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MANCHESTER, England — The great Saudi Arabian soccer experiment is on full show at the Club World Cup.

The oil-rich kingdom, which is spending billions of dollars to become a major player in the world’s most popular sport, scored a big win on the field Monday when Al Hilal beat Premier League giant Manchester City 4-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.

It was a seismic result in soccer terms; possibly the biggest upset of the tournament and precisely the type of statement Saudi Arabia has wanted to make since embarking on a project that will ultimately see it stage the World Cup in 2034.

“We wanted to show that Al Hilal has the talent, the power to be here,” said defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who was among a slew of star players paid fortunes to leave Europe’s top clubs for the Saudi Pro League in recent years.

The biggest of them all was Cristiano Ronaldo, who completed one of the most stunning moves in soccer history when joining Al Nassr for a reported salary of up to $200 million a year in 2022. That deal prompted a spectacular recruitment drive by Saudi teams — backed by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund — and in came superstars like Neymar and Karim Benzema, while audacious attempts were made to sign Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

Confirmation that Saudi Arabia had won the right to host the World Cup came in December. On the field, the Club World Cup was the first chance for the country to make a global statement about the growth of its domestic game, which is largely unheralded outside of Asia.

It is likely why Al Hilal — Saudi Arabia’s most successful team — was so eager to make another marquee signing before the tournament began and tried, but failed, to lure Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes.

It pulled off a coup by hiring coach Simone Inzaghi. The Italian arrived after leading Inter Milan to a second Champions League final in three seasons and he is already making a mark with his new team after drawing 1-1 against Real Madrid in the group stage and then beating City.

“We had to do something extraordinary because we knew how good Manchester City are, we knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen, and we were great,” Inzaghi said.

The broader picture is what Al Hilal’s run says about the standard of soccer in Saudi Arabia, which has been dismissed by some as a cash grab for players, who can earn far more than if they’d remained in Europe.

“Let’s see now if they will criticize us after these games,” said midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who joined Al Hilal from Italian team Lazio. “It’s not like how they are speaking about the league.”

Despite recruiting so many players from Europe’s top clubs — including Champions League winners N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino — it is difficult to judge the quality of the Saudi League.

To put Al Hilal’s run into context: while it may have won a record 19 league titles and four Asian championships, it is not the Saudi Arabia’s reigning national champion, having been beaten to the title by Benzema’s Al-Ittihad last season.

Another Saudi team, Al-Ahli, which counts former Liverpool forward Firmino and ex Manchester City winger Mahrez among its players, won the Asian Champions League this year.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, is yet to win the title in three attempts with Al Nassr — pointing to the depth of strength in the league.

Al Hilal’s performances have also come despite releasing Brazil great Neymar in January and with leading scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic having played no part so far because of injury.

The question now is how far Al Hilal can go.

Next up is Brazil’s Fluminense in the quarterfinals in Orlando on Friday.

City’s exit — along with Inter Milan’s defeat to Fluminense — has opened up that side of the draw, which also features Palmeiras and Chelsea.

On paper it looks like the favorable side of the draw, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain on the other side. But the success of Brazilian teams has been another theme of the tournament and Al Hilal will have to beat at least one more if it is to advance to the final.

Inzaghi, however, is used to overachieving. His two Champions League finals with Inter Milan came despite having an aging team and relying on savvy deals in the transfer market to pick up free agents and veteran players.

Inter’s victory against Barcelona in the semifinals of this year’s competition was one of the all-time classic contests — winning 7-6 on aggregate.

Al Hilal’s impressive run has come after Inzaghi spent just one week training with the team before the tournament.

Even if it is eliminated in the next round, a quarterfinals appearance would represent an outstanding campaign for a team that was not expected to compete for the title.

Saudi Arabia’s growing influence on sport — which also includes LIV Golf, world championship boxing, F1 and the buyout of Premier League team Newcastle — will continue to raise accusations it is “sportswashing” its reputation. Amnesty international called it “reckless” to grant it the World Cup over concerns about the country’s human rights record.

But its investment in sport is undoubtedly paying off and Al Hilal’s run is succeeding in raising the profile of its soccer league.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/saudi-arabias-great-soccer-experiment-paying-off-spectacularly-123378182

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Photo by Darren Stewart/Gallo Images

Source: https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/local/premiership/simo-dladla-joins-amazulu-as-assistant-coach

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Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — Extreme heat faced by soccer players at the Club World Cup in the United States will likely be an even bigger problem at the next two men’s World Cups, their global union FIFPRO warned on Monday.

The monthlong club event is being played in a heatwave in 11 American cities and union officials praised FIFA for helping to better protect players with cooling measures at games.

Still, FIFA did not take FIFPRO’s pre-tournament advice to look at postponing kickoff times by several hours on the hottest days — a move that would be even more complicated at a World Cup with more commercial pressures in play and more games scheduled each day.

Six of the 16 World Cup host cities next year in the U.S., Canada and Mexico are judged by FIFPRO as “extremely high risk” for heat stress injury to players among the 48 teams. The highest risk cities are Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas, Miami and Monterrey though some have indoor, air-conditioned stadiums.

“We are anticipating that this problem is going to be even more crucial for the coming years,” FIFPRO medical director Vincent Gouttebarge told reporters in a briefing call.

The 2030 World Cup will be co-hosted in June and July by Spain, Portugal and Morocco where fewer stadiums are enclosed and cooled, and temperatures in some cities on Monday were at or above 100 degrees F (38 C).

By 2030 the hot weather prospects for the tournament there “is even perhaps worse than what we have been facing so far,” Gouttebarge cautioned.

FIFPRO said extra heat mitigation measures could include 20-minute halftime breaks instead of 15 to help lower players’ core temperatures, and cooling breaks in play every 15 minutes. Currently, breaks are taken in the 30th minute of each half.

FIFA was approached for comment.

FIFA has reacted during the Club World Cup to lower the threshold for insisting on cooling or water breaks, plus placing more water and towels around the edge of the field.

“We are partially happy because FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was underway,” FIFPRO CEO-like general secretary Alex Phillips said.

Better shading benches for the substitutes and more hydration breaks are also preferred by the union, which has national affiliates representing players in about 70 countries.

“All these practical things is something that we must do better,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO strategy director, though adding “at some point that probably won’t be enough.”

The union gave its research to FIFA ahead of the Club World Cup opening on June 14, based on weather trends in the host cities since 2014. Seven of the 11 were judged high risk with Philadelphia and Washington, DC, at the top end.

“The past few weeks was also a confirmation of our worry,” Gouttebarge said, “that the heat condition would play a negative role for the performance and health of the players.”

Six Club World Cup games also were stopped because of forecast electric storms nearby. The delay was nearly two hours in Charlotte during Chelsea’s win in the round of 16 against Benfica.

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AP Club World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-club-world-cup

Source: https://www.foxsports.com/articles/soccer/after-club-world-cup-heatwave-in-us-soccer-players-union-warns-of-higher-risk-at-next-world-cups

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With Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates set to challenge Mamelodi Sundowns, the new season is expected to be an electrifying battle.

Source: https://www.goal.com/en-za/lists/kick-off-dates-for-2025-26-premier-soccer-league-mtn8-and-diski-league-revealed-report/bltb24bfc6fa73ebb5c

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Former SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt

Source: https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/local/siyagobhoza/gavin-hunt-tipped-for-durban-city-hotseat-after-simo-dladla-exit

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Tammy Abraham is set to join Besiktas from AS Roma in a deal worth €15 million plus bonuses, sources have told ESPN.

A full agreement was reached on Monday in a deal that will see Abraham move to Istanbul on a four-year contract.

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Abraham spent last season on loan at AC Milan, where he made 45 appearances across all competitions and scored 10 goals. Milan decided against making the loan move permanent and opted to return him to Roma.

Sources have told ESPN that Roma were under pressure to offload Abraham by Monday due to Financial Fair Play (FFP) issues.

Besiktas won the race for Abraham, who is a former England international with 11 caps, with Villarreal also having been interested.

Source: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45618478/tammy-abraham-join-besiktas-15m-transfer-sources

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Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Kaylin Swart has welcomed the pressure they are feeling to perform better on the field as Women’s Africa Cup of Nations defending champions.

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Source: https://www.sabcsport.com/soccer/news/kaylin-swart-welcomes-banyana-banyana-pressure

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France’s union of professional soccer players “launched a scathing attack on the Club World Cup” on Sunday, saying that “it is ‘urgent to stop this massacre’ amid ongoing concerns about extreme player workloads,” according to Jerome Pugmire of the AP. The UNFP also accused FIFA President Gianni Infantino of “living ‘in an ivory tower’ by ignoring the impact congested calendars have on players worldwide.” The UNFP statement said that the Club World Cup comes at the end of “an already exhausting season, and thereby ignores ‘collective bargaining agreements (which) almost everywhere, provide for an incompressible period of three weeks of rest for footballers between two seasons.’” (AP, 6/29). ESPN.com’s Rob Dawson noted Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has accepted that participation in the FIFA Club World Cup “could ‘destroy’ Manchester City’s season but has hinted that other clubs not in the tournament are jealous they aren’t taking part.” Guardiola said, “As managers, we don’t organize the competitions. Once we are here, we are proud. Many, many teams complain about these competitions because they are not here; otherwise, they might love being here” (ESPN.com, 6/29).

AVERAGE NUMBERS: REUTERS noted through four matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — two remain before the tournament’s semifinals and final are played in East Rutherford, N.J. — Atlanta has “seen an average turnout of” 39,971 per game. Attendance has improved in the latter days of the event, with Sunday’s match in Atlanta between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami — a 4-0 win by PSG — drawing 65,574 fans (REUTERS, 6/30). In Charlotte, Emma Moon noted while Chelsea and Benfica saw cooler temperatures on Saturday that peaked at 90 degrees, the East Coast has experienced a heat wave that has “affected players and fans throughout the tournament.” There have also been “multiple star players missing” from the CWC (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/29).

U.K. VIEWING: In London, Alan Tyers notes CWC viewing figures have “been very good.” Channel 5 boasted 1.6 million viewers for Chelsea’s match against LAFC. In the U.K., DAZN has sublicensed the rights to Channel 5. Of that 1.6 million mentioned above, 34% of the audience was in the coveted 16-34 demographic (London TELEGRAPH, 6/30).

SPIRIT OF NEW YORK: THE ATHLETIC’s Asli Pelit wrote soccer fans are “taking over Times Square.” For millions of people around the world, Times Square’s chaotic atmosphere embodies New York and, by extension, America itself.” It is “one of the few places in the city where large crowds can gather and celebrate, just like they do back home.” In less than a year, when North America hosts the biggest World Cup in history, N.Y. will be a “must-visit for soccer fans, whether their team is playing at MetLife or not.” If they do not act on it, World Cup organizers “could be leaving money on the table, something they can hardly afford to do right now.” Minute Media EVP/Global Business Fabio Sa said, “There is an opportunity here for FIFA and sponsors essentially, to take over these places, anticipate these movements and turn these iconic places to official places” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/29).

PITCH CARE: After the topsy-turvy weather in Philadelphia, Eagles ground crew chief Tony Leonard said everything is “going as planned” in terms of the field condition. Leonard added, “When you look at these systems and how they’re built and designed, it really is for the worst-case scenarios. Fortunately enough, with the vacuum ventilation system that we have below the pitch [which has been in the stadium since it was opened in 2003], that’s a key factor in being able to play these games in any kind of rain or elements.” On how the heat affects the pitch, and how you combat it, Leonard said it “really comes down to the grass” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 6/30).

Source: https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/06/30/club-world-cup-draws-complaint-from-french-soccer-union/

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Zambia midfielder Natasha Nanyangwe has declared the Copper Queens’ goal is to lift the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations trophy.

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Source: https://www.sabcsport.com/soccer/news/zambia-set-sights-on-wafcon-glory

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