Alex M. Silverman🏒⚽️

NEW @TheAthleticFC Yesterday: many headlines on how $15k visa bonds are waived by the U.S. State Department for World Cup fans. The truth? Much more complicated than that. The reality: most fans from impacted countries will not benefit. Explained: nytimes.com/athletic/72790…

The world's biggest stage. An even bigger purpose. On July 19, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Final Halftime Show is coming to New York New Jersey Stadium, featuring superstars @Madonna , @shakira , and @bts_bighit , curated by @coldplay ‘s Chris Martin!   A FIFA World Cup first, the Halftime Show supports the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, a landmark initiative working to raise $100 USD million to expand access to quality education and football for children around the world. Throughout the tournament, USD 1 from every ticket sold to FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches will be donated to the Fund.

The Fire’s new $750M soccer-specific stadium on Chicago’s riverfront will be known as McDonald’s Park, as the fast-food giant has agreed to its first-ever naming rights deal in the U.S. for a major professional sports stadium. MORE via @alexmsilverman: ow.ly/UKfL50YYu7r

The two states released dueling plans Tuesday to lower travel prices for ticketholders, a response by their affordability-focused leaders to a rising international concern that World Cup costs have spiraled unmanageably out of control.

New at @SBJ: The @ChicagoFire’s new stadium will be known as McDonald’s Park under a naming-rights deal with @McDonalds. Huge coup for the club to land such a high-profile, deep-pocketed and locally based sponsor. sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/…

NEW @TheAthleticFC Round trip bus to MetLife games at World Cup CUT from $80 down to $20 - with yellow school buses to be used. This will transport up to 18,000 people on non-school matchdays and 12,000 people on school matchdays. Story: nytimes.com/athletic/72726…

Airbnb and the Philly host committee are offering free train service leaving World Cup matches. Meanwhile, seven sponsors chipped in to lower NJT to $98 round trip. The different situations between the host cities is staggering.

💰 2026 MLSPA salary numbers released: - Lionel Messi, $28.33m (!) more than total wage bill of 28 other clubs - Rodrigo De Paul ($9.7m) and Thomas Müller ($5.15m) new numbers after joining initially as non-DP deals last year All details here: nytimes.com/athletic/72731…

Some noticeable changes in Foxboro The Gillette signs are covered up. This will be known as ‘Boston Stadium’ during the #WorldCup Thousands of seats are also being replaced before the first game here on June 13th between Haiti and Scotland @boston25 @ButchStearns

History will remember this moment. 🇺🇸⚽️ @POTUS , Executive Director Andrew Giuliani, @SecMullinDHS & FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office discussing America’s vision for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.. the largest sporting event in the history of the world. 78 matches. 11 U.S. host cities. Millions of fans. One nation celebrating its 250th birthday on the world stage. This is bigger than soccer! This is legacy, patriotism, tourism, economic growth, and a chance to showcase the strength and spirit of the United States of America 🇺🇸🏆⚽️ The Golden Age of America is here!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸

Inside the politics of the three North American World Cup hosts: Since the U.S. got the final draw and Mexico got the opening march, Canada goes to host the FIFA Congress in the hometown of CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani who has been seen as a potential challenger to Infantino. But I’m told Montagliani has no plans to challenge Infantino - he plans to serve out his term as head of CONCACAF that runs through 2027, and then seek another four-year term. Montagliani is close to Mark Carney, British Columbia Premier David Eby, and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. Putting the FIFA Congress in Canada took some maneuvering. In World Cup years, FIFA has often hosted its meeting in the host country days before kickoff, but the location of the opening match in Mexico City made that logistically unfeasible this year, a senior FIFA adviser tells me. In years without a global tournament, FIFA usually holds its congress in late winter, an unappealing option given Canada’s weather. But to keep the event on Canadian soil, organizers settled on a spring date in Vancouver. politico.com/news/2026/05/0…

Utah … here’s what’s next for the @DeltaCenter #TusksUp #TakeNote

@SprungOnSports @YahooSports @FIFAWorldCup Nevermind, I didn't realize the primary and secondary platforms are totally separate.

@SprungOnSports @YahooSports @FIFAWorldCup Every time I zoom in on a given section with ticket availability, I see seats with what I believe to be a "resale" symbol (as shown in the picture here). If that's the case, wouldn't it indicate that most tickets have in fact been sold? Or am I missing something?

New at @YahooSports: I spent 3.5 hours on the @FIFAWorldCup queue this afternoon and there are still plenty of tickets available. So why does FIFA claim to have 508 million requests for 7 million tickets? sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article…

Still More of What We're Reading Thursday • NYC hoteliers are world-class worried over sluggish World Cup bookings: @arunNYC (Gothamist) • How FIFA is seeking to minimize U.S. tax burden for World Cup teams — and itself: @AlexMSilverman (SBJ) socceramerica.com/newsletter/thu…

U.S. cities have so far declined to sign hosting agreements for the 2031 Women's World Cup without assurances that things will be different than they have been for 2026. This is among the biggest stories I'll be watching coming out of this summer. sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/…

New at @SBJ: @USSoccer formally opened its National Training Center outside Atlanta today. I spoke with the facility's new GM about the potential commercial opportunities associated with the federation's new hub. sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/…

Another massive changing of the guard at FIFA marketing. First EA sports dropped, now Panini who lose World Cup card trading from 2031 on, after 60 years. Could adidas long standing FIFA deal be next up to fall. Whichever way FIFA successfuly driving real market competition. nytimes.com/athletic/72599…

NEW - @KahlonRav says a new "serious" bid is emerging to purchase Vancouver Whitecaps, before team leaves for Las Vegas. "We just had a group that's reached out to us that has been organizing, apparently, for a few weeks, to put a bid in for the Whitecaps. I don't have the details." "The bid so far seems interesting," he adds.

The vibes are immaculate in Mexico. Everything is fine. nytimes.com/athletic/72581…