The letter released this Friday and signed by the heads of the Bundesliga, the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A called for major changes to how FIFA operates — and for a greater say in decision-making.

“Football’s ​longstanding foundations have, in recent years, been threatened by a fundamental governance problem, whereby FIFA’s president has actively promoted exploitative ​ideas rather than safeguarding against them,” it said.

FFE private investment plan dropped

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been facing a wave of criticism since late July, when his plan for private investment through a commercial vehicle, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), emerged. The idea was for FFE to organize FIFA’s tournaments while maximizing profits.

Vigorous opposition from UEFA, European football’s governing body, as well as CONCACAF (North and Central America plus the Caribbean) and the Asian Football Confederation led Infantino to quickly drop the plan.

However, the league bosses noted that this had not solved a deeper problem and appeared to dismiss a recent announcement by Infantino of an independent external review of FIFA governance as well as consultations on strengthening decision-making processes.

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‘Fundamental governance reform essential’

“It is not enough for surface-level, process changes to be explored in the aftermath of FFE — fundamental governance reform is essential to restore clear constitutional boundaries within FIFA, including confidence that individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference,” Friday’s letter from the leagues said.

The last line was in reference to the widespread discontent around FIFA’s handling of the Folarin Balogun case, with the United States striker’s one-match ban being suspended to allow him to play a World Cup last-16 match against Belgium in July. While the ban was imposed by FIFA’s disciplinary committee, it came after US President Donald Trump had personally called Infantino asking for a “review” of the ban — something Trump publicly admitted.

The leagues on Friday called for greater checks and balances to be implemented at FIFA, while at the same time demanding that they and others be given a say in decisions such as increases in the number of international matches.

Stakeholders ‘not meaningfully involved in process’

The letter went on to say that “… when FIFA takes major unilateral decisions directly affecting us — for example, by expanding the International Match Calendar (IMC) and extending the periods in which domestic competitions must pause — the stakeholders most affected are not meaningfully involved in the decision-making process.

 “A FIFA governance that concentrates unchecked regulatory, commercial and political power in a single office, while relegating affected stakeholders to mere advisory status, is not fit for purpose.”

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The letter, while implying much criticism of Infantino, did not call for him to step down 3 it didn’t even mention him by name.

Search for a challenger ongoing

The letter comes as UEFA has said it is looking for a suitable candidate to challenge Infantino in the next presidential election in March, in which Infantino has said he will run for reelection.

UEFA has also called for an independent external review of how the FFE plan was developed, and has filed legal applications through the US courts for the disclosure of documents related to the plan. This was with a view to a possible criminal complaint being lodged in Switzerland if it is established that Infantino undervalued FFE at $20 billion (€17.5 billion).

FIFA has described UEFA’s legal moves as a “smear campaign” against it but has not yet commented on Friday’s letter from the league bosses.

Infantino aims to discuss his proposals at a FIFA Council meeting in Zurich on October 15, a week after UEFA is to hold a meeting of all of its 55 member associations on October 8 in Berlin. 

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Any person aiming to challenge Infantino in the March 18, 2027 FIFA presidential election must register as a candidate by November 18.

Edited by: Hecko Flores

As 2027 approaches, the standout fight that boxing fans want to see seems to be a potential cruiserweight showdown between David Benavidez and Jai Opetaia, and former two-division world champion Andre Ward has shared his verdict on the proposed bout. 

Opetaia defeated the then-reigning WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian earlier this month, but he didn’t get his hands on the belt despite the win.

Instead, due to that bout not being sanctioned as a title bout, interim champion Michal Cieslak was elevated to full WBC cruiserweight world champion and ordered to face Benavidez next.

The victor of Benavidez-Cieslak, which is mooted for December 12, will then be ordered to defend all three of their world titles against two-time IBF champion Opetaia, who remains undefeated despite twice losing his status as champion.

Speaking on the All The Smoke Fight podcast, Ward detailed what Opetaia must do in order to get the better of ‘The Mexican Monster’ and claim the WBA, WBO and WBC titles.

“That is the fight that needs to get made in the cruiserweight division, David Benavidez and Jai Opetaia. It takes a lot of skill to slow down an offensive guy like David Benavidez, it’s not just skill but it’s toughness too because he is only going to respect you by hitting him.

“You are going to have to get your respect at a certain point in time, but you also can’t get dragged into throwing 100/110 punches per round or whatever it is that he throws as a cruiserweight. 

“You can’t get caught up in that because that’s not your game, but you have got to do enough to let him know that you are here. You have got to land enough to let him know that you are there – and you have got to try and stay up on the points as well,

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“I think, for Jai, he has got to find a healthy balance because he has got good legs. He has got to understand where to be and when to be there, what angles to take but then also to instinctively know when to stand and rumble for 5, 10, 15, 20 seconds and give David what he likes and then go back to doing what he does, which is easier said than done.”

With Benavidez-Cieslak set for December, Opetaia is expected to remain on the sidelines until his shot at the winner, with that mandated bout anticipated to take place around Cinco De Mayo next year.

Week 2 is in the books and Fantasy football managers now have two weeks of results to work with heading into Week 3, but that doesn’t necessarily make decision-making for lineups any easier. Do you trust early breakouts like Jalen Coker, Denzel Boston and Parker Washington over proven options who have started slow, while stars like Jahmyr Gibbs, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Ja’Marr Chase remain some of the safest plays on the board?

If you have some start/sit decisions that are close enough that you want the advice of an experienced fantasy football analyst, you’re in the right place. Welcome to Dave Richard’s Week 3 PPR cheat sheet, with rankings for every player in the mix for a starting gig on your Fantasy teams.

What do the numbers mean? All weekly analysis, from data points to matchup outlooks to game-flow predictions, is represented as a number on a 1-10 confidence scale. The higher the number next to a player’s name, the more confident I am that you should start him. The numbers are not projections but confidence scores to help you pick who to start. Every relevant player for this week is listed, so if you do not see a player named, do not start them start him.

To find a specific player, use your search function (CTRL-F on PCs and Command-F on Macs). If neither is an option, or if you’re on a mobile device, you can search by typing the name in the URL bar or scrolling down by game. If you’re still unsure, just send Dave a note (@DaveRichard), and he will take a look, time permitting. Remember to use the #AskFFT hashtag!

If you’re reading this on Sunday, please refer to CBS Sports’ weekly rankings, which are updated in real-time.

Ready to get off on the right foot? Here’s how to approach every play for this week in every PPR league.

French hurdler Cyrena Samba-Mayela has been given a temporary suspension for not disclosing her whereabouts to anti-doping officials.

Samba-Mayela won silver in the 100m hurdles at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The 25-year-old’s suspension was confirmed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on Friday.

The sanction was imposed on Samba-Mayela on September 18, and could result in a two-year ban.

She withdrew from August’s European Championships because of injury.

A representative for Samba-Mayela told French news agency AFP that the athlete had never returned a positive result on an anti-doping test, and that the investigation is solely focused on the whereabouts breach.

“The procedure mentioned is ongoing before the AIU and concerns exclusively administrative whereabouts requirements, and not the use of any substance whatsoever,” the representative added.

“She [Samba-Maylea] continues to respond within the allotted timeframes and to co-operate fully.”

Elite athletes are required to inform anti-doping officials about their locations, for example if they are attending a training camp away from home or if they are travelling.

These locations are used in order to comply with the rules for random doping tests.

Three failures within a year, such as a missed test or inaccurate information given to the anti-doping officials, can result in punishment.

As you navigate the story in Control Resonant, you will encounter many curious NPCs whose motives are not clear. The FBC Terminal agent is one such fellow encountered during the early hours of the game, who will ask protagonist Dylan Faden some questions. Getting the answers right will net you character upgrade rewards.

Considering how straightforward the answers to these questions are, this is one opportunity you cannot pass up to obtain more Source and materials. Read on to learn about all the correct answers at the FBC Terminal in Control Resonant.

Also Read: Control Resonant walkthrough: The Underpass Resonant quest

How to answer correctly at the FBC Terminal in Control Resonant

Note that FBC Terminals are dotted around the map, though one of the earliest ones will be during the Evacuation Procedures main quest. This will be in the Evac Building in the Central region. After entering through the entrance, you can check the receptionist desk for a terminal that seems still active.

In fact, someone else from the FBC seems to be on the line and wishes protagonist Dylan to share more details about the situation. Simply put, you must answer three questions correctly, each of which concerns the current state of affairs surrounding the Hiss situation.

This includes the question of whether or not Dylan’s sister and FBC Director Jesse Faden is dead. Of course, interacting with the terminal and even answering this mysterious person’s questions is completely optional, but you will get rewards for it, so you might as well go ahead with it.

Since the person on the other end wants to keep things straightforward and simple, you will only have to choose from Yes, No, or I don’t know. Let’s dive into each question and its correct answers below:

1. We’re told the lockdown was because of the Hiss. Is this true? Answer: Yes
2. We’ve been told about Director Faden’s active status. Is she actually still alive? Answer: Yes
3. Essentially all of the FBC’s pre-lockdown leadership has died or disappeared. Has there been a coup? Answer: No

If you have played the original game (or watched the in-game Recap) or are just paying attention to Control Resonant’s story so far, the correct answers will be quite obvious. The whole reason the first game occurred to begin with was Director Trench’s meddling with the Slide Projector, an altered object, which caused the Hiss invasion inside the Oldest House; this explains the first answer.

From what we have seen so far in Control Resonant, Jesse is obviously alive, as she is trying to establish a connection with Dylan via means of Faults throughout the game, so the second answer is a “Yes” as well. Lastly, there was no coup during or before the lockdown in Control, so being truthful with a “No” makes sense as well.

Completing this questionnaire will net you 1 Aberrant Silver, 1 Quiet Echo, and 200 Source. Note that this activity also counts as a World Feat, so completionists or just players who want all upgrades will not want to miss out on this one.

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