Blog

 June 11 – Hours before the World Cup kickoff, the boost to travel and tourism expected from this year’s biggest sporting event has yet to materialize.

For years, the tournament was expected to deliver ​a windfall for America’s travel industry, now grappling with declining international visitors amid what rights groups describe as a climate of fear.

The swarms of fans hotels had counted on are ‌yet to arrive, forcing many to cut rates. Flight bookings have slumped as ticket prices have skyrocketed. Expensive match tickets have further stymied demand, and industry analysts say excitement has been muted compared with past World Cups.

The weak start suggests the traditional World Cup travel playbook – typically dependent on international fans willing to travel long distances and spend heavily to follow their teams – is faltering. Instead, the costs, visa hurdles and the logistics of attending matches across 16 host cities in three countries ​have proved a deterrent.

U.S. travelers, in a country where soccer is less popular than in Europe, are not filling the gap.

It is “overall a disappointment. There’s no other word that I can say,” ​said Vijay Dandapani, CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City. The association has cut its forecast for hotel room revenue tied to the World ⁠Cup by 60% to roughly $60 million, he said.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

LAST MINUTE DEMAND YET TO MATERIALIZE

Flight bookings from Europe into most host cities for ​June and July are down 3.8% on average year-over-year, according to Cirium, even after Europeans had already pulled back from travel to the U.S. last year. Bookings from Europe into New York, host of the July 19 ​final, have plunged 15.8%, Cirium said.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

FIFA had projected 1.2 million fans would descend on the city, but Dandapani said the New York hotel association is only expecting half a million.

Dandapani said there has been a small uptick in bookings from U.K. and Norway fans recently, which he called a “positive sign.”

Hotels are hoping for a last-minute surge after the group stage concludes, after discouraging early data. Average bookings across host cities are up just 0.5% from a year earlier, according to analytics ​firm CoStar.

June 11 – Italy will begin their Billie Jean King Cup title defence against hosts China, while second seeds Britain will face the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals which are set to be played in Shenzhen in September.

• Third seeds Ukraine and Belgium will also face off in the quarter-finals, and the winner will face either Italy or China in the semifinals.

• Kazakhstan will take on fourth seeds Spain in the other quarter-final.
• Each tie will have two singles and a doubles match as best-of-three tiebreak sets.

• The quarter-finals will kick off on September 22, with the final set for five days later at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena.

Australia, almost like a ritual, will head into the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup as firm favourites, but India’s recent rise and England’s ​unblemished home record mean the behemoths of women’s cricket cannot take ‌a seventh title for granted.

After devastating semifinal defeats at both the 2024 T20 World Cup and last year’s 50-over tournament, Sophie Molineux and her teammates are hungry to reclaim their ​global supremacy.

“Australia has an amazing history in World Cups and that is ​something we don’t forget, but it also motivates us to keep ⁠evolving rather than relying on what has been done before,” Molineux said in ​the build-up to the showpiece.

Their biggest threat could be reigning 50-over world champions ​India. Bolstered by the high-octane Women’s Premier League, the Indian squad under Harmanpreet Kaur is now more accustomed to playing under intense pressure and in front of massive crowds than arguably ​anyone else.

Meanwhile, hosts England enter with supreme confidence after sealing a big ​series win against India in the build-up. Crucially, England has history on its side having never ‌lost ⁠a World Cup when playing as the tournament hosts.

South Africa, having agonisingly lost three consecutive world finals, face a tough task navigating the “group of death.” But they remain formidable, reinforced by speedster Shabnim Ismail reversing her retirement to share the ​new ball with ​Marizanne Kapp under ⁠their exceptional captain, Laura Wolvaardt.

Defending champions New Zealand will look to replicate their memorable 2024 triumph, though the White Ferns’ ​fate will hinge heavily on their “big three” of Suzie Bates, ​Sophie Devine ⁠and Lea Tahuhu, who are all playing in their final international tournament.

The tournament, beginning with an England vs Sri Lanka contest in Birmingham on Friday, features 12 ⁠teams split ​into two groups of six. The top two ​teams from each group will progress to the semifinals before the ultimate champion is crowned at ​Lord’s on July 5.

Morocco have been hit by the loss of two starters to injury, with Nayef Aguerd and Abde Ezzalzouli replaced in their World Cup squad.

Saudi-based defender Marwane Saadane and striker Amine Sbai have been added as replacements, the Moroccan federation and FIFA confirmed.

Aguerd, 30, has not played since the start of March because of a groin injury, which required surgery. His recovery stalled in April when it was discovered that he had a fracture of his pubic bone.

Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahabi kept up hope Aguerd would recover in time, but decided on Thursday that he would not be ready for this month’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The 24-year-old Ezzalzouli was hurt in a freak incident in the weekend’s friendly against Norway in Harrison, New Jersey.

As Morocco defended a corner kick, teammate Chadi Riad landed awkwardly on Ezzalzouli’s right knee. Ezzalzouli attempted to continue playing, but soon had to be taken off.

Both Aguerd and Ezzalzouli were in the Morocco squad that reached the semi-final of the last World Cup in Qatar, and also the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in January.

Aguerd, however, was also injured at the last World Cup in the last-16 tie against Spain and missed their three subsequent games at the tournament.

Saadane, 34, debuted for Morocco in 2015 but has been an infrequent squad member since, while 25-year-old Sbai, who plays primarily on the left wing, won a first cap earlier this month in a World Cup warm-up friendly against Burundi.

Both Saadane and Sbai were taken to the U.S as cover and have been training with the squad. Saadane featured in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Norway as a second half replacement while Sbai was listed among the substitutes.

Morocco open their Group C campaign at the World Cup against Brazil at the New York/New Jersey Stadium on Saturday.

June 11 : Scotland and Haiti cannot afford to start their World Cup campaigns gently when they meet on Saturday with both teams in need of a quick win in their tournament opener ahead of tougher opposition in the next two games.

Five-time world champions Brazil and Morocco – who defeated Spain and Portugal en route to the semi-finals in 2022 – are also in Group C, putting pressure on Les Grenadiers under French coach Sebastien Migne and Steve Clarke’s Scotland to take all three points at the Boston Stadium.

Neither country has ever reached the knockout phase of a World Cup: Haiti lost their three group games at their only previous appearance in 1974 while Scotland have fallen at the first hurdle in all eight of theirs.

But the enlargement of the competition and the introduction this year of the round of 32 will make it easier than ever to advance, and a total of three points from the group stage plus a respectable goal difference are likely to be enough.

Both teams head to Boston with confidence. 

GOOD WARM-UPS

Scotland scored eight goals in two warm-up games against Curacao and Bolivia, conceding only once.

Clarke – leading the Scots to their first World Cup since 1998 – said he was facing “fantastic problems” selecting his starting 11 with several players hitting form. 

Lawrence Shankland, newly signed by Glasgow giants Rangers, scored three goals in the two recent friendlies, while Torino forward Che Adams got a brace against Bolivia.

Scotland midfielder Ryan Christie told the BBC that no one was complacent about Haiti – ranked 83rd by FIFA – “but it gives us the chance to get off to a good start. You probably look at the group and that’s the easiest on paper.”

Haiti – bolstered by the inclusion of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Wilson Isidor, who both have English Premier League experience – thrashed New Zealand 4-0 before conceding two late goals to lose 2-1 to Peru in their pre-World Cup matches.

The Caribbean islanders, who played their home World Cup qualifying matches abroad due to gang warfare in Haiti, rely on foreign-based players with the sole exception of midfielder Woodensky Pierre. Migne, the coach, has not set foot in Haiti.

While Scotland can count on their raucous Tartan Army of travelling fans, Haiti are also likely to be roared on in Boston, home to the third-biggest Haitian community in the U.S.

For the first time in FIFA World Cup history there won’t just be one opening ceremony taking place before the kick-off of the opening match – there’ll be three.

The first will take place on June 11 at 5.30pm GMT at Mexico City Stadium, officially known as Banorte Stadium, followed by the first of three opening matches. 

The following day on June 12, two more opening ceremonies will start simultaneously – one at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, and the other at BMO Field, Toronto.

“Starting with Mexico City and continuing the next days with Toronto and Los Angeles, these ceremonies will bring together music, culture and football in a way that reflects both the individuality of each nation and the unity that defines this tournament,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino

This year’s opening ceremonies have also incorporated more interactive elements for fans at the stadiums.

FIFA said there will be a 360-degree immersive concept, with extra-large country flags and on-pitch elements designed to involve the crowd. The starting teams and substitutes will step into a centre circle banner for their national anthems.

Ceremonies start 90 minutes before kick-offs, similar to Qatar in 2022

All three countries will start their opening ceremonies about 90 minutes before the kick-off for the opening matches.

This follows a similar pattern to previous World Cup events, except for when Russia hosted in 2018 when kick-off occurred directly after the opening ceremony ended.

The duration of this year’s trilogy of opening ceremonies is not yet known.

Comparing headliners throughout the years

Even with the trilogy of ceremonies, the number of headliners per ceremony is larger than previous years. The last time there was a celebration with a similar number of headliners was in 2010 when South Africa held a Kick-Off Celebration Concert the evening before the opening match.

Also, it’s not always singers who feature in the lineup. Morgan Freeman was a key act at the 2022 Qatar opening, when he used his familiar voice to narrate the opening segment alongside Qatari entrepreneur Ghanim Al-Muftah.

The organising committee for the next Winter Games asked the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday not only to include ski mountaineering in the programme, but also to expand it to feature individual men’s and women’s events.

Skimo made its Olympic debut at Milano Cortina with the individual sprint and the mixed relay. Despite the biting cold and heavy snow, the sport received a warm reception wth scores of fans turning up at the Stelvio Ski Centre. In its maiden appearance at the Games, France finished on the podium in all three events, taking the bronze in the men’s sprint, silver in the women’s sprint and the title in the mixed relay. Edgar Grospiron, who heads the French Alps 2030 organising committee, wants the sport to make a comeback. 

“Ski mountaineering is an integral part of our vision for the Games. It’s a sport that’s gaining momentum and showcases another, wilder side of the mountains,” the committee president and former moguls skier explained to French newspaper L’Équipe.

Grospiron stressed the added value of the sport, which is a popular pastime across the Alpine nations, allowing participants to push their endurance by combining uphill skiing with skins and a downhill descent in wild areas far from groomed pistes.

“We want three events, including the individual, which is the flagship event with 1,000 meters of vertical gain and requires both endurance and technical skill,” he explained. The current Olympic format for the sprint tops out at 140 meters in the mixed relay.

The former Olympic champion furthered that the ski mountaineering events will take place in the Southern Alps in the Briançonnais region. The venue could be shared with another discipline, such as freeride, which is expected to be proposed to the IOC during the executive board meeting later this month or freestyle skiing in Serre Chevalier.

One proposed sport has already been rejected for the 2030 programme, ice climbing. The sport has been campaigning for its inclusion for over a decade, and the International Federation of Climbing and Mountaineering and the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs published the French Alps committee’s response in a statement released last week.

“This decision should in no way be interpreted as a judgment on the quality of the application submitted by your federation. On the contrary, your application has demonstrated numerous strengths, notably the strong link between this sport and the mountain environment, its growing international reach, and your community’s commitment to the development of the discipline.”

Several sports remain on hold, but may be under consideration for demonstrations, including telemark skiing and snow polo. Established sport Nordic combined, which has been firmly on the programme since the first Winter Games in Chamonix, is also awaiting its fate.

The decision, announced by World Sailing, applies to athletes in the under-23 category and also covers those representing Belarus, following the line of other governing bodies that have chosen to normalise relations with both IOC-sanctioned nations.

The Council of the international federation authorised young Russian athletes to take part in international competitions under their national flag and the country’s anthem, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Russian Sailing Federation. “This is a very important step forward,” stated RSF President Sergey Dzhiyenbayev. “It is particularly satisfying that the restrictions on young people have been lifted: the new generation of Russian sailors now has the opportunity to compete internationally without additional obstacles.”

In remarks collected by national news agency TASS, he added, “We also welcome the return of Belarusian athletes to full participation on the international stage. The RSF, with the support of the Russian Olympic Committee, will continue working towards the complete reinstatement of Russian sailing within the international arena.”

World Sailing, previously known as the International Yacht Racing Union and later as the International Sailing Federation, suspended Russia and Belarus from international competitions on 1 March 2022, citing the war with Ukraine. However, in July 2025 the federation allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in World Sailing events with neutral status.

On 28 February 2022, the International Olympic Committee issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from international tournaments, after the former’s invasion of Ukraine with the later’s backing. Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, most global sports federations opted to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in international competitions.

In December 2025, the IOC Executive Board issued recommendations permitting athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in youth disciplines under their national flags and anthems. The guidance applied to both individual and team sports, and numerous international federations adopted the proposal.

Afterwards, some international sports federations went further, choosing to lift previous restrictions not only for youth athletes but across a wider range of competitors from Russia and Belarus at different levels. Just last week, Russian Aquatics Federation President Dmitry Mazepin stated that Russian sports federations must combat the geopolitical isolation of their competitors using every possible means: legal, diplomatic and otherwise. “Both the Russian national sports federations and the Russian Olympic Committee are using these tools,” Mazepin told TASS.

Senior politicians in Saint Petersburg also recently affirmed that diplomatic efforts are currently underway to enable their athletes to take part under their national flag and anthem at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A leading soccer referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the United States for the World Cup tournament was warmly received by a crowd of supporters and officials on Wednesday as he arrived home.

Omar Artan, who was named as Africa’s best male referee in 2025., said he plans to be at the next World Cup and urged Somali youth to be proud of their country.

Artan was set to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament.

He was denied entry to the U.S. at Miami International Airport on Saturday over unspecified “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement, without giving details of the concerns. FIFA subsequently cut him from the tournament’s referee list.

Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya, which processed it. The U.S. is co-hosting the tournament with Mexico and Canada, and Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

Arriving in the capital, Mogadishu, he thanked the Somali government and public as well as FIFA for their support.

“I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he said as hundreds of supporters at the airport waved Somali flags. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”

Later on Wednesday, thousands of soccer fans packed the stadium in Mogadishu for a welcome ceremony for Artan, with patriotic songs echoing through the arena as supporters waved the nation’s flag and cheered him on.

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre also hosted Artan, writing in a post on X that the referee had “already won the hearts of millions and secured his place in history.”

“He devoted himself to ensuring that football was decided by merit, yet fate denied him the stage he so richly deserved,” Barre said.

The U.S.’s highly unusual move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country drew outrage across the world and raised questions among some fans about America’s capacity to host the competition.

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subject to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

On Wednesday, the United Nations’ top human rights official called for a “massive rethink” of immigration policies especially in the United States around the World Cup.

Hundreds of supporters, government officials and members of Somalia’s football community gathered hours before Artan arrived at Aden Adde International Airport.

As he disembarked, supporters waving Somali flags crowded around him before draping him in the flag.

He was then escorted by police officers to the airport’s VIP terminal, where he was welcomed by Somalia’s sports minister and other dignitaries, and spoke to journalists.

“It is up to all of us to defend the Somali name,” Artan said. “Somalia belongs to us, whether it is in a bad state or a good state. That flag belongs to us, and that passport belongs to us.”

In a country where decades of war and the rise of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group have limited the potential of many in Somalia, Artan’s denial brought disappointment but reminded people what is possible if they chase their dreams.

Artan’s expected milestone at this year’s World Cup “stands no matter what,” the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — from neighboring Ethiopia — wrote Tuesday on X. “You reached the summit of your profession and inspired a generation back home just by getting there, and being kept off the pitch you earned doesn’t change that.”

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Shohei Ohtani doesn’t like to get in the way of his catchers.

The way the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar looks at it, when he’s on the mound, his job is to throw the ball. It’s up to the guys behind the plate to decide whether to challenge an umpire’s call of a ball or a strike.

That deference might have cost Ohtani and the Dodgers in a stunning 9-8 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles was cruising when Ohtani went out for the seventh inning for just the third time this season. The Dodgers led by five thanks to Ryan Ward’s first career grand slam, and Ohtani seemed poised to win his fifth straight start.

Then things unraveled, a rarity for the two-time defending world champions and the greatest player in the game.

Pirates rookie Tyler Callihan singled. Jake Mangum reached on a swinging bunt. Still, Ohtani and the blister on his right hand that is temporarily limiting the number of split-fingered fastballs he throws felt like he was in pretty good shape when Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe stepped to the plate.

Ohtani quickly fell behind 3-0, with the first and third pitches borderline calls on 98 mph fastballs that home plate umpire Felix Neon ruled balls. Catcher Dalton Rushing didn’t challenge, and with just one challenge remaining, Ohtani decided it probably wasn’t worth the risk.

Lowe quickly made Ohtani pay, turning on a fastball down the middle for a two-run double that ended Ohtani’s night (on the mound anyway) and set the stage for a five-run rally against the Dodger bullpen in the eighth that gave the Pirates perhaps their most unlikely win of the season.

Ohtani, who allowed season highs in hits (six), runs (four) and earned runs (three), couldn’t help but think afterward that he should have tapped the top of his cap earlier in the at-bat so the ABS system could take a look.

“I usually let the catchers make that determination,” he said. “But looking back, I think situationally, how important it was that at-bat, looking back I think I could have done a few challenges.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called challenging pitches an “inexact science” and, like Ohtani, is fine leaving it in the hands of the players with the best view in the stadium. And, if the umpire’s call was confirmed, it meant Los Angeles would be out of challenges heading into the final innings.

Besides, how often does Ohtani and the Los Angeles bullpen blow a five-run lead? Not often. Even after Lowe’s double and an error by third baseman Max Muncy that allowed Lowe to score, the Dodgers were still up two heading into the eighth.

Los Angeles entered the night a tidy 36-3 when leading after seven. Callihan — who hit the first homer of his career earlier in the game with a 427-foot shot off Ohtani — gave the Pirates the lead with a three-run blast in the eighth. Spencer Horwitz then added a two-run homer to give Pittsburgh the kind of cushion it needed after Ohtani delivered a two-run home run of his own in the top of the ninth to cut the deficit to one.

“You’re not going to face too many guys like that,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “There’s one. It’s ridiculous what he’s able to do.”

Even if Ohtani showed small glimpses of vulnerability during his first-ever start at PNC Park. Ohtani acknowledged shaking off Rushing a few times, something he attributed to not working with the Los Angeles reserve catcher that often.

“It’s something you just have to have a conversation here and there and be on the same page,” Ohtani said.

The two could be working together more often in the near future after Roberts announced postgame that starter Will Smith is heading to the 10-day injured list with a neck injury.

Ohtani will have nearly a week off until his next scheduled turn in the rotation. Though the work never really stops. Roberts said the plan is for Ohtani to lead off as usual during Thursday’s series finale rather than give him a break after — statistically anyway — his toughest day on the hill this season.

That’s just the way Ohtani wants it.

“I’m always going to be prepared to play tomorrow,” he said.