, experts have warned. Sponsors currently contribute around a quarter of Fifa’s $15bn income over a four-year cycle and include some of the biggest [...]
Fifa World Cup sell-off is a money-grab and faces defeat, says Uefa July 29, 2026 Uefa has warned Fifa it is facing defeat in its plans to sell stakes in a new subsidiary that will run the World Cup and accused it of using football to “enrich themselves and their friends”. Fifa president Gianni Infantino wants to set up a spin-off company to manage the commercial rights to the World [...]