World Cup
FIFA World Cup 2030 Organizing Official Resigns Amid Manipulation Scandal
María Tato, the official responsible for organizing Spain’s bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, resigned on Wednesday following serious allegations of manipulating the selection criteria for host cities.
The controversy erupted after Spanish daily El Mundo published audio recordings in which Tato was heard discussing the alteration of scores in an Excel spreadsheet to favour San Sebastián’s Anoeta Stadium over the Balaídos Stadium in Vigo.
According to the audio, Tato and her team altered values in the spreadsheet, running tests repeatedly until they achieved the desired result. One of the excerpts from the recording reveals Tato saying, “Let’s enter values into Excel to see what we get. This is the first test of 800 we’ll run until we get the result right.”
Following the publication of these recordings, Tato submitted her resignation to Rafael Louzán, president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), who accepted it.
The scandal centered around the accusation that Tato and her team manipulated the selection process to ensure that Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastián would host World Cup matches, while Vigo’s Balaídos Stadium was excluded from consideration.
No technical explanation was provided for the score changes, which sparked outrage, particularly in Vigo, where Mayor Abel Caballero and many locals voiced their anger.
Interestingly, sources close to the investigation revealed that although Louzán had fired Tato in December after hearing about the audio recordings, he chose to keep her in the role at that time.
In an exclusive interview with El Mundo after her resignation, Tato defended herself, claiming she was “a scapegoat” in a larger political storm. “I am the victim of a perfect storm, in which political interests and the revenge of the members of the World Cup Committee converge,” Tato said.
She admitted to having initially included Balaídos in the classification but later corrected the scores, citing “a mistake” in her interpretation of the criteria. “I simply corrected some errors in interpretation when applying the criteria, and I didn’t do it alone,” she explained.
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Tunisia left out captain Ferjani Sassi and key defender Yassine Meriah as new coach Sabri Lamouchi made expected changes on Friday when he named his squad for next month’s World Cup.
Sassi, who has played 101 times for Tunisia, and Meriah, five caps away from a century of appearances for the North Africans, were both dropped from the squad.
Lamouchi, who was appointed coach in January after Sami Trabelsi was dismissed following Tunisia’s exit from the Cup of Nations in the last 16, overhauled the squad for his first two matches in March.
At the time, Lamouchi, who has had spells at Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City, did not reveal whether he was using the friendlies against Haiti and Canada to look at alternative options or whether he was seeking to build a new-look side.
Friday’s squad announcement suggests a mix, as there were surprise call-ups for 21-year-old Khalil Ayari and teenager Rayan Elloumi.
Ayari has been signed by Paris Saint-Germain but has yet to make the first team squad, while Elloumi has made only two starts in Major League Soccer with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Canadian-born Elloumi, 18, played earlier this year for the World Cup co-hosts in a friendly against Guatemala.
The Tunisia squad also includes 32-year-old midfielder Rani Khedira, whose brother Sami was a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014. Khedira had previously rejected overtures from Tunisia to play for them, but in March switched his footballing nationality and debuted for the North Africans.
Tunisia compete at their seventh World Cup and are in Group F with Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Sabri Ben Hessen (Etoile Sahel), Abdelmouhib Chamakh (Club Africain), Aymen Dahman (CS Sfaxien)
Defenders: Ali Abdi (Nice), Adem Arous (Kasimpasa), Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida (Esperance), Dylan Bronn (Servette Geneva), Raed Chikhaoui (US Monastir), Moutaz Neffati (Norrkoping), Omar Rekik (NK Maribor), Montassar Talbi (Lorient), Yan Valery (Young Boys Berne)
Midfielders: Mortadha Ben Ouanes (Kasimpasa), Anis Ben Slimane (Norwich City), Ismael Gharbi (FC Augsburg), Rani Khedira (Union Berlin), Mohamed Hadj Mahmoud (Lugano), Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley), Ellyes Skhiri (Eintracht Frankfurt).
Reuters
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Fresh uncertainty surrounding Iran national football team’s participation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has prompted emergency-level diplomacy, with senior FIFA officials set to hold crucial talks with the Iranian Football Federation in Istanbul on Saturday.
At the centre of the discussions will be FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom, who is expected to meet officials of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) to offer what sources described as “reassurance” over Iran’s place at next year’s World Cup.
The meeting comes amid mounting political and security concerns following escalating tensions between Iran, the United States and Israel after military strikes earlier this year. The situation has raised fears over whether Iranian players, officials and delegation members would be granted unhindered access into the United States and Canada, two of the three host nations for the expanded 48-team tournament.
Iran have already qualified for the World Cup and are scheduled to play all three group matches in the United States, beginning with a clash against New Zealand national football team in Los Angeles on June 15.
However, doubts intensified after FFIRI President Mehdi Taj was reportedly denied entry into Canada for the recent FIFA Congress in Vancouver because of alleged links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Both the United States and Canada classify the IRGC as a terrorist organisation and have maintained strict entry restrictions for individuals associated with the elite military body.
The development triggered alarm within Iranian football and diplomatic circles, with Tehran insisting that FIFA must guarantee equal access and participation for all qualified nations.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, warned this week that any barriers placed before the Iranian delegation would undermine the integrity of the World Cup itself.
“The Iranian national football team has earned its right to participate on the field in accordance with FIFA regulations,” Gharibabadi wrote on social media.
He argued that preventing players, officials or technical staff from entering host countries would violate the spirit of the competition and damage FIFA’s credibility as a neutral governing body.
Behind the scenes, FIFA is understood to be working closely with authorities in the host nations to ensure all participating teams can compete “in a safe and secure environment.”
The governing body now finds itself balancing football neutrality with the realities of international geopolitics — a challenge that could define preparations for the biggest World Cup in history.
Iran had reportedly requested that their matches be relocated to Mexico to avoid possible entry complications in the United States, but Gianni Infantino is said to have rejected the proposal, insisting that the original tournament schedule remain intact.
In a potentially calming intervention, U.S. President Donald Trump recently indicated he had no objection to Iran participating in the tournament despite the strained political relationship between the two countries.
Still, uncertainty lingers over whether all Iranian officials — not just players — will receive visas and security clearance.
The Iranian team is scheduled to leave Tehran for a training camp in Turkey on Monday before travelling to their World Cup base at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona in early June.
Saturday’s Istanbul meeting is therefore being viewed as far more than a routine administrative discussion. It represents a critical test of FIFA’s ability to protect the universality of football in an era where global politics increasingly threaten to spill onto the pitch.
For now, the message from FIFA appears to be one of reassurance. But until the first Iranian delegation members clear immigration checkpoints in North America, questions over Iran’s World Cup participation are unlikely to disappear completely.
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Haiti named their World Cup squad on Friday, with captain Johny Placide and all-time top scorer Duckens Nazon included as Les Grenadiers prepare for their first finals in 52 years.
French coach Sebastien Migne selected an experienced squad led by 38-year-old goalkeeper Placide, who plays for Bastia, while Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is among the team’s most recognisable European-based players.
Nazon, who has 44 goals in 76 appearances, was also selected after playing a key role in qualification, with the striker from Iranian club Esteghlal netting six times during the campaign.
The Caribbean side will play at the men’s World Cup for only the second time, and first since the 1974 tournament in West Germany, after topping their CONCACAF qualifying group.
They had to play all of their home matches at neutral venues because of the country’s security crisis.
Haiti will play warm-up matches against New Zealand and Peru before opening their Group C campaign versus Scotland on June 13, followed by games with five-time champions Brazil and Morocco.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Johny Placide, Alexandre Pierre, Josue Duverger
Defenders: Carlens Arcus, Wilguens Paugain, Duke Lacroix, Martin Experience, JK Duverne, Ricardo Ade, Hannes Delcroix, Keeto Thermoncy
Midfielders: Leverton Pierre, Carl-Fred Sainte, Danley Jean-Jacques, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Woodensky Pierre, Simon Dominique
Forwards: Louicius Deedson, Ruben Providence, Josue Casimir, Derrick Etienne, Wilson Isidor, Duckens Nazon, Frantzdy Pierrot, Yassin Fortune, Lenny Joseph
-Reuters
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