World Cup Visa Concerns

GM football fans. It’s Friday, Jan. 31 - World Cup 2026 visa concerns, Norway’s FA backs VAR, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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FIXTURES

Premier League MW24: Arsenal vs Manchester City, Sun 2, 16:30 / 11:30. Arsenal are unbeaten in 13 league matches and have earned the most points of any side from MD11 onwards this season. But City have lost just one of their last 40 league matches played from January until the end of the campaign. Bournemouth vs Liverpool, Sat 1, 15:00 / 10:00. Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last eleven league matches, while Liverpool have the longest active unbeaten run at 18 games. Nottingham Forest vs Brighton, Sat 1, 12:30 / 7:30. Forest are winless in their last three league meetings with Brighton, having been unbeaten in their previous eight top-flight matches against the Seagulls. See the full list of Premier League fixtures here.

Results…

• Europa League: FCSB 0-2 Man Utd | Lyon 1-1 Ludogorets | Rangers 2-1 Union SG | Tottenham 3-0 Elfborg (Full Results / Bracket View)

TOP TALKING POINTS

World Cup Visa Concerns

FIFA and United States officials have raised concerns that visa backlogs may prevent overseas football fans and teams from attending the 2026 World Cup. The tournament, co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, is expected to attract six million visitors.

The World Cup kicks off in less than 500 days. Meanwhile, wait times for business and tourist visa interviews at 18 US embassies tops 330 days. Since tickets aren’t expected to go on sale until late this year, most fans planning to travel to the US for the games will have less than six months to secure the necessary paperwork.

During his first term, President Trump signed a trio of letters promising Fifa that the World Cup organisations and their fans would not face restrictions coming to the US for the tournament. Some Fifa officials say the concerns over visa wait times are overblown, citing Trump’s personal relationship with Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

Norway FA Backs VAR

The president of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) says the organisation supports keeping VAR despite criticism from clubs and fans. This comes after the majority of clubs in the country’s top two divisions voted to scrap it last week.

An NFF statement said its board recommends keeping VAR but admits it must focus on developing the technology. NFF president Lise Klaveness said that the project could not be stopped at this stage because a lot had been invested in it.

A final vote on whether to keep VAR in Norway’s top two tiers will take place at the NFF’s congress in early March. The congress comprises professional men's clubs–19 out of 32 voted in favour of axing VAR–professional women's teams and amateur teams, as well as district representatives. There is no indication of how the vote will play out.

MLS Sunday Night Primetime

Major League Soccer (MLS) will debut a new Sunday night slot in 2025 as part of its push to expand its coverage. Sunday Night Soccer will feature the most compelling fixtures, as well as “enhanced production” and dedicated pre-and post-game shows.

Sunday Night Soccer will compete against NBC’s Sunday Night Football, an NFL show that has reportedly been the No. 1 primetime show for 13 years. The first Sunday Night Soccer fixture will be San Diego FC hosting LA Galaxy on February 23. The games will stream free for Apple TV+ subscribers.

In any case, new data (paywall) shows that the average MLS franchise is worth $719m, up six per cent from last year. The 29 teams collectively are worth $20.8bn, including real estate and team-related businesses.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Arsenal have been charged by the FA after players confronted referee Michael Oliver following Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card against Wolves (More) | Kevin De Bruyne reportedly wants to sign a new deal with Manchester City (More / paywall)

> AS Monaco are closing in on a deal to sign Jordan Henderson from Ajax with a contract until June 2026 (More)

> Victor Boniface will likely stay at Bayer Leverkusen amid Saudi Pro League interest, says Xabi Alonso (More) | Nico Kovac has signed in as the new Borussia Dortmund head coach until June 2026 (More)

> Chelsea Women have agreed an £800,000 deal for England midfielder Keira Walsh; it remains under the world record transfer Chelsea paid for Naomi Girma earlier this month (More); Full list of women’s transfers around Europe (More)

Americas

> Clubs across the Northern Super League have announced player signings this week ahead of the inaugural season (More)

> Neymar has confirmed he will return to his boyhood club, Santos, as he looks to recover from an ACL injury (More)

> Liga MX side C.F. Monterrey has started talks with free agent Sergio Ramos; they’ve reportedly already offered him a one-year contract (More)

> Inter Miami won a preseason friendly against Club Universitario de Deportes 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw (More)

Rest of the World

> Jhon Duran has completed his move to Al Nassr from Aston Villa in a deal worth £64m (More) | Al-Nassr are also preparing (unconfirmed) a second and final offer to Brighton for Kaoru Mitoma worth around £90m; it’s understood he’s not for sale (More)

> Steven Gerrard has left his role as manager of Al-Ettifaq by mutual consent after 18 months in charge of the club (More)

> Brisbane Roar defender Scott Neville has announced his retirement after what will be his 300th and final A-League game this weekend (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think referees face unfair criticism?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😬 Yes... (51%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 🙅 Nope... (44%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (5%)

Your punditry takes:

• 😬 S.M: “The refs have to make split-second decisions at full speed. They have one angle of view and could easily get blocked from seeing something critical by another player. They have a tough job and do it extremely well. They are only human and do an awesome job overall. Try refereeing sometimes and you will be more lenient on these amazing individuals.”

• 🙅 J.M: “If the criticism strays into being abusive, then that is obviously not okay, but the general criticism they receive when they make clearly incorrect decisions is completely fair and justified, just as it would be fair to criticise a player for performing poorly (e.g. missing a sitter).”

• ✍️ B.C: “It’s one thing to question a referee’s judgment call, but an entirely different bag of marbles to allege bias or make personal attacks. Referees have superiors, and those individuals should evaluate referee’s performances and manage them accordingly.”

EXTRA TIME

Europa League potential opponents table.

What did the new-look Champions League format bring to the competition?

… and the stats behind whether the new format worked.

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PSV youth players having fun against Liverpool.

An inside look at New York City’s new $780m stadium. (video)

Should Man Utd stick or twist with Alejandro Garnacho?

The best football boots this year.

Philadelphia Union 2025 away kit leaked.

Betting company flooded with complaints after outage during UCL matches.

Odemwingie talks about his infamous failed deadline move. (via X)

GAME FACE ON

Question: Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo became the first-ever Dutch player to score in six successive home starts in the Premier League. Which two Netherlands strikers did he surpass, who both had streaks of five games?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

La Liga

• Leganes vs Vallecano (20:00)

Bundesliga

• Bremen vs Mainz 05 (19:30)

Serie A

• Parma vs Lecce (19:45)

Ligue 1

• Montpellier vs Lens (19:45)

Primeira Liga

• Boavista vs Famlicao (20:15)

EFL Championship

• Blackburn vs Preston (20:00)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robin van Persie.