All 55 UEFA member associations voted unanimously at an emergency meeting on July 30 to boycott the FIFA World Cup and all FIFA-run tournaments if FIFA President Gianni Infantino proceeds with a plan to sell ownership stakes in FIFA's competitions to private investors; the vote is the sharpest direct confrontation between European football and FIFA leadership in decades
FIFA, football's 211-member global governing body based in Zurich, Switzerland, owns the World Cup franchise and distributes billions annually to national associations across six continents.
full dossier ›Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the US House Judiciary Committee, wrote to FIFA president Gianni Infantino on July 27 requesting that he appear before the committee and hand over documents, citing what Raskin called mounting evidence of a Trump bribery and corruption scheme linked to FIFA's award of the 2026 World Cup to the United States
Argentina needed a late own-goal in extra time to beat 149th-ranked Cape Verde 3-2 in Miami; Colombia edged Ghana 1-0 in Kansas City; the 48-team round of 32 is now complete
Australia drew 1-1 with Egypt in 90 minutes before losing 4-2 on penalties, becoming the co-host nation's first elimination; Germany, France, and the Netherlands also completed their R32 on July 3
England trailed DR Congo 0-1 until the 75th minute before two late Kane goals; Belgium came back from 0-2 down to beat Senegal 3-2 AET via a controversial extra-time penalty; USA-Bosnia finished 0-0 after 90 minutes
Orlando Gill saves two spot-kicks and Jose Canale converts the winner as Paraguay eliminate Germany 4-3 from the spot after a 1-1 draw, in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history
FIFA's quadrennial world football championship, held since 1930 and expanded in 2026 to 48 teams spanning the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The global mechanism by which professional football clubs trade and loan players under FIFA regulation, generating a record US$13.11 billion in international transfer fees in 2025.
Collective bargaining agents for professional athletes worldwide, player unions negotiate wages, free agency, and working conditions in a global sport industry worth over US$500 billion.
Qatar built a state-linked sports apparatus via QSI, Aspire Academy, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, making the Gulf emirate a major force in global football governance.
The commercial contracts between brands and sports rights holders, worth US$70 billion-plus annually, split between retreating corporate sponsors and advancing Gulf sovereign funds led by Saudi Arabia.
Corruption across global sport, from FIFA bid-rigging to state-sponsored doping, enabled by an estimated US$1.7 trillion in annual illegal betting controlled by organized crime.
From FIFA's 211-member World Cup franchise to the Premier League's broadcast billions, football's institutional architecture shapes global sport and capital flows.
A data-led rating system carries the oil major's name across the tournament; 130 women players had demanded the deal be torn up