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UEFA set for emergency meeting on FIFA World Cup proposal

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Several media outlets reported on Thursday that UEFA had called an afternoon meeting of its 55 members to discuss a response to FIFA’s plans to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion (roughly €17.5 billion) and sell a non-controlling minority stake of it to investors.

UEFA, European football’s governing body, came out publicly in opposition to the plan within an hour of it first being reported by the Financial Times and Times on Monday.

Shortly after the newspaper reports, FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, issued a statement in which it confirmed the plan. In a later statement, it gave FIFA’s 211 member associations until September 19 to express their written support for the scheme. The proposal requires  a simple majority and approval from the FIFA Council to pass. 

UEFA doubled down on its criticism after learning of the deadline, saying: “Today we have learned of FIFA’s deadline to associations to support their proposals or have the one-off payout offer withdrawn. This says everything ​you need to know about this plan.

Aleksander Ceferin
Aleksander Ceferin’s UEFA has been at loggerheads with FIFA for some timeImage: Mike Egerton/PA/picture alliance

 It added that talks with many stakeholders showed that “there is significant and growing opposition to FIFA’s scheme. FIFA cannot to use our sport to enrich themselves and their friends.”

DFB: FIFA plan ‘problematic and unacceptable’

Germany’s mass-circulation Bild paper reported that key UEFA officials including German FA (DFB) President Bernd Neuendorf had already discussed the FIFA plans via a video call on Wednesday.

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“We must not lose the fans’ support, but we are well on the way to squandering that,” he told public broadcaster ZDF afterwards. “I consider this to be extremely problematic and unacceptable,” he added.

“If UEFA rejects this request (for approval of the plan), then it is dead, because I believe that you won’t be able to find any investor who would be willing to go ahead with this project if UEFA is out.”

Bernd Neuendorf
Bernd Neuendorf can’t see the FIFA plan going forward without UEFA on boardImage: Ulrich Wagner/picture alliance

Other critics have expressed fears that the deal could lead to more tournaments, teams and matches to increase revenue and boost the value of investors’ stakes.

UEFA hasn’t been the only confederation to criticize the report. CONCACAF, responsible for North and Central America, as well as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have also expressed concerns that the proposal was made public without their consultation while the African confederation (CAF) have said they will discuss the plans next week. Members of the FIFA Council, including Neuendorf, have said they were not consulted on the latest proposal.

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FIFA: Subsidiary could raise billions ‘this year’

FIFA has said the new subsidiary, to be known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) would be valued at $20 billion and that it would aim to raise up to $4.2 billion “this year” by “carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests” in the company. FFE would be responsible for FIFA’s commercial rights like broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing contracts. By far the most valuable of these are those linked to the World Cup,

Under the ​plan, FIFA said it could make $10 billion available for development beginning in 2027. Each federation would be eligible for up to $20 ​million in one-time Fast Forward funding, in addition to $20 million through the regular FIFA Forward program during the 2027-30 ⁠cycle. Without ​approval, FIFA projects a development package of about $2.7 billion.

Infantino: ‘A golden opportunity’

In face of the opposition, FIFA President Gianni Infantino released a video on Wednesday evening, describing the project a “golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally.”

He added that the proposal was “part of a democratic process” and in comments directed to football fans, he stressed that “the sport they watch and love will not change.”

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Edited by: Matt Pearson

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KO artist who fought Canelo sets his sights on Chris Eubank Jr

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31 July 2026

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Chris Eubank Jr has not fought since his underwhelming rematch with Conor Benn, but the 36-year-old is now being targeted by a fierce knockout artist, who is willing to travel to London for the opportunity to face him.

Eubank scored an iconic win over Benn last April but when they rematched seven months later, he felt the full effects of a brutal weight cut, narrowly avoiding a stoppage defeat as he survived until the final bell on unsteady legs only to lose a wide unanimous decision.

Since then, the Hove-born contender has been advised to move up in weight and return to the super-middleweight scene, but he has also been linked to a catchweight clash with Michael Zerafa in Australia – a bout which would take place at 164lbs.

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New York’s Edgar Berlanga has now thrown his hat into the ring though, after revealing on ‘The Last Stand’ podcast about his intentions to face Eubank before the end of the year.

“I would love to step into the ring to end the year with Chris Eubank Jr. I feel like that fight is going to be a big fight in London.

“I told Keith [Connolly], I said that I would rather not do it out here in America. I would rather go to London, where he is from [U.K.], you know what I am saying? We can make a big, big fight happen. He is on the radar.”

Berlanga’s most high profile fight came back in 2024 when he challenged Canelo Alvarez for his unified super-middleweight crown, suffering a unanimous decision defeat, one of two losses in his career after also coming up short against Hamzah Sheeraz.

He has since signed with Zuffa Boxing and in his debut with the company on Sunday he knocked Steven Butler out after seven rounds, recovering from a second-round knockdown to earn the 19th stoppage victory of his career.

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In an interview with The Ring, Berlanga has now doubled down on his call-out of Eubank, hoping he can convince the Briton to swerve the Zerafa fight in favour of a clash on home soil.

“I’m looking forward to getting a real big fight with Chris Eubank. Let’s do it in London. It’s going to be big.”

Eubank maintains that he is currently a free agent, but it is unclear whether he is still contracted to Boxxer, with promoter Ben Shalom appearing to believe that their deal has not expired.

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Danhausen Names His Price For Major “Uncurse”

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24 minutes ago

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31 July 2026

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Danhausen has named his price for yet another major uncursing. He has shockingly asked for ten million dollars and that is something that he has never done before.

The Very Nice Very Evil star has been on the lips of all sports fans ever since he helped the New York Knicks win the NBA title in June. The Knicks had not won the NBA championship in 53 years and only did so after he lifted their curse.

He has since become a household name and has also appeared on a lot of sports channels where they spoke about his powers. Danhausen will be taking on Dominik Mysterio at SummerSlam which will be held in Minnesota.

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He was posing for pictures with the fans when a fan asked him what would it take for him to uncurse the Minnesota Vikings, who have never won the NFL Championship. He jokingly said that it would take ten million dollars for him to uncurse the Vikings.

Danhausen makes bizarre request to the New York Knicks

The name Danhausen has been etched in the history of the New York Knicks. Ever since they won the NBA title, thanks to their curse being lifted, he has been praised by many of the Knicks players themselves.

After they won the title, the former AEW star made a bizarre request to the New York Knicks. He asked for a one day contract with the franchise so he can play and retire as a world champion. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, after the historic championship win, the former AEW star wrote:

“Danhausen is requesting a one day contract with The KNICKSHAUSEN so he may retire from basketball’s as a champion of the world”

It is the off season right now and there is not a lot of movement. However, given the kind of coverage and sensation the team has received from the WWE star, it should come as no surprise if they decide to adhere to the request and give him a one day contract.

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