Business

FIFA offers 20,000 free tickets for Women's World Cup amid poor New Zealand sales

FIFA said it is giving away 20,000 free tickets for Women's World Cup games in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin amid concerns about the slow pace of sales in New Zealand.

Co-hosts Australia have snapped up the lion's share of the 1 million tickets sold so far, with their 'Matildas' team seen as a genuine title threat.

Relegation is coming to the US, but don't expect to see Messi in the USL Championship next year

Major League Soccer is preparing to enter a new era following the arrival of the Greatest Of All Time, but the wall-to-wall coverage of Lionel Messi's movements in Miami has been momentarily broken by a seismic shift from America's second division, the USL.

Canada’s national teams could be unable to schedule future friendlies due to financial crisis

Canada Soccer is in a dire financial situation and eventually could be forced into bankruptcy, TSN reported Tuesday.

The women's national team is scheduled to compete in the World Cup next month, and the men are playing in the Gold Cup this week. Beyond that, the teams might not be able to play during international windows this fall, per the report.

Introducing the greatest home decor website of them all

It's always an extremely hit-or-miss trip to the thrift store when you're looking for knickknacks to adorn your shelves. You need to spot something that immediately speaks to your sensibilities, but what if you rounded a corner and bam! You saw this holy union of home decor and soccer staring right back at you.

This would be a legendary thrifting experience. 

Tuesday Pickup home decor

Messi's move to MLS is a creative deal that follows in the footsteps of David Beckham

Few would doubt Lionel Messi’s impact on European football. The scorer of 474 goals during his long career at Barcelona, he has been named the best footballer in the world a record seven times.

Now we are about to see what impact Messi will have on football in America. For the Argentine, who has spent the last two seasons playing for Paris Saint-Germain, has decided not to accept offers to play in Saudi Arabia, and is joining Inter Miami in Florida instead.

DC introduces emergency legislation to keep bars open 24/7 for Women's World Cup

Here at The18 we've been discussing strategies for staying awake to provide you with the best coverage of the Women's World Cup. The latest plan is to collectively move to Washington DC, where bars and restaurants will now be open 24 hours a day during the month-long tournament after emergency legislation was passed in the District. 

Kylian Mbappé won’t renew PSG contract next year meaning club could sell him this summer

Kylian Mbappe has told Paris Saint-Germain he will not take up the option of a one-year extension in his contract when it expires next June, L'Equipe reported, with the France forward adding that the club had been notified of his decision last year.

Mbappe, a World Cup winner in 2018, confirmed his decision in a letter to the club and could even be sold this summer as PSG will seek to avoid losing him for free, according to the local reports.

San Diego group pays record MLS expansion fee of half a billion dollars

Major League Soccer received a record $500 million expansion fee to field an expansion team in San Diego for the 2025 season, according to multiple reports Tuesday.

Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the local Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation are the owners of the new San Diego franchise, which will be the league's third club in Southern California after the Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles FC.

HBO drop ‘Angel City’ trailer — a 3-part behind the scenes docuseries with Natalie Portman and more

We’ve seen how successful and interesting behind-the-scenes documentaries on professional soccer clubs have been. Amazon’s “All or Nothing” and Hulu’s “Welcome to Wrexham” come to mind as the latest success stories.

Now HBO is getting in on the action with their latest soccer docuseries “Angel City” which will follow the Los Angeles-based club’s inaugural season in the National Women’s Soccer League.

FIFA threatens Women’s World Cup broadcast blackout after low-dollar bids from broadcasters

Europe's top soccer nations face a broadcast blackout for this year's Women's World Cup unless media can improve on their "disappointing" offers for the rights, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.

Offers from "Big 5" European countries were not acceptable to football's world governing body and a "slap in the face" of the players and "all women worldwide", Infantino said.

The 'Big 5' nations are Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

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