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Is football AI-proof? Why tech investors wanted a slice of the World Cup

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Christopher Wright and Karl Schwalbe

Fifa has been forced to U-turn on plans to sell off a slice of the World Cup after fierce opposition, with threats of future boycotts and calls for the governing body’s president, Gianni Infantino, to quit.

But why were a group of tech investors interested in the World Cup in the first place, and are similar proposals in the future inevitable?

In a world in which AI could upend human recreation and pastimes, executives at Thrive Eternal, a spin-off of venture capital firm Thrive Capital, saw an opportunity to lead a group of investors to place cash in the biggest sporting competition on the planet.

The football World Cup was seen as the latest in a new strategy from firm, which believes that sport will not only survive the AI revolution, but grow in value.

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Run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared, Thrive mainly invests in technology companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) and it has been a major financial backer of Open AI.

But in April this year, the New York City-based entity created the new investment arm Thrive Eternal in order to invest in areas that have “qualities that cannot be replicated by technology”.

Sport is central to that strategy, and that is where football – and securing a minority stake in the World Cup under Fifa’s proposed Forward Enterprise (FFE), – became an opportunity.

The view is that the tradition, cultural and identity aspects of football will protect the sport from being upended by AI compared with other forms of entertainment such as movies and music, which are already seeing the technology start to replace humans.

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Professor Simon Chadwick has worked in the global sports industry for 30 years, including working with both fan groups, football clubs and governing bodies Fifa and Uefa.

He said investment interests and commercialisation in general meant a lot of decisions were being made on behalf of football and fans “in Wall Street and Silicon Valley”.

“It is almost as though it’s crept up on us and a lot of people haven’t really thought about what’s happening,” he told the BBC.

While it raised governance questions for Fifa, he added: “Whether people like it or not, private equity investment in sport is happening.”

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Cisco, Tencent Headline Muted Earnings Week

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OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Get ahead of the market by subscribing to Seeking Alpha’s Wall Street Week Ahead, a preview of key events scheduled for the coming week. The newsletter keeps you informed of the biggest stories set to make headlines, including upcoming IPOs, investor days, earnings reports, and conference presentations.

Wall Street’s major market averages traded towards the topside on Friday after July’s nonfarm payrolls surprised to the downside, showing an unexpected contraction in employment. U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined by 23K in July, missing the +88K consensus and erasing the 20K increase in June, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.

The economic calendar is muted for the upcoming week with no major data scheduled for Monday. Existing home sales data for July is due on Tuesday. On Wednesday, CPI data for July will be released, with PPI and initial jobless claims numbers due on Thursday. Retail sales data for the month will be out on Friday.

With the earnings season drawing to a close, only a few major firms, including Tencent (TCEHY) and Cisco (CSCO), are scheduled to report their earnings next week.

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Earnings spotlight: Monday: Simon Property Group (SPG), Plug Power (PLUG). See the full earnings calendar.

Earnings spotlight: Tuesday: Cardinal Health (CAH), CoreWeave (CRWV), Super Micro Computer (SMCI). See the full earnings calendar.

Earnings spotlight: Wednesday: Tencent, Cisco. See the full earnings calendar.

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Earnings spotlight: Thursday: Applied Materials (AMAT). See the full earnings calendar.

Volatility watch: SpaceX (SPCX) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) have seen options volatility increase over the last week. The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index include SMJ International (SMJF), Chime Financial (CHYM), and Utz Brands (UTZ). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include

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iPhone 17 Prices Could Rise as Soon as Monday, New Rumor Claims Ahead of Chip Shortage Fallout

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Xperia 1 VIII

Apple could raise prices on its current iPhone 17 lineup as soon as Monday, Aug. 10, according to a new rumor circulating online, a move that would arrive well ahead of the broader price increases many analysts had expected to accompany next month’s iPhone 18 Pro launch.

The claim originated from Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital, who wrote in a recent post that “rumors are circulating that the iPhone 17 will increase in price on August 10,” according to 9to5Mac. No direct source was cited for the specific date, though the outlet noted that Fixed Focus Digital has a track record of being well connected within Apple’s supply chain, lending some added weight to the claim even without formal confirmation.

A Shortage Apple Has Called Unprecedented

The rumored price increase traces directly back to a global memory and storage chip shortage that Apple CEO Tim Cook has described in unusually stark terms. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Cook said the current shortage was “rare and severe,” adding, “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years.” He separately compared the situation to what he called a hundred-year flood, underscoring just how significant Apple views the disruption to be.

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The shortage stems from surging global demand for memory chips driven by the ongoing artificial intelligence data center buildout, with companies racing to secure DRAM and NAND flash memory for AI servers, squeezing supply available for consumer electronics manufacturers like Apple in the process. Cook has said memory chip prices are expected to increase “significantly” in the coming quarters, forcing Apple to choose between absorbing the higher costs itself, which would cut into profit margins, or passing at least some of that cost on directly to customers.

Apple Has Already Raised Prices Elsewhere

Apple has not waited to act on other parts of its product lineup. On June 25, the company raised prices across its Mac, iPad, HomePod, Apple TV and Vision Pro lines by as much as $500 on some models, an increase of roughly 15% to 20% on base configurations, explicitly citing the memory and storage chip shortage as the driving factor. The iPhone lineup was notably spared during that round of increases, a decision widely interpreted at the time as temporary rather than permanent, given the scale of the underlying cost pressures Apple has continued to describe publicly.

Apple has since gone further internationally. According to MacRumors, Apple raised iPhone prices in Japan by as much as 11% across the iPhone 16, iPhone 17e, iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, a move spotted by the Spanish tech blog iPhoneros on Apple’s Japanese online store. That international price adjustment has added to speculation that a similar move in the U.S. and other major markets could follow relatively soon.

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Analysts Say a US Price Hike Is ‘Imminent’

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a closely followed Apple industry analyst, has said he believes iPhone price increases are likely “imminent” and not something Apple will hold off on until the iPhone 18 launch later this year. Gurman has also connected the potential timing of any price change to Apple’s annual Back to School promotion, which historically offers students and teachers additional benefits on Mac and iPad purchases and could serve as a natural moment for Apple to formally announce updated pricing across more of its lineup, including iPhones.

What It Could Mean for the iPhone 18 Lineup

Separately from any potential iPhone 17 price adjustment, analysts have also raised the possibility of substantially higher pricing for this fall’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. According to an earnings note from analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities, the two Pro models could carry price increases of $250 to $300 over their iPhone 17 Pro equivalents, which currently start at $1,099 and $1,199 respectively, driven by a combination of higher costs tied to Apple’s new 2-nanometer chip and continued DRAM and NAND memory price inflation. Pu has cautioned that such a significant price jump could create what he called “demand uncertainty” among consumers, and has since downgraded his rating on Apple’s stock from buy to hold, a notable shift from his earlier position in May, when he had suggested Apple could price the iPhone 18 Pro lineup “aggressively” despite rising memory costs.

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Apple Is Not Alone in Raising Prices

Apple’s cost pressures are not unique within the technology industry. Cook has noted that multiple other major companies, including Samsung, Microsoft, Sony and Dell, have already raised their own prices in response to the same underlying memory chip shortage, a pattern that has made Apple’s eventual pricing decision feel to many analysts more like a matter of timing than a genuine open question of whether an increase will happen at all.

A Strong Sales Backdrop Despite the Cost Pressure

The pricing pressure comes even as Apple’s underlying iPhone business has continued performing strongly. The company reported record first-quarter revenue of $143.8 billion, well ahead of Wall Street’s $138.4 billion estimate, with the iPhone accounting for $85.3 billion of that total. Cook has said Apple exited the most recent quarter with unusually lean channel inventory given the strength of customer demand, describing the company as operating in what he called a “supply chase mode” to keep pace, even as constraints tied to the availability of advanced chip manufacturing nodes have left Apple with less flexibility in its supply chain than it has historically had access to.

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As of this week, Apple has not officially confirmed any new iPhone 17 pricing, and the Aug. 10 date remains an unverified rumor rather than a confirmed company announcement. Given the pattern of price increases Apple has already implemented across its other major product lines, and executives’ repeated public acknowledgment of the severity of the ongoing memory chip shortage, industry watchers say the underlying question may no longer be whether iPhone prices rise, but simply how soon that change arrives and how it lines up with the broader iPhone 18 launch expected next month.

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Live Stream, TV Channel and Kickoff Time in Perth

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Dejan Kulusevski of Juventus

Two of Italian football’s fiercest rivals meet Saturday when Juventus takes on Inter Milan in a preseason friendly at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia, giving both clubs one final high-profile test before their domestic campaigns begin later this month.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. local time in Perth, which translates to 1 p.m. in Italy and across most of continental Europe, noon in the United Kingdom, and 7 a.m. Eastern time, 6 a.m. Central time, and 4 a.m. Pacific time in the United States.

How to Watch in the United States

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Fans in the United States can follow the match live on Prime Video, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network. No traditional linear television broadcast has been confirmed for the match domestically, meaning viewers will need to access one of those streaming platforms to watch, whether through an existing subscription or a trial offering where available.

How to Watch in Australia

For fans watching from within Australia, where the match is actually being played, the game will be shown free of charge on 7plus, which provides a live HD stream accessible to viewers across the country without requiring a paid subscription.

How to Watch Elsewhere

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Juventus is also streaming the match through its own official channels, with kickoff listed at 1 p.m. CEST on the club’s video platform for fans in Italy and across Europe. Viewers outside regions with confirmed broadcast partners are generally advised that official match coverage, including confirmed TV listings and streaming rights holders, can typically be found through international sports broadcast aggregators, which compile authorized viewing options by country ahead of kickoff.

A Historic Rivalry Renewed Down Under

Saturday’s meeting marks the latest chapter in the long-running rivalry between Juventus and Inter Milan, a fixture historically nicknamed the Derby d’Italia given the two clubs’ combined dominance of Italian football over the decades. This particular meeting carries no domestic points or trophies at stake, serving instead as a valuable measuring stick for both squads as they wrap up their preseason preparations.

The two sides last met competitively on Feb. 14, 2026, when Inter Milan defeated Juventus 3-2 in Serie A. Looking at their broader recent head-to-head history, the last five meetings between the clubs have been closely contested, with Juventus winning twice, Inter winning twice, and one match ending in a draw, producing a combined 22 goals across those five encounters. The most dramatic of those recent meetings came in October 2024, when the two sides played out a wild 4-4 draw at the San Siro.

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Juventus Enters on Strong Form

Juventus head into Saturday’s match under manager Luciano Spalletti following a disappointing sixth-place finish in Serie A last season, a result that fell well short of the club’s usual expectations. Despite that underwhelming domestic campaign, Juventus have enjoyed a strong preseason, entering Saturday’s match unbeaten across their preseason tour and having kept four consecutive clean sheets. Their most recent outing was a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in Hong Kong, with Edon Zhegrova scoring the match’s only goal.

Inter Milan Arrives as Reigning Champions

Inter Milan, by contrast, enter the friendly as the reigning Serie A and Coppa Italia champions after completing a domestic double last season under manager Cristian Chivu. Inter have taken four points from their last three preseason matches, defeating Manchester City and Karlsruher SC before playing to a 1-1 draw against local rivals AC Milan on Aug. 5, with Federico Dimarco scoring Inter’s goal in that match.

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Squad News and Absences

Both clubs are managing rosters still not at full strength given the timing of the match relative to the recent FIFA World Cup and players’ subsequent rest schedules. Inter Milan will be without key forwards Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, who did not travel to Australia because of their late rest schedules following the tournament. Chivu is expected to use the match primarily to continue integrating younger players and evaluating squad depth ahead of the new season.

For Juventus, expected starters include goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio behind a back line of Pierre Kalulu, Gleison Bremer, Lloyd Kelly and Andrea Cambiaso, with Douglas Luiz and Manuel Locatelli anchoring midfield, and an attacking trio of Zhegrova, Weston McKennie and Kenan Yildiz supporting striker Jonathan David. Juventus’ bench options include Teun Koopmeiners and Francisco Conceicao among other squad depth pieces.

Part of a Broader Preseason Tour

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Saturday’s match is part of a larger Australian leg of preseason friendlies for both clubs, which follow earlier stops elsewhere in Asia and Europe. Juventus opened their summer tour with matches in Hong Kong before continuing on to Perth, while Inter Milan has similarly used the Australian swing to face both Manchester City and cross-city rival AC Milan in the days leading up to Saturday’s meeting.

A Preview of the Season Ahead

While Saturday’s result carries no bearing on the 2026-27 Serie A standings, the match offers both managers a valuable opportunity to assess squad chemistry and player fitness before their domestic campaigns begin in earnest later this month. For Spalletti, continuing Juventus’ unbeaten preseason run against elite opposition would offer an encouraging signal after last season’s disappointing finish, while a strong showing from Inter would reinforce the champions’ status as the team to beat heading into the new campaign.

Following Saturday’s friendly, both clubs are expected to wrap up their remaining preseason fixtures before shifting focus fully toward their opening domestic matches. Fans looking to follow the match across any platform are encouraged to confirm regional streaming access ahead of kickoff, given the early morning start time facing viewers in North America and the range of country-specific broadcast rights holders covering the fixture worldwide.

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VXUS: Why I Wouldn’t Retire With U.S. Stocks Alone (NASDAQ:VXUS)

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Diamond Hill International Strategy Q4 2025 Commentary

This article was written by

I am a corporate finance professional with over ten years of experience in financial planning, capital budgeting, and risk assessment. As a long-term investor, I invest exclusively in funds and do not pick individual stocks. My approach is evidence-based: low costs, broad diversification, strategic asset allocation, and patience through market cycles. My motivation for writing is twofold: first, to help other long-term investors, especially women and those new to fund investing. I focus on what truly drives returns: costs, diversification, and time in the market. Second, to bring rigorous, data-driven fund analysis to a platform often dominated by single-stock commentary. I write to learn, share, and build a community of patient investors who value sleeping well at night over chasing short-term gains.

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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Earnings call transcript: Delhivery Q1 2026 revenue rises 28% as volumes jump

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Earnings call transcript: Delhivery Q1 2026 revenue rises 28% as volumes jump

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Waterdrop: A Good Time To Be Accumulating Shares (NYSE:WDH)

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Investment Qualities Of AXIS Capital's Preferred After The Company's Latest Report

This article was written by

Welcome to my author’s site. As an avid follower of SeekingAlpha, I take great interest in articles posted as the subject matter is often something that appeals to me. However, I will sometimes encounter an article that I might not agree with. My purpose is to present an alternative view to readers that they may want to take into account. I hope you find my articles interesting and informative.

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of WDH either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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Berkshire says operating profit rises, conducts stock buybacks

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Berkshire says operating profit rises, conducts stock buybacks

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Apple says Mac users in China can connect to Alibaba’s Qwen AI service

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Apple says Mac users in China can connect to Alibaba’s Qwen AI service

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Business Daily – Taking stock: Global trade’s new reality

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Business Daily - Taking stock: Global trade's new reality

Available for over a year

What is driving the global shift towards economic protectionism? Will Bain is joined by Jennifer Pak, NPR’s China correspondent, and Trevor Simumba, an international business consultant in Zambia, to discuss why the trend has accelerated since Donald Trump’s tariffs and why global trade remains resilient despite growing barriers. Plus, why Africa’s Lobito Corridor matters for trade, what AI means for jobs in China and beyond, and why drinks giant Diageo is cutting costs. And, two food heroes: China’s baozi and Uganda’s matoke.

(Photo: A ship docks at Lobito Port in Angola, 4 December, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

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Presenter: Will Bain
Producer: David Cann

Programme Website

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Iran says deal on Strait of Hormuz is close but will not open the waterway by itself

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Iran says deal on Strait of Hormuz is close but will not open the waterway by itself

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