🙌🙌 Happy Friday, Statesiders. The Almighty FIFA has announced that the 2030 World Cup will be hosted by a mashup of six countries from three continents. Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Morocco, Spain, and Portugal are co-hosting to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the event. Talk about a logistical puzzle that's giving us "The Amazing Race" vibes. Can't help but wonder if Phil Keoghan will be there to hand out the trophy at the grand finale (is he still the host?).

Listen, we can't guarantee you a jaw-dropping 100-year-old vintage jersey for our raffle next week, but hey, we can definitely hook you up with something from the past three decades. So keep spreading that referral link below like wildfire to your contact list and boost your odds of winning big time.

World Cup

World Tour 2030?

♟️ ⌛️ A Move in the Making. Almighty FIFA is no stranger to hosting their World Cup in multiple countries. It has already green lit the 2026 World Cup, the first to be hosted by 3 Nations (Canada, U.S., and Mexico). In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino noted about the selection process that they “will be working in clusters, making sure that the teams and the fans don’t have to travel too much in different areas: West, Central, and East.” The 2026 World Cup is expected to include 60 games to be played in the U.S., with Mexico and Canada each getting 10 matches.

📬️ 💌 🚪 UEFA, CAF, and CONMEBOL have entered the chat. Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay are set to open the Copa Mundial’s inaugural matches. Portugal and Spain will host matches within their cities on behalf of UEFA, while Morocco will be represent CAF. The finer details are yet to be confirmed, it appears that the Spanish capital Madrid and Morocco’s Casablanca are leading the charge to host the final. Morocco’s host selection comes after a remarkable performance in the 2022 World Cup. This will be the second time a CAF Nation has hosted the World Cup, with South Africa hosting the first in 2010.

🔢🍿 Hostess With the Mostest: What does it take to host a World Cup match? We’re glad you didn’t ask. According to FIFA, hosts are required to have at least fourteen all-seater stadiums with a capacity of 40,000. However the opening match and the final must take place in an 80,000-seat stadium, while the semi-finals must take place in a 60,000-seat stadium. Hosts must also have at least 72 suitable training site options for team base camps, four suitable venue-specific training site options per stadium. Additionally these stadiums must have two suitable referee base camp. FIFA has requirements set in place to regulate broadcasting sites and competition-related event sites. So think twice before you try to submit a host bid for your kid’s Sunday little league’s pitch.

UEFA

Champions League and Europa Review

Champions League:

😵‍💫😵‍💫 Paris, Ici C'est Un Problem. Mbappe is likely making some phone calls to Saudi Arabia to see if the $1B offer is still on the table. Newcastle had themselves a night as they beat the French giants 4-1 at home. It had been 20 years since Newcastle fans had heard that iconic Champions League anthem and the atmosphere was absolutely electric.

💥 Madrid 🤝Comeback. There’s something in the water in the city of Madrid. Atletico Madrid showed their fighting character as they put together a brave comeback to beat Feyenoord 3-2. Alvaro Morata is showing the best version of himself at the moment, scoring twice for Los Colchoneros.

🔄️🔄 ️Never Count Manchester City Out. RB Leipzig thought they had successfully held the defending champs to a 1-1 tie until Alvarez showed up with some late game heroics. ⚠️When Pep Guardiola says a player is one of the best he’s ever coached, we listen. It’s time to put 18 year old Rico Lewis on the radar for next best young player.

Best of Europa League:

▶ The Mac Allister brothers faced each other as Liverpool beat Belgian side Union Saint Gilloise 2-0.

▶ Bayern Leverkusen show no signs of stopping as they beat Norwegian side Molde FK 2-1. Xabi Alonso is coaching an unbeaten team in all competitions.

▶Lorenzo Pellegrino scores a beautiful volley to help Roma beat Swiss side Servette FC 4-0.

Beyond The Pitch

Tommy Lasso

💵💵 Or Wrexham 2.0? Tom Brady was announced as a minority investor in Birmingham City Football club over the Summer. Tommy will also be part of its Advisory board, where he looks to teach the lads a thing or two about nutrition. Willing to bet that as soon as this deal was announced, players of the club received overnight deliveries of Tommy's cookbook. Easy to see the influence of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and what they are doing at Wrexham. 

⤴️📈 Who's BFCF? Founded in 1875, Birmingham has been in the second tier of England soccer (EFL Championship) since 2011. Since then, they have been creeping towards the bottom of the table, getting dangerously close to relegation. In comes Tommy and his Private Equity buddies to save the day. Some serious money has been flowing into lower tier England soccer teams, all looking to reach glory by promoting into the Premier League and getting a nice cut of those TV rights.

Weekend’s Matches to Catch

▶ Premier League: League winners Manchester City will travel to London to take on Arsenal. About just a drive away from Emirates, 7th place West Ham will host 8th place Newcastle United.

▶ Serie A: Coming off victories in Champions League and Europa League respectfully, Atlanta hosts Lazio in what will be an epic 90+ minutes of footy.

▶ La Liga: Champions League Group D and Group E leaders will face off as Atletico Madrid hosts Real Sociedad in a match that will certainly shake up La Liga’s current table standings. #AtletiRealSociedad

▶ MLS: Nashville is keen to make a move up the table and secure a victory when they visit Philadelphia Union. Make sure to also check out 4th place Columbus fend off 6th place Atlanta United.

▶ Bundesliga: Champions League participants, Dortmund and Union Berlin will face off at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park. Come out and support our Yankees Abroad; Giovanni Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, and Malick Sanogo.

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