Why Switzerland joined Trump-friendly FIFA to fund mini pitches in Palestine Switzerland and FIFA are building mini pitches for children in Palestine, despite continued violence and humanitarians struggling to meet people's basic needs.

George Orwell said "if you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face— forever."
On the plus side, FIFA will be only too happy to stick some football pitches in the background.

www.swissinfo.ch/eng/internat...

SoFi stadium workers union files complaint over ICE concerns at the World Cup (Gift Article) A formal complaint has been lodged with the National Labor Relations Board against FIFA and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment

Exclusive

A formal union complaint has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board against FIFA and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which accuses them of failing to restrict ICE access to SoFi Stadium ahead of the World Cup.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...

Ticket to ride? Fifa premium makes this the World Cup that actively hates you | Jonathan Liew The $95 bus trip to Foxborough highlights a tournament unique in modern times – one that ultimately makes no secret of its disdain for the paying public

i wrote about the $95 bus ticket www.theguardian.com/football/202...

6/ Read the FairSquare submission to the UK government, which was submitted on 7 April 2026, in full here
fairsq.org/wp-content/u...

Sky considers ending controversial UAE news joint venture Sky News Arabia has been accused of broadcasting propaganda and whitewashing genocide in Sudan

5/ In March Sky News announced plans to cut ties with Sky News Arabia after the arabic language channel was accused of propaganda and whitewashing atrocities committed by the RSF. Sky News Arabia is controlled by a UAE media business controlled by Sheikh Mansour www.theguardian.com/business/202...

The Sheikh Who Conquered Soccer and Coddles Warlords

4/ Mansour identified by US intelligence as playing “a central role in the effort to arm General Hamdan’s forces” as reported by @tariqpanja.bsky.social and @declanwalsh.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/w...
Our report adds further details of connections between Mansour and the RSF.

The UAE reorganizes its arms supply network for Sudanese paramilitaries Abu Dhabi is seeking to develop new logistical routes from Sudan's neighboring countries, such as Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, to support the Rapid Support Forces.

3/ The evidence that the UAE has provided weapons and supplies to the UAE is similarly overwhelming, and they continue to fuel the conflict despite criticism of their role, as reported by @lemonde.fr in March 2026 www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-...

2/ This is what the UK govt said about the RSF in February 2026.
www.gov.uk/government/s...

FairSquare submission calls on UK government to investigate UAE Sheikh Mansour’s links to Rapid Support Forces accused of genocide in Sudan FairSquare has requested that the UK government investigate the links between Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, in a complaint that details the central ro...

FairSquare has formally requested that the UK government investigate the link between Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour and the Rapid Support Forces who have been credibly accused of committing genocide in Sudan. A 🧵 fairsq.org/fairsquare-s...

Prominent Palestinian human rights advocate barred from entering France Shawan Jabarin, the general director of Al-Haq, a West Bank-based NGO that is currently under US sanctions, was scheduled to speak before the European Parliament's human rights committee in Strasbourg...

Liberté etc

www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

Palestine FA officials denied entry to Canada for Fifa pre-World Cup meeting Officials from the Palestine Football Association have been denied entry to Canada ahead of a pre-World Cup meeting of Fifa’s member associations to be held in Vancouver this month

Shameful and indefensible. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

#UAE: #AhmedMansoor spent 9 years 25 days in prison, a lot of time in solitary confinement. In 2018 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, in 2024 to another 15 years in prison. Please join me & urge #UAE to #FreeAhmed #FreeAhmedMansoor

Fast and loose - josimarfootball.com Fifa’s new prediction market partner Adi Predictstreet's cast of controversial characters keeps growing: in 2018, its new Money Laundering Reporting Officer Colin Piri accepted a two-year ban from Gib...

A senior exec at FIFA’s new prediction market partner accepted a two-year ban from Gibraltar’s financial watchdog over his then-employer’s anti-money laundering shortcomings @josimarfootball.bsky.social and @uglygame.bsky.social on the ball again josimarfootball.com/2026/04/14/f...

For migrant workers, sheltering in place is as pointless as social distancing -  MRRORS

Whether it's a financial crisis, a pandemic, or a conflict, the Gulf's migrant workers are the most vulnerable and least protected. Excellent op-ed from @mrrors.bsky.social www.mrrors.org/2026/04/for-...

Infantino’s FIFA: Ten years of power, politics, and so-called ethics Gianni Infantino promised reform, transparency, accountability, and a “new FIFA.” Ten years on, Infantino’s FIFA is instead defined by political proximity, weakened scrutiny, and an increasing alignme...

A meticulous take-down of the calamitous presidency of Gianni Infantino from @staniselsborg.bsky.social of @playthegame-org.bsky.social www.playthegame.org/news/infanti...

Loans from a UAE bank were funnelled into the Libyan war effort "likely including payments to Russia’s Wagner Group". More brilliant investigative work from @thesentryorg.bsky.social

A fake ceasefire should not be generating more media coverage than a real massacre.

The evidence linking the UAE to the genocide in Sudan is overwhelming. They are fuelling the civil war and drawing regional actors into the conflagration.

Exclusive: The Ethiopian army base covertly supporting Sudan’s RSF Satellite imagery collected since December reveals a base at Asosa, connected to UAE supply lines, facilitating the Rapid Support Forces

My latest for Middle East Eye: satellite imagery analysis reveals that an Ethiopian army base in western Ethiopia is being used as a weapons & logistics hub by Sudan's UAE backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to launch cross border attacks on Sudanese army positions from Ethiopia.

Diary From Lebanon — The Dial A month of war has pushed the country past its physical and psychological limits.

1/ In Lebanon, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced and 1,400 killed since the war between Israel and Hezbollah began in March. @justinsalhani.bsky.social shares one month of diary entries about what it’s been like living and working in Beirut. www.thedial.world/articles/new...

Football Unites The World
vs
A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight

Inside Deal - josimarfootball.com Ahead of the World Cup, Fifa has signed a prediction market partner. But the company, ADI Predictstreet, which is backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family, has no working product yet, is unlicensed in alm...

FIFA's new "prediction market partner":
- backed by UAE royal family
- no working product
- unlicensed in most jurisdictions
- run by a man credibly accused of insider trading

👏 @uglygame.bsky.social @philippeauclair.bsky.social @samindrakunti.bsky.social
josimarfootball.com/2026/04/06/i...

BBC Audio | The Climate Question | Why are some cities banning fossil fuel ads? Amsterdam is the first capital city to bring in a ban. Could this become the new normal?

🚨 The BBC discusses the need for a fossil fuel ad ban on The Climate Question.

The call for a ban on polluter advertising is being heard. ✊

The podcast wrestled with some of the key critiques of a ban - here's an overview of the discussion. 🧵 1/9

FIFA World Cup 2026: In Trump’s America, nothing can be ruled out While thousands of reporters prepare to cover the FIFA World Cup, concerns grow over the Trump administration’s crackdown on critics and foreigners. Nick Harris from Sporting Intelligence takes a clos...

Use burner phones. Beware of your social media. Have contingency plans. @sportingintel.bsky.social for @playthegame-org.bsky.social on the risks you run reporting on Trump and Infantino's MAGA World Cup. www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-wo...

BBC accused of making ‘propaganda’ films for Saudi sovereign wealth fund Critics say films lauding country’s attitude to women and green credentials could damage corporation’s reputation

No, sadly, The Guardian has not got its annual April Fool's story in early.
Yes, sadly, the BBC has gone and done paid PR work for Saudi Aramco.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

Over 500,000 people were deported from the USA in 2025 – six times more than will watch the World Cup final at the MetLife stadium in July.

Our new report today outlines the real risks to fans and communities that FIFA and host governments must urgently address. 👇

www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

"The BJP-led government projects itself as a vishwaguru, or world leader. But the true test of India’s global heft is its ability to protect Indian workers overseas" @usmanjawed.bsky.social on Indian legislation that again fails millions of overseas workers in the Gulf scroll.in/article/1090...

#UAE: #AhmedMansoor spent 9 years 10 days in prison, a lot of time in solitary confinement. In 2018 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, in 2024 to another 15 years in prison. Please join me & urge #UAE to #FreeAhmed

4/ Now, host cities are struggling with the financial burden imposed on them, and reconsidering whether they should repeat the errors made for 2026. And the fact they are not in a competitive bid, but rather working under FIFA's new unofficial "one horse race" bidding policy, they have more flex.

Chicago Pulls Out Of Joint U.S. Bid To Host 2026 World Cup Chicago is dropping out of a bid to bring the World Cup to North America in 2026, accusing soccer's international governing body of being unwilling to negotiate or provide necessary details to the cit...

3/ For the 2026 men's World Cup, host cities and the US federal government agreed to FIFA's rapacious terms. Some cities took a closer look and refused. Chicao pulled out citing "uncertainty for taxpayers" and "FIFA's inflexibility and unwillingness to negotiate" www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...