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

There’s road rage, air rage, gas rage and now, coming to South Florida, World Cup ticket rage.

Do you hear the cursing in Portuguese and Scottish rolling in? The cheapest ticket to their June 24 match at Hard Rock Stadium is $2,106 on the FIFA-directed resale market.

Or how about the lowest ticket of $4,282 for the June 27 Colombia-Portugal ...Read more

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Haiti’s return to the men’s World Cup is the kind of story that erases the cynicism directed at FIFA for a moment.

Les Grenadiers are back on the sport’s biggest stage for the first time in 52 years, and the soccer gods put them in what could be this tournament’s most fun group. The quartet of Brazil, ...Read more

VANCOUVER, B.C. — If you’re new to soccer, or at least to the circus of a World Cup, you should know that FIFA officials don’t talk to the media very often.

For some time now, President Gianni Infantino has only scarcely taken questions from anyone he hasn’t chosen in advance. (His visit to Philadelphia last year was a rare exception, ...Read more

MIAMI — Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez, the 39-year-old Uruguayan legend, has been known to answer tough questions as deftly as he scored goals over his storied career.

Wednesday morning after training, Suarez opened up about how he handled being benched late last season, why he chose to return for 2026, how he feels about the club investing...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — When Nashville SC manager B.J. Callaghan emerged from his postgame news conference at Subaru Park on Saturday night, he was greeted by a bunch of old friends from his college days at Ursinus.

It was a reminder of his many ties to the Philadelphia area, roots that he still wears proudly as he travels as a coach for the world’s...Read more

MIAMI — Inter Miami appeared to be on its way to making history. Instead, it turned to be Inter Miami’s worst loss of the season

After three consecutive ties in its first three matches at Nu Stadium, Inter Miami looked to be on the verge of its first-ever win at the new stadium after taking a 3-0 lead in the first half on Saturday.

But ...Read more

VANCOUVER, B.C. — The most dramatic moment of the FIFA Congress ended up not being about Iran, or Donald Trump, or anything directly related to this summer’s World Cup.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino invited leaders from the soccer federations of Palestine and Israel to the stage to speak: Palestine Football Association president Jibril ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Isaac Martinez has been a cook at SoFi Stadium for four years. He's worked dozens of NFL games, a Super Bowl, Taylor Swift concerts, Wrestlemania and the college football national championship game, among dozens of other events.

And he's never been afraid to come to work. Until now.

He's not alone. With the World Cup kicking ...Read more

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — FIFA president Gianni Infantino did not hide from the most sensitive subject at the organization’s Congress gathering on Thursday.

Iran was the only one of FIFA’s 211 member nations not present after Canada’s government reportedly revoked visas it had given to Iranian soccer leaders.

This was the latest of...Read more

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The history books don’t say whether fans in the 1930s wrote letters to newspapers telling athletes to stick to sports. But they do say that the World Cup has been a political event since the start, nearly a century ago.

Uruguay hosted the first edition in 1930, after its president hosted FIFA’s first ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Time is running short for Iran to decide if it will participate in this summer's World Cup but some members of the Trump administration apparently aren't waiting, with U.S. special envoy Paolo Zampolli urging the president and FIFA leader Gianni Infantino to drop Iran and add Italy, a four-time champion, to the 48-team field.

"I...Read more

LOS ANGELES — On the soccer pitch, Cobi Jones was defined by blinding speed, a tireless work rate and an exceptional soccer IQ. But that's not what stood out most when you watched him play.

It was the shoulder-length dreadlocks that made him instantly recognizable whether he was playing for the Galaxy or the national team.

So those became ...Read more