Some World Cup games just aren't selling at the rate FIFA would like them to.
That applies to games like New Zealand vs Egypt and Uzbekistan vs DR Congo.
And, remarkably, the United States' opener against Paraguay.
@adamcrafton.bsky.social & @henrybushnell.bsky.social explain.
bit.ly/48YLqlw
BlueCo have brought private equity strategy to English football's door like nothing before seen. And have made the biggest bet in football history.
Will it work?
@theathleticfc.bsky.social
𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...
🤝 Gateshead Football Club is thrilled to announce Stephen Paylor as the club’s new joint-owner, subject to National League approval.
Read more 👉 ow.ly/NUA650YNnUK
#WorClub ⚪️⚫️
Excl: joined police at one of largest UK open markets, 4400 fake shirts seized in pre-WC raid. Loss to legit market approx £400k($540k). 1 arrested on suspicion of distributing counterfeits. Fakes rise due to genuine prices (£20v£80+).
Read @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/721...
🎩 The Business of Football looks at 10yrs of B teams, bad gates & Wembley joy in EFL Trophy
💡 Who recalls the Whole Game Solution? It was more prediction than solution
💷 Latest on EFL's attempts to cut losses
🛒 Newport & Tranmere sale updates
🎁 And it's free to read!
www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...
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...
💳 If Saudi Arabia is about to block global sport’s PIF gold card, who (after ⛳️) will feel the pinch first? A sovereign wealth fund of @TheAthletic writers assess the potential impact on ⚽️🎾🥊🏎️🚴🤼📺 & 🏅. Our 🕹️ writer is off.
TLDR: we’re going to need a new money tree.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...
🎩 The Business of Football looks at 10yrs of B teams, bad gates & Wembley joy in EFL Trophy
💡 Who recalls the Whole Game Solution? It was more prediction than solution
💷 Latest on EFL's attempts to cut losses
🛒 Newport & Tranmere sale updates
🎁 And it's free to read!
www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...
From @theathletic.com: Hate doing your taxes? Be thankful you don’t have to do a Major League Baseball player’s books.
A Champions League tie for the ages.
Bayern Munich book their place in the semi-finals thanks to excellent late goals from Michael Olise and Luis Diaz - both came after Eduardo Camavinga was sent off late on for a second yellow card.
The NY Post with its take.
🎙️The World Cup has become an experiment to see how much can be taken from US ATM, not a celebration of world’s #1 sport. Why? How will FIFA spend its loot? Does it have to be this way? Who’s this for?
With @aakinwo.bsky.social @adamcrafton.bsky.social & @henrybushnell.bsky.social
pod.fo/e/3fdf9d
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Andoni Iraola to leave Bournemouth when contract ends this summer. #AFCB tried everything to keep head coach over months of negotiations but 43yo chose to exit + successor process under way; Kieran McKenna high among options 🚨
@theathleticfc.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/athletic/609...
Boston’s World Cup host committee has announced it will be providing a bus service to and from Gillette Stadium during the World Cup — for which they will charge passengers $95 per seat.
📝 @adamcrafton.bsky.social
🔗 nyti.ms/4vz2k48
New Jersey’s NJ Transit is currently planning to charge more than $100 for return rail tickets from New York’s Pennsylvania Station to MetLife Stadium for FIFA World Cup games.
The 18-mile rail journey ordinarily costs $12.90 for a return ticket.
📝 @adamcrafton.bsky.social
🔗 nyti.ms/3QaZJwX
Less than three hours till we get a look at the product of Fifa's brand new World Cuo partner. Exciting to see how professional and expansive the offer of a company that only got a gambling licence two weeks ago is compared to the market leaders which are all 5+ years old.
www.adipredictstreet.com
This week, Brexit finally killed our family business. We cleared out our warehouse, handed back the keys, paid the final bills and said goodbye to our last employee.
What was once a thriving firm died a slow, sad death, all thanks to Farage, Johnson and the gullible idiots they conned. 1/18
🎙️This pod might be out of date or bang on the money in 3 hours’ time. So listen now & make your own prediction! Me, @simonhughes1983.bsky.social & @aakinwo.bsky.social discuss Salah’s slide, FSG’s no to MCO, Slot’s fit, the Liverpool brains trust’s future & the definition of drift.
pod.fo/e/3f79d9
Ipswich Town move up to second place after coming from behind to beat Birmingham City at Portman Road.
Meanwhile, three points for Derby County keeps up their hopes of finishing in the play-offs.
🚴 Tadej Pogačar's astonishing season continues in Flanders
🚴 Is Pogačar's rivalry with Mathieu Van der Poel's the sport's best?
🚴 How did Remco Evenepoel's much-publicized debut go?
The Athletic's writers analyze another record-breaking day at the Tour of Flanders.
"Matthew Goodwin has been paid a salary of up to €10,000 a month [from Hungary's state-funded MCC], according to leaked documents obtained by Hungarian investigative journalists Direkt36 and reported by the Good Law Project"
That could all end if Orbán loses...
open.substack.com/pub/democrac...
🚨 Exclusive 🚨
Fifa's new prediction markets partner has no working product, is unlicensed everywhere except Gibraltar and its CEO paid a six-figure sum to Indian regulators last year to settle allegations of serious insider trading.
josimarfootball.com/2026/04/06/i...
On paper, the NBA saw the numbers it wanted for Adam Silver’s European league: $1 billion, a couple times. But how real the bids were, from whom, and is a EuroLeague merger more viable are the next steps for NBA Europe www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...
Mauricio Pochettino is open to staying on as USMNT head coach after the 2026 World Cup.
Pochettino insisted he has not had talks with Tottenham Hotspur or Real Madrid, two clubs with which the Argentinian has frequently been linked.
More from @henrybushnell.bsky.social ⬇️
bit.ly/3NQiZiA
Thomas Tuchel has told England’s attacking players — apart from Harry Kane — that their attacking numbers have fallen below expectations this season.
More from @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social ⬇️
Chelsea’s recent form has been difficult for Marc Cucurella to process.
In the Spain international's eyes, the 8-2 aggregate defeat to PSG highlighted the shortcomings in the Chelsea project under BlueCo, who have invested heavily in young talent since taking over the club in May 2022.
With the last sales window for World Cup opening this week, the contrast between FIFA & UEFA is stark. UEFA is effectively freezing its Euro 2024 prices for Euro 2028, which means you can buy FIVE tickets to a group game for price of average car park fee this summer.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/715...
UEFA is planning to freeze most of the ticket prices for the 2028 men’s European Championship, in stark contrast to FIFA’s policy for this summer’s World Cup.
Full story is free to read from @mjslater.bsky.social here ⬇️
🔗 nyti.ms/4dXlhH4
