Browsing: Leaders

If you’re a human being with eyes and ears, it has been hard to survive the last several years untouched by the cultural zeitgeist of Taylor Swift, which has made it hard, in turn, to avoid having an opinionof her.

Your NFL games, your Thanksgiving tables and your Instagram feeds have turned Swift from a pop music superstar into a regular piece of your everyday life — so, like most other pieces of your everyday life, you have developed feelings.

This turns out to be the most impressive thing about Taylor Swift — not your opinion, but the fact you have one. It reflects Swift’s greatest success as an artist: Her ability to make fortune out of her fame, and vice versa.

The first part of that equation — fame — has been liability in the pro golf world over the last decade. As the pro game has evolved from a part-time sprint into a 50-week-per-year marathon, the outcome hasn’t quite been Swiftmania. Rather than obsessing over pro golf, many fans have lapsed into a state of ambivalence — fatigued by the length of the season, the lack of anticipation or cohesion between events, and the slog of 11.5 months without a break. Players have felt it, too; when LIV entered the sport in the early 2020s, its defectors touted schedule freedom as one of the deciding factors in taking the plunge (though tens of millions in signing bonuses certainly didn’t hurt).

At the time of pro golf’s schedule expansion, the prevailing theory held that adding events was a necessary component of golf’s desire for ever-growing fortune. (If players wanted to make more money, the theory went, they had to provide more hours of television coverage to the networks.) In some ways, this theory proved true — the enhanced schedule helped the PGA Tour ink a historic set of 10-year rights agreements in 2019, and LIV expanded its own schedule to bolster revenue as its losses crept near $5 billion.

But adding volume without concern for quality was always a flawed strategy. Consider how it might look if the business in question was your local diner. Your diner’s ability to make money is constrained by the number of tables in its dining room, but its business is much more directly affected by the quality of its food. Your local diner could make more money by building an additional dining room, but if it came at the expense of the food quality (or even the food consistency), the momentary boost in revenue wouldn’t be worth the long-term decline in reputation. Your diner’s most loyal customers (the diehards) might stick around and learn the plates that still worked, but its exposure to the broader community would be stunted, and the business would start shrinking.

This type of trend is what new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has been hired to reverse. Rolapp, a longtime NFL executive, has entered the lead job at golf’s largest pro tour promising “significant change” to the business. He has been careful to mention scarcityand simplicityas two of his administration’s primary focuses — scaling back the size and menu of the PGA Tour restaurant in pursuit of a better overall meal.

“I think the focus will be to create events that really matter,” Rolapp said. “Competition should be easy to follow. The regular season and postseason should be connected in a way that builds towards the Tour Championship in a way that all sports fans can understand.”

Who is Brian Rolapp? Insiders speak on PGA Tour CEO’s pedigree and plan

By:

James Colgan

Of course, the same argument works in reverse: Adding quality without concern for volume is also a bad idea. If your local diner was the best restaurant in town but only could seat 10 people per night, it might achieve great fame, but it might never amass a great fortune. What good would it be to run the best restaurant in town if you couldn’t afford to pay your rent?

This brings us back to Swift, the pop star with the best of both worlds: fame andfortune, quality andvolume. Two weeks ago, Swift’s newest album, The Life of a Showgirl, shattered another set of music industry records, including the biggest sales week of any album ever. Later, Swift followed up that act by announcing her latest creative endeavor: A Disney+ mini-series following her through the making of another multi-billion-dollar entity, the Erastour. These newly sprouted money trees were only part of a broader list of new Taylor Swift offerings that surrounded the album release, like a limited-release movie theater run during the album’s opening weekend, a limited-edition vinyl in Summertime Pink Spritz Shimmer, or the New Heightspodcast appearance that set the whole album machine in motion.

You did not need to look long at Swift over these last few weeks to see a unifying theory emerge: Swift has a core product (her music), an events business (her world tour(s)), a video business (her TV and film offerings) and a hard products business (vinyls, merch and other goodies.) In each of these tentacles, Swift has built entry points for every type of consumer: Her casual fans (people who know her face when they see her on Sunday Night Football), her core audience (her regular listeners and concert attendees) and her diehard audience (her superfans). In each of these tentacles and to each group of fans, Swift has an innate sense of how to deliver the goods, from catchy Billboard No. 1s to the hidden metaphors inside a deep well of “secret tracks.”

At the intersection of the worlds of quality and volume, Swift has found … both. She has built the music world’s biggest diner and supplied it with a massive marketing budget, a never-ending stream of regulars and a special off-menu menu for the diehards. Everywhere you look, Swift is selling a product that reinforces her fame and enlarges her fortune.

The result? Swift is a billionaire, claiming a net worth of $1.6 billion in 2025, according to Forbes, and an unquestioned vice grip on the title of world’s most famous celebrity.

The Swift lesson for pro golf is simple: The choice between quality and volume is not binary. You can have both, but you cannot have it easily. The balance between these two traits exists on a razor’s edge — and requires an incredibly deft hand.

After all, without Swift’s obsession with the infinitesimally small details of songwriting and composition, she never could have authored of a steady stream of No. 1 hits. And without No. 1 hit status, she never could have dreamt of worldwide fame. Without worldwide fame, Swift could never have pulled off a cultural phenomenon like the Erastour. And without the Erastour — and the massive, skillfully operated business underpinning it — Swift could never dream of billionaire status or a regular seat at your Thanksgiving table.

It is in these small details that fortunes are won and lost, and in these small details that pro golf faces a massive opportunity. The sport already has no shortage of volume and plenty of quality — now it must marry those things together to become a business much greater than the sum of its parts.

Eventually, the goal is to make the world listen to you, but first you have to listen reallyclosely to the world around you.

It’s pro golf’s time to listen, and the journey begins on track 1.

Oct 16, 2025, 06:30 AM ET

HAENAM, South Korea — Two decade-long veterans on the LPGA Tour — 32-year-old Sei Young Kim and 34-year-old American Lindy Duncan — were among the leaders after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship on Thursday.

Kim had eight birdies and an eagle for a 10-under 62 to top the leaderboard at the Pine Beach Golf Links. Duncan was two strokes behind after making birdies on three of her final five holes.

In between the pair was Hyo Joo Kim, who shot 63.

Sei Young Kim joined the LPGA Tour in 2015, a year after Duncan. The big difference is that Kim has 12 career LPGA victories and Duncan none.

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Kim moved to 9 under and the lead with a birdie on the par-3 15th hole.

“This is near my hometown, so I have lots of family, my cousins, a lot of fans,” Kim said. “So I had a great start from the first hole and all the way through 18th hole, getting a lot of support.”

Rio Takeda shot 65 and was in a group tied for fourth.

Canadian Brooke Henderson shot 67, while American Lucy Li, who had a hole-in-one on the par-3 13th and won a car, had a 68.

“It was a good number into the wind. I hit it right at the pin,” Li said of her ace. “Thought it might end up a little short, but it went in. I just started freaking out. I was like, this is the hole-in-one hole. I’ve been complaining all week to my caddie about having not holed out this year.”

Hannah Green, who is the defending champion, started off with consecutive birdies but stalled throughout her round and finished with a 68, as did fellow Australian Minjee Lee.

Green’s win last year was her third of the 2024 season, making her the first Australian player since Karrie Webb to win three times in a season on the LPGA Tour.

Green’s recent finishes on tour include a tie for 28th and a missed cut in Canada in August and a tie for 66th in Arkansas in September.

“My golf game hasn’t been quite where I would like it to be. The last few months has been probably the most hard time I’ve had in my career,” Green said before the first round. “I was back in Australia for the last three weeks, so was able to reset.”

This is the first of consecutive tournaments in South Korea, with the International Crown team event scheduled for next week.

Jeeno Thitikul last week became the first multiple winner on the LPGA Tour this season with a five-hole playoff victory in Shanghai over Minami Katsu, who shot 68 on Thursday in South Korea. Thitikul is not playing this week but will be part of Thailand’s team in the International Crown next week.

After the International Crown, two more LPGA events are scheduled on the five-event Asian swing at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and in Japan.

Image credit:
Jacob Misiorowski (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

Last week, we compiled top Stuff+ scores across a variety of pitch types in the minor leagues to present a good idea of which pitchers had outlier offerings in 2025. As a follow-up, weâ€ll be looking at the top overall arsenals in the minor leagues this season.

You’ll find a couple different Stuff+ scores in the table below. The first is the standard Stuff+ score with which we measure the quality of an arsenal. With this, weâ€re simply measuring how each pitcherâ€s total pitch mix grades out over the season.

The other number listed is our normalized Stuff+ score, which takes a different approach.

We normalize our Stuff+ scores by rebalancing data for each pitch classification against the average Stuff+ for that pitch type. So, because the average slider has a Stuff+ of 110, if a pitcher has a slider with a Stuff+ of 110, it is considered an “average†example of such a pitch and is rebalanced to 100 on the normalized scale. The weighted average of each pitcherâ€s normalized arsenal then results in their normalized Stuff+ score. Using this model allows us to more accurately identify which pitchers are bringing elite stuff to each at-bat.

All players included below threw a minimum of 1,000 pitches in front of ball-tracking devices this season.

Top 150 Stuff+ Leaders For 2025

playerorghandpitchesstuff+nstuff+Gavin CollyerTEXR1056124119Carlos LagrangeNYYR1764121122Griff McGarryPHIR1128121121Jacob MisiorowskiMILR1014119125Devereaux HarrisonTORR1616119117Aidan FoellerLADR1730118123Levi WellsBALR1257118118Brody HopkinsTBRR1748117120Gerelmi MaldonadoSFGR1010117120David SandlinBOSR1569117114Robert StockBOSR1403117113Bryan MataBOSR1164116117Blade TidwellSFGR1581116115Frank ElissaltSTLR1027116114Beck WayKCRR1136116111Casey AndersonARIR1481116108Miguel MendezSDPR1442115119Hunter OmlidCOLR1055115118Chris CortezLAAR1916115116Thaddeus WardBALR2038115105Jaxon WigginsCHCR1006114120Chris CamposLADR1752114118Luis MoralesATHR1422114116Eriq SwanWSNR1497114112Nolan McLeanNYMR1769114111Troy WatsonDETR1203114111Ashton IzziARIR1157114111Brendan GirtonNYMR1370114110Dylan DeLuciaCLER1775113119Noah DeanBOSL1117113117Sandy GastonLAAR1137113116Troy MeltonDETR1243113116Jefferson JeanATHR1481113116Brooks AugerLADR1336113115Ramsey DavidHOUR1339113113Alessandro ErcolaniPITR1535113113Leonard GarciaLAAL1040113111Cam SchlittlerNYYR1263113110Marlon NievesLADR1232113109Trey GibsonBALR1643113108Sam CarlsonLADR1030113106Will SchombergMIAR1296113104Ryan LobusTEXR1048113102Wilber DotelPITR1754112119Niko MazzaSFGR1514112117Jonathan PintaroNYMR1164112115Ryan LongBALR1369112115Noah SchultzCHWL1221112115George KlassenLAAR1538112113Bryce MayerHOUR1444112112Andrew LandryNYYR1590112110Yerlin RodriguezMILR1059112110Victor MederosLAAR1688112109Joan OgandoHOUR1574112108Blas CastanoSEAR1651112108Michael FulmerSEAR1000112103Bubba ChandlerPITR1837111119Ben HessNYYR1422111117Jackson NezuhHOUR1148111117Andrew PainterPHIR1756111115Payton TolleBOSL1397111115Will WatsonNYMR1658111115Keythel KeyLAAR1732111115Gage JumpATHL1655111114Ryan DeggesPHIR1284111114Brandon SproatNYMR1911111113John HolobetzBOSR1651111111Rafael GonzalezHOUR1067111110Mike ClevingerCHWR1236111110Sam RyanLAAR1065111110Wyatt OldsBOSR1108111110Joe BoyleTBRR1231111110Caden ScarboroughTEXR1245111109Yorman GomezCLER1804111108Ryan BirchardMILR1812111107Isaiah LoweSDPR1669111106Carson SeymourSFGR1333111106Dom HamelNYMR1061111105Luis MorenoNYMR1064111102Gage ZiehlCHWR1552111101Abdiel MendozaMILR1203111101Jose UrbinaTBRR1343110114Jose OlivaresMINR1499110113Jurrangelo CijntjeSEAS1495110113Estibenzon JimenezPHIR1693110112Peter HeubeckLADR1133110111Ismael AgredaTEXR1294110110Kade MorrisATHR2021110108Tyson HardinMILR1303110107Jhancarlos LaraATLR1176110107Karson MilbrandtMIAR1402110106Wilian BormieTEXR1064110106Logan TabelingLADR1344110105Cam DayLADR1180110105Wellington AracenaBALR1371110105Patrick CopenLADR2001110104Zack TukisPHIR103211099Kyle TylerCWSR146911096Christian OpporCHWL1320109120Dalton PenceTEXL1190109114Vicarte DomingoSDPR1096109114Cam CaminitiATLL1019109114Jacob BresnahanSFGL1388109113Miguel UllolaHOUR1794109112Alex AmalfiTORR1293109112Payton MartinLADR1315109112Ryan SloanSEAR1163109111Cole HillierSFGR1004109105Evan TruittSEAR1519109105Brett WichrowskiMILR1482109104Mike ParedesMINR1479109104Andrew BashTORR1209109103Bryce ConleyWSNR1642109102Jack SellingerMIAL105510995Antwone KellyPITR1541108117Yunior TurATHR1801108113Davian GarciaWSNR1492108113Trace BrightBALR1329108113Logan MartinKCRR1413108113Trevor HarrisonTBRR1604108112Tanner McDougalCHWR1738108111Blake BurkhalterATLR1568108110Lazaro EstradaTORR1562108110Hunter DrydenSFGR1450108110Ryan JenningsTORR1045108110Chayce McDermottBALR1069108109Colby LangfordHOUL1112108109Colby HolcombeTORR1268108109Luis De La TorreSFGL1126108109Eliazar DishmeyMIAR1427108108Matt SauerLADR1361108108Christian LittleSEAR1077108108Nate DohmSTLR1241108108Juan MercedesSFGR1008108108Yoel Tejeda Jr.WSNR1327108107Justin DunnKCRR1110108107Luke FoxLADL1368108107Blake AitaBOSR1580108106Jackson CoxCOLR1218108106Nolan SparksSTLR1257108106Jake BrooksMIAR1580108105Darren BowenMINR1329108105Kevin ValdezCHCR1413108105Zach MessingerNYYR1256108103Noble MeyerMIAR1127108103Blake MoneyBALR1607108103Curtis TaylorSTLR1833108103Gary Gill HillTBRR1776108103Marco RayaMINR1498108103Jayden MurrayHOUR1078108102

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Chelsea and Manchester United both maintained their unbeaten starts to the Womenâ€s Super League season, although the defending champions†100% winning record was brought to an end by an entertaining contest between the top two.

The result extended Unitedâ€s agonisingly long wait for a first WSL victory over Chelsea but they will have taken great encouragement from their performance, on a night when both teams created plenty of chances to win and the home side showed they may well have the qualities to mount a serious title challenge.

For a game played between the teams with the two best defensive records in the WSL last term, and which had conceded the fewest goals so far this season before kick-off, the game began in a surprisingly open fashion as both attacked early on. The contest opened at such a fast pace that it could easily have been 2-2 inside the first six minutes, with Hannah Hampton saving with her feet from Elisabeth Terland, Catarina Macarioâ€s effort being blocked by Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park firing narrowly over the crossbar and then Aggie Beever‑Jones following suit when she looked certain to score.

Chelsea did then provide the goal the early flurry of attacks had threatened, as Wieke Kaptein met Macarioâ€s clever back-heeled pass and slotted in a neat, clinical finish low into the corner, as the hosts conceded a league goal for only the second time this season.

Manchester United had lost 10 of their previous 11 WSL meetings with Chelsea, but this confident version of Marc Skinnerâ€s team were unwilling to roll over. Inspired by the dribbling of Park, who seemed determined to skip her way past as many defenders as possible and was the driving force of her teamâ€s adventurous play, they continued to create chances and they were soon level when Anna Sandberg scored her first goal for the club. She could hardly have caught her strike any sweeter, angling her foot perfectly over the ball to arrow a half-volley powerfully past Hampton from just outside the area.

The game was played amid Storm Amy, which brought swirling rain and gusts of wind, and started with a minuteâ€s silence following the terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday, with the home side also wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.

Additionally, both sets of teams joined together in a circle pre-match against racism at the start of Black History Month, in a week when the Peterborough player Kira Rai suffered racist abuse. The England and Tottenham forward Jessica Naz was the victim of racism online nine days previously.

Wieke Kaptein gave Chelsea an early lead. Photograph: Steve Taylor/PPAUK/Shutterstock

This was the ground where Chelsea clinched last seasonâ€s title, with a 1-0 victory in a game that had been fairly even. This looks like a much-improved United team since then, though, and they continued to threaten in the second half, with Fridolina Rolföâ€s deflected effort looping on to the top of the bar before Parkâ€s swerving effort flew narrowly over. Melvine Malard, on as a substitute, dragged a low shot wide with 21 minutes remaining.

Skinner had said on Wednesday that he wanted his team to be brave and “show Chelsea that you can beat themâ€, and they certainly seemed to respond to his rallying cry as they continued to play with intensity and attacking intent, while Chelsea remained dangerous at the other end too, with Beever-Jones going close.

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Such was the extent of the test Chelsea were being presented with, there was even a rare moment of frustration from Sonia Bompastor, with the Chelsea coach shown a yellow card in the second half after she bemoaned a free-kick decision against her team.

Chelseaâ€s Sjoeke Nüsken bent an effort just wide of a post as the visitors began to search for a late winner, and Alyssa Thompson was almost able to race through on to a loose ball inside the penalty area but she was tackled by the quick-thinking United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who also dived low to her left to keep out a Keira Walsh shot moments later.

Guro Reiten had a shot blocked in stoppage time, as late Chelsea pressure grew, but in the end a draw was a relatively fair result and sets the weekendâ€s action up nicely before the other two title contenders, Manchester City and Arsenal, go head-to-head on Saturday. They will be hungry to capitalise on Chelsea and United sharing a point, with City able to close to within a point of the leaders if they win.

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Sep 29, 2025, 01:41 AM ET

NEW YORK — Philadelphia’s Trea Turner won his second National League batting title with a record-low .304 average, and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge earned his first American League championship by leading the major leagues at .331.

San Diego’s Tony Gwynn had the previous low for an NL champion at .313 in 1988. The only lower average by any batting champion was .301 by Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski, who won the AL title in 1968.

Turner, who went 0-for-2 on Sunday in his return from a strained right hamstring, was the NL’s only .300 hitter. The previous low of three was set in 2022 and matched last year.

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“Everyone throws 100 [mph]. Everyone has six pitches. Nobody knows where the ball’s going,” Turner said. “Defenses are way better than they’ve ever been.”

Philadelphia had not had a batting champion since Richie Ashburn in 1958. Turner also won a batting title in 2021 when he led the major leagues at .328 for Washington and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Seven qualified big leaguers hit .300 or better, matching last year for the fewest since a record-low six in 1968.

Judge became the third player to hit 50 or more homers and win a batting title, after Jimmie Foxx in 1938 and Mickey Mantle in 1956. He is the fifth player since the expansion era started in 1961 to lead the major leagues in batting average, slugging percentage (.688) and on-base percentage (.457), after George Brett in 1980, Larry Walker in 1999, Barry Bonds in 2002 and Miguel Cabrera in 2013.

At 6-foot-7, Judge is the tallest batting champion. The previous high of 6-foot-5 included Derrek Lee, Joe Mauer, John Olerud, Dave Parker and Frank Thomas.

“I just gave him a ball and said, ‘You know, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, you’re in that company now,'” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Judge.

“Those are legends in the game who will be talked about forever,” Judge said a short while later. “Getting a chance to be with that group is something I don’t take lightly.”

Toronto’s Bo Bichette was a distant second at .311.

Seven players had 30 homer-30 stolen base seasons, three more than the previous high. Arizona‘s Corbin Carroll, the Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr., the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, the New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, Cleveland’s José Ramírez and Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez all achieved the feat.

Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. led in doubles with 47, while the Mets’ Pete Alonso and Atlanta’s Matt Olson tied atop the NL with 41.

Arizona’s Carroll had 17 triples and became the first player to lead the NL in three straight years since Garry Templeton in 1977-79. Boston’s Jarren Duran had 13 and led the AL for the second consecutive season.

José Caballero, acquired by the Yankees from Tampa Bay in July, led the AL in stolen bases for the second straight season with 49. Soto and Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz tied for the NL lead with 38 each.

There were zero no-hitters for first time since 2005, and no team won 100 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since since 2012-14.

Max Fried of the Yankees led the major leagues with 19 wins and Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta topped the NL with 17.

There were no 20-game winners in consecutive non-shortened seasons for the first time in major league history. The only other non-shortened seasons without a 20-game winner were 1871, 2006, 2009 and 2017.

Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes at 1.97 became the first qualified pitcher with an ERA under 2.00 since Justin Verlander in 2022. The 23-year-old right-hander was the youngest pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA since 20-year-old Dwight Gooden’s 1.53 in 1985.

Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal won his second straight AL ERA title at 2.21.

Boston lefty Garrett Crochet led the major leagues with 255 strikeouts, and San Francisco righty Logan Webb topped the NL at 224.

Kansas City’s Carlos Estévez led the major leagues with 42 saves, and San Diego’s Robert Suarez had an NL-leading 40.

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Sep 23, 2025, 11:39 PM ET

FIFA president Gianni Infantino met on Tuesday in New York with CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez and leaders of three South American soccer federations to discuss the expansion of the men’s 2030 World Cup to 64 teams.

CONMEBOL’s proposal for expansion was first introduced in March by a delegate from Uruguay during an online meeting of the ruling council of world soccer’s governing body.

On Tuesday, however, Dominguez met with Infantino and the federation presidents of Argentina and Uruguay, as well as the President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, and of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi to discuss the proposal further, marking the first time the CONMEBOL leaders presented the concept directly to Infantino.

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“We believe in a historic 2030 World Cup!” Domínguez said in a social media post after the meeting. “Thank you, President Gianni Infantino, for welcoming us and sharing this journey toward the centennial of football’s greatest celebration. We want to call for unity, creativity, and believing big. Because when football is shared by everyone, the celebration is truly global.”

For the first time since the 1998 edition, the World Cup is set to expand from a 32-team format to 48 teams in 2026.

The 2030 World Cup is already set to be the most sprawling edition with six host nations spread across three continents.

Uruguay was the original World Cup host in 1930 and is scheduled to stage one game. Paraguay, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Morocco are also co-hosts.

“I had the honor of being part of the FIFA summit, organized by Gianni Infantino, with the goal of starting to organize what will be the 2030 World Cup. It was truly a pleasure to have represented our country at this important meeting,” Argentina federation president Claudio Chiqui Tapia said in a social media post. “We are family and we have done our part to request this meeting so our dream can become reality.”

¡Creemos en un Mundial 2030 histórico! Gracias Presidente Gianni Infantino por recibirnos y compartir este camino hacia el Centenario de la mayor fiesta del fútbol.

Queremos hacer un llamado a la unidad, a la creatividad y a Creer en Grande. Porque cuando el fútbol se vive entre… pic.twitter.com/XANKxNLf5J

— Alejandro Domínguez (@agdws) September 24, 2025

Expanding to 64 teams likely would guarantee all 10 CONMEBOL member countries a place in a bigger tournament. Venezuela is the only one that has never qualified for a World Cup.

The President of Argentina Javier Milei was not in attendance at the meeting but Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña and Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi participated in the meeting at FIFA’s Trump Tower offices.

FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafström was also in attendance.

“As we get closer to the date, we must reiterate that this cannot be just another event, it cannot be just another World Cup. We believe this is a once-in-a-century opportunity to have the group stage matches played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay,” Domínguez said.

If FIFA approves the move, it would create a tournament of 128 matches, double the number of the 64-game format that was played from 1998 through 2022. Earlier this year, UEFA president Aleksander ÄŒeferin called a 64-team World Cup “a bad idea.”

Critics of the 64-team proposal have argued it will weaken the quality of play and devalue the qualifying program in most continents.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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