Consider it a save for the tournament, three points for soccer in America and maybe even a win for uniting the States.
The Americans on the pitch did all that, including making sure a sellout crowd of 70,492 fans got their money’s worth for their exorbitantly high-priced seats to watch football under Friday Night Lights at SoFi Stadium.
U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, right, celebrates with Sergino Dest and Chris Richards after scoring during a World Cup win over Paraguay on Friday at SoFi Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
It was not a clean sheet. And it wasn’t an elixir for all the issues — visas, tickets, transportation — that ailed the tournament in its buildup.
But the opening statement by the United States confirmed what we thought might be true. Only one thing could save this soccer tournament: soccer.
The U.S. delivered a performance to change the conversation — for the next few weeks and maybe longer.
Making history to alter history.
The United States scored multiple goals in a World Cup first half for the first time since 2002.
It got two of them from Folarin Balogun, the Brooklyn-born, England-raised forward of Nigerian descent who became just the second USMNT player to score two goals in a World Cup game and the first since 1930.
Got a perfect match from Chris Richards, the afro-rocking defender with the long, loping strides, who was 83 for 83 on his passes. That’s better than any player at a World Cup since 1966.
And if possession is nine-tenths of the law of attraction, know that the Americans possessed the ball 71% of the first half, most in the first half of a World Cup game in the modern era.
Landon Donovan, star of the 2002 team that reached the World Cup quarterfinals — a record that still stands — posted on X: “From start to finish, that was the most enjoyable day of soccer I’ve ever experienced.”
That’s the stuff that will get the American people going. Get us invested, get us behind them. That could convert even devout casuals.
Americans love a good underdog story. We also want the best, the finest, the biggest — and this, with its expanded field of 48, is the biggest version of the biggest and best tournament in the world.
And the only thing we love more than winning is dominating. The United States did that Friday against a Paraguayan team that had allowed only 10 goals in 18 World Cup qualifying matches, and whom the United States beat 2-1 in a tense match in November.
Fans cheer during the U.S. win over Paraguay in their World Cup opener Saturday at SoFi Stadium.
“The fans, amazing,” said Pochettino, the team’s accomplished Argentine coach. “On behalf of the whole team, a massive thank you to the fans. Because the energy that they [gave] to the team was amazing. We can do amazing things if the fans are in this as well.”
Friday was so good for soccer in America.
And so good for America. The kind of butt-kicking that’s chicken soup for a nation’s soul.
Maybe it’s idealistic and naive, or apple-pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, but I believe that they can win. (And by win, I mean make the quarterfinals again.)
There’s no removing politics from this World Cup, but wouldn’t it be fun to all rally behind a team together? Can’t you see the country coalescing behind the right wingers and left wingers on the pitch? Picture people celebrating the freedom inherent in Pochettino’s system? Cheering the all-for-one and one-for-all of this team of dual nationals and Americans raised abroad — or in Alabama?
Postmatch, Pochettino refused to single out any one player, instead giving reporters a recitation of his roster: “[Christian Pulisic] was amazing [setting up two goals]. Balogun was amazing, of course. Tim Ream was amazing, of course. Chris Richards was amazing, yes. Weston McKennie, he was amazing, amazing. Antonee Robinson, Alex Freeman, amazing. Sergiño Dest, amazing …”
Harry Redknapp has revealed his plans to quit Soccer Aid after almost 20 years, noting that he would rather “bow out” when things are going well rather than waiting for his team to lose
Harry Redknapp has revealed his plans to quit Soccer Aid (Image: PA)
Harry Redknapp has revealed his plans to quit Soccer Aid after almost 20 years. The sports star, 79, has been involved with the annual charity event, which has raised millions for UNICEF UK, since 2008 and after recently leading England to victory against Soccer Aid World XI, has admitted he will take a step back from it all sooner rather than later.
The former I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! star has acted as Manager and Coach for various teams made up of former players and celebrities over the years but would rather quit amid a rather successful period instead of waiting until things start to go wrong for his team.
He told The Sun: “I think I’ll probably retire myself off. I think I’d better get rid of me now, yeah. We won this year so you know, that might be it for me. I’ll bow out. Best to go out at the top rather than being booted out for getting beat again or something.”
This year, Harry, who has managed Tottenham, West Ham, QPR and Birmingham during his mammoth career as a football manager, teamed up with The Chase star Bradley Walsh to choose the England squad, which was eventually made up of actors Chris O’Dowd and Damson Idris along with former England striker Jermain Defoe amongst a host of others.
Speaking about working with Bradley, who has become one of the UK’s most famous television presenters after appearing in Coronation Street in the early 2000s, Harry was full of praise but joked he would have rather been on the inside when it came to the World Cup.
He said: “Me and Bradley were like a dream team. We picked the winning team between us. Bradley was fantastic and just having a few days with Bradley was worth all the money. It would be lovely to be in on the action for the World Cup, but I had Soccer Aid instead!”
This year, the annual charity football match raised a staggering £16.5million for the children’s aid organisation. The match, which was created by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes in 2006 , aims to raise millions for UNICEF every year but has never raised as much as it did this year. By raising over £16m, the celebs taking part have increased the total ever raised from the event to £137million.
The grand total was revealed in the last few moments before Soccer Aid went off air, in an announcement made by Robbie, who also performed his song Feel for the halftime performance.
Over £1million of the total amount was raised by Olly Murs. The singer had taken on a mammoth challenge that involved cycling, rowing and running the 400km distance from Old Trafford to the London Stadium. Prior to the match beginning, Tom Hiddleston revealed on air that Olly had raised £1,342,214 for the total pot.
The rest of the funds were raised throughout the event, including the build up to kick off. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen came out to the pitch to deliver the football and revealed that before play had even begun, the event had raised over £4.6million. Tim delighted fans as he said his Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear’s catchphrase: “To infinity and beyond!”
Roughly 15 minutes before the teams headed out, GK Barry caught up with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen with the latter catching many off guard courtesy of his comments.
While stood in the tunnel, upon GK Barry asking for their attention, the latter stated: “I’m just just b****ing about penalty shots.” The comment went unacknowledged by ITV, despite airing pre-watershed.
As Americans, the pair aren’t used to European football. Tim continued to say he was going to “try to work out how you win or lose a game on a penalty shot”. Tom, who said he did have some knowledge of the UK game, jokingly hit back: “You cannot use your hands.”
Soccer Aid celebrated its 20th anniversary with a massive showdown at the London Stadium. The fixture occurs every year and its mission is to raise vital funds for UNICEF while bringing together a unique mix of world-class football legends and beloved celebrities.
In many ways, the most ambitious World Cup in history — which kicked off Thursday in Mexico City — has inspired more angst than anticipation, more fear than fervor.
The competition, returning to North America for the first time in more than three decades, has expanded to 48 teams and 104 matches, to be played over 39 days in 16 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The complex planning was eight years in the making.
Yet even before the competition opened with Mexico facing South Africa at the iconic Estadio Azteca, it has been marred by a number of controversies that threaten to overshadow the soccer and cloud the tournament’s legacy.
“I view this World Cup as the most politically combustible World Cup in recent history. And that’s saying something,” said Jules Boykoff, a political science professor at the University of Portland and author of eight books on the politics of international sport.
“We’re in uncharted territory in many ways.”
Relations between the host countries, once strong, have been strained by the Trump administration’s tariff policies and disagreements over border security. Travel bans have barred potential World Cup visitors — and even support staff and match officials — from entering the U.S. and others are fearful of making the trip, worried about ICE raids and immigration roundups.
The U.S. is at war with a tournament qualifier, Iran. And Iran has fired missiles and drones on Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, nations that also are World Cup participants.
The International Sports Press Assn. said Iranian and African journalists have been denied visas to cover games in the U.S., and Iran protested after more than a dozen members of its support staff had their requests to enter the U.S. rejected. The Iranians, who were forced to move their training base from Tucson to Tijuana, will spend limited time in the U.S. during group-play games that will take place in Inglewood and Seattle.
Players and journalists from Senegal, Uzbekistan and Iraq have been detained at U.S. airports for up to seven hours by immigration officials. Then on Monday, Omar Artan, a decorated referee and the first Somali official selected to work a World Cup, was turned away at Miami International Airport.
In addition, ticket prices have been so high and the lottery process for obtaining them so opaque, the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have begun formal investigations into FIFA practices. Other states, including California, hosting tournament matches have begun asking questions as well.
All that has conspired to produce a World Cup that is struggling to catch on with the public. According to a recent poll by Yougov.com, a majority of Americans — 54% — say they are not at all interested in the tournament and nearly six in 10 say they will not watch any matches.
“People are just in a bad mood,” Boykoff said. “It’s a tough time.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino remains optimistic, promising this will be “the biggest, the most inclusive, the greatest FIFA World Cup ever.” He made the same claim about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2018 tournament in Russia.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino speaks during a news conference on Wednesday before the start of the World Cup.
(Carl Recine / Getty Images)
“The World Cup should be understood as both a global sporting celebration and a major commercial enterprise, with these two dimensions being mutually enforcing rather than contradictory,” said Steve Georgakis, a lecturer on sports studies at the University of Sydney and a frequent author on soccer.
This year’s tournament is projected to swell FIFA’s coffers by nearly $9 billion and the TV ratings, it says, will be massive.
“Its universal appeal combined with the participation of 48 nations ensures that it remains a genuinely global sporting event,” Georgakis said.
Boykoff has his doubts.
“In this particular political moment, with the Trump administration being erratic and impulsive and needing a win from this tournament and the fact there’s so many moving parts geopolitically, I don’t have confidence that it’s just going to end up being a soccer-focused next five weeks,” he said.
This is not the first World Cup to kick off under some kind of black cloud.
The 1974 tournament in West Germany was tarred by the geopolitical fallout of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Four years later Argentina’s military dictatorship used the World Cup to sportswash a “Dirty War” in which as many as 30,000 people were tortured, murdered and disappeared.
The 2010 and 2014 World Cups were troubled by cost overruns and delays in the construction of stadiums and other infrastructure and the threat of labor unrest while global outrage over human rights violations and discrimination against women and LGBTQ people hung over the last two tournaments.
Those issues never fully disappeared but were overshadowed by the brilliance of the soccer. Jonathan Wilson, a columnist with the Guardian and author of “The Power and the Glory: The History of the World Cup,” expects the same this summer.
“The other stuff will still be there in the background,” he said, “but fundamentally the football will, for the vast majority of people, take over. It’s just sort of a natural cycle.”
Argentina star Lionel Messi controls the ball during an international friendly against Iceland on Tuesday.
(Butch Dill / Associated Press)
And as with every World Cup, there undoubtedly will be unforgettable moments.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the top scorers in soccer history, will be playing in their sixth and final World Cups — Messi chasing a second straight title and Ronaldo pursuing the only prize that has eluded him.
Kylian Mbabbe will be trying to take France to a third consecutive final while young superstars like Erling Haaland of Norway and Lamine Yamal of Spain will be looking to put their mark on their first World Cups.
Four teams — Jordan, Curacao, Cape Verde and Uzbekistan — have qualified for the tournament for the first time.
And there will be other storylines no one saw coming, all of which will contribute to the narrative of this World Cup.
“Major sporting events have a way of capturing public attention and shifting the conversation toward what is happening on the field rather than off it,” Georgakis said.
How much the actions of the Trump administration affect that calculation remains to be seen.
There are travel restrictions in place that fully or partially bar citizens from 39 countries — including a number of World Cup participants — from entering the U.S. And the administration has said ICE and Homeland Security personnel will have a visible presence at World Cup venues, including SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where the American team will begin play Friday.
“There will be federal agents,” confirmed L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, who added that he could not guarantee immigration sweeps would not take place. “ They told us that specifically would not be occurring,” he said. “Any of that’s subject to change.”
Mexico fans celebrate during a watch party at Plaza Mexico in Lynwood on Thursday.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
The difficulty in obtaining visas and the fear of being rounded up by immigration agents are being blamed, in part, for less-than-expected tourist traffic. Hotel operators in all 11 World Cup host cities say bookings for the tournament are well below projections. Several countries have issued warnings about travel to the U.S.
Then there are the own goals from FIFA over tickets and parking prices as high as $900 at some stadiums, weather issues and a short-lived ban on water bottles.
FIFA has defended its policies on ticket prices by arguing that premiums are necessary to maximize revenue, which it will invest in global soccer development. Variable, market-based pricing, it said, simply reflects standard entertainment practices in North America. The organization did, however, reverse its ban on fans bringing bottles into games. Spectators are now allowed to enter stadiums with one soft, plastic 20-ounce water bottle.
And despite a warning from climate scientists that one in four World Cup games could be played in dangerously hot conditions, FIFA will start 40 of them at 3 p.m. or earlier local time, the warmest time of day, to accommodate European TV viewers.
Georgakis said the play on the field will have to overcome all those issues if this World Cup is to earn a favorable place in history.
“Ultimately the success of the World Cup will be judged by what happens on the field,” he said. “If the football is compelling, dramatic and memorable, the tournament will likely be remembered as a great World Cup. If the play falls short, then the off-field issues such as ticket prices, extreme heat, ICE enforcement activities, the Trump administration will receive great attention and could shape perceptions of the event.”
With its World Cup opener just four days away, the U.S. team moved into its temporary home in Irvine on Monday, where the players found thousands of new Southern California neighbors waiting in line to watch them kick a ball.
After the U.S. announced that Orange County Great Park would be its base for at least the group stage of the tournament, the City of Irvine held a raffle for passes to see the team train in its only public workout.
Thirty-two thousand people applied and 5,500 received access on a warm Monday morning to watch the team rush through a light 45-minute practice that was notable primarily because it was the first in which injured center back Chris Richards was fully involved. Richards tore two ligaments in his left ankle playing for Crystal Palace, his English club team, on May 17 and hadn’t played or fully trained since. The team is rushing to get him ready in the hopes he can play at some point in the three-game group stage.
But the practice was also notable because it was the first at Championship Soccer Stadium, about 50 miles southeast of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where the U.S. will open its World Cup on Friday against Paraguay.
“[The] environment and facilities are crazy. It’s more than we expect,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said of the venue. “We are so grateful.”
Championship Soccer Stadium is owned and managed by the city, which has leased it to the Orange County Soccer Club of the second-tier USL Championship. But the club was temporarily evicted in late April to make space for the national team — which is just fine with them.
U.S. men’s soccer player Chris Richards autographs the shirt of a young fan during a team practice Monday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
“How can you not be excited about the host nation training in your facility?” said Dan Rutstein, president of business operations of the Orange County club.
“We’re proud to be associated with the U.S. national team. We wouldn’t want to ever block anything, even if we could.”
(And they couldn’t, the city said.)
The Great Park is a sprawling 500-acre complex built on the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, which closed in 1999 after 56 years training pilots for conflicts from World War II through the first Gulf War. In 2001, voters approved a proposal to convert the space into a public park and nature preserve, one which now includes, among other things, five sand volleyball courts, four basketball courts, 25 tennis courts, 12 softball and baseball fields, the ice arena where the Ducks practice and 25 soccer fields, including the pristine one FIFA just installed inside the 5,500-seat stadium.
“The idea was that this would be a quality facility, a great park that we hope will rival San Diego’s Balboa Park and other great parks across the country,” Irvine mayor Larry Agran said. “It took a lot of nurturing, a lot of time, a lot of work.”
Bringing the World Cup — or at least a World Cup team — to Irvine also took a lot of time and work. Agran said the city put out feelers about hosting a training base five years ago and made the first cut in 2024 when the Great Park was placed on a list of options distributed to tournament qualifiers.
Over the next two years, Rutstein said, about a dozen national teams sent representatives to have a look while Sam Zapatka, the operations manager of the USMNT, said he scouted 27 facilities from Seattle to San Diego. After his first visit to the Great Park, however, he said he stopped looking and in March, the team announced it would train in Irvine.
On Monday, when the players filed out of the stadium’s locker room, which FIFA expanded and upgraded, they were greeted by rhythmic clapping and chants of “USA! USA!”
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1.U.S. men’s soccer player Weston McKennie takes part in a training session at Orange County Great Park.(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)2.(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)3.U.S. men’s national soccer team coach Mauricio Pochettino waves to fans attending practice on Monday.4.Pochettino speaks to players after drills at Orange County Great Park on Monday.(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“I think we’ve all been, I wouldn’t say overwhelmed, but possibly surprised by the excitement and the buzz,” said captain Tim Ream, who led the team onto the field. “Pulling up here with 5,500 fans ready to watch a training session is incredible.
“We get to train in an actual stadium with a good pitch. The support, really, from all the kids out there is amazing. You want to feel like you have a good home base, right? So really, we’re looking forward to being here.”
Especially after 5,000 of your neighbors show up for the housewarming party.
As soccer fans await the FIFA World Cup kickoff Thursday — and as criticism of the organization’s ticketing practices and social impact on local communities circulates across North America, where the games will be held — longtime aficionados want to remind the sports community of the real beauty beneath the game.
Last Friday at Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights, visitors were greeted by the thumping bass of cumbia sonideras, earthy scent of leather trinkets and clothing racks featuring silky screen-printed soccer jerseys. The Latino-centric gift shop reached maximum capacity with a new pop-up art exhibit titled “El Fútbol Es del Pueblo,” featuring over 30 artworks that provide commentary on the global sport.
“It’s reclaiming the sport again, reminding folks that the essence of the game belongs to the people,” said Nico Aviña, owner of Espacio 1839. “With everything that’s going on with the World Cup, everybody’s giving FIFA credit, but I think that we need to reclaim that power. This is a people’s sport and it belongs to us.”
Nico Avina gets ready to start a soccer match at Mariachi Plaza at “El Futbol es del Pueblo,” a community soccer event hosted by Espacio 1839.
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
Every four years, soccer fans around the globe go berserk over the World Cup, but in host cities like Los Angeles, the worldwide spectacle feels bittersweet and financially out of reach. Fans have paid thousands of dollars for non-premium seating at SoFi Stadium; this does not include parking, which is estimated to be about $250 near the venue.
“ I’m not interested in going into those games or paying these ridiculous amounts,” said Aviña. “It’s more about greed. It’s more about wealth extraction than anything else.”
That sentiment resonated with 42-year-old Antonio Rivera, a Bay Area local who recalled the excitement he felt as a child in Jalisco watching the 1986 World Cup, which Mexico hosted. He remembers his little toy bank shaped like Pique, the anthropomorphic jalapeño pepper that was Mexico’s tournament mascot.
“You hear stories of people going to the World Cup with their whole family. Now you can’t even get a ticket,” he said. “ It’s an important opportunity for people to talk about some of the discomforts that they may have with an organization like FIFA.”
Rivera was at Espacio 1839 on Friday accompanying his son, Marc Rivera, one of the youngest exhibitors, alongside his classmate Miguel Yanez. The tweens came down from Napa, Calif., to showcase their acrylic comic-strip painting featuring Mexican soccer player Alexis Vega, who channels his Mesoamerican ancestors when scoring the victory goal.
Marc Rivera explains the meaning behind his painting on display at “El Futbol es del Pueblo.”
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
“It’s important to expose our next generation and give them an opportunity to express themselves a little bit,” Antonio Rivera said.
Tijuana artist Vianney Harelly’s piece was hard to miss on the wall. It featured a bloody cross with the Spanish words for “soccer comes with blood and tears.” It also included headlines from articles regarding the Naupan artisans who were allegedly underpaid by Adidas and social-impact brand Someone Somewhere, during its work on the latest embroidered Mexican soccer kit.
“I wanted it to be a piece showing kind of the dark side of the World Cup, because there’s so many things that are buried underneath the whole spectacle,” Harelly said.
The 30-year-old said they are not interested in tuning into the World Cup activities because of the close relationship between FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Trump. Human rights organizations have called on the FIFA leader to request that the Trump administration declare a moratorium on ICE raids during the soccer tournament; SoFi stadium workers threatened to strike if agents aren’t kept out of the venue.
Artwork on display at “El Futbol es del Pueblo.”
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
“I know people want to be seen and celebrated and they wanna feel love,” Harelly said. “But I don’t want them to settle and think that the only option for them to feel love and be seen is through corporations that hate us.”
Gerardo Gómez looked mesmerized as he glanced at the wall. Some of his favorite pieces included a scarf that read “Siempre Antifascista” and a banner that featured a masked Indigenous soccer player with the words “Futbol Libertad.”
“I think a lot of us here love the sport, but we are against FIFA,” Gómez said. “What you’re seeing here is a representation of the people’s struggle that comes with the sport.”
The 46-year-old said the soccer organization, as well as the Olympic Games, have a history of displacing marginalized communities; for example, ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, at least 19,000 families were displaced to make way for sporting infrastructure.
That’s why he’d rather put his focus on the Homeless World Cup, an annual international street football tournament that advocates an end to homelessness globally. Players are individuals who have experienced some form of homelessness or social exclusion in their life.
“People that came together [for the Homeless World Cup] recognized that soccer brings people together,” said Gómez. “And it’s the most beautiful thing I have experienced.”
A soccer match at Mariachi Plaza on June 5, 2026.
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
As the sun went down, the crowd shifted over a block to Mariachi Plaza where a 3-vs.-3 cascarita, or scrimmage, began on the pavement. Onlookers gathered around the makeshift field, which had no clear outer bounds, as the pulsating drumming and anti-ICE chants led by Lxs Tigres del NorthEnd (an independent LAFC supporter group) filled the air.
“It’s very bittersweet,” said 30-year-old Claudia Llontop. “With families being deported.”
Llontop, who grew up watching the World Cup, arrived at the pick-up match with her two children — and even documented her journey getting there on TikTok to her more than 50,000 followers. She had been trying to find ways to kick a ball around when she heard about “El Fútbol Es del Pueblo,” which allowed her to put on a red mesh jersey and run like the wind.
“This is for single moms, this is for kids, this is for high schoolers,” said Llontop. “ I think this alone is a lot more powerful than FIFA, because this is us.”
TIJUANA — Iran’s soccer team arrived in Mexico on Sunday morning for training ahead of the World Cup, before its first two group matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood later this month.
Ehsan Hajsafi was the first player to exit the plane with markings for German charter airline USC, which arrived at about 5:05 a.m. He led the team, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, through a brief security check with Mexican officials and dogs before boarding a bus.
The bus stopped briefly at the entrance to the Tijuana airport, where around 20 or so Iran fans waved flags.
The team’s participation in the World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, has been complicated by the Iran war. Problems with processing visas earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson to Tijuana.
The team has been training in the Turkish city of Antalya. It flew directly to Mexico on a private jet from the Mediterranean city’s airport.
Some members of their entourage were reportedly still without U.S. visas, according to Iranian state television Saturday. Those include the Iranian Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi.
Iran plays its first two games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, 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 finish second in their groups.
In March, President Trump 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 countered, saying “no one can exclude” it from playing.
Iran finalized its team on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven’t 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 Islamic Republic’s soccer federation said in May that 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.
Iran’s national soccer team set off from Turkey for their World Cup training base in Mexico on Saturday, with some members of their entourage reportedly still without U.S. visas, before three group matches in the United States later this month.
The Iranian Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 staff and officials without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Iranian state television.
It was unclear whether the federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, had been issued a visa.
The team’s participation in the World Cup has been complicated by the Iran war. Problems with processing visas had earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.
The federation accused the U.S. of “vindictive behavior” in refusing visas for “key managerial and administrative members” of the team.
The decision had “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination,” according to a statement on the federation’s website. It added that the federation would pursue the matter through world soccer authority FIFA.
The Iranian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, meanwhile, responded to an earlier social media post from U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, in which he congratulated his embassy staff for processing the Iran team’s visas.
“You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the Iranian post read. “This represents the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport.”
One U.S. official earlier told the Associated Press that all players on the Iranian team were approved for visas, while a second official said visas had been issued for players, coaches, trainers and some support staff. A third official suggested that some applicants affiliated with the team had been rejected for requesting visas “under false pretenses.”
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the visas publicly.
The squad has been preparing for the World Cup at a training camp in Antalya. The team said that it has already received visas from the Mexican Embassy in Ankara.
The players, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, left the luxury Mardan Palace hotel in Antalya on Saturday afternoon. They boarded a private jet at the Mediterranean city’s airport and were due to fly directly to Mexico.
Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood 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 come second in their groups.
In March, U.S. President Donald Trump 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 on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven’t 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.
Change in water bottle policy
FIFA announced that it will now allow fans to bring their own water bottles to some stadiums during the World Cup, adjusting a policy that had barred spectators from bringing refillable water bottles into the tournament’s 16 stadiums across North America, including some with limited or no shade from the sun.
FIFA in a social media post said fans will be permitted to bring one soft plastic 20-ounce, factory-sealed, disposable water bottle into any match taking place in the United States or Canada.
In a video released by FIFA, Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi said fans will still not be permitted to bring in hard sided, reusable water bottles “due to safety and security reasons.”
Going green
As the tournament opens on Thursday, 13 of the 16 stadiums have earned LEED certification, the world’s most widely used green building rating system, the U.S. Green Building Council said. Ten have been certified since 2024 through the rigorous process to ensure buildings meet strict sustainability standards. The council expects at least two of the three remaining stadiums to achieve certification in the coming weeks.
Together, the LEED-certified stadiums have installed over 11,500 solar panels to generate clean electricity. Because of the changes made, they will save over 100 million gallons of potable water annually and eliminate more than 5 million single use plastics annually, according to information shared by the stadiums. Four venues are reusing, recycling or composting nearly all waste, preventing it from reaching a landfill.
Soccer Aid has raised an eye-watering and record-breaking amount of money for Unicef with their annual charity match that saw the likes of Joe Marler and Angry Ginge compete
Joe Marler and Angry Ginge at Soccer Aid(Image: Shutterstock)
Soccer Aid have raised a huge sum of money for Unicef. The annual charity football match raised a staggering £16.5million for the children’s aid organisation.
The match, which was created by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes in 2026, aims to raise millions for Unicef every year but has never raised as much as it did this year. By raising over £16m, the celebs taking part have increased the total ever raised from the event to £137million.
The grand total was revealed in the last few moments before Soccer Aid went off air, in an announcement made by Robbie, who also performed his song Feel for the halftime performance.
Over £1million of the total amount was raised by Olly Murs. The singer had taken on a mammoth challenge that involved cycling, rowing and running the 400km distance from Old Trafford to the London Stadium. Prior to the match beginning, Tom Hiddlestone revealed on air that Olly had raised £1,342,214 for the total pot.
The rest of the funds were raised throughout the event, including the build up to kick off. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen came out to the pitch to deliver the football and revealed that before play had even begun, the event had raised over £4.6million. Tim delighted fans as he said his Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear’s catchphrase: “To infinity and beyond!”
Roughly 15 minutes before the teams headed out, GK Barry caught up with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen with the latter catching many off guard courtesy of his comments.
While stood in the tunnel, upon GK Barry asking for their attention, the latter stated: “I’m just just b****ing about penalty shots.” The comment went unacknowledged by ITV, despite airing pre-watershed.
As Americans, the pair aren’t used to European football. Tim continued to say he was going to “try to work out how you win or lose a game on a penalty shot”. Tom, who said he did have some knowledge of the UK game, jokingly hit back: “You cannot use your hands.”
Soccer Aid celebrated its 20th anniversary this weekend with a massive showdown at the London Stadium. The fixture occurs every year and its mission is to raise vital funds for UNICEF while bringing together a unique mix of world-class football legends and beloved celebrities.
Former United captain Wayne Rooney led the line for England. Big football names taking to the pitch included Jill Scott, Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott.
Other huge names making up the England side were Tom Hiddleston, Danny Dyer, Paddy McGuinness, Olly Murs and Joe Marler. They were joined by Toni Duggan, Steph Houghton, Jordan North, Angry Ginge, GK Barry, Jack Wilshere, Joe Hart, Sam Thompson, Chloe Burrows, Jack Whitehall and Owen Cooper.
GK Barry was yelled out by a celebrity teammate during Soccer Aid after she ignored a pass to instead dance with the crowd just seconds into her time on the pitch
Tom Grennan and GK Barry at Soccer Aid(Image: Shutterstock)
GK Barry appeared to leave a Soccer Aid teammate frustrated just moments into her time on the pitch. The Loose Women star was yelled at by Tom Grennan after she was too busy dancing with the crowd to see him pass her the ball.
The 26-year-old influencer, whose real name is Grace Keeling, was on England’s team at this year’s charity match and came on after replacing Tom Hiddleston in the 41st minute of the game. She quickly got the ball and passed it to Grennan, then turned to the crowd to celebrate, but missed Grennan’s return pass.
As Keeling celebrated, Grennan kicked the ball back to her and it rolled out of play. He appeared to yell something at her, gesturing to where the ball had rolled out of bounds, before turning his back.
Fans thought Keeling’s antics were “hilarious”. One said: “GK Barry in soccer aid is absolutely sending me”. Another added: “Literally love GK Barry so much”. A third said: “GK Barry is hilarious”. One called it an “all time soccer aid moment”.
Prior to the match, GK Barry sat down with Mirror to talk about Soccer Aid, particularly what her footballer girlfriend Ella Rutherford thought of it. “She’s really excited,” Keeling revealed. “I’ve never been one to understand football; I’ve never had the chance, but I feel like she’s loving telling me about it. She’s like ‘This is a corner’, and I’m like ‘OK’.”
Keeling joked that she and Rutherford were “swapping roles” and she was going to be “signing up to Portsmouth”. She also revealed how her girlfriend was helping her prepare for the match.
“I’m learning how to dribble,” she laughed, adding: “Learning what goal is ours that we have to shoot in. Ella’s got me on a high protein diet, which is hell – I’ve been doing a lot of that, a lot of eggs, a lot of mince, it’s disgusting but I’m hoping that will make me automatically become a footballer.”
As for advice on how to be on the pitch, Keeling says she’s noticed Rutherford is “very good at stopping people getting the ball”. But Barry is a “wuss”. “Her main thing is, you need to control the ball,” she explained, adding: “I get scared – if I’ve got a six-foot man coming towards me trying to get the ball, he might have to have it.”
Despite her excitement for Soccer Aid, Keeling joked it wasn’t her “bag”. She said: “Because I’ve watched Ella do it i sort of maybe kind of know what to expect a little bit, that’s what I’m telling myself.” But, the thought of 60,000 people attending is giving Grace the fear.
“I have a thing, I forget how to walk if I think someone behind me is looking at me,” she said, adding: “I do fear that I may skip onto the pitch or something like that. But it should be exciting, it’s the biggest thing I’ve done.” And despite being terrified she may embarrass herself, that doesn’t matter for Keeling as she’s taking part in an “amazing” event.
And Keeling admits that aligning herself with such a positive cause is “nice” for her due to the ages of her audience. “I think it’s amazing to tie in with that,” she said, adding: “Our team, there are so many types of people in different bits of the industry, so the amount of people we’ll be able to bring in and donate to the charity is amazing.”
Paris Saint-Germain fans react in Parc des Princes stadium after the team defeated Arsenal in Paris on Saturday. Photo by Valentina Camu/EPA
May 31 (UPI) — Police in France arrested hundreds of people late Saturday after celebrations for the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team turned violent, local authorities said.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the riots injured 57 police officers in Paris and other cities across the country, The Guardian reported. Some of the soccer fans also set fires, vandalized businesses and attempted to storm a Paris police station.
Police arrested 780 people and deployed tear gas to break up the riots, Politico reported.
“Most of the celebrations took place peacefully, Nuñez said, adding that most of the violent clashes took place near the Parc des Princes stadium where fans had gathered to watch the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal for the Champions League title.
French leaders took to social media to criticize the rioters and call for peace.
“Only in France does a football club’s victory spark riots,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen wrote in a post on X. “Only in France does everyone feel compelled to lock themselves in their homes on the evening of a victory to avoid being confronted with violence.”
Valérie Pécresse, the head of the Île-de-France region, said those involved in the riots should be punished.
“The brainless thugs who think they can smash everything are tarnishing the image of Paris and France!” Pécresse said in a post on X. “We must be able to celebrate on victory nights peacefully in Paris and the Île-de-France Region!”
There are some big names that will be on show at London Stadium for Soccer Aid including some famous celebrities and plenty of former international footballers.
England squad in full: Robbie Williams (Manager), Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Jill Scott, Tom Hiddleston, Danny Dyer, Paddy McGuinness, Olly Murs, Joe Marler (GK), Theo Walcott, Toni Duggan, Steph Houghton, Jordan North, Angry Ginge, GK Barry, Jack Wilshere, Joe Hart, Sam Thompson, Chloe Burrows, Jack Whitehall and Owen Cooper.
World XI squad in full: Usain Bolt (Manager), Edwin van der Sar, Michael Essien, Jordi Alba, Leonardo Bonucci, Dimitar Berbatov, Nemanja Matic, Maisie Adam, Big Zuu, Nabhaan Rizwan, Nitro, Ali Krieger, Jen Beattie, Nicky Byrne, Dermot Kennedy, Chris O’Dowd, Richard Gadd, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tobi Brown and Behzinga.
Tom Hiddleston and Olly Murs will be playing for England XI at Soccer Aid For UNICEF 2026(Image: (Photo by Jo Hale/Getty Images))
The ATLAS prototype robot by Boston Dynamics walks on stage during a press conference at the 2026 International CES, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Monday, January 5, 2026. File. Photo by James Atoa/UPI | License Photo
May 29 (Asia Today) — Hyundai Motor Group released a new campaign linking advanced robotics and soccer, highlighting its physical artificial intelligence technology ahead of the World Cup.
Hyundai Motor Group said Friday it released its “School of Football” campaign video, which shows Atlas, a humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics, learning and improving through soccer movements.
The campaign is part of Hyundai Motor’s World Cup campaign, “Next Starts Now,” which is rooted in the company’s vision of “Progress for Humanity.”
The video series consists of five parts, including a launch film featuring Atlas and training scenes showing the robot practicing various soccer movements.
The launch film follows Atlas as it becomes interested in soccer after observing the emotions, energy and dynamic movements of players.
The training videos show Atlas gradually learning basic soccer skills such as footwork, passing and shooting, as well as more advanced techniques including crossed-leg shots and crosses.
Hyundai Motor said it plans to release a making-of film June 4 featuring interviews with Boston Dynamics officials who led Atlas’ training during preparations for the campaign.
“The campaign is meaningful because it presents the future of robotics through soccer in an engaging and human-centered way as part of Hyundai Motor’s World Cup campaign,” said Jee Sung-won, executive vice president and head of Hyundai Motor’s brand marketing division. “We plan to continue creating diverse brand experiences using mobility and robotics.”
Few players are driven to club soccer practice by a national team player. But then few players have two sisters who play for the U.S. women’s team.
Also Zoe Thompson is just 14, so you can’t expect her to drive herself.
But here’s the thing that truly sets Zoe Thompson apart. Although eldest sister Alyssa, 21, has already played in a World Cup and middle sister Gisele made 38 NWSL appearances and played four times for the national team before her 20th birthday, Zoe may actually be the best of the three.
“She’s better technically,” said her father Mario Thompson, who coached all three.
“I think she’s the combination between Alyssa and Gisele,” said Carlos Marroquin, owner of the pre-professional women’s team that gave Alyssa and Gisele their start.
So maybe there should be a line of coaches, teammates and family members waiting to drive her to practice or to her debut with Marroquin’s team, the Santa Clarita Blue Heat, on Saturday evening at The Master’s University.
The Santa Clarita Blue Heat coach Leonardo Neveleff, center, talks to his team before a practice at Valencia High. Zoe Thompson makes her debut with the team Saturday.
The team, which competes in USL W league, has long been a summer proving ground for elite college players and aspiring pros with alumni that includes Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos, once a finalist for FIFA’s world player of the year award; World Cup veterans Savannah DeMelo and Ashley Sanchez; former Chelsea and Atlético Madrid star Ana Borges of Portugal; and Natalia Kuikka, a five-time Finnish player of the year.
This year’s roster includes more than two dozen Division I college players, meaning Zoe Thompson will be playing with and against women much older than her.
Did we mention she’s still in middle school?
“She’s always having to get out of her comfort zone, no matter what,” said Mario Thompson, whose job as Zoe’s father is to both nurture and protect his daughter’s talent.
Zoe has followed a different path than her sisters. Alyssa and Gisele were born less than 13 months apart and grew up playing together, practicing together and pushing each other. Zoe, born seven years later, grew up watching them, imitating them and wanting to be them.
But she had to do the work alone.
“It’s a unique dynamic where Alyssa and Gisele had each other,” their father said. “It wasn’t just Alyssa by herself. She always had a partner.”
Zoe, however, observed a lot by watching.
“I feel like their mistakes helped me,” she said. “But at the same time, there are some mistakes that I’ve made that they haven’t. I’m learning differently, but I’m more learning from them.”
Zoe Thompson hugs her father Mario Thompson after practice at Valencia High.
Still, this is uncharted territory. No family has ever had a trio of siblings play for the women’s national team, and the pressure of having to match the success her sisters have had will be inescapable, if unfair, for Zoe.
It’s a level of pressure that has the potential to be crushing.
“She kind of has this expectation that’s put upon her already that ‘oh, she’s going to be like her sister,’” Gisele said. “But it’s her own life.”
And Mario Thompson, an elementary school principal who has been intimately involved in all his daughters’ careers, is having to negotiate all this on the fly.
“Everyone sees the glam and the glitz of Alyssa and Giselle, but people don’t really understand it’s a lot of pressure,” he said of the sisters, who will both be heading to Brazil with the national team next week. “They see all the great stuff, but it’s also their job.”
Mario Thompson faced some of the same issues with Alyssa, the second-youngest U.S. woman to play in a World Cup, so he limited her media interviews and tried to let her be a teenager — albeit it an exceptionally talented one. Zoe faces the additional burden of having do all that while following in her sisters’ footsteps.
“I’m very mindful and aware of that,” he said. “She’s already in the spotlight without having to be in the spotlight. It’s that pressure. I want her to love the sport, love this journey. That’s kind of how I raised all three of them.”
Zoe Thompson during a practice session in preparation for her debut with the Santa Clarita Blue Heat soccer team.
For her part Zoe, mature well beyond her tender age, dismisses the hype with a shrug.
“There are going to be comparisons,” she said. “But we’re such different people that I think it’s unfair. At the same time, they can have those comparisons, they can have those opinions, but I’m not them. So it’s not going to be any different, how I play.”
Plus, having two accomplished sisters has its advantages. In the spring Zoe trained with the youth teams at Chelsea, where Alyssa now plays, and this summer she says she’ll train with Angel City, Gisele’s team. But the drawback of being a (much) younger sister is Alyssa and Gisele had each other to lean on growing up. Zoe has had to go it alone and that, she said, has made her stronger.
“Mentally, it is harder. But seeing my sisters and where they are, it’s kind of a motivation for me,” said Zoe, who has already been called in three times by the U-14 national team. “They were kind of at the same place I am. And it’s just very motivating to see them where they are. That’s just kind of where I want to be.”
If there’s been one constant in the girls’ soccer careers it’s been their dad, who has been intimately involved in with all three, drilling them in the backyard of their Studio City home or walking them down the street to a park, where they shared the lumpy grass with softball players and unleashed dogs.
They were often, but not always, willing participants since the family didn’t have a TV when the girls were growing up.
Zoe Thompson controls the ball during a training session in preparation for her debut with the Santa Clarita Blue Heat soccer team.
And while the hours and hours of practice certainly honed the sisters’ skills, their parents can’t explain where the girls got their immense physical gifts. Mario played football and basketball and ran track at Occidental College with modest success while his wife, Karen, an occupational therapist, played basketball and ran cross-country in high school, hardly the pedigree that could be expected to produce three world-class soccer players.
Perhaps part of the answer lies in their unique DNA, a mix of Mario’s Black and Filipino background and Karen’s Italian and Peruvian roots.
“It was never the plan, ‘Hey, let’s have some soccer players’,” Mario said.
But once the sisters decided that was their plan, the parents had to adjust. The girls had rare talent, Mario Thompson quickly realized, and it had to be developed. So Alyssa and Gisele began playing with an elite boys’ team while they were still in high school and passed up scholarships to Stanford to sign lucrative contracts with Angel City while their were teenagers.
Zoe has chosen another way, playing with Tudela FC, an all-girls team that practices near her home, and with the Blue Heat, where she’ll be facing stronger, more mature players for the first time. Mario Thompson hopes those aren’t the only differences, although he said the road his youngest daughter takes will ultimately be up to her.
“My hope is she goes through college and just goes a different pathway, different journey,” Mario Thompson said. “It’s a roller-coaster ride and so for [Zoe], I think she sees that roller-coaster ride and I don’t know if it’s a rush to let me get to that. She wants to eventually be a pro, but I don’t think it’s ‘I need to get there as soon as possible.’”
“It’s Zoe, what do you want?” he added. “It’s not like you have to be here, you have to do this. It’s none of that. It’s about, ‘Hey, Zoe, this is your journey.’ We want you to enjoy it, have fun with it, be happy with it.”
She appears to be accomplishing all three of those goals. She’s also both confident and comfortable in her abilities and believes she’s already ahead of both her sisters despite the weight of expectation.
Zoe Thompson with head coach Leonardo Neveleff at the conclusion of a training session in preparation for her debut with the Santa Clarita Blue Heat soccer team. Thompson, 14, is the younger sister of U.S. women’s soccer players Gisele and Alyssa Thompson.
But she’s also well aware of the pitfalls ahead, having seen Alyssa and Gisele occasionally stumble into them.
“Yeah, it is a lot of pressure but I feel like we just had different paths,” she said. “They didn’t really know they were going to do soccer. They didn’t know that was their sport. But I feel like that path was set for me.
“It was just like I grew faster. I kind of took the understanding of what they were doing, and then I did it a little faster.”
There are other differences as well. Gisele is a defender and Alyssa a forward, but Zoe plays in the midfield. And while it was sometimes difficult to get anything more than a giggle from Alyssa in an interview even after she turned pro, Zoe already gives complete, thoughtful answers to most questions.
Zoe’s game is also different; while Alyssa and Gisele are both exceptionally fast, Zoe relies more on her skill.
“Zoe’s more technical than her sisters at this stage,” her father said. “She’s better on the ball, she has a better understanding of the game. A lot of their game was because of speed. Hers is more thinking, hers is more of the ball on her feet.
“Technically, she’s better and understands the game at this age.”
Gisele, the sister who chauffeurs Zoe to practice in Santa Clarita, agrees. But, she adds, Zoe’s greatest strength may actually be her desire.
“She just has so many great qualities that me and Alyssa don’t have,” she said. “At her age, she wants it way more than we did. She loves soccer with a passion. Me and Alyssa didn’t love it as much as she does.”
And if that passion translates to performance, Zoe will someday join her sisters on the national team. By then she may even be in the driver’s seat.
Santa Clarita Blue Heat team owner Carlos Marroquin talks to Zoe Thompson after a training session at Valencia High.
South Korean boy band BTS, U.S. pop culture icon Madonna and Latin music superstar Shakira will be performing at halftime during the World Cup final July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., FIFA announced Thursday morning.
The performance will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is looking to raise $100 million to assist children in accessing education and soccer.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram that the show “will be a truly special moment, bringing together music, football and a shared commitment to improving the lives of children around the world.”
“It’s a chance to show how amazing all different kinds of humans are,” Martin explains to Elmo in the video.
The three acts will bring a variety of cultures, musical styles and generations of fans to the Super Bowl-style concert, which will be the first of its kind for a World Cup final.
Madonna headlined the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012, and Shakira teamed with Jennifer Lopez to co-headline the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020. Also, Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show in 2016.
No duration time has been announced for the World Cup show, although soccer halftimes are not supposed to last more than 15 minutes. Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX in February lasted 13 minutes.
Among the three of them, Madonna, Shakira and BTS have compiled 20 No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart, 10 Grammys and 37 MTV Video Music Awards. Shakira is scheduled to release “Dai Dai” with Nigerian singer Burna Boy as the official song of the 2026 World Cup this month.
Before the docuseries’ new season debuts, it is already known the club has fallen short of getting promoted to the Premier League, but the show is about much more.
Things took an emotional turn on ITV’s This Morning as Olly Murs admitted he’s ‘petrified’ ahead of his mammoth charity challenge
Shivon Watson Screen Time Reporter
12:02, 11 May 2026Updated 12:14, 11 May 2026
This Morning: Olly Murs discusses his marathon challenge
Olly Murs shared his fears before taking on the Soccer Aid UNICEF marathon.
Emotions were running high during the latest instalment of ITV’s This Morning, as 41-year-old singer Olly was interviewed before he set off on a five-day, 400km endurance challenge. Into The Unknown will see Olly travelling from Manchester’s Old Trafford to London Stadium, covering over 400km by running, rowing, and also cycling.
Appearing via video link from Old Trafford, Olly spoke to Jake Quickenden about the mammoth ordeal he has ahead of him. As This Morning presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley watched from the studio, Olly said: “I’m petrified, I am scared. I’m nervous, I’m excited.
“It’s here now. I’ve done the ten weeks of training, you know there’s so many people behind the cameras. There are lovely people here who have come down to see me.”
When asked which activity he’s most scared to do, Olly confessed that the idea of rowing solo is making him feel nervous.
Later in the chat, a video was shown to viewers explaining why the former Voice judge was chosen for the challenge, which aims to raise money for children affected by the war in Ukraine.
After seeing the footage, Olly fought back tears. He said: “It makes me feel really emotional actually and it makes me more determined to get out and raise as much money as you can,” he added: “All we want to do is keep our kids safe and imagine doing that with a war going on.”
Olly will run, row and cycle from Manchester’s Old Trafford, the birthplace of Soccer Aid, all the way to London Stadium in Stratford, which will host this year’s landmark match.
The gruelling five-day challenge will push him to his limits, with each stage bringing fresh physical and mental demands. From steep climbs and difficult terrain to daunting stretches on the water, it’s set to be one of the toughest tests he’s ever faced.
To add to the pressure, Olly won’t discover the route for each day until just before he begins, with the details revealed live on national radio.
With no chance to prepare ahead of time, every stage will come with a new surprise.
“We went to a small village in Malaysia,” Tonton Zola Moukoko told me. “I gave my passport to the officer. He was shocked. ‘Are you really Tonton Zola Moukoko?’ he asked. ‘You can’t be the one that was playing at Derby!'”
Moukoko’s legend travelled far and wide, carried on fans’ forums and whispered between Championship Manager anoraks. And there was truth in its roots.
Derby beat AC Milan and Bologna to sign the 15-year-old from Djurgardens in Sweden, where he moved from Democratic Republic of Congo to live with his brother after losing both parents.
He was a fledgling star in County’s academy, whose attributes on the game would see him grow into a skilful number 10 in the mould of Lionel Messi, often ending up at Europe’s biggest clubs.
At real-life youth or reserve games, fans would ask for his signature. But Moukoko never made a senior appearance at Derby. The death of his older brother saw him return to Sweden, and he spent his career in the lower Scandinavian leagues.
“Things happened around me which changed me a lot, changed my football career,” he said. “I didn’t really enjoy football any more.
“I found it very difficult to sleep for a long time after my brother died. Football was not the right thing for me after that.”
Moukoko is happy, though, that his legend endures among those who signed him on the game: “Still now, I have people calling from Australia, France, all over the place.”
