Lovely piece by @margaretfleming.bsky.social for @frontofficesports.bsky.social remembering Grant: frontofficesports.com/world-cup-gr...

Four top-ranked teams in the World Cup will train at U.S. high schools this summer. Some of the schools already have a side business as soccer training sites, all offer top-notch facilities and tons of privacy, and one is a repeat World Cup host from 1994. frontofficesports.com/prep-schools...

FIFA is allowing Zohran Mamdani to sell 1,000 tickets to New Yorkers for $50 apiece, the cheapest anywhere for the tournament. “We are making sure that working people will not be priced out of the game that they helped to create," Mamdani said today. frontofficesports.com/zohran-mamda...

Philadelphia's Fan Fest is free and open for 39 days. Its train is $2.90 to matches and $0 back. How is the city doing it? The host committee tells me it started fundraising in 2020, and its private funding total will come out to about $60M to $65M. frontofficesports.com/philadelphia...

The Trump administration says Iraqi players were not denied visas. "Currently, there are no known issues affecting the Iraq National Team players, and they remain on track to compete in the World Cup," says Andrew Giuliani of the World Cup Task Force. frontofficesports.com/world-cup-ir...

One month out from the World Cup, FIFA still has thousands of pricey tickets left unsold. I spoke about FIFA's strategy with ticketing experts, who called the prices "aggressive" and the strategy "harsh." frontofficesports.com/fifa-world-c...

Trump "wouldn't pay it either" to see USMNT for $1,000 in LA. Mamdani is in "active negotiations" with FIFA about ticket prices. Congresspeople are writing FIFA demanding answers. On yesterday's ticket drop, and what politicians are saying this week: frontofficesports.com/trump-zohran...

FIFA is selling a singular ticket to the final in New Jersey on July 19 for $32,970. This week, president Gianni Infantino said FIFA doesn't control high costs on its resale site. But this price comes straight from FIFA.

I wrote about Atlanta's evolution as a soccer city, with insight from US Soccer, AMBSE, Atlanta United, MLS, and the NWSL: frontofficesports.com/us-soccer-tr...

Last night, the MLS commissioner posted "Liar liar pants on fire" at the Premier of British Columbia. A league source tells me Don Garber was at dinner in Vancouver, and the few people with access to his account were either at the meal or asleep in NY. frontofficesports.com/vancouver-wh...

The NWSL added a new expansion team in Columbus today. "This is a city that has long been at the heart of American soccer," said commissioner Jessica Berman. Expansion fees for 2026 & 2028 clubs: Boston: $53M Denver: $110M Atlanta: $165M Columbus: $205M frontofficesports.com/nwsl-columbu...

The NWSL is making a "major announcement on the future of soccer in Columbus" this afternoon at 3:30PM ET. Commissioner Jessica Berman, members of the bidding ownership group, local officials, and the Crew are all attending.

Today I went to New Jersey Transit's press briefing where they announced $150 round-trip World Cup train tickets, and the host committee unveiled an $80 shuttle bus. The details behind the high prices, and FIFA's spicy response, in the story below: frontofficesports.com/nj-transit-b...

A judge approved Grand Slam Track's plan to exit bankruptcy today. GST will pay 70% of what it owes athletes and 14% to vendors. Then it'll try to start over—whether it can is another thing. Full story, including how some athletes almost gave up money: frontofficesports.com/grand-slam-t...

NEW: The NWSL is working on a policy where brands have to make a deal with the league for players to wear their cleats without covering logos or being fined. Nike & Adidas are in, but players have existing deals other brands, too. The WNBA has a similar rule. frontofficesports.com/nwsl-brand-d...

When FIFA announced its new prediction-market partner last week, experts told us they'd never heard of ADI Predictstreet. Turns out, it hasn't launched yet. My colleague Ben Horney and I did some digging. Here's what we found. frontofficesports.com/fifa-world-c...

I interviewed Rep. Nellie Pou, who represents the district in New Jersey where the World Cup final will be played. She told me DHS is "100%" withholding federal security funds from World Cup host cities for political reasons amid the shutdown. frontofficesports.com/nellie-pou-t...

Iran didn't go to FIFA's planning meetings this week. Trump said "I really don't care" if Iran is at the World Cup. FIFA wants everybody involved. On Iran's unclear World Cup future, with weigh-in from some political experts: frontofficesports.com/trump-iran-w...

100 days to go until the World Cup! Here are seven major questions that still need to be answered ahead of the tournament: frontofficesports.com/world-cup-qu...

Iran's World Cup future is uncertain following Saturday's attacks by the U.S. and Israel. The president of the Iranian soccer federation: “What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope.” frontofficesports.com/irans-world-...

New story from the Epstein files: his foundation gave $60K to a MD girls soccer powerhouse between 2004 and 2006. This happened around the time prosecutors say he abused underage girls, and during an investigation into those crimes in Florida. Full story here: frontofficesports.com/epstein-mary...

Kristi Noem says FEMA was in the "final stages" of reviewing World Cup grant applications before this month's DHS shutdown. As the World Cup gets closer, cities still don't have the hundreds of millions worth of federal funding earmarked for security. frontofficesports.com/world-cup-dh...

I'm excited to share that starting today I'll be focusing on soccer for FOS! It's a huge year for the sport in the US and I'll mostly cover the World Cup, but I'm also pumped to write about the NWSL, MLS & Europe. Football friends, reach out! ✉️: [email protected]

LA28 confirms Casey Wasserman will remain chair of its organizing committee. "We found Mr. Wasserman's relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented." Earlier today, Abby Wambach quit his agency. frontofficesports.com/abby-wambach...

The Washington Post shuttered its sports department this morning. Our story on the layoffs and the many sports journalists who were impacted: frontofficesports.com/washington-p...

We've been tracking all the major sports figures whose names appear in the latest batches of Epstein files. We'll keep updating this story as we know more. frontofficesports.com/epstein-spor...

As Trump has increased his sports travel, I've been asking the Secret Service how much it costs for him to attend these events. The Daytona 500 is the priciest trip so far at $560K. Including the Super Bowl, the agency spent ~$800K for 2025's first 4 events. frontofficesports.com/trump-secret...

I've connected with local reporters from the game Cori Close blasted for having "no media." These reporters didn't need a UCLA presser for their stories, but Close's point—why no one was there to ask UCLA questions after the top-20 matchup—remains. frontofficesports.com/ucla-ohio-st...

Investors have provided Grand Slam Track with up to 8-figures in emergency financing. It's not enough to pay all of the league's debts, but GST sent athletes half of what they are owed this morning. Next they'll turn to vendors. Exclusive for FOS: frontofficesports.com/grand-slam-t...

Trump became the first president to attend the Super Bowl this year, and his 5 1/2 hour trip to New Orleans cost the Secret Service at least $120,000 in payments to hotels and the NFL. New docs offer a window into the costs of Trump's sports-heavy second term: frontofficesports.com/trump-super-...

Yesterday we reported that MLS has granted an exemption to the supporters group of the Columbus Crew to display a Palestinian flag for their team's new striker, Wessam Abou Ali. MLS has banned Israeli and Palestinian flags since 2023. frontofficesports.com/mls-columbus...

Weeks ago, Grand Slam Track said the $3 million it owed athletes was coming "imminently." Those payments have not been made, the league admits it's "struggling" to make them, and its future is in doubt. Some new reporting with @margaretfleming.bsky.social frontofficesports.com/grand-slam-t...

Hi Bluesky! I finally made an account so I could share this story. The Hockey Canada allegations exposed the sport's dark history of abuse, then the verdict fractured the hockey world. Where does hockey go from here? Free to read on Front Office Sports ⬇️ frontofficesports.com/after-hockey...