Weekend Rap

The 2026 FIFA World Cup concludes Sunday afternoon with the final at N.Y. N.J. Stadium between defending champion Argentina and European champion Spain. Gates were scheduled to open four hours before the 3pm ET kickoff, an hour earlier than for the previous seven World Cup matches at the venue due to heightened security protocols.

President Trump is among the heads of state and government scheduled to be in attendance, along with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. Argentine President Javier Milei said he will not attend, citing the superstition of watching every Argentina match from his home.

The match will be preceded by the World Cup Closing Ceremony at 1:30pm, featuring appearances by Post Malone, Tom Cruise, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams, IShowSpeed, Jennifer Hudson and Christopher Macchio. The final will also feature the first halftime show in World Cup history, with Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS serving as co-headliners.

The World Cup final follows several days of fanfare in N.Y. ahead of the match, including a joint appearance by Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at a Trump Tower reception on Friday and a star-studded pep rally at Fanatics Fest billed as a “press conference.”

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Topps, the Fanatics-owned trading card brand, has secured title sponsorship of the World Cup final halftime show at the eleventh hour, with its branding first appearing on the LED boards during Saturday’s third-place match between England and France. FIFA has also added Topps branding to the halftime show page on its website and referred to the event in social media posts Saturday night as the “FIFA World Cup 2026 Topps Halftime Show.” A FIFA spokesperson did not return messages seeking comment. Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS are set to co-headline the first-ever halftime show at a World Cup final. Gustavo Dudamel, the PS 22 Chorus and Coldplay are also slated to participate in the show performance produced by Global Citizen.

The sponsorship fee was not available, but Apple pays about $50M per year for the Super Bowl halftime show as part of a five-year deal agreed to in 2022.

The halftime show sponsorship represents an expansion of an existing relationship between Fanatics and FIFA that appears poised to continue growing. In addition to being the official on-site retail licensee for this year’s World Cup 2026, Fanatics nabbed a long-term, exclusive collectibles licensing deal for Topps that features trading cards, stickers, and trading card games. The agreement begins in full in 2031 following the expiration of FIFA’s deal with Panini.

FIFA has also had a major presence at Fanatics Fest over the past several days.

FIFA will announce it hit $15B in revenue from the World Cup, “significantly exceeding the targets set before the tournament.” FIFA’s member associations were informed of this figure by FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday. Originally, the governing body projected $11B in earnings, but sources indicated that “hospitality and ticketing, especially through the steeply priced secondary market, account for a significant amount of the increase.” It is “likely that football associations will reap the benefits” of the increased revenue, but details are not finalized. The financial figures “will come as a boost to Infantino, who will feel it further shores up his position after a controversy-ridden month in the United States, Canada and Mexico” (GUARDIAN, 7/19).

Brands spent “at least” $857M during more than 100 World Cup games across U.S. broadcast TV, streaming platforms, cable networks and local channels through the semifinals, according to the ad-tracking firm MediaRadar. Other details from the study show that “advertisers spent about” 30% more on English-language broadcasts than Spanish-language broadcasts. Through the semifinals, Spanish-language spending totaled $356M, while English-language spending was $459M. Telemundo “didn’t sell ad inventory during the hydration breaks as Fox did, so it had fewer spots.” At least 4,500 brands have advertised during the World Cup so far. The 20 official sponsors, led by Bank of America, Verizon and Home Depot, accounted for about 36% of the ad spending through the Round of 16 (N.Y. TIMES, 7/18).

Top five advertisers and the amount spent, according to MediaRadar:

• Bank of America $21.2M
• Verizon $21M
• Modelo $18.4M
• Home Depot $18M
• Wells Fargo $17.3M

Last-minute tickets to see Argentina and Lionel Messi face off against Spain and Lamine Yamal in the FIFA World Cup final “range from $10,000 to $60,000” (ESPN.com, 7/18).

Rain in the greater N.Y. area on Saturday “helped blow out the smoke from Canadian wildfires that had choked the tristate area for days and threatened to disrupt Sunday’s World Cup final” at New York New Jersey Stadium. Concerns about hazardous air quality “led the White House and FIFA to hold informal discussions Friday over the possibility of moving the game, with the most likely venue being Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla” (L.A. TIMES, 7/18).

The FBI said that it has “seized more than 700 illegal drones -- and detected almost 1,600 in total” -- around the 11 stadiums in the U.S. during the World Cup (THE ATHLETIC, 7/19).

MLS Commissioner Don Garber was interviewed by the N.Y. TIMES’ DealBook under the header, “America Caught World Cup Fever. His Job Is to Capitalize on It” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/18).

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Fanatics has debuted a “We’re Still Wearing It” campaign, that invites fans to rebel against Argentina F Lionel Messi’s potential retirement and speak directly to the legend himself with the message “You Can’t Hang It Up While We’re Still Wearing It.” The centerpiece is a new film set in the moments leading up to the final, which is set to “Don’t Cry for me Argentina.” Following the film’s debut, over the next 24-48 hours, “We’re Still Wearing It” billboards will appear in 12 cities across the globe -- including Rosario, Argentina, where Messi was born, and Barcelona and Paris, cities where he has played (Fanatics).

Doug Thornton is stepping down as Legends Global President of Venue Planning, effective Sept. 4, leaving behind a “rich legacy and creating a major void in the New Orleans sports scene.” Thornton since 1997 has served as stadium manager of the Caesars Superdome, where he “rode out Hurricane Katrina and fearlessly managed the fallout from one of the greatest crises in U.S. history.” He took his current position in February, but he said, “It’s time. This is an opportunity for me to step back from the daily grind and pressures of this role and shift gears a bit. ... It will give me a chance to do some things that I would like to do before it’s too late.” Thornton effectively served as the “state’s eminence grise of pro sports,” a behind-the-scenes strategist whose influence “touched virtually every major professional sports decision for a generation.” His leadership and strategic vision “earned him recognition as one of the most influential figures in Louisiana’s sports scene and national respect in the industry” (New Orleans TIMES PICAYUNE, 7/19).

The WTA has enacted a policy “requiring that all WTA players must undergo genetic sex testing in order to maintain their eligibility to compete on the WTA Tour.” While there are “zero known transgender women currently active at any level of professional women’s tennis,” the “threat of trans women in women’s sports has gained traction in recent years.” Starting this month, the WTA is “taking the unprecedented step of requiring all of its players to undergo genetic testing to weed out any women who may have a specific genetic marker that suggests traces of male biology” (BOUNCES, 7/19).

The NFL suspended Cardinals Dir of College Football Scouting Ryan Gold for “violating the league’s gambling policy.” The investigation found Gold “participated in parlay bets on NFL and college games” and “leaked information about the Cardinals’ draft discussions -- while the draft was underway in April.” The Cardinals in a statement said, “We fully support the league’s decision in this matter, which involves a single employee.” Gold had been a College Scouting Coordinator with the Cardinals from 2018-21. He worked as Assistant Dir of College Scouting 2022-24 (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/17).

The “first person hired” by Charlotte FC has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the soccer team and its parent company, Tepper Sports & Entertainment, claiming he was wrongfully fired in 2024 “for an email that offered Bank of America Stadium suite seats to a family as a goodwill gesture.” Dustin Swinehart also alleges that women at the organization “were not reprimanded for using racial slurs or being publicly intoxicated and ‘rude.’” Swinehart was Charlotte FC Dir of Community Engagement and claims TSE wanted to be a “trailblazer for women in sports.” However, he claims the club violated both North Carolina and federal law by fostering “an uneven gender landscape” with “disparate standards for women and men in hiring, promotions, and terminations.” TSE said it would not comment on the filing (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/18).

The suit focuses on an incident at a youth summer camp in August 2024, and Swinehart “alleges that his conflict with TSE Chief Human Resource Officer Kisha Smith developed after the incident." The two had “few interactions” before that. Swinehart is seeking a jury trial and is requesting punitive damages and compensation for lost pay (THE ATHLETIC, 7/18).

BZZR, the new streaming platform for viewing Rangers games, has “added a couple of additional items to help consumers in the transition process.” Perhaps the biggest of those is that a “casting button has been added to the web version” of the BZZR site to help “streamline casting from a devise to a television that may not yet be equipped with the BZZR app.” The FAQ section on the BZZR website has “been added in an attempt to help provide answers” for customers having issues with the transition. Over 40% of known subscribers to Rangers’ content on Victory+ have been transferred to a BZZR account. There were “no issues” with capacity or load in delivering the game (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/18).

Philadelphia fans helped turn the MLB’s All-Star event into “one of the strongest retail performances in history” of the Midsummer Classic. MLB does not disclose dollar figures for merchandise sales, though the league did say fans “bought a record number of souvenirs and collectibles, including jerseys, caps, and especially collectible pins.” MLB SVP/Business Global Consumer Products & Retail Jamie Leece indicated that the biggest draw was the All-Star Village at the Convention Center, where 111,616 people attended the four-day event. That made it the “most-attended All-Star fan event” since L.A. in 2022. Through Tuesday, merchandise sales at the official MLB shop inside All-Star Village were “up 45%” from the 2025 All-Star celebration. At Citizens Bank Park, merchandise sales during All-Star Week “rose 25%” from 2025. Online demand also surged, with “sales up 34%” over the previous year’s All-Star Week, “producing the second-best online.” MLB would not identify its top-selling items, “although headwear accounted for a quarter of all sales” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRIER, 7/17).

Bears President & CEO Kevin Warren said that the team is “performing due diligence for a potential stadium in northwest Indiana,” but during an event Thursday night in Lake Forest, “he didn’t close the door on Arlington Heights either.” Warren was on stage at the city’s Gorton Center for a “wide-ranging, hourlong interview with a local author.” At the Thursday night event called “Talking Football with Kevin Warren,” Warren referred to the World Cup and said, “When you think about how prominent Chicago and Chicagoland area is, I was looking at all these matches. And they were in Seattle and Texas and Miami and Boston and New York. To think that we didn’t have the World Cup here in Chicago is disappointing.” He added, “We miss out on a lot of events that we should have, especially here in the Chicagoland area, which is critically important. But not having a fixed-roof building has created an atmosphere.” Warren did not offer many specifics about the team’s ongoing due diligence process in Indiana, besides “noting geotechnical studies are underway.” He also did not mention the behind-the-scenes political process in Illinois (CHICAGO DAILY HERALD, 7/17).

Tempo coach Sandy Brondello was “suspended by the WNBA without pay for one game Saturday for ‘an inappropriate comment she made’” regarding Dream F Angel Reese. Brondello “could be heard referring to Reese with a phrase that sounded like ‘protected species.’” Brondello “apologized to Reese via social media Saturday, saying she takes ‘full responsibility’ for using the phrase.” In a social media post Brondello said, “I used a phrase that I shouldn’t have used, and I take full responsibility for that. My frustration was with the officiating, but my words unfairly put the focus on you.” A source said that the incident “will be discussed during a previously scheduled meeting” between players and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert next week (ESPN.com, 7/18).

Brondello is an Australian native and the phrase is “commonly used in Australian sport to refer to athletes who get favourable calls.” However, put in an “American context it was taken to have a derogatory use, particularly given Reese is black” (FOXSPORTS.com.au, 7/19).