World Cup
With A Year to Go, Russia’s World Cup Faces Challenges
The FIFA Confederations Cup is now over. Attention now shifts to the more glamorous and tasking competition, the lead single sport event in the world- The FIFA World Cup.
After years of controversy, Russian officials think their World Cup has weathered the storm.
AP reports that stadiums are either finished or nearing completion, and the Confederations Cup ran smoothly.
“The project is very big and there are some delays or operational questions, minor questions, but nothing critical,” Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, who oversees World Cup preparations, said.
But with a year to go, some serious concerns remain around Russia’s 643.5-billion-ruble ($10.8 billion) World Cup dream.
Workers’ deaths and alleged rights abuses taint the new stadiums. Teams will live in far-flung, hard-to-secure locations. Many of the stadiums risk becoming white elephants.
Here is a look at some of the key issues:
STADIUMS
Russia is desperate to avoid what Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko calls “the Brazilian scenario” — the construction delays and organizational disarray which marred the start of the last World Cup in 2014.
That looks assured, with most of the 12 stadiums either complete or close to completion, though some have gone over budget.
But did Russia cut corners on workers’ rights to get them ready? A report this month by Human Rights Watch accused Russia of numerous abuses on pay and conditions, and notes at least 17 deaths during construction.
Evidence that North Korean workers — who are employed around the world in conditions often likened to slavery — worked on the St. Petersburg stadium has brought concern from FIFA.
LEGACY
Many of Russia’s 12 stadiums look certain to be rarely — if ever — full again after the World Cup.
Just five of the 11 host cities have top-flight football clubs. The Russian Premier League attracts average crowds of 11,500 — among the lowest for major European leagues — and it seems new stadiums may be a temporary attraction that don’t solve fan apathy in the long-term.
Premier League side Rubin Kazan got an initial attendance bump after moving into a 45,000-seat World Cup ground in 2014, but crowds have dropped almost 30 percent over the last two seasons to 9,750. One home game against FC Krasnodar in April attracted barely 3,000 fans.
Meanwhile, Mordovia Saransk averaged 2,400 fans at games this season as it was relegated to the third tier, but will inherit a 45,000-seat World Cup ground next year. Sochi won’t have a professional club at all in 2017-18.
In Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg, legacy concerns led Russian organizers to slash the capacity of World Cup stadiums from the original 45,000 to 25,000, with 10,000 more temporary seats.
Only the St. Petersburg stadium — home to games at the 2020 European Championship — and Moscow’s two grounds seem likely to be regularly in demand.
TEAM BASES
It’s not just about the host cities. The 32 teams taking part will be scattered across the country in newly built training bases as the Russian government tries to give other regions a taste of World Cup legacy — and lavish state spending.
Some locations in less glamorous areas of Russia are a hard sell for foreign teams, even if the accommodation is luxurious.
There’s Dzherzhinsk, an industrial city plagued by pollution from chemical plants, or Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, which was ravaged by war in the 1990s and early 2000s. Any team there will live with heavily armed guards. Many bases are in remote locations requiring air travel to even the nearest host city.
Small wonder that teams are expected to prioritize locations near the resort city of Sochi. Moscow’s heavy traffic is also a concern.
Still, team training bases may prove more useful for long-term legacy than the stadiums, since many include renovations of municipal football grounds.
FAN EXPERIENCE
Foreign fans at the Confederations Cup have largely seemed happy with Russian hospitality.
Tournament volunteers, police and paramedics have all had English classes to help foreigners in need, and free travel between host cities is on offer for ticket-holders.
Still, the real test is yet to come. The World Cup will bring many more foreign fans, posing a challenge for provincial transport links unused to such crowds.
Russia fans have little to be excited about, too, after their team exited the Confederations Cup in the group stage.
SECURITY
Russian authorities take the threat of terrorism at the World Cup seriously, especially after a bombing on the St. Petersburg subway in April.
At the Confederations Cup, thousands of police have operated tight airport-style security around stadiums, with more on key transport links.
The World Cup is even tougher to secure, with stadiums and team bases scattered across Russia. In the last five years, the host city of Volgograd has been hit by bombings, while Pyatigorsk, Grozny and Astrakhan, home to training bases, have seen attacks on security forces.
There are also fears about football hooliganism after Russians fans fought English supporters in France at last year’s European Championship. The Russian hooligans had martial arts training and left several England fans badly hurt, including one in a coma.
Russian authorities have blacklisted 191 fans with criminal records, and hours before the Confederations Cup began, dozens more, including members of radical groups, were refused permission to attend the tournament.
FIFA READINESS
Soccer’s world governing body also has work to do.
FIFA has pioneered video reviews of key moments like penalty calls during the Confederations Cup, but faced criticism that players and fans inside stadiums aren’t kept in the loop.
During Chile’s game against Cameroon last week, players milled about in confusion during one key review, and some headed toward the changing rooms, apparently thinking the referee had signaled for half-time.
FIFA also needs to hammer out a TV broadcast deal in Russia. Mutko has accused FIFA of charging so much that Russian networks would make a loss, and of trying to force the government to chip in.
A deal for the Confederations Cup was only reached six days before the tournament kicked off, avoiding the embarrassment of the host nation’s fans not being able to watch their team play.
AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni in Kazan, Russia, contributed to this report.
The first quarter-final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will rekindle memories of Qatar 2022 when France and Morocco lock horns once again, this time at Boston Stadium, with a place in the semi-finals at stake.
Four years ago, France ended Morocco’s dream run with a 2-0 victory in the semi-finals, courtesy of goals from Théo Hernández and Randal Kolo Muani. Now, the Atlas Lions return seeking revenge and hoping to make even more history as Africa’s last remaining representatives in the tournament.
France arrive in Boston as one of the form teams of the competition. Didier Deschamps’ side have won all four matches so far, defeating Senegal (3-1), Iraq (3-0) and Norway (4-1) in the group stage before dispatching Sweden 3-0 in the Round of 32 and edging Paraguay 1-0 in the Round of 16.
The decisive strike against Paraguay came from Kylian Mbappé, whose penalty was not only his 19th World Cup goal but also France’s 150th in tournament history. The Real Madrid forward has now scored 10 goals in his last six World Cup matches and stands on the brink of another landmark. Should he feature against Morocco, Mbappé will become the youngest player ever to reach 20 FIFA World Cup appearances, surpassing Poland’s Władysław Żmuda.
The French also boast an impressive knockout pedigree. The 1998 and 2018 world champions have progressed from six of their eight World Cup quarter-final appearances and have won 18 of their last 21 knockout matches at the global finals.
History is firmly on Les Bleus’ side. France are unbeaten in six previous meetings with Morocco, winning four and drawing two. Their only World Cup encounter remains the 2-0 triumph in Qatar, and six players who started that match remain in the French squad, including goalscorer Hernández.
Morocco, however, have shown that they are no longer content to play supporting roles on football’s biggest stage.
The Atlas Lions reached the quarter-finals after defeating co-hosts Canada 3-0 in Houston, with Azzedine Ounahi scoring twice and Soufiane Rahimi adding the third. The result made Morocco the first African nation to score three goals in a World Cup knockout match.
That victory followed a dramatic penalty shoot-out success against the Netherlands in the Round of 32. Earlier, Morocco accumulated seven points in Group C, finishing behind Brazil only on goal difference while comfortably outpacing Scotland and Haiti.
Already pioneers for African football, Morocco are now the first African country to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on two occasions. Their previous quarter-final appearance came in Qatar 2022, when they stunned Portugal 1-0 before eventually falling to France in the semi-finals.
The North Africans have also been among the tournament’s most potent attacking sides. Their ten goals in North America make them only the second African team to reach double figures at a single World Cup, following Senegal’s achievement at the same tournament.
Morocco’s resilience has been equally impressive. They have lost only two of their last 13 World Cup matches and only two of their last nine encounters against European opposition, underlining their ability to compete with the game’s traditional powers.
An intriguing subplot surrounds captain Achraf Hakimi, whose club ties connect both camps. The Paris Saint-Germain star has won 13 trophies since joining the French giants in 2021 and will come up against five of his PSG teammates in the French squad, including Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Lucas Hernández.
Several Moroccan players are also familiar figures in French football, with Hakimi, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Amine Sbaï, Samir El Mourabet and Gessime Yassine all currently playing in Ligue 1.
With France chasing a third World Cup title and Morocco determined to avenge their 2022 heartbreak while carrying Africa’s hopes, Boston is set to stage one of the most compelling quarter-final clashes of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
BY KUNLE SOLAJA, BOSTON
Morocco will once again carry the hopes of an entire continent when the Atlas Lions face France in a highly anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final clash, seeking to extend a remarkable journey that has already rewritten African football history.
Having become the first African nation to reach two FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, Morocco now stand just three victories away from achieving what no team from the continent has ever accomplished – lifting football’s most coveted trophy.
The encounter also presents an opportunity for the North Africans to gain revenge for their painful 2-0 defeat to France in the semi-finals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, a match that ended their historic run but earned them global admiration as the first African and Arab nation to reach the last four of the tournament.
This time, however, Mohamed Ouahbi’s men arrive with even greater experience, confidence and belief.
Morocco have emerged as Africa’s lone survivors in the competition after dispatching Canada 3-0 in the Round of 16. Their campaign has been built on tactical discipline, defensive organisation and a growing attacking threat that has yielded ten goals so far – making them only the second African nation to score double figures in a single World Cup edition.
The achievement places the Atlas Lions alongside Senegal, who also reached the ten-goal mark at the 2026 tournament before their elimination.
While France enter the contest as one of the favourites for the title, Morocco have shown repeatedly that they are no longer intimidated by Europe’s traditional powers.
Indeed, the Atlas Lions have lost only two of their last nine World Cup matches against European opposition, recording three victories and four draws during that impressive run.
That record includes memorable victories over Belgium, Spain and Portugal during their historic Qatar 2022 campaign, results that transformed perceptions of African football on the global stage.
France, however, remain a formidable obstacle.
Les Bleus have won 18 of their last 21 World Cup knockout matches, underlining the consistency that has seen them remain among the world’s elite over the past decade.
The French also boast a perfect record against African opposition in World Cup knockout football. Their previous two encounters ended in identical 2-0 victories, first against Nigeria in the Round of 16 at Brazil 2014 and later against Morocco in the Qatar 2022 semi-final.
Yet statistics alone may not tell the full story of a Moroccan side that continues to break barriers.
Driven by a generation of talented players and backed by millions of supporters across Africa and the Arab world, Morocco have become a symbol of what sustained investment, sound planning and unwavering belief can achieve.
The Atlas Lions have already secured their place in history as the first African nation to reach two World Cup quarter-finals. Defeating France would elevate them into even more exclusive territory and bring them one step closer to a second consecutive World Cup semi-final appearance.
For Morocco, the quarter-final is about far more than avenging a defeat suffered four years ago. It is another chance to challenge football’s established order and keep alive the dream of delivering Africa’s first-ever World Cup title.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
World Cup
FIFA refereeing chief, Collina Rejects Bias Claims Over Argentina-Egypt Thriller, Defends World Cup Officials
BY KUNLE SOLAJA, BOSTON
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has strongly defended the officiating in Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Egypt in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, dismissing allegations of bias and insisting that match officials operated with complete independence.
Speaking in an interview published on FIFA’s official platform, inside.fifa.com, on Thursday, the legendary former Italian referee responded to criticism that followed Egypt’s heartbreaking elimination after the reigning champions recovered from a two-goal deficit to secure victory through Enzo Fernandez’s stoppage-time winner.
The controversial encounter sparked outrage in Egypt, with national team coach Hossam Hassan and the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) questioning several key decisions that they believed influenced the outcome of the match.
However, Collina firmly rejected suggestions that referees could be influenced by external forces.
“Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” Collina said.
“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials. Nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president (Gianni Infantino).”
The FIFA refereeing boss warned that accusations questioning the integrity of officials could have serious consequences, including threats directed at referees and their families.
Egypt captain Mohamed Salah protests to French referee Francois Letexier after Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez scored the decisive third goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium, Georgia, on July 7, 2026. The dramatic encounter ended in a 3-2 victory for Argentina and sparked heated debate over several officiating decisions. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Dale Zanine
Egypt’s frustration centred on two major incidents during the dramatic contest.
The Pharaohs believed Mostafa Zico’s second-half goal, which would have restored their advantage, was wrongly disallowed for a foul in the build-up. The EFA described the infringement as “non-existent” and argued that the decision significantly altered the course of the game.
Egypt were also angered by the failure of the referee to penalise a challenge on captain Mohamed Salah moments before Argentina launched the attack that resulted in Fernandez’s winning goal.
Addressing the disallowed goal, Collina explained that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) had correctly intervened after identifying a foul committed by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez during the attacking possession phase.
“We believe that a foul is a foul,” Collina stated.
“Regardless of whether the foul appears ‘obvious’, if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene.”
Collina also backed the decision not to award Egypt a penalty in the build-up to Argentina’s decisive goal, noting that both the on-field referee and VAR reviewed the incident involving Salah and Argentina’s Julian Alvarez and concluded that it amounted to normal football contact.
“Stepping on an opponent’s foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal football contact has not committed a foul,” he explained.
The Egyptian Football Association had earlier released a statement expressing concern over what it described as inconsistencies in officiating, arguing that several decisions raised serious questions about fairness and had a direct impact on the outcome of the match.
Coach Hossam Hassan went even further after the game, suggesting there may have been pressure on the referee to ensure Argentina remained in the tournament, a claim that generated widespread debate across football circles.
Despite acknowledging that some refereeing decisions will always contain an element of subjectivity, Collina maintained that FIFA was satisfied with the application of VAR protocols throughout the tournament.
The controversy is unlikely to disappear soon, particularly in Egypt, where hopes of a historic World Cup quarter-final appearance were dashed in dramatic fashion. But FIFA’s most senior refereeing official has made it clear that the governing body stands firmly behind the decisions made during one of the tournament’s most talked-about matches.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Bet9ja FACT FILE: France And Morocco Set For World Cup Quarter-Final Rematch In Boston
History Beckons Again as Morocco Carry Africa’s Hopes Into France Showdown
FIFA refereeing chief, Collina Rejects Bias Claims Over Argentina-Egypt Thriller, Defends World Cup Officials
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SANUSI CHARGES NIGERIAN COACHES TO BE UPRIGHT, DILIGENT
- World Cup1 week ago
What a Load of Rubbish! How Senegal Threw Away a World Cup Dream
- World Cup4 days ago
Bizarre! FIFA makes U-turn to clear Balogun for US v Belgium World Cup clash following call from Trump
- World Cup1 week ago
Celebrating a Decade of World Cup Coverage: A Tribute to Kunle Solaja
- World Cup1 week ago
Cry for Africa, My Beloved Continent: How four decades of World Cup heartbreak continue to haunt African football
- World Cup6 days ago
Pharaohs End World Cup Knockout Hoodoo, Beat Australia on Penalties to Reach Last 16
- World Cup2 days ago
The Handwritten Note That Changed My Life: Remembering MKO Abiola, The Patron Saint of Nigerian Sports
- World Cup1 week ago
Mbappe Double Fires France into Last 16 as Sweden Swept Aside
- World Cup3 days ago
Article 27: The Little-Known FIFA Rule Behind Balogun’s World Cup Reprieve