Angry reaction after Spanish soccer leader kissed a Women’s World Cup star on the mouth
The leader of Spain’s soccer federation marred the country’s Women’s World Cup victory after kissing a player on the lips during the medal ceremony, drawing criticism for inappropriate conduct in a sport that has struggled to overcome sexism.
FIFA head Infantino says Women's World Cup breaks even but plays down calls for equal prize money
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the Women’s World Cup has “broken even” after generating more than $570 million in revenue but again dismissed suggestions for equal prize money with the men’s World Cup.
FIFA picks 2026 World Cup cities, predicts US `No 1 sport'
Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia and Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri, were the newcomers among the 11 U.S. sites picked to host games at the 2026 World Cup, while Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, were left out.
Women's team players, US Soccer extend labor deal 3 months
The U.S. Soccer Federation and the union for its women’s national team agreed to a three-month extension of their labor contract through March, a move announced on the same day players filed a brief asking a federal appeals court to reinstate their equal pay claim.
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US Soccer says it has offered men, women identical contracts
The U.S. Soccer Federation says it has offered identical contract proposals to the players’ associations for the men’s and women’s national teams, and the governing body said it would refuse to agree to a deal in which World Cup prize money is not equalized.
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US women tell 9th Circuit trial court didn't factor success
Players on the U.S. women’s national soccer team urged a federal appeals court to reinstate their equal pay lawsuit, saying their greater success than the American men was not taken into account by a trial court judge who dismissed their case.
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FIFA unveils education program to combat player abuse
Human rights activists are denouncing FIFA President Gianni Infantino's starring turn in a promotional video for the Saudi Arabian government in which he claims the kingdom has made important changes. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)FIFA is unveiling a program to educate its member associations worldwide about how to properly handle player harassment and abuse. This is the objective of the FIFA Guardians Programme," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. The FIFA program also addresses physical abuse and other forms of harassment. Cook said the FIFA Forward program obligates member federations to participate, although the organization may introduce more strident mandates.
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Amnesty critical of FIFA leader starring in Saudi PR video
Infantino overlooked FIFA's own significant issues with Saudi Arabia in the meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. That has not happened with beIN, which owns the rights to World Cup matches across the Middle East, outlawed in Saudi Arabia. FIFA did not say if Infantino challenged Prince Mohammed on human rights issues in Saudi, given the governing body's own code. Scrutiny over Infantino's links to Saudi Arabia in 2018 led to FIFA offering assurances that no nation would be allowed to fund its plans for new competitions. The takeover collapsed amid concerns about piracy and human rights complaints.
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Women's team, US Soccer settle part of their lawsuit
(Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool via AP)U.S. women's national team players and the U.S. Soccer Federation settled their long-running lawsuit over inequitable working conditions compared with the men's team while leaving their dispute over unequal pay for additional litigation. “We want the women’s team as well as their lawyers to see that we want to move in a different direction,” Parlow Cone said. "We remain as committed as ever to our work to achieve the equal pay that we legally deserve. Or else when I’m president, you can go elsewhere for World Cup funding,” referring to the 2026 men’s World Cup, set to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. FIFA scheduled the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada on artificial turf but the men's World Cup has been played exclusively on grass.
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FIFA president Infantino tests positive for COVID-19
ZURICH – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has tested positive for COVID-19. Infantino has traveled little during the coronavirus pandemic, but he attended a signing ceremony at the White House last month to mark normalized relations for Israel with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Infantino’s infection comes as Switzerland reports a spike in COVID-19 cases. Switzerland has reported 127,000 cases this year, with more than 23,000 since last Friday. ___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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US Justice Department warns FIFA on international ban
WASHINGTON The U.S. Justice Department has entered into a sports dispute involving the company of a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, warning FIFA that a prohibition against staging league matches internationally could violate American antitrust laws. The letter from the Justice Department was included in a filing by Relevent on Tuesday seeking permission to amend its complaint by adding FIFA, soccer's governing body, as a defendant. Relevent alleges the stakeholders committee on Feb. 27 recommended the policy against international league matches be added to FIFA's statutes. Relevent withdrew its state court suit and filed this latest action in federal court, citing antitrust law. Delrahim wrote the department is raising the concerns to protect competition for the benefit of American consumers and soccer players."

Bulgaria charged over racist chanting at England match
Krasimir Balakov, manager of Bulgaria, speaks with Kieran Trippier of England during the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier between Bulgaria and England on Oct. 14, 2019, in Sofia, Bulgaria. (CNN) - European soccer's governing body has charged the Bulgarian national federation over the racist chanting directed at England players at a European championship qualifier match on Monday. UEFA said the disciplinary proceedings would cover the chants and Nazi salutes seen from the stands when England played Bulgaria in Sofia. As well as the monkey chanting, some Bulgarian fans made Nazi salutes. "His decision is a consequence of the tensions caused in recent days; an environment, which is damaging to Bulgarian football and to the Bulgarian football association," read a statement on Bulgarian Football Union's website.

Iranian women allowed to enter football stadium for first time in 40 years
(CNN) - Iran's World Cup qualifier against Cambodia on Thursday will be a landmark moment for the country, as women will be able to officially enter a football stadium for the first time in decades. "This is a hugely historic moment for Iranian football, but also for the Iranian women who have protested in the face of [the risk of] being caught and almost certainly sent to Evin Prison, the famous prison for political prisoners in Tehran," football author and writer James Montague told CNN. READ: FIFA tells Iran -- Women have to be allowed into soccer stadiums'Discriminatory, deceptive, dangerous'Iran's ban on women attending sports stadiums is not written into law but was put in place shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. While Thursday's game marks a step forward for Iranian women watching football matches, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the cap of 4,600 female fans "discriminatory, deceptive, and dangerous." The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) was not immediately available for comment.

FIFA tells Iran: Women must be allowed into soccer stadiums
Activists have fought for the rights of women to be able to enter soccer stadiums in Iran. ZRICH - The ban on women attending soccer matches in Iran is "unacceptable" and must be lifted, says FIFA president Gianni Infantino. CNN has reached out to the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) and Iranian government for comment. FIFA responded, saying it "refutes any suggestion it has been inactive in the fight for these women's rights in Iran. We are working with the Iranian Football Association in the hope and expectation that women will be in attendance at future games beginning with the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in October."