Soccer

4/2/2026 |  Iran makes World Cup progress in talks with Infantino as war darkens June trip to US (Associated Press (AP)) Iranian soccer had a good week on its troubled path to playing World Cup games in the United States in June.
A first face-to-face meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino since the U.S. and Israel started a war against Iran on Feb. 28 made genuine progress in soccer diplomacy at the end of a fraught month.

4/2/2026 |  The Stage is Set! Complete List of All 48 World Cup Teams (Fox Sports) The stage for the best sporting event on the planet is set. 
The world will tune in this summer for soccer's biggest event as the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11. Spread across three countries and 16 cities, we'll witness 48 teams strive for glory and immortality. 
The full field is now complete. Here's the complete list of teams across the 12 groups that will be competing at the World Cup. 

4/2/2026 |  Newcastle United’s £133m stadium sale clears PSR but UEFA scrutiny looms (Insider Sport) Newcastle United joins Chelsea and Aston Villa in using creative accounting to meet financial rules, but UEFA action may still follow. 
Newcastle United FC has posted a headline profit for 2025, but it appears much of its success is due to a controversial stadium sale.
The Premier League club published its 2025 financial statements on 31 March 2026, reporting a profit after tax of £34.7m ($46.2m), a significant turnaround from losses of £11.1m in 2024, £71.8m in 2023 and £72.9m in 2022.

4/2/2026 |  What led Chelsea FC to post the biggest pre-tax loss in Premier League history? (Insider Sport) Chelsea FC has broken an English football record, posting a £262.4m pre-tax loss for 2024/25. This is the highest deficit in Premier League history.
Chelsea FC has recorded the biggest pre-tax loss in Premier League history for the year ending June 2025, with a pre-tax loss of £262.4m ($346.3m).
This tops the previous highest pre-tax loss by £64.9m, when Manchester City FC posted losses of £197.5m for the 2010/11 season.

4/2/2026 |  UEFA’s Euro 2028 to freeze ticket prices in dynamic pricing rebuke (Insider Sport) UEFA will broadly freeze ticket prices for Euro 2028, with five of the cheapest seats available for less than the cost of parking at a World Cup stadium in the United States.
UEFA has confirmed it will “broadly” freeze ticket prices for Euro 2028, with more than 40% of all tickets reserved for the two most affordable “Fans First” categories.
This decision throws the governing body’s approach into sharp relief against FIFA‘s widely criticised pricing model for this summer’s 2026 World Cup.