FIFA announces details to apply for World Cup tickets: Date, direct link, and other details
FIFA has announced that ticket applications for the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, will commence on September 10. The tournament is set to begin on June 11 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Due to the expected high demand, FIFA will release tickets in phases.
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
How dictatorship killed cricket's dream and patronised football in Italy and Argentina
Italy's Benito Mussolini and Argentina's Juan Peron were dictators in different ideological guises that broke their countries. The Italian instigated war and destruction; the Argentine inflation and bankruptcy. Both used football as a nation-unifying, propaganda tool; and indirectly stubbed out from their fields and consciousness the other major sport that arrived with the English traders and imperialists in their countries. Cricket — the second most watched sport in the world, but with its imprints limited to a dozen outposts of the Commonwealth. A century later, Italy qualified for the T20 cricket World Cup, even as the probability of missing out on the World Cup that they really care for looms. But cricket in Italy was as old as football. Horatio Nelson's soldiers were the first to play a game on Italian soil, when they anchored in Naples in 1793. A century and unification of the country later, the British traders opened the Genoa Cricket and Football Club in 1893, which dropped cricket from its name but is a Serie A regular. Italy cricket's grand old man Simone Gambino fishes out the history. 'Italy was unified in 1870 and the English helped a lot to unify. They did pour the mass of capital into industry in the north of Italy. Textile industry in particular. And in Milan, Genoa, and Turin, the three cities in the northwest of Italy, there were many Englishmen who started playing cricket and football. This was the beginning of football,' he says. The English names the English assigned to the cities remain. But cricket did not. 'Mussolini hated the English. So everything that was English, he kicked it out, and obviously cricket disappeared,' he says. He built grand football stadiums across the country, restructured the league, pumped in money, and hosted the 1934 edition of the World Cup that Italy won but under the shadow of rigging games. The story goes that Mussolini invited Ivan Eklind, the referee appointed to take charge of the hosts' semi-final with Austria, to an exclusive dinner. The next day he awarded a controversial penalty to Italy. Italians defended the crown the next edition, but Jonathan Wilson, in his seminal book Inverting the Pyramid wrote about the manager Vittorio Pozzo 'made full use of the prevailing [fascist] militarism to dominate and motivate his side.' A decade later in Argentina, Peron too recognised football's infinite powers to galvanise his political narrative. His government granted generous loans to football clubs to construct stadiums and infrastructure. His favourite club Racing received 16,700,000 pesos to build the Estadio Presidente Perón. His wife Eva, though, would play a bigger role wiping the slate of cricket clean. In 1947, she sought the outfield of Buenos Aires Cricket Club for a fundraising function. The cricket body refused and she ordered the wooden pavilion to be razed down and burned. Cricket historians consider it a symbolic moment when cricket in the country, popular from the late 19th century, met a brutal death, as chronicled fabulously by journalists Timothy Abraham and James Coyne in the book Evita Burned Down the Pavilion. Involved in the crossfire was Argentina's greatest cricketer, Clement Gibson, son of planters who settled in Argentina in the 19th century. He was a swing bowler with a devastating leg-cutter that pitched on leg-stump and hit the off-stick, and a celebrated figure in Cambridge and Sussex. In a tour game against the touring Australians in 1921, he grabbed six wickets in the second innings to mastermind a famous comeback after England XI were bundled out for 43 in the first innings. A decade later, Douglas Jardine summoned him to attend a camp for the Bodyline series. But he picked up an injury and shortly returned to Argentina with a healthy haul of 249 wickets at 28, to look after the wild sprawling ranches. After a dispute over his brewery, the first lady commissioned two sets of hitmen to kill him. He had fled to the family's northernmost ranch. They never returned, assumed dead and Gibson lived till he was 76, making occasional visits to his son in England. Cricket, by then, was confined to the few English families that still lived in the country and survived as a relic of the era of British planters. Argentina still plays cricket and in an expanded T20 World Cup format the ICC is envisioning could one day qualify. But on the whims and vendettas of leaders and dictators hinged the fate of sports. Perhaps, cricket would not have thrived in Latin America or Italy or the Netherlands. Perhaps, the English did not stay long enough. Even if they were, cricket was never the sport of masses, confined to the gentry clubs, in all these countries. Football was the masses' opium in the barrios and favellas. The game did flourish in the nitrate mining communities of Atacama Desert in Chile as well as Mexico, Uruguay and Panama (where West Indies great George Headley was born). Maybe, cricket could not capture the local rhythms as football did, or captured its sensibilities. Or you could imagine, the subcontinent's sport of choice if the English had not lingered too long. Or if it were the Portuguese or the Dutch or the Spaniard. Perhaps it still could have been cricket. But Italy qualifying for the T20 World Cup makes you dwell on conjectures. What if Mussolini and Peron encouraged cricket? Or the princes of India's states patronised football? History of sports is thus the history of empires and emperors too.
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First Post
2 hours ago
- First Post
Explained: Why the rainbow armband is dividing opinions at Women's Euro 2025
The rainbow armband at Women's Euro 2025 is sparking debate, with some teams proudly wearing it to support LGBTQ+ rights while others opt for UEFA's 'Respect' armband, citing broader inclusion. The controversy echoes similar debates from the 2022 Qatar World Cup. read more The rainbow armband, which is meant to show support for LGBTQ+ rights and diversity, is creating mixed reactions at the ongoing Women's Euro 2025 in Switzerland. It is dividing opinions among players and fans despite being a symbol of inclusion. Some captains like Switzerland's Lia Walti, Norway's Ada Hegerberg, England's Leah Williamson, and Wales' Angharad James have proudly worn the rainbow armband. Even England defender Lucy Bronze added a rainbow wristband during their quarterfinal win against Sweden. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read: Why is rainbow armband dividing opinions? But not everyone is wearing it. Spain's Irene Paredes chose not to wear the colourful band, and France's captain Griedge Mbock Bathy wore a plain armband with the word 'Respect' instead. UEFA has given teams a choice between the rainbow armband and the 'Respect' version. France explained their decision, saying the rainbow armband focuses too much on just one issue, whereas the Respect band is of wider range. 'Highlighting a single issue also potentially excludes the others. We cannot champion a single cause through our diverse group because there are so many causes to defend,' Mbock said. More from Football 'Our team is so diverse that we cannot highlight just one cause. I think that the armband with the word 'respect' really represents what we want to convey as a message and that is the most important thing,' she added. Out of 16 teams in the tournament, nine have worn the rainbow armband. 'Standard yellow and blue armbands are provided to all teams and rainbow armbands are available upon request,' UEFA told Associated Press. This means that the teams who chose to wear the rainbow armband made an intentional decision. Also Read: This debate is not new. A similar controversy happened during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where FIFA banned the rainbow 'One Love' armband. German players famously covered their mouths in the team photo after their first match to protest the ban, saying they were being silenced. FIFA banned the armband because same sex relationships are not legal in Qatar. Qatari fans later responded with their own protest by holding pictures of Mesut Ozil, referencing racism he faced in Germany. Germany was a big supporter of rainbow armbands but later some voices, like coach Julian Nagelsmann, asked for fewer political statements in football because they distract from the game.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's 2027 World Cup aspirations take a hit; Harbhajan reminds 'Look at Dhoni in the last 3 years'
Veteran Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has boldly claimed that it will be difficult for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play the 2027 ODI World Cup after retiring from the other two formats. The two stalwarts of Indian cricket retired from T20Is after helping India lift the World Cup trophy last year, while they bid adieu to the red-ball format this year, which was a shock to many. However, the duo has made themselves available for the 50-over format as they have also expressed their desire to win the 2027 WC trophy on a few occasions. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma helped India win the ODI Champions Trophy earlier this year.(AP) Kohli and Rohit had memorable 2023 World Cup campaigns with the bat, but the loss in the final shattered their dreams of winning the coveted trophy, and they are raring to give it another shot. Harbhajan has raised concerns about the duo's chances of featuring in the 2027 World Cup. He believes that stepping away from two formats could limit their match practice and impact their performance as the game progresses. "It's too far, actually. It's been a very long time, and they are not playing any other formats. It becomes very difficult for anyone, no matter how much commitment you have or how big a great you are. If you do not play the game continuously, somewhere the game moves ahead and you are left behind," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel. 'See difference between this Dhoni and the Dhoni from 6 years ago' The former spinner went on to cite MS Dhoni's case, noting how he stepped away from international cricket after the 2019 World Cup but kept playing in the IPL. He didn't hold back in highlighting the noticeable dip in Dhoni's batting form over the past few seasons. "It will be hard. We have seen MS Dhoni playing in the IPL. Look at his performance in the last three years. You see the difference between this Dhoni and the Dhoni from six years ago when he was playing for India consistently,' Harbhajan added. Kohli and Rohit will next play for India's ODI team in a three-match series in Australia starting October 19, 2025. Having retired from T20Is and Tests, the experienced pair is expected to return to the fold, bringing much-needed depth and reliability to the top order ahead of a busy white-ball calendar.
