World Cup
Neymar says 2026 World Cup will be his last
Neymar said that the 2026 World Cup would be his last, adding that he was confident Brazil would qualify for the Finals in North America.
“I know this will be my last World Cup, my last shot, my last chance and I will do everything I can to play in it,” the 32-year-old attacker, who has not played for Brazil in over a year, told CNN.
In the interview published on Jan 7, he also told the American news network that he would not rule out reuniting with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.
“Obviously, playing again with Messi and Suarez would be incredible,” he added of the famed “MSN” trio.
Brazil have struggled in South American World Cup qualifying.
After 12 of the 18 rounds, they are fifth in the 10-nation group. But the top six are guaranteed places in the World Cup and Brazil are five points ahead of Bolivia in seventh.
“I have a lot of faith in the team, in the players who are emerging, who are young,” Neymar said.
“We’re not in a position where we would like to be. But I think together we can achieve something very big. We have a year, a year-and-a-half to work, to do the right things to reach the World Cup.”
Neymar started Brazil’s first four qualifying games but went off injured at half-time as they lost to Uruguay in October 2023. After knee surgery he was out for a year.
He returned for his Saudi club Al Hilal with two brief appearances in October and November but injured a hamstring and has not played since. He said he is targeting the World Cup.
“I want to be there, I’m going to try to do my best, to work very hard so that I can be with the Brazilian team,” he said.
He will be 34 by the time the competition in the USA, Canada and Mexico, kicks off.
He could play in the United States before then. Al Hilal will appear in the expanded Club World Cup in the United States in June where Miami, with Messi and Suarez, will also be competing.
“They are my friends,” said Neymar, who also played with Messi at Paris Saint-Germain.
“We still speak to each other. It would be interesting to revive this trio. I’m happy in Saudi Arabia, but who knows? Football is full of surprises.
“When the news came out that I was leaving Paris Saint-Germain, the transfer window was closed in the United States, so I didn’t have this option.”
-AFP
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Fans and players will get a taste of what the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia will be like when the kingdom hosts the Asian Cup, with officials announcing Tuesday dates and stadiums for the regional showpiece.
Saudi Arabia was in December controversially awarded the World Cup but first, it hosts the Asian Cup in 2027.
The tournament will be from January 7 to February 5 that year and be held in the capital Riyadh, plus Jeddah and Al Khobar, the Asian Football Confederation said, launching a two-year countdown.
Among the venues announced Tuesday for the 24-team regional competition were the 70,000-capacity King Fahd Sports City Stadium and King Saud University Stadium, both in Riyadh, which have also been earmarked to hold World Cup games.
Likewise the 60,000 King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
The Asian Cup will be spread across eight stadiums.
“Confirming the dates and selecting the stadiums for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 is a strategic milestone in our journey to host the tournament,” said Yasser al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, staged and won the Asian Cup a year ago.
The tournament was supposed to take place in China in 2023 but was moved out of the country because of the country’s Covid policies at the time.
-AFP
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FIFA and Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab have signed a deal to broadcast the 2027 and 2031 editions of the Women’s World Cup in the United States, world soccer’s governing body said on Friday.
FIFA said the Women’s World Cup will be the first competition to be acquired in full by Netflix and U.S.-based fans would be able to watch every match live.
The agreement also includes Puerto Rico while it will cover all languages, with a dual telecast in English and Spanish in the U.S.
“As a marquee brand and FIFA’s new long-term partner, Netflix has shown a very strong level of commitment to growing women’s football,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
“Besides broadcasting the tournaments themselves, Netflix will play a key role in terms of bringing the fascination of women’s football to a multi-million audience in the lead-up to both final tournaments, thereby enabling us to further increase their appeal.”
The 2027 Women’s World Cup is set to be played in Brazil between June 24 and July 25, the first time the tournament will be held in South America. The 2031 edition’s hosts are yet to be decided by the FIFA Congress.
Apart from live coverage, Netflix will also produce a documentary series in the lead-up to both tournaments.
The deal is the latest in Netflix’s embrace of sports, as the streaming service looks to build on its strategy of providing proprietary content that viewers cannot find elsewhere.
Netflix said more than 100 million people worldwide tuned in to watch a fight between retired great Mike Tyson and social media influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul last month.
The streaming giant will also put on two live NFL games for the first time on Christmas Day.
Tense negotiations over television deals for the 2023 edition of the tournament nearly led to it being blacked out in key countries, as FIFA sold the broadcast rights for the women’s competition separately from the men’s for the first time.
The tournament, which culminated in a blockbuster finale between England and Spain, went on to attract record viewership and 12 million tuned in to BBC One to watch the championship match in the UK.
-Reuters
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Morocco plans to expand its airport capacity to 80 million passengers by 2030 from 38 million currently, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said.
Akhannouch told members of parliament that the plan is part of Morocco’s preparations to co-host the 2030 soccer World Cup with Spain and Portugal and promote tourism.
Casablanca’s airport capacity will be expanded to 23.3 million passengers, while tourist hubs Marrakech and Agadir will have a capacity of 14 million passengers and 6.3 million respectively by 2030, he said.
Morocco received a record 15.9 million tourists in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing the total in the entire previous year thanks to more air routes, according to tourism ministry figures.
Morocco is also working to extend its high-speed train network to Marrakech before the World Cup, and further south to Agadir.
The rail operator also aims to expand its network to double the number of cities it serves to 43, or 87% of the Moroccan population, by 2040.
The prime minister also mentioned the expansion and renovation of 45 stadiums and training sites in the six cities that are planned to host the World Cup, in addition to the construction of a new stadium with 115,000 seats near Casablanca.
Investments in stadium construction and expansion would cost Morocco up to 5 billion dirhams ($500 million), the government has said.
Morocco is also hosting the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament in 2025.
-Reuters
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