UEFA threatens World Cup boycott, NWSL leaves Victory+, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
It’s Friday! There’s a lot of attention today on FIFA nonsense, but I tried to find some actual soccer and/or fun news as well.
UEFA vows World Cup boycott as Concacaf, AFC reject FIFA private equity plan (ESPN)
Federations are coming out against FIFA’s proposal to sell World Cup rights to private equity. I’m happy to see that. Less happy that the tournaments most likely to be affected by a UEFA boycott are women’s tournaments, including the U-20 women’s World Cup later this year.
Fifa’s sales pitch revealed: more tournaments, more debt … but no mention of women’s game (The Guardian)
In case you need a reminder of what all this is about, here’s a look at how FIFA is trying to sell this deal to its members.
American Outlaws have also weighed in, asking US Soccer to reject the proposal:
NWSL Matches Scheduled for Victory+ to Stream on NWSL+ Beginning Immediately (NWSL)
We should have seen this coming after two teams left the Victory+ platform in recent weeks for failure to make payments. It does raise some questions about why the league thought signing with a streamer no one had heard of was a good idea in the first place.
Anyway, I enjoyed this joke about it:
NWSL to start 2027 season in February ahead of Women’s World Cup next summer (The Athletic $)
This would be the earliest start to the NWSL season by quite a bit: February 11! It seems risky to me.
The Most Hated MLS Team in Every State (Roto Wire)
DC is not a state (Statehood now!) and thus does not appear in this article, but Maryland and Virginia both hate NYRB the most. As does… New York.
Morocco leave it late to snatch WAFCON victory over Algeria (Yahoo Sports)
WAFCON continues apace! Yesterday, hosts Morocco beat Algeria to claim the top spot in their group.
Here’s PJ with a quick look at today’s matches and which Spirit players you should be watching in them:
USMNT’s Gio Reyna in talks over move to Strasbourg from Borussia Monchengladbach (The Athletic $)
Gio Reyna is reportedly on the move once again. Will this be the team where he finally thrives and gets consistent minutes? I remain skeptical.
For some Friday cuteness, the Loudoun United guys winning some fans in Indianapolis:
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend: three home games!
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun United FC vs. Hartford Athletic | Sat., Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
| D.C. United vs. Nashville SC | Sat., Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m. | Washington, DC | Apple TV |
| Washington Spirit vs. SD Wave | Sun., Aug. 2 at 4 p.m. | Washington, DC | CBSSN |
Tomorrow will be the last DCU game for a while due to the Leagues Cup…..screw the Leagues Cup as the US Open Cup should be the priority. I know its a money thing as MLS controls Leagues Cup where they don’t control all of the revenue streams for the US Open Cup.
I have bad news about DCU games in the US Open Cup too…
Nice story from the Loudoun guys, and great work by them with kids!
I’m glad Reyna is moving to Strasbourg. He needs minutes, playing time. Yeah, he’s gotta stay healthy too. But the WC showed he has some magic in his boots but he’s inadequate right now as a player you’d attempt to rely on. Other than his goal against Paraguay, his play for the US was forgettable (and that’s being charitable).
As for NWSL, I applaud their effort to get all games “televised” but damn they’ve got a hodgepodge of media outlets.