PHILADELPHIA — On Monday evening, Andrew Pickering was in Chicago for a work trip when he looked down at his phone and saw a concerning text.

It was in a WhatsApp chat of expats from Northern Ireland who now live in Philadelphia. One of his friends asked another, James Stephens, if he was OK.

Pickering didn’t know what was going on.

“...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that 1,000 FIFA World Cup tickets will be made available to New Yorkers for just $50 each — the lowest price on offer for the tournament.

The tickets, to be doled out through a lottery system, will be spread over seven matches in the tournament, and will also come with free bus rides ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A lot has changed since Jacori Perry attended Morningside High School.

Perry is now a renowned artist who goes by the names Mr. Ace and AiseBorn.

The school is now known as Inglewood High School United.

And the lecture hall on that campus now features a large, ornate mural of a soccer ball being grasped by the hands of two ...Read more

SEATTLE — Iran announced its preliminary World Cup roster Saturday following meetings with FIFA that appeared to make progress toward the country participating in the tournament.

Iran’s roster announcement of 30 players indicated the team planned to travel Monday to Antalya, Turkey, to begin the initial training camp before eventually ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the most essential of ways, Kansas City being named a 2026 FIFA World Cup host spans the globe and eras back to 1966.

That’s when the visionary Lamar Hunt, founder of the AFL and owner of the Chiefs, turned on ABC’s Wide World of Sports to watch England and West Germany play in the men’s final of the global soccer ...Read more

SEATTLE — When the U.S. women’s national team made its first stop in Seattle in nearly a decade last month, the return was lauded by everyone involved. There was excitement about playing inside Lumen Field. There were raves for the quality of the installed grass surface. And there was appreciation for the support of the more than 36,000 fans...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — You can find all kinds of stories in soccer, especially when a World Cup is on the horizon. But even by the global game’s standards, Yan Diomande’s story is a special one.

The 19-year-old from Côte d’Ivoire isn’t just one of the hottest young prospects in the sport. When Les Éléphants set up their base camp in the ...Read more

SEATTLE — When Gianni Infantino walked to the podium in Vancouver, B.C., late last month and declared that Iran would participate in the FIFA Men’s World Cup, it seemed the uncertainty was over. The president of FIFA said so.

The Iranians may not completely agree.

Less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — South Korean boy band BTS, U.S. pop culture icon Madonna and Latin music superstar Shakira will be performing at halftime during the World Cup final July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, FIFA announced Thursday morning.

The performance will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is looking to ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Generations into a belief that morphed into a movement, nearly a decade since the start of the bid process and four years of methodically conforming to FIFA standards later, the epicenter of Kansas City’s monumental opportunity to play 2026 World Cup host was unveiled on Monday.

Meet … “Kansas City Stadium,” as GEHA...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The World Cup is the planet’s most popular sporting event, a quadrennial celebration of soccer, futbol, futebol, fotboll, voetbal, calcio, sakka, chuggu, sepak bola or your language of choice to describe the beautiful game.

Crazy to think, then, that it’s coming to the United States, Mexico and Canada … in exactly one month?...Read more

MIAMI — The men’s FIFA World Cup begins in one month across North America. “Uh-oh,” seems a pretty common reaction.

Some make the countdown clock sound like a ticking bomb, with the buildup drenched in consternation over exorbitant ticket prices, travel costs and concern about U.S. immigration policies. Your Friend the Media is playing ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Even before Pam Kramer’s appointment as chief executive officer of KC2026 became public in July 2024, she embraced the mantra of “every day matters” with such conviction that she literally has counted down each day toward the first 2026 FIFA World Cup game in Kansas City on June 16.

To the point where about every ...Read more

FOXBORO, Mass. — Up the road from Gillette Stadium, a town neighboring Foxboro is pressing for funding to meet public safety demands arising from the World Cup, with the first match just over a month away.

Walpole’s state delegation has written a letter to the state Office of Travel and Tourism requesting approval of the town’s request ...Read more

A record crowd of 44,828 filled an expanded BMO Field Saturday afternoon and saw defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami, with its superstar captain, Lionel Messi, put on an offensive show in a 4-2 win over Toronto FC.

It was a much-needed win for Miami after an embarrassing collapse and home loss against Orlando City last weekend.

Miami led 4-...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Major League Soccer may be the next professional sports league to relocate a team to Las Vegas, with an investment group led by Grant Gustavson seeking to buy the financially troubled Vancouver Whitecaps and move them to a new stadium near the Las Vegas Strip.

Gustavson, 30, a Las Vegas resident and USC graduate with deep ties to ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Jenica Jones’ South Philly Airbnb has a perfect 5-star rating and is less than three miles from Lincoln Financial Field, where six FIFA World Cup matches are set to take place this summer.

Airbnb has predicted sky-high demand during the tournament, and Jones said the app’s dynamic-pricing tool suggested she triple her rates...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The chorus of critics of FIFA’s sky-high World Cup ticket prices has gained a surprising new member: President Donald Trump.

In an interview with the New York Post on Wednesday, Trump was told that prices for the United States’ opener against Paraguay in suburban Los Angeles on June 12 are averaging over $1,000 on resale ...Read more