Browsing: president

“The Fifa president does not have the authority to unilaterally dictate the organisation’s mission, strategic direction, policies and values.”

BBC Sport has contacted football’s world governing body for comment.

Infantino and Trump stood side by side during the glittering ceremony at the Kennedy Center for next year’s tournament, which takes place in the US, Canada and Mexico from 11 June-19 July.

As well as a large golden trophy, Trump received a medal and certificate from Infantino, who said “this is what we want from a leader” and “you can always count, Mr President, on my support” during a speech that followed a video before the presentation.

In October, the 55-year-old posted on Instagram saying Trump “definitely deserves” the Nobel Peace Prize.

During an interview in November at the American Business Forum in Miami, Infantino also added: “We should all support what [Trump] is doing [in the US] because I think it’s looking pretty good.”

FairSquare also alleged a video post by Infantino on Instagram in January – following his invite to Trump’s inauguration – “indicates support for President Trump’s political agenda”.

Nicholas McGeehan, FairSquare’s programme director, added: “This complaint is about a lot more than Infantino’s support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda.

“More broadly this is about how Fifa’s absurd governance structure has allowed Gianni Infantino to openly flout the organisation’s rules and act in ways that are both dangerous and directly contrary to the interests of the world’s most popular sport.”

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Staged just a mile from the White House, this is a World Cup draw with a distinctly political feel.

The glittering ceremony is at the Kennedy Center, the famous Washington arts venue now chaired by US President Donald Trump after he overhauled its board this year.

Alongside stars from football, US sports and show business, Trump was in attendance, as will the leaders of the other two co-hosts – Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Proceedings, however, seem to have been planned with the US president very much in mind.

Seventies group Village People were booked to play YMCA, a Trump favourite that is regularly heard at his campaign rallies. And, in a break with tradition, the draw ceremony featured the awarding of a new Fifa Peace Prize.

Such gestures will only underline the alliance forged between the US president and Fifa’s Infantino, who announced the award last month, saying that Trump deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the Israel-Gaza ceasefire, and enthusiastically praising his policies.

For critics, such moves are a threat to Fifa’s commitment to political neutrality, one enshrined in its statutes, and risk turning the draw – and the tournament itself – into propaganda tools.

Those critics believe Infantino and Trump are effectively too close for comfort, and that it sends a message that world football’s governing body is aligning with the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement, and endorsing what many feel is a divisive administration.

Asked about the new peace award, amid reports that the Fifa Council was not consulted about it, one senior official at the governing body told BBC Sport: “Why can’t this be bigger than the Nobel Peace Prize? Football has huge global support, so it’s right that it recognises extraordinary efforts to bring about peace every year.”

They pointed to the fact that in 2019 there was no such controversy when Fifa gave the president of Argentina an award to honour his contribution to football, and said the organisation deserves praise for endorsing peace in a divided world.

You can read the full piece from Dan Roan here.

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WWE President Nick Khan recently talked in an interview with Logan Paul, where he seemed to intentionally dodge mentioning Vince McMahon.

Khan was a part of a recent episode of ImPaulsive, where he talked on various topics. However, one of his comments piqued the interest of fans, where it seemed like he was deliberately skirting around the bush in order to not mention Vince McMahon’s name. When talking about celebrities that made their way into the active wrestling scene, Nick Khan said:

“When the executive who first brought Logan Paul to me, Triple H, and the founder of the company, he said hey we should give him a shot he wants to wrestle. The first thing we always look for, and it applies to Logan who is not full time with us, performing at an extremely high level. It applies to Bad Bunny, it applies to people who have come in, Tyson Fury. First of all they have to be a fan. If they are just doing it because as younger folks would say, I don’t know this might be dated term, they are chasing clout or something like this, we don’t want ’em.”

You can check out the full video here:

While it does seem strange, the reason could be TKO’s attempts to dissociate WWE from Vince McMahon after the former CEO was accused of various wrongdoings.

The WWE President Also Explained The Mystery Of The Green Shirt Guy

Apart from talking about Logan Paul, Nick Khan spoke on how the mystery person in green shirt could often be seen in the front row seats of WWE shows and events.

Speaking on the same episode of ImPaulsive, Khan said:

“One of the sister companies of WWE and UFC is On Location, which is VIP hospitality and entertainment. So he pays for his seats, he pays a premium for those seats with On Location, and thatâ€s why he gets to be in the front row.â€

This does put many rumors to rest, including one where the person in the green shirt was thought to be awarded front row seats in response to him not suing the company after being struck during one of the shows.

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How much assistance did TNA Wrestling get from WWE when it comes to their new media rights deal with AMC?

On Tuesday morning, TNA Wrestling fans got the news theyâ€ve been waiting for: the company has signed a new media rights deal to begin airing iMPACT on the AMC network in 2026. News began to trickle out following the announcement that WWE had a hand in helping TNA secure its new deal with AMC, but is there any truth to that?

TNA President Carlos Silva recently sat down with Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated. When asked how much involvement WWE had in helping TNA procure their new media rights deal with AMC, Silva said WWE wasnâ€t involved in the negotiations with AMC whatsoever.

“No, we did all the negotiations ourselves with me leading the charge on the TNA side, and then [Creative Artists Agency] leading the charge as our representative and our partner on the deal,†Silva said. “Look, WWE and NXT are very important partners to us. So we kept them in the loop.

“They knew what was coming. They knew about the deal before you knew about the deal. But no, theyâ€ve got their own deals. Theyâ€re very busy with their deals. So they let us go out and cut a deal and get on a major network. And I think theyâ€re happy for us. And we were happy with the way it went.â€

Will TNA iMPACT be live more often in 2026?

Hot off the heels of the new TV deal, TNA President Carlos Silva sat down with WrestleZone Managing Editor Carlos Silva this afternoon to discuss a wide variety of subjects.

Among the topics discussed, the possibility of iMPACT being live more often in 2026 than it has been in the past. You can check out Silvaâ€s comments on the matter by clicking here.

Look for our full interview with Carlos Silva dropping on WrestleZone soon.

READ MORE: ESPN Reportedly ‘Unhappy†With Current WWE Deal

What do you make of Carlos Silvaâ€s comments? Are you surprised to hear that WWE had no involvement in the negotiations of TNAâ€s new TV deal with AMC? Let us know your overall thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

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“Absolutely,” Silva responded after being asked if the two companies would continue working together. “It’s a big part of helping us get this deal. It’s a big part of, now, being able to almost give back a little, and provide a big platform for some of those superstars as well.”

Silva stated that TNA plans to continue its growth in 2026 and WWE is set to be a continuing part of that. Additionally, he revealed how the news was broken to the TNA roster this morning, with everyone being shown a video clip via conference call.

“We wanted everyone to hear it from us,” Silva said of the good news. “There was emotion there from everyone. Everyone knows, everyone knows how hard it’s been to get here. So that’s the good part. The bad part now is we’ve got pressure and we’ve gotta perform and we’ve gotta keep getting bigger.”

“Thursday Night iMPACT” will make its AMC debut on January 15 with a show in the area of Dallas, Texas. Silva also confirmed that TNA will hold its Genesis pay-per-view two days later in the same area. So far, the only thing announced for the show is that former WWE star Fandango, who now wrestles in TNA as JDC, will have his final match.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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The TNA Wrestling and WWE NXT relationship is still going strong heading into TNA’s new TV deal.

On Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that TNA and AMC have reached a multi-year media rights deal that will begin with the Thursday, January 15, 2026 episode of Impact. TNA President Carlos Silva appeared on Busted Open Radio following the announcement and addressed what this means for the TNA-NXT working relationship. Silva said the partnership remains ongoing — and he’s excited to see how it grows in 2026.

“Absolutely,” Silva responded when asked if the TNA-NXT relationship will continue. “It’s a big part of helping us get this deal. It’s a big part of now being able to almost give back a little and provide a big platform for some of those superstars as well. And so, absolutely. The storylines, the things we’re doing together, they’re just going to continue to grow into 2026,” Silva said.

“The last 5-6 months have been awesome, and I think there’s more to come. 2026 is just going to build off of that and be even bigger.”

WWE and TNA formally entered into their multi-year partnership in January 2025. In today’s press release announcing the TNA-AMC deal, the “groundbreaking” relationship with NXT was explicitly mentioned.

“TNA Wrestling in 2025 announced a ground-breaking, multi-year partnership with WWE and its NXT brand, thus WWE stars appear on TNA programming, and TNA stars appear on WWE shows,” the press release said. “In November, TNA stars Nic Nemeth and Matt Cardona, among others, appeared on WWE programming as well as Leon Slater, Xia Brookside, Léi YÇng Lee and others were on WWE/NXT.”

The first Impact episode on AMC and AMC+ will air live from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on January 15.

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Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated’s wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.

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AEW/Lee South

Darby Allin is one of the most death-defying wrestlers of all time and has made a career out of taking so much punishment that even a hardcore legend like Mick Foley would probably say no to some of the things Darby has done. In his six years with AEW, he has been thrown down flights of stairs, hung upside down just a few weeks after breaking his nose, and in the recent Blood and Guts match on November 12, he was thrown off the top of the entrance tunnel through a pair of flaming tables.

Fortunately for Darby, he works for a man who trusts him with his daredevil antics, but even Tony Khan has had his doubts about whether Darby is going to come out of a spot in one piece, and during a recent appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” he revealed the one spot where he felt Darby went too far.Â

“I think he’s really a brilliant wrestler, and also he takes these chances, and I think normally they’re very calculated chances. The one that I thought was too far, and I would say this to him and have said this to him 100 times…in Sting’s last match with the glass in Greensboro [at AEW Revolution 2024], off the ladder through the glass.”

On that night, Darby jumped off a ladder situated in the ring and dove to the outside through a pane of glass that was bridged across some steel chairs. He attempted to hit The Young Bucks but missed and suffered several lacerations on his back in the process.Â

“That was the one where I thought maybe it was too much, and it wasn’t exactly the way it was described,” Khan said. “It was pretty brutal, and that was the one where I said ‘I think you’re so brilliant about these chances, but this is the first time ever where I thought probably it was too much.”

Khan rounded off by saying that the silver lining to the dangerous spot was not only did it go well, but Revolution 2024 ended up being what he considers to be the greatest night in the history of AEW. Ironically, Darby would suffer an injury less than two weeks later, breaking his foot in a match against Jay White performing a move that he had landed perfectly hundreds of times before.

Tony Khan On Dangerous Spots In AEW

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

With AEW not having as many restrictions as a company like WWE, the wrestlers are able to go the extra mile when it comes to blood, gore, and violence in their matches. While Darby Allin is known for being a risk taker, Hangman Page has drank Swerve Strickland’s blood on pay-per-view, Jon Moxley has spilled more blood in AEW than some wrestlers do in their entire careers, and even the women’s roster have brought thumbtacks and beds of nails into their matches. It might seem like Tony Khan doesn’t have a line that he wouldn’t cross, he explained that all of these dangerous spots have to be planned, and need to make sense in the context of the story and match.

“It has to make sense, and almost everything we’ve ever done, I thought made sense,” Khan said. “The things that, if there were ever a few that didn’t work out, I thought ‘well that probably didn’t make sense to begin with,’ and that’s why over the years I think we’ve really refined the process. But we have such great, great wrestlers that 99.9% of the time I always think everything they do is awesome, and I agree with the choices they make.”

Khan did admit that on pay-per-views and special episodes of “AEW Dynamite” like the aforementioned Blood and Guts episode, the AEW roster do tend to push themselves a little harder and take bigger risks than they usually would. However, he sees the sacrifices they make as an example of how great professional wrestling can be, and is extremely proud to have assembled a locker room full of people who are will to go to such lengths in order to entertain the fans, and benefit the company.

Please credit “The Ariel Helwani Show” when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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Mithun Manhas, Devajit Saikia, Rishabh Pant and Temba Bavuma Guwahati made its long-awaited Test debut on Saturday as Barsapara Stadium hosted its first-ever red-ball international, becoming Indiaâ€s 30th Test venue. The landmark moment was formally opened in a ceremonial manner, with BCCI President Mithun Manhas and BCCI Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia ringing the bell to signal the start of play on Day 1. Before the toss, Saikia also presented both captains — Indiaâ€s stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant and South Africaâ€s Temba Bavuma — with memorial gold-plated toss coins created specially for the inaugural Test in the city. Pant and Bavuma later signed a commemorative ACA Stadium portrait, adding another symbolic touch to the historic occasion.Click here to watch: BCCI President Mithun Manhas and BCCI Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia ringing the bell On the field, Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat, calling it a proud moment for Guwahati to enter Test cricket. India, trailing 1-0 in the two-match series and desperate to avoid back-to-back home series defeats, made two changes. Shubman Gill missed out with a neck injury, paving the way for Nitish Reddy, while Sai Sudharsan replaced Axar Patel. Pant, leading India for the first time in a Test, spoke about the honour and stressed the need for discipline and teamwork. The match also comes with a unique schedule designed for the Northeastâ€s early sunset. Play begins at 9:00 AM IST and may even start at 8:30 AM IST if additional overs are needed. In an unprecedented move for a day Test, officials have positioned the tea break before lunch to ensure maximum use of daylight. The first session runs till 11:00 AM, followed by a tea break, then a second session until 1:20 PM. Lunch comes next, and the final session continues from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, extendable by half an hour. With Guwahati experiencing sunset around 4:30 PM this week, the scheduling experiment marks a rare shift in 148 years of Test cricket.

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Mark Walter is already making an imprint on the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office, just about three weeks after his record-setting purchase of the franchise from the Buss family was unanimously approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors.

The Lakers reportedly fired executives Joey and Jesse Buss on Thursday as part of majors changes being made to the team’s scouting department. Then on Friday, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Los Angeles Dodgers executives Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman have taken on advisory roles with the Lakers.

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Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, is notably also the Dodgers’ primary owner. He’s occupied that role since 2012 when he spearheaded Guggenheim Baseball Management’s purchase of the MLB franchise from Frank McCourt.

Since Walter started his run at the forefront of the Dodgers’ ownership consortium, the team has returned to prominence and won three World Series, including two straight.

Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, has been instrumental during that stretch, and now he’s reportedly consulting with Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka.

The Dodgers brought Friedman aboard to head up the team’s baseball ops three seasons into Walter’s ownership. At the time, Friedman was known as an analytics-inspired general manager who built the small-market Tampa Bay Rays into a team that reached the World Series in 2008 and remained highly competitive in the heavyweight-themed American League East.

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Since, Friedman’s helped construct an impeccable player development pipeline in L.A., where he’s consistently constructed title-worthy rosters, as the Dodgers have won the NL West in all but one of his seasons with the franchise.

Per ESPN’s report, Friedman’s involvement with the Lakers is less significant than that of analytics guru Zaidi, who is “functioning as Walter’s representative” during the ownership transition, per ESPN.

Zaidi is currently a special adviser to the Dodgers, and he’s reportedly working with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, too — Walter bought a stake in the Sparks in 2014. Both Zaidi and Friedman are acting as senior executives of Walter’s sports-holdings entity TWG Sports, which the Dodgers and Lakers are expected to become part of, according to ESPN.

While Jeanie Buss will remain the Lakers’ governor for at least the next five years, Walter’s influence as majority owner is clear.

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President Brad Stevens? Evan Turner identifies next job for Celtics boss originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Brad Stevens is the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics. Evan Turner sees only one job that could possibly make sense for Stevens to leave Boston.

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“He should leave and run for president,†Turner said on the Celtics Talk Podcast. “To be honest with you, thatâ€s the only thing he should leave for.â€

Turner — talking with Celtics insider Chris Forsberg — joked about Stevens†future in politics because of how well Stevens has transitioned from being a coach to an executive in Boston.

“Iâ€m glad the Celtics didnâ€t lose him and he went elsewhere. You would have been battling against a monster,†Turner said. “Heâ€s going to kill it so much for this position. How do you ever go back to coaching? Whatâ€s the point of leaving that?â€

Indeed, outside of an appointment to the White House, Stevens wonâ€t be leaving the Celtics†front office. And Turner, who played under Stevens the coach from 2014-16 and worked as an assistant on Stevens†staff in 2020-21, shared some fond memories of his former boss.

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“I remember when Brad came and saw me in Columbus when he was trying to sell (me on) the team,†Turner recalled of his free-agent meeting with Stevens in 2014. “I heard so much negativity towards my game and I was so down in the dumps. So it was really like the first time I got a flash of light, you feel me?

“So, you can be arrogant in a sense and be comfortable, but sometimes, you canâ€t take for granted acceptance and appreciation, and Brad showed me that in in like a really dark time. So, that was huge.â€

Turner also recalled a moment early in his career in Boston, when he committed a careless turnover and shot a few four-letter words in the direction of Stevens after he had dome some coaching from the sidelines.

“So before you know it, I just get subbed out the game. And Iâ€m like man, that was — damn, that was a big move,†Turner said. “And heâ€s chill, and like 35 seconds goes by. He walks up, he says, ‘Donâ€t ever talk to me like that again. Letâ€s be a professional. Go back in and go get him.†And that was it.

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“Itâ€s just a respect thing. I think Brad knew and vice versa. … I just think that was a big moment in communication with the coach. So, I really appreciated that and I appreciated he didnâ€t scream and didnâ€t try to hold it against me. He just kept helping me.â€

Also in this episode:

• Turner reflects on Philadelphiaâ€s decision to “trust the process†and blow up a promising young roster.

• Turner assesses Jaylen Brownâ€s play during Jayson Tatumâ€s injury absence.

• Turner expresses a belief that Tatum can beat the timeline on his rehab.

• Turner shares stories of playing with Isaiah Thomas after introducing his former teammate at The Tradition.

• The crazy story of the time a truck crashed into Turnerâ€s swimming pool.

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