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After one of the most turbulent weeks in FIFA’s recent history, Gianni Infantino has emerged with the backing of the organization’s leadership. During an emergency meeting in Morocco, FIFA officials publicly reaffirmed their support for the president after his controversial plan to sell a stake in the World Cup’s commercial business sparked global backlash and was ultimately withdrawn.
The proposal faced fierce opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF, and several other football stakeholders, who criticized the lack of transparency and consultation. FIFA has since admitted mistakes were made, apologized to its member associations, and pledged to review its governance processes moving forward.
WAS HOT Take: Infantino may have survived this battle, but the trust between FIFA and many of its member associations has clearly taken a hit. The World Cup sell-off proposal may be gone, but the debate over the future of football’s biggest tournament is far from over.
Here are you key dates in August!
Find out as we went behind the scenes at Michigan State University.
We answer if the World Cup is really for Sale, and if it should be sold! Along with much more. We're talking transfer rumors, games coming up in August, and tons of of fun soccer banter that needs to be had! Jump into the comments and let us know your thoughts.
Check out our shorts on ALL topics about the beautiful game.
Dan Raben has done pretty much every job that exists in youth soccer — coach, director of player development, director of operations, coaching educator, you name it. In this episode, he sits down with Brooks to talk about something coaches don't discuss nearly enough: taking care of yourself while you're busy taking care of everyone else's kids. They get into how to handle the tough situations that come up on the sideline and behind the scenes, why communication makes or breaks a coaching career, and how to find some actual balance in a job that tends to swallow people whole. If you coach youth soccer — or any youth sport, really — there's a lot here worth taking notes on.
What does it actually take to become a sports agent? Eddie and Kal open up about what the day-to-day really looks like during the intensity of the season versus the slower rhythm of the offseason, and what separates the agents who make it from those who don't. They also get into the details on breaking into the industry — including just how grueling the agent certification exam can be.
Brooks sits down with Quorum Sports agents Eddie Hudson and Kal Kieran for an unfiltered look at the business of sports representation — from the grind of building a client roster from zero to the highs and lows of life on both sides of the calendar.
Skip Gilbert spent years leading US Youth Soccer as its CEO — and he hasn't stopped thinking about what American soccer needs to get better. In a wide-ranging conversation with We Are Soccer's Brooks Laimbeer, Skip breaks down his provocative new document, A Call For Structural Change, which he released publicly on LinkedIn and has been generating buzz across the soccer community.
The two dig into some of the most pressing questions facing the game in this country: Why are we producing athletes instead of soccer players? Does U.S. Soccer need an alternative pathway beyond the traditional 11v11 format? And is the culture of constant travel tournaments doing more harm than good to player development?
If you care about the future of American soccer, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.
We Are Soccer takes you inside the game — exclusive interviews with players, coaches, and all-time legends who’ve shaped the sport.
Every Sunday at 9 PM ET, catch us live on YouTube as we break down the weekend’s biggest moments and look ahead at what’s coming in the soccer world. Prefer to listen on the go? New interviews drop every Tuesday and Thursday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Coming Up:
James DeCosemo — Head Coach, Central Michigan Women’s Soccer (Out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts)
Zach Ramsey- Washington Men’s Soccer, TST 7v7 and Getting Drafted by the Vancouver Whitecaps
Tori Christ- Michigan State Women’s Soccer Goalkeeper Coach
Lee Schwartz- West coast Advisory Board Member for the Concussion and CTE Foundation
Peter Vermes- Former Sporting Kansas City Head Coach
And More!!
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Want to connect with tens of thousands of soccer readers instantly? Contact us at craig@wearesoccer.show and let’s chat.
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