Angry reaction after Spanish soccer leader kissed a Womenโs World Cup star on the mouth
The leader of Spainโs soccer federation marred the countryโs Womenโs World Cup victory after kissing a player on the lips during the medal ceremony, drawing criticism for inappropriate conduct in a sport that has struggled to overcome sexism.
FIFA head Infantino says Women's World Cup breaks even but plays down calls for equal prize money
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the Womenโs World Cup has โbroken evenโ after generating more than $570 million in revenue but again dismissed suggestions for equal prize money with the menโs World Cup.
Infantino says double standard behind World Cup critics
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has delivered a one-hour tirade on the eve of the World Cupโs opening match and then spent about 45 minutes answering questions from media about the Qatari governmentโs actions and a wide-range of other topics.
FIFA vows to improve Indonesian soccer safety after tragedy
The president of soccerโs world governing body has met with Indonesiaโs president and pledged to help improve stadium safety to prevent a repeat of a tragedy in which police fired tear gas at a match, causing a crush that killed 132 people.
FIFA picks 2026 World Cup cities, predicts US `No 1 sport'
Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia and Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri, were the newcomers among the 11 U.S. sites picked to host games at the 2026 World Cup, while Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, were left out.
Womenโs team players, US Soccer extend labor deal 3 months
The U.S. Soccer Federation and the union for its womenโs national team agreed to a three-month extension of their labor contract through March, a move announced on the same day players filed a brief asking a federal appeals court to reinstate their equal pay claim.
US Soccer says it has offered men, women identical contracts
The U.S. Soccer Federation says it has offered identical contract proposals to the playersโ associations for the menโs and womenโs national teams, and the governing body said it would refuse to agree to a deal in which World Cup prize money is not equalized.
US women tell 9th Circuit trial court didn't factor success
Players on the U.S. womenโs national soccer team urged a federal appeals court to reinstate their equal pay lawsuit, saying their greater success than the American men was not taken into account by a trial court judge who dismissed their case.
FIFA unveils education program to combat player abuse
Human rights activists are denouncing FIFA President Gianni Infantino's starring turn in a promotional video for the Saudi Arabian government in which he claims the kingdom has made important changes. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)FIFA is unveiling a program to educate its member associations worldwide about how to properly handle player harassment and abuse. This is the objective of the FIFA Guardians Programme," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. The FIFA program also addresses physical abuse and other forms of harassment. Cook said the FIFA Forward program obligates member federations to participate, although the organization may introduce more strident mandates.
Amnesty critical of FIFA leader starring in Saudi PR video
Infantino overlooked FIFA's own significant issues with Saudi Arabia in the meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. That has not happened with beIN, which owns the rights to World Cup matches across the Middle East, outlawed in Saudi Arabia. FIFA did not say if Infantino challenged Prince Mohammed on human rights issues in Saudi, given the governing body's own code. Scrutiny over Infantino's links to Saudi Arabia in 2018 led to FIFA offering assurances that no nation would be allowed to fund its plans for new competitions. The takeover collapsed amid concerns about piracy and human rights complaints.
Women's team, US Soccer settle part of their lawsuit
(Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool via AP)U.S. women's national team players and the U.S. Soccer Federation settled their long-running lawsuit over inequitable working conditions compared with the men's team while leaving their dispute over unequal pay for additional litigation. โWe want the womenโs team as well as their lawyers to see that we want to move in a different direction,โ Parlow Cone said. "We remain as committed as ever to our work to achieve the equal pay that we legally deserve. Or else when Iโm president, you can go elsewhere for World Cup funding,โ referring to the 2026 menโs World Cup, set to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. FIFA scheduled the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada on artificial turf but the men's World Cup has been played exclusively on grass.
FIFA president Infantino tests positive for COVID-19
ZURICH โ FIFA president Gianni Infantino has tested positive for COVID-19. Infantino has traveled little during the coronavirus pandemic, but he attended a signing ceremony at the White House last month to mark normalized relations for Israel with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Infantinoโs infection comes as Switzerland reports a spike in COVID-19 cases. Switzerland has reported 127,000 cases this year, with more than 23,000 since last Friday. ___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
US Justice Department warns FIFA on international ban
WASHINGTON The U.S. Justice Department has entered into a sports dispute involving the company of a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, warning FIFA that a prohibition against staging league matches internationally could violate American antitrust laws. The letter from the Justice Department was included in a filing by Relevent on Tuesday seeking permission to amend its complaint by adding FIFA, soccer's governing body, as a defendant. Relevent alleges the stakeholders committee on Feb. 27 recommended the policy against international league matches be added to FIFA's statutes. Relevent withdrew its state court suit and filed this latest action in federal court, citing antitrust law. Delrahim wrote the department is raising the concerns to protect competition for the benefit of American consumers and soccer players."