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Emirates 24/7
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Emirates 24/7
FIFA announces special transfer window for Club World Cup 2025
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has announced the opening of a special transfer window for all 32 clubs participating in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. The window will run from 1st to 10th June 2025, allowing teams to register new players ahead of the tournament. This move follows the adoption of amendments to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, approved by the FIFA Council in October 2024. The aim is to address disparities in player registration periods and domestic season schedules across participating nations, while offering clubs greater flexibility to strengthen their squads. Under the new regulations, clubs may register players during this designated window, with the final deadline for squad submission set for 10th June. This enables teams to bring newly signed players to the United States for the tournament. An additional opportunity for player registration or replacements will be available following the group stage, between 27th June and 3rd July 2025. This is subject to specific conditions, including that signings must be made within official registration periods. The move is intended to encourage players whose contracts have expired to participate and to ensure top-tier talent is featured in the competition. The tournament will feature clubs from 20 national associations, including the UAE, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia and the United States. The largest and most inclusive edition of the FIFA Club World Cup will kick off on Saturday, 14th June 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and run until 13th July, when the final will be held at the iconic MetLife Stadium. Matches will take place across 11 US cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington D.C. The DAZN platform will serve as the exclusive global broadcaster for the tournament. Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
New Straits Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
European walkout after late Infantino delays FIFA Congress
LUQUE (Paraguay): Fuming European delegates staged a walkout at FIFA's Congress in Paraguay on Thursday after world football chief Gianni Infantino jetted in late for the session following meetings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with US President Donald Trump. FIFA President Infantino's belated arrival at the global governing body's annual meeting caused a delay of more than two hours. Several representatives from European football associations – including UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin – cut short their attendance after Infantino called a recess at the event taking place in Luque, outside Asuncion. UEFA issued a strongly worded statement following the walkout, describing the disruption caused by Infantino's late arrival as "deeply regrettable", accusing the FIFA chief of putting his "private political interests" ahead of the sport. "The FIFA congress is one of the most important meetings in world football, where all the 211 nations in the world's game gather to discuss issues that affect the sport right across the world," the UEFA statement read. "To have the timetable changed at the last minute for what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests, does the game no service and appears to put its interests second. "We are all in post to serve football; from the streets to the podium, and UEFA members of the FIFA Council felt the need on this occasion to make a point that the game comes first and to leave as originally scheduled." Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness also expressed dismay at Infantino in a statement circulated to reporters, describing the incident as "disappointing and concerning." Infantino for his part issued an apology for his tardiness in remarks to the congress before the delegates left. Infantino blamed flight problems for his late arrival but stressed the importance of attending the meetings in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2022 and 2034 World Cups respectively. "As FIFA president, my responsibility is to make decisions in the best interests of the organization (...) I felt I had to be there to represent football and all of you," Infantino said of his visit to the Gulf. The FIFA leader accompanied Trump – who he visited last week at the White House – on his tour of both countries. The United States will take centre stage for FIFA over the coming years, hosting next month's inaugural Club World Cup before staging the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico next year, with the Women's World Cup in 2031. FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom declined to elaborate on Infantino's late arrival following the meeting. "I have no comment on that; he explained the reasons why it was delayed. He had important matters to discuss. We had a great Congress," he told reporters. Thursday's meeting wrapped with no major decisions taken. Alejandro Dominguez, the head of South American federation CONMEBOL, meanwhile used the occasion to comment on preparations for the 2030 World Cup. Dominguez, who has recently pushed a controversial proposal for the tournament to be expanded from 48 to 64 teams, said he believed "no-one" should be left out of the event, which marks the World Cup's centenary. "A World Cup is the most popular celebration on planet Earth, and no one should be left out of that celebration," Dominguez said, without explicitly mentioning his idea of expansion. Dominguez's proposal – which would allow for more matches to be held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay while the bulk of games would remain in Spain, Morocco and Portugal – has met with stiff opposition throughout the football world. The presidents of the ruling football bodies in Europe, Asia and Central America, the Caribbean, and North America have all spoken out against expansion.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
European walkout after late Infantino delays FIFA Congress
Fuming European delegates staged a walkout at FIFA's Congress in Paraguay on Thursday after world football chief Gianni Infantino jetted in late for the session following meetings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with US President Donald Trump. FIFA President Infantino's belated arrival at the global governing body's annual meeting caused a delay of more than two hours. Several representatives from European football associations -- including UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin -- cut short their attendance after Infantino called a recess at the event taking place in Luque, outside Asuncion. UEFA issued a strongly worded statement following the walkout, describing the disruption caused by Infantino's late arrival as "deeply regrettable", accusing the FIFA chief of putting his "private political interests" ahead of the sport. "The FIFA congress is one of the most important meetings in world football, where all the 211 nations in the world's game gather to discuss issues that affect the sport right across the world," the UEFA statement read. "To have the timetable changed at the last minute for what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests, does the game no service and appears to put its interests second. "We are all in post to serve football; from the streets to the podium, and UEFA members of the FIFA Council felt the need on this occasion to make a point that the game comes first and to leave as originally scheduled." Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness also expressed dismay at Infantino in a statement circulated to reporters, describing the incident as "disappointing and concerning." - Infantino apology - Infantino for his part issued an apology for his tardiness in remarks to the congress before the delegates left. Infantino blamed flight problems for his late arrival but stressed the importance of attending the meetings in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2022 and 2034 World Cups respectively. "As FIFA president, my responsibility is to make decisions in the best interests of the organization (...) I felt I had to be there to represent football and all of you," Infantino said of his visit to the Gulf. The FIFA leader accompanied Trump -- who he visited last week at the White House -- on his tour of both countries. The United States will take centre stage for FIFA over the coming years, hosting next month's inaugural Club World Cup before staging the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico next year, with the Women's World Cup in 2031. FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom declined to elaborate on Infantino's late arrival following the meeting. "I have no comment on that; he explained the reasons why it was delayed. He had important matters to discuss. We had a great Congress," he told reporters. - 'No-one left out' - Thursday's meeting wrapped with no major decisions taken. Alejandro Dominguez, the head of South American federation CONMEBOL, meanwhile used the occasion to comment on preparations for the 2030 World Cup. Dominguez, who has recently pushed a controversial proposal for the tournament to be expanded from 48 to 64 teams, said he believed "no-one" should be left out of the event, which marks the World Cup's centenary. "A World Cup is the most popular celebration on planet Earth, and no one should be left out of that celebration," Dominguez said, without explicitly mentioning his idea of expansion. Dominguez's proposal -- which would allow for more matches to be held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay while the bulk of games would remain in Spain, Morocco and Portugal -- has met with stiff opposition throughout the football world. The presidents of the ruling football bodies in Europe, Asia and Central America, the Caribbean, and North America have all spoken out against expansion. "I'm not inviting you to change your position, but rather to reflect together on creating something worthy of history," Dominguez said. tev/raa/iga/rcw/jbr
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
FIFA Congress in Paraguay delayed because president Gianni Infantino was late
FIFA's Congress in Paraguay was delayed on Thursday because FIFA's own president Gianni Infantino had not arrived on time for the scheduled 10.30am start time in Asunción. The Athletic reported last week that the meeting of the FIFA Council, scheduled for Tuesday of this week, had been altered to be a virtual meeting because President Infantino had decided to join the U.S. president Donald Trump for a visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week. Advertisement Infantino was present for meetings that took place this week between President Trump with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. While Infantino was appearing to form part of the U.S. President's extended entourage, representatives from global soccer associations met in Asunción for a week of meetings in Infantino's absence. This includes Presidents and CEO's or general secretaries of every national federation. Infantino also missed a dinner hosted by the Paraguayan state officials on Wednesday evening, but was due to arrive on Thursday morning in time to address the FIFA Congress. However, his flight still appeared to be in the air for the original local start time of 9:30 am in Paraguay. The 55-year-old was flying on a Qatari private jet, which stopped briefly in Nigeria to refuel before travelling on to South America. The event had already been delayed until 1030am, but member associations and delegates received an email from FIFA citing unexplained 'unforeseen circumstances', therefore delaying the event until 12:30 pm. A security guard approached The Athletic outside the venue and said they had been briefed that the event had been delayed due to the president's late arrival. The security guard was then asked if they meant the Paraguayan president or the FIFA president, and they said the latter. FIFA has been approached for comment.
Daily Express
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Express
Women's World Cup teams expanded to 48
Published on: Sunday, May 11, 2025 Published on: Sun, May 11, 2025 By: AFP Text Size: US President Donald Trump speaks alongside President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Gianni Infantino during a meeting with the White House Task Force for the 2026 World Cup in the East Room. PARIS: The Women's World Cup will be expanded from 32 to 48 teams, like the men's competition, starting with the 2031 edition, FIFA announced on Friday. The FIFA Council unanimously agreed to enlarge the competition 'given the remarkable recent strides made by women's football across the world,' the sport's governing body said. The 48-team tournament will adopt a 12-group format, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104 and extending the tournament by one week, FIFA said. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the expansion followed the success of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, won by Spain. 'The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, the first in which teams from all confederations won at least one game and teams from five confederations reached the knockout stage, among many other records, set a new standard for global competitiveness,' said Infantino. 'This is not just about having 16 more teams playing ... but taking the next steps in relation to the women's game in general by ensuring that more FIFA Member Associations have the chance to benefit from the tournament to develop their women's football structures,' he said. 'This decision ensures we are maintaining the momentum in terms of growing women's football globally.' The 2027 tournament in Brazil, which will be the tenth edition of the women's event, will remain at 32 teams. FIFA have still to ratify the 2031 and 2035 hosts. The 2031 edition is expected to take place in the United States, sole candidate to host the tournament. The United Kingdom, including 2023 finalists England, are bidding to host the 2035 event. 'I can confirm as part of the bidding process that we received one bid for 2031 and one valid bid for 2035,' Infantino said last month. The men's tournament will be expanded to 48 teams for the World Cup in 2026, to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. On Friday, the FIFA Council also adopted new anti-racism measures notably by increasing fines. Federations will also have to bring their own Disciplinary Code into compliance, and FIFA can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if they believe national sanctions are insufficient, as is the case in doping cases. The 211 FIFA Council members were also informed about preparations for the 75th FIFA Congress that will take place on May 15 in Asunción, Paraguay. The FIFA Council also approved the strategy to support Afghan women footballers, which includes the creation of an Afghan Women's Refugee Team (AWRT). 'FIFA is engaging directly with the relevant players,' football's governing body said. 'This is a landmark initiative,' added Infantino. 'FIFA is committed to giving every girl the possibility to play football.' * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
