WASHINGTON — Don Garber said it when MLS announced its switch to a winter-centric schedule a few weeks ago, and he said it again Thursday at his State of the League address.

The commissioner knows as well as anyone that the league needs to not just change when it plays, but how it plays to truly improve its standing on the world stage. That ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — U.S. soccer legend Mia Hamm called for people to remember the social value of soccer at a time when, she said, “many prefer to focus on what separates us,” during an event in Los Angeles celebrating Friday’s World Cup draw.

For Hamm, taking children to a World Cup match is a unique opportunity to teach them how sport can ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Everything looked rosy for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami from the opening whistle as they faced the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday afternoon in the MLS Cup Final, the biggest game in club history.

Chase Stadium was packed with pink-clad fans. “La Familia,” the club’s most diehard supporters, bounced shoulder to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The schedule and matchups for the 72 first-round games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup were set Saturday, determining the potential routes teams will need to take to get to the knockout stages. Here is how to buy tickets for the tournament.

Buy World Cup tickets directly from FIFA

The safest place to start is with the official FIFA ...Read more

WASHINGTON — With the World Cup just six months away, members of California's congressional delegation are expressing concern about preparations for what will be the largest and most complex single-sport competition in history.

The tournament, which will feature 48 teams playing 104 games across the U.S., Mexico and Canada, offers a once-in-a...Read more

In its infinite, benevolent and unmotivated-by-profit wisdom, FIFA has bestowed the highest honor in sports upon “San Francisco.”

Or, to be more accurate, the organization has bestowed it upon a roasting griddle of asphalt next to a mid-sized amusement park in Santa Clara.

Yes, the World Cup is coming to Levi’s Stadium. The greatest ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A frustrated Lionel Messi once stepped away from representing Argentina.

After Argentina lost the Copa América final to Chile in 2016, Messi said he would never again don the striped blue-and-white jersey of his home nation. That retirement didn’t last long.

And in 2022, Messi finally helped Argentina win a major ...Read more

The World Cup draw went the United States’ way.

The U.S. men’s national team will be joined in Group D by Paraguay, Australia and a yet-to-be-determined European team, FIFA revealed Friday during a star-studded ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The final spot will go to the team that emerges from a playoff between Turkey, ...Read more

MIAMI — Today is the day soccer fans have been waiting for! The 2026 World Cup Draw is here!

Let the fun (and the debates) begin.

Here are the 12 groups! Let the discussions begin!

— A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, playoff winner Denmark or North Macedonia or Czechia or Republic of Ireland (The World Cup opener will be Mexico vs. ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Development, said that expanding the World Cup tournament field from 32 to 48 teams was the right decision and that it won’t dilute the quality of the group-stage matches. It is the first expansion since 1998.

Wenger pointed out that 48 is still fewer than 25% of ...Read more

MIAMI — Of the many scintillating storylines surrounding the MLS Cup Final between Inter Miami and the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, the one getting most global attention is the matchup between Argentine icon Lionel Messi and German legend Thomas Muller.

They have faced each other 10 times representing club and country and Muller’s team ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For organizers of the 2026 World Cup, Friday's tournament draw is a like the bell lap of a long-distance race, the moment when the slow slog turns into a sprint.

"This is going to be huge," said Kathryn Schloessman, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission. "This is going to be...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi and his high-profile Inter Miami team is finally living up to the hype and meeting expectations, heading to its first MLS Cup Final in club history after an emphatic 5-1 win over NYCFC in the Eastern Conference final on Saturday night at Chase Stadium.

A year after a disappointing first-round playoff exit,...Read more

MIAMI — Lionel Messi is on fire with six goals and six assists through four playoff games heading into the Eastern Conference final between Inter Miami and New York City FC at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.

With the astonishingly youthful 38-year-old Argentine leading the way, Miami has reached peak form the past two weeks, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Steve Cherundolo’s first season at LAFC ended in a penalty-kick shootout that decided one of the most compelling playoff games in MLS history. His final season ended in the same way last Saturday.

Cherundolo and LAFC won that first classic match, beating the Philadelphia Union in the 2022 MLS Cup final. They lost the second ...Read more

MIAMI — The highly anticipated World Cup draw is coming up on Dec. 5, and soccer fans the world over will tune in as the 48 qualified teams will be allocated into groups for the 2026 tournament, which is being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer.

The draw ceremony will be at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. ...Read more