The dawning of the 21st century saw a massive shift with regards to FIFA World Cup stadia. For example, when West Germany hosted the 1974 World Cup, the majority of the matches were played in existing stadiums built for a variety of purposes. They all had running tracks and were built in the 30s and nobody cared.
With FIFA set to begin the general sales phase of tickets for the 2018 World Cup in Russia today, two previous phases have resulted in an allocation of 1,303,616 tickets for the 64 matches — knocking two matches entirely off the docket: the final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and June 16’s Group D opener between Argentina and Iceland at Otkritie Arena in Moscow.
There was a time when the North American Soccer League was a valued member of the U.S. soccer community. Nowadays, the league is turning into a joke. As the narrative continues to worsen by the month, the NASL is essentially the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
The part of professional soccer that young players continually fail to understand as much as they should is the business part. The part in which they make their money. For example, how does one go about negotiating a contract in a manner that gets one as much money as possible? Most footballers have no idea, but we here at The18 are here to help with five easy tips to get that big new contract, big move (remember that moves to bigger teams almost inevitably come with higher salaries), big raise or big benching (probably the latter).
MLS Live, for years the primary way to stream the majority of Major League Soccer matches, is shutting down. In its place, ESPN+ will take over live MLS streaming when Walt Disney Co. launches its new online service this year, according to reports.
With three months still remaining in Europe’s major leagues, four of the five most-watched competitions are pretty much already decided. In Germany, Bayern Munich have ostensibly been crowned champions with an 18-point lead over their nearest rivals. In England and France, it would be shocking to see Manchester City and PSG throw away their respective 13-point and 11-point advantages. Spain is tighter, but Barcelona comfortably sit nine points clear of Atletico Madrid.
Aymeric Laporte, Manchester City's shiny new center back, spent his formative years in the youth setup of Sporting Union Agen, a club in the French eighth division. Agen were about to go into administration when Laporte's January move from Athletic Bilbao to Manchester City saved the club.
FIFA is an addictive game. After every match of digital football you want to play just one more. If you lose, you don’t want to end on a sour note. If you win, you want to keep that hot streak going. It’s a testament to how fun the game is that you want to keep playing. But, as one Redditor recently highlighted, there’s another aspect of FIFA that is dangerously addictive: the FIFA microtransactions.
LAFC, the newest MLS expansion team, makes its debut this year. The club is still working on sorting out a number of variables from finalizing its roster to completing construction of its stadium. But a new LAFC YouTubeTV deal announced Wednesday means the club now has a shirt sponsor and a local broadcaster. But the local English-language broadcasts won’t be free.