By Michael Smith

Fifa is offering assurances to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani that fans may bring water into World Cup stadiums — within certain rules.

Mamdani raised concerns Thursday about reports that Fifa had banned fans from bringing bottles of water to World Cup matches, demanding answers from Fifa. 

On Friday, one of Fifa’s top executives, World Cup 2026 Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi, paused during a tour of his tournament operations center in Miami to try to provide some answers. He turned his attention to three water bottles that had been pre-positioned on a desk to his left, television cameras rolling.

“First, what we meant to do when we changed the policy was to avoid these type of containers into a stadium, you know, which can be really dangerous if they’re thrown,” said Schirgi, holding up one metal and one hard plastic reusable bottle. “But, if you show up to the stadium with this,” he said, grasping a filled, 500 ml disposable bottle of water. “You will be allowed to bring this in.”

He said up to 20-ounce sealed bottles of water would be allowed at all matches in US and Canadian stadiums once the World Cup begins in a week. There are still some legal issues to deal with in Mexico before such a policy can be implemented, he said, without going into details.

The confusion came out of a revised version of Fifa’s 35-page Stadium Code of Conduct, which states that reusable water bottles would not be allowed in stadiums because they can be thrown by fans. Previous rules allowed fans to bring empty reusable plastic bottles to matches.

In New York, Mamdani, a notorious soccer fan (his favorite team is Arsenal), reacted quickly to the water rule change, saying he would check into it with Fifa, The Athletic reported.

“We don’t want anyone to be skimping on water because of the cost of the water at the stadium that otherwise they would be drinking,” Mamdani said in a video interview. “We want to make it easy,” he said, pausing to take a sip from a glass of water, “to drink some water.”

Worries about how the high heat of the North American summer in cities like Miami will impact players led Fifa to mandate water breaks during games. The global union professional football players union — FIFPRO — recommends postponing play if temperature levels climb too high. Fifa also said it’s taking precautions like providing drinks, cold towels and shade to meet teams’ needs on match days.

Schirgi said those concerns also include taking steps to protect fans from high heat. 

“You know, the health and safety of our spectators is our foremost objective,” he said. 

Sam Burns will start the final round of the 2026 Memorial Tournament with an outside chance for a comeback victory. But his task would be far easier had he not thrown away two shots with a crooked number early Sunday morning.

The culprit? One of the many trees that border the fairways at Muirfield Village. That tree burned Burns not once, but twice in a row in Round 3 to threaten his chances of winning on Sunday.

Sam Burns hits tree with two straight shots at 2026 Memorial

Round 3 play was suspended Saturday night after storms caused havoc all day. Burns was among the majority of the field that needed to return Sunday morning to finish the third round before getting on to Round 4.

When Burns arrived at Muirfield’s par-5 11th hole early Sunday, he was one under on the round and seven under for the tournament.

At the time, just a couple shots separated the U.S. Ryder Cup team member from J.T. Poston’s lead.

Things started going awry quickly at 11, when Burns lost his tee shot to the right. It ended up in deep rough, with a tree located directly in front of him some 10 yards away.

Burns pulled a long iron and planned to hit a strong punch to advance his ball up the fairway, giving him a shot at the green with his third. He planned to send his ball just to the left of the tree’s trunk, and just under one of its overhanging branches.

But his first attempt did not go to plan. His ball instead slammed directly into the tree, bouncing backward and coming to rest not far from its starting place.

Microphones overheard Burns registering his shock that the ball came out so high. Still, with a better punch on try No. 2, he could reach the green in 4 and potentially save par.

But when Burns reeled back and swung for the second time, his ball caught the same tree again. This time it only clipped the branch then continued forward… directly into the creek bisecting the 11th fairway.

Members of Iran’s World Cup soccer team have been granted visas to the United States, two U.S. officials said, clearing them to enter the United States from their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, ahead of their first two matches near Los Angeles this month.

The team’s participation in the World Cup has been complicated by Iran’s war with Israel and the United States. Problems with processing visas had earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, on Mexico’s border with California.

One US official said all players on the Iranian team were approved for visas and were in the process of receiving them. A second official said visas had been issued for players, coaches, trainers and some support staff. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the visas publicly.

The second official could not say if any Iranian applicants had been denied. It was not immediately clear when the Iranian team’s passports would be returned to them to allow them to travel, but the official said it could be as early as Friday or Saturday.

The squad has been preparing for the World Cup at a training camp in Antalya, Turkey, before departing for Tijuana. The team said it has already received visas from Mexico’s embassy in Ankara.

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack credited the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for processing visas for the Iranian team. “Sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world,” Barrack wrote in a social media post Friday.

Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium six days later, then heads to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams place second in their groups.

President Donald Trump in March had discouraged Iran from participating in the tournament, saying he didn’t think it was “appropriate” and raising concerns over players’ “life and safety.” 
A day later, Iran’s national team pushed back, saying “no one can exclude” it from playing.

Iran finalized its team Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs have not played since February because of the war. Star forward Sardar Azmoun was dropped in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the war.

Iran’s sports minister said in March that it would “not be possible” for the team to participate in the World Cup, but the republic’s soccer federation said in May it was moving ahead with a team.

The federation had insisted that all players and staff be granted visas, including those who had military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Twenty-three-time grand slam singles champion Serena Williams is liberating herself of any expectations as she prepares to make her comeback at the HSBC Championships in London.

The 44-year-old has been given a wild card for the women’s doubles to play alongside 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko at the Queen’s Club, marking her first competitive tennis since a farewell at the 2022 US Open.

Williams said her decision to pick up a racket again boiled down to a simple “Why not?”, and while Mboko feels her partner is “hitting great”, the American insists she is not focused on any outcomes.

“I don’t need to win,” said Williams. “I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives, so it’s not that important to me, and it’s important that I keep reminding myself of that, because I don’t have anything to prove.

“I don’t have anything to lose, and everything here is just to gain.”

Williams never directly used the word retirement, but Monday’s comeback confirmation still came as a shock after the mother-of-two had, to use her preferred terminology at the time, made the decision to “evolve away” from tennis.

Speaking after she and Mboko trained on the Queen’s Club grass, Williams said: “This whole journey is like, I’m putting no pressure on myself.

“For me right now, it’s really just about so many elements. It’s really about my kids getting to see me play. Olympia is a little bit older, Adira is very young.

“An athlete is the best thing that you can be in the highest place, and having an opportunity to still be able to do that, possibly one last time, is kind of cool and exciting.”

The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, who spent 319 weeks as the WTA number one at the peak of her career, and claimed 39 major titles, has not exactly ruled out a return to singles, but suggested it was not imminent.

“I can’t say no right now,” she said. “I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles, and we will see if I get there, and if not… that’s not my journey right now.”

Williams, who shares her two daughters with Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, revealed as recently as December that she believed she “definitely was not” returning to tennis, but, after some conversations, thought: “Well, why not? For lack of a better explanation.

“It’s summer, the kids aren’t in school, so it’s a perfect time to get out there, have fun, and see what happens.”

In Mboko, Williams saw something, she said, “that reminded me a lot of myself” in her attitude, resilience, and drive. After making the “pretty 11th-hour commitment” to Queen’s, she reached out to the Canadian via text message. 

Mboko said: “She’s hitting great. She has such clean ball striking, she could probably take years off, and when she steps on the court she could probably find that rhythm again and find her timing. So I think that’s really a god-given gift that she has.

“I personally think she’s ready to go. I’m hitting with her, she’s hitting pretty big and she’s really fit, so we’ll see.”

Current Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez is expected to get re-elected and win today’s election with around 65% of the votes, according to exit polls published on both MARCA and AS. Mail-in votes are not considered in those exit polls and Pérez is likely to increase his lead there, per sources.

The official result of today’s election will likely be announced tonight at around 10pm local time.

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Real Madrid published the following announcement on its website earlier today.
The Real Madrid Electoral Board announces that, as of 5:00 pm, a total of 23,593 members have voted in the elections for Real Madrid President and Board of Directors, which are taking place at the Basketball Pavilion of Ciudad Real Madrid. This figure represents a 31.37% turnout. The polling stations will remain open continuously until 8:00 pm.

Nigerian forward Inemesit Sunday has signed for Rwanda Premier League club Gorilla FC on a two-year contract ahead of the new season.

The forward, who has previously played for Musanze FC and AS Kigali, joins Gorilla FC as the club looks to strengthen its attack.

Inemesit had a strong spell last season with AS Kigali, scoring 8 goals in 11 matches. His good form helped him gain more attention in the Rwandan top league.

Gorilla FC are expecting the Nigerian striker to bring more goals and consistency as they prepare for a better campaign. Last season, the club reached the semifinals of the Peace Cup, where they were knocked out by Rayon Sports, and they now hope to go further this time with added attacking strength.

The forward has also played for several clubs in Nigeria, including ALGON Boys FC, Akwa United FC, Rangers International, Dakkada FC, and Ibom Youths FC.

On social media, Inemesit said farewell to AS Kigali, thanking the club for their support during his short stay. He described his time there as one filled with love, teamwork, and family spirit, and wished them well as he moved on to a new challenge.

He wrote “It’s hard to say goodbye to the family that showed up when i needed someone, not only showing up but took me in as family. 5 months of love, happiness, fighting together. I want to say thank you AS KIGALI for the love and God bless you guys. We move forward.”

Manav Suthar (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Manav Suthar could hardly have asked for a better start to his Test career. The left-arm spinner marked his debut with three wickets on Day 2 against Afghanistan, earning praise from legendary India captain and batting great Sunil Gavaskar.Suthar struck in his very first over in Test cricket, dismissing Abdul Malik to enter an elite list of Indian bowlers who have taken a wicket in their opening over on debut. He finished the day with figures of 3/34, removing Abdul Malik, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Afsar Zazai as Afghanistan closed on 113/5, still trailing India by 451 runs.Impressed by the youngster’s all-round display, Gavaskar highlighted not only Suthar’s bowling but also the composure he showed with the bat.“Manav Suthar has certainly made an impressive start to his Test career. What stood out was not just his bowling, but also the confidence he showed with the bat, particularly in the way he used his feet and looked comfortable at the crease,” Gavaskar while speaking on JioStar’s ‘Cricket Live’ said.“With the ball, he was extremely accurate and consistently put the batters under pressure. There was some assistance available from the surface, which he utilised well, but the real test for any spinner comes on flatter pitches where greater variety and adaptability are required.”While urging caution over judging a spinner solely on a helpful surface, Gavaskar felt Suthar had shown enough promise to suggest he can succeed at the highest level.“Having said that, this was a highly encouraging debut and he has shown the attributes to be a strong contender at the Test level going forward,” he added.Suthar’s selection was backed by a strong domestic record. The Rajasthan all-rounder has claimed 129 wickets in 29 first-class matches at an average of 25.76, including best figures of 8/33. His red-ball résumé also features six five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket match hauls.The 23-year-old has also contributed with the bat, scoring 945 runs in 48 first-class innings at an average of 25.54, including a century and six fifties, with a highest score of 120.Earlier this year, Suthar represented Gujarat Titans in the IPL, picking up two wickets in four matches.

The U.S. men’s national team may not have won their friendly World Cup tune-up against Germany on Saturday but Antonee Robinson provided a goal that will definitely get any American fan hyped for what’s potentially to come.

The U.S. trailed 1-0 as the match entered the 37th minute. A corner kick was deflected off a German defender’s head and outside of the box where Robinson was waiting for a rocket shot on goal. He blasted the ball past Oliver Baumann to tie the match at one apiece.

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United States defenders Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream celebrate after Robinson scored a goal during the first half of an international friendly soccer match against Germany in Chicago on June 6, 2026. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

It was Robinson’s fifth international goal for the U.S. and his first this year. He hadn’t scored while playing for the U.S. since 2023.

“Sick. I mean, it’s a sick goal,” Christian Pulisic said after the match.

Robinson said he had never scored a goal like that in a competitive game.

“Going into a World Cup it means a lot to have that kind of in my mind that I’ve scored something like that and a bit of freedom to shoot again if I’m in that position,” he said.

United States defender Antonee Robinson scores against Germany during the first half of an international friendly soccer match in Chicago on June 6, 2026. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

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Germany won the match 2-1.

Despite losing their ninth straight game against a European squad, the Americans felt confident going into the World Cup.

“I mean against a really good team, I thought we were dangerous at times,” Pulisic said. “We had good stretches of possession, defended well for good portions of it. And, yeah, I mean honestly, I think, we’re feeling good.”

Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring the second goal for the United States during an international friendly match against Senegal at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 31, 2026. (Omar Vega/USSF/Getty Images)

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The U.S. World Cup slate gets underway on Friday against Paraguay.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report