FIFA has struck a new deal with Budweiser despite banning the product from sale at World Cup venues in Qatar last year.

The new agreement with ABInBev, the company which owns the brand, makes the product the official beer of this summer’s Women’s World Cup and the men’s World Cup in 2026.

FIFA pulled plans to sell Budweiser, except for the alcohol-free Bud Zero, within stadium perimeters in Qatar on the eve of the finals last November. It was reported at the time that FIFA had come under pressure from Qatar’s royal family, in a country where the consumption and purchase of alcohol is severely restricted.

A tweet from Budweiser at the time of FIFA’s decision, which was quickly deleted, read: “Well, this is awkward.”

It was reported last year that the company would seek a reduction of around £38million on its next deal in light of the move.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on the eve of the World Cup last year: “Partners are partners in good and bad times, in difficult and easy times.

“When times are more tense, the partnership gets stronger. I am very grateful
to Budweiser for the co-operation we have had in the last years, and last couple of weeks.”

The company took the decision to ship the beer it was unable to sell in Qatar to the winning country.

Marcel Marcondes, chief marketing officer at ABInBev, commenting on the new deal, said: “Cheering and celebrating over a beer is a part of the experience for billions of football fans.

“We’re proud to continue offering new, meaningful ways to engage with fans and give unrivalled, immersive experiences that connect them to the sport that they love.”

The Football Association is expected to ask FIFA to extend Ivan Toney’s ban globally unless an appeal leads to the suspension being overturned.

As things stand the 27-year-old will not be able to play again until January 17 next year after he was banned for eight months by an independent regulatory commission for admitting 232 breaches of FA betting rules.

The PA news agency understands the FA could only apply to FIFA for a worldwide extension if a ban is still in place once the appeals process is complete.

Once the written reasons in the case are published, both parties have a window of time to issue an intention to appeal. Only once that window closes without an appeal, or the appeals process concludes with a ban still in place, could the FA apply to extend the ban globally.

The extension of the ban worldwide would rule out the possibility of Toney moving overseas to play on a temporary or permanent basis while any ban imposed in England is still in force.

The granting of an extension would require approval from FIFA’s own disciplinary committee, but would appear to be a formality with no obvious precedent where FIFA has refused a national association’s request to extend a ban globally.

The FA did apply to FIFA for a worldwide extension in the cases of two other English players banned over betting rule breaches – Kieran Trippier and Daniel Sturridge – while more recently FIFA accepted an application to extend a ban imposed by the Italian federation on former Tottenham managing director Fabio Paratici, a decision which prompted his resignation from the north London club.

Paratici’s ban was imposed following an investigation into allegations of financial mismanagement at his former club Juventus.

It is unclear at this stage whether Toney – who won his first England cap in March – will appeal against the ban. He said he was “naturally disappointed” about the sanction in a statement issued on Wednesday, but said he would await the publication of the commission’s written reasons concerning the case before commenting further.

The FA is also awaiting the written reasons.

Toney will be allowed to return to training on September 17, four months before the playing ban expires.

The ban takes effect immediately, meaning Toney is out of Brentford’s final two Premier League matches this season starting with the game against Tottenham on Saturday.

FIFA has received four expressions of interest in hosting the 2027 Women's World Cup, including a joint bid from the United States and Mexico.

Brazil and South Africa have also submitted expressions of interest alongside another joint bid from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with the hosts set to be appointed next May.

USA hosted the Women's World Cup in 1999 and 2003 – winning the former edition – while Germany are the only other potential host to have previously staged the competition, doing so in 2011.

The US and Mexico – alongside Canada – are already set to host the next edition of the men's World Cup in 2026.

Federations hoping to host the tournament now have until May 19 to confirm their involvement in the bidding process. 

FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura said: "We are thrilled by the expressions of interest received, not least because they come from member associations with a strong football tradition representing four confederations, thus confirming the consistent popularity of women's football across the world.

"All member associations can rely on the most robust and comprehensive bidding process in the history of the FIFA Women's World Cup."

The 2023 edition of the tournament – taking place in Australia and New Zealand – will kick off on July 20, with the Matildas facing the Republic of Ireland and their co-hosts taking on Norway on the opening day.

World Cup winners Argentina have returned to the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time in six years.

Lionel Scaloni's side – who captured their third world title with a thrilling final win against France in Qatar last year – won friendlies against Panama and Curacao in the March international break.

Captain Lionel Messi brought up two milestones in those fixtures, netting his 800th career goal in a 2-0 victory over Panama before reaching 100 international goals as he scored a hat-trick in a 7-0 rout of Curacao.

Argentina last topped the rankings in 2017, but the Albiceleste dropped as low as 12th the following year after an underwhelming campaign at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Argentina replace rivals Brazil at the summit after the Selecao suffered a surprise friendly loss to World Cup semi-finalists Morocco in March, a result which sees them drop to third.

France are second in the rankings after their Euro 2024 qualification wins over the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, while the rest of the top 10 remains unchanged.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned racist chants from Juventus fans towards Inter striker Romelu Lukaku during their Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.

Lukaku scored a penalty in stoppage time to earn visitors Inter a 1-1 draw in Turin on Tuesday, duly celebrating by holding a finger to his lips in front of Juve supporters as a response to abuse.

The celebration was deemed provocative and the Belgian was sent off for a second bookable offence, with the incident leading to a confrontation between the two sets of players.

Lukaku released a statement on Wednesday demanding action from Italian authorities, which has been widely supported by other big names in the football world.

Infantino labelled the chants "unacceptable" and called for those responsible to be punished.

Infantino said: "Football has no place for racism or any form of discrimination.

"It is simply unacceptable to see the racist abuse aimed by spectators at Inter forward Romelu Lukaku during the Coppa Italia match at Juventus in Turin.

"FIFA and I stand with Romelu Lukaku, just as we do with any other player, coach, match official, fan or participant in a football match who has suffered from racism or any other form of discrimination.

"Victims of those abuses must be supported, and the perpetrators duly punished by all authorities.

"I repeat the call made earlier this year for fans to stand up and silence the racists.

"Equally, in football, we need to ensure that strict sporting sanctions are applied to address such incidents and to serve as a deterrent."

In Lukaku's message earlier in the day, he was keen to highlight how such incidents are recurring rather than isolated.

"History repeats. [I've] been through it in 2019 and [now in] 2023 again," he said via Instagram.

"I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone.

"Thank you for the supportive messages. F*** racism."

His message has received support from the likes of Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe wrote on Instagram: "2023 and still the same problems. But we are not going to let you get away with it."

Tottenham managing director Fabio Paratici has stepped back from his role while the club awaits the outcome of his appeal against a worldwide ban from football.

FIFA announced on Wednesday that the 30-month suspension handed to Paratici by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in January would extend beyond Italian football.

Spurs were caught cold by the timing of the announcement and said in a statement they were "urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA" regarding Paratici's situation.

The 50-year-old's appeal will be held on April 19, but it was confirmed by Tottenham on Friday that he will step back from his duties until then.

"In view of FIFA's decision, Fabio has agreed with the club that he will take an immediate leave of absence pending the outcome of his appeal," a Spurs statement read.

Paratici was one of 11 individuals banned by the FIGC in January after Juventus were found guilty of alleged breaches in relation to historical transfer dealings.

Juve were docked 15 points in Serie A as part of the punishment, with Paratici and the club denying any wrongdoing and lodging an appeal to the Italian Olympic Committee.

Then-chairman Andrea Agnelli and former director Pavel Nedved were hit with 24 and eight month bans respectively, which they are also appealing in April.

Paratici's leave of absence comes at a time when the club are on the lookout for a new head coach following the sacking of Antonio Conte last week.

Shakhtar Donetsk have filed a complaint against FIFA to the European Commission, claiming a ruling allowing their foreign players to suspend their contracts has cost them €40million.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, FIFA permitted foreign players based in the country to suspend their contracts until June 2023, allowing them to seal short-term moves elsewhere.

Claiming those measures will likely be extended through to June 2024, Shakhtar – who have previously seen an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed – pledged to continue to fight the ruling.

A statement from the club's chief executive Serhiy Palkin said: "Action has been taken to file this complaint to the European Commission, given the importance of Shakhtar undertaking transfer market trading with players within the European Union.

"Therefore, it is entirely legitimate and fair to bring this complaint before the EU Commission since FIFA's actions violate EU competition law.

"The over-reaching measures applied by FIFA led to the massive loss of player transfer income and a depletion of essential club revenues amounting to approximately €40million.

"We expect the European Commission to understand and appreciate the extreme financial pressures being placed on our club due to FIFA's actions – at a time when our nation is being ravaged by an illegal war."

Tottenham have reached out to FIFA for urgent "further clarification" after Fabio Paratici's ban was extended worldwide "with no advance notice" to the club.

Paratici was one of 11 individuals banned by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in January after Juventus were found guilty of alleged breaches in relation to historical transfer dealings.

The Bianconeri were docked 15 points in Serie A as part of the punishment, with Paratici and Juve denying any wrongdoing and lodging an appeal for the initial sanctions to the Italian Olympic Committee.

Paratici was handed a 30-month ban by the FIGC but continued his role with Spurs due to his punishment only falling under the jurisdiction of Italian football's governing body.

But FIFA confirmed on Wednesday those FIGC sanctions have been extended worldwide, with Tottenham demanding immediate clarity over the bans on their managing director of football Paratici.

"Following media reports today regarding the FIFA Disciplinary Committee decision to extend worldwide the sanction imposed by the FIGC Federal Court of Appeals on Fabio Paratici on 20 January 2023, the club made urgent enquiries to FIFA," a club statement read.

"FIFA has late this afternoon responded to us in writing notifying us today, Wednesday 29 March 2023, that a decision has been made by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to extend the FIGC sanction worldwide.

"This committee deliberation has been taken with no advance notice to any of the parties involved. We are urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA as to the details of the extension and its variance from the FIGC sanction."

The announcement came just a day after Paratici had addressed the club's media and stated head coach Antonio Conte's dismissal from Spurs was the "right decision for everyone".

Paratici placed his full faith in interim boss Cristian Stellini, who will be in charge until the end of the season, and Spurs sought to clarify the interview took place prior to any knowledge of FIFA's sanctions.

The statement added: "We should like to make clear that when Fabio conducted the interview on club channels yesterday neither he nor the club had any indication of this decision being made by FIFA, based on the fact the FIGC sanction was taken on 20 January 2023 and remains subject to an Appeal on 19 April 2023.

"We shall update on this matter in due course."

Russia defeated Iraq 2-0 on Sunday in their first home international since the country invaded Ukraine.

European and global football governing bodies UEFA and FIFA announced in February 2022 that Russia's international and club sides would be suspended from their competitions.

Russia have played Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran in friendlies since then, but not since November 2021 had they played on home soil.

Anton Miranchuk gave Russia the lead against Iran early in the second half at the Gazprom Arena and Sergey Pinyaev added a second just before the hour mark.

The venue in Saint Petersburg had been due to host last year's Champions League final, but it was instead held at the Parc des Princes in Paris in wake of Russia's military actions.

Zlatko Dalic has been rewarded for Croatia's third-place finish at the 2022 World Cup with a new contract that runs through the 2026 edition.

Initially appointed on a short-term deal in 2017, Dalic has proven highly successful in the role.

He first secured qualification for the 2018 World Cup, which earned him a full-time contract, and then led Croatia's 'golden generation' all the way to the final before a 4-2 defeat to France.

But arguably more impressive was their run to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar last year, going deep into the tournament despite a perception of their squad being significantly less talented than four years earlier.

Croatia's hopes of lifting the trophy were ended by eventual winners Argentina, though their 2-1 win over Morocco in an entertaining third-place play-off ensured they went home with the bronze medal.

"Zlatko Dalic absolutely fulfilled all of the goals that were set before him in these five and a half years, and at the same time he signed two magnificent achievements at the World Cup in Russia and Qatar and led Croatia to silver and bronze medals, thus becoming our most successful coach in history," Croatian Football Federation president Marijan Kustic said.

"Therefore, I am extremely pleased that we have agreed on the continuation of the cooperation that has been absolutely brilliant so far."

Dalic added: "I have pointed out many times that this job is the greatest honour and the greatest pleasure I can have as a coach, and I am truly looking forward to the future with the Croatian national team.

"Regardless of the wonderful successes we have already achieved, I have great passion and ambition to continue working with Croatia and I believe that there are still many great challenges ahead."

Dalic will now hope to make a strong start to Euro 2024 qualification when Croatia face Wales and Turkey later this month, before turning their attention to the Nations League finals – they face Netherlands in the semi-finals in June.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has set a target for prize money at the 2027 Women's World Cup to be equal to payouts at the men's tournaments.

Infantino, who was re-elected at Thursday's FIFA congress after running unopposed, also denied there is a deal for Visit Saudi to sponsor the 2023 Women's World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

The prize money for the 2023 World Cup is set to be $150million (£124m), a rise of 300 per cent from the 2019 tournament, with the number of competing teams increasing to 32 from 24.

The 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar involved prize money totalling $440m (£365m).

Infantino said that "broadcasters and sponsors have to do more" and be willing to pay more into the women's tournament, adding: "FIFA is receiving between 10 and 100 times less from public broadcasters for the women's World Cup than the men's World Cup. Do you think that is normal?

"At the same, these public broadcasters who are paid by the taxpayers' money, they criticise FIFA, a bit less the others, for not guaranteeing equal pay to men and women.

"You pay us 100 times less but your viewing figures are very similar, maybe 20-25 per cent less, not 100 per cent less. Well offer us 20 per cent less or 50 per cent less, but not 100 per cent less. How can we do it, otherwise?"

Regarding reports Saudi Arabia's tourism arm was due to sponsor this year's tournament, which sparked concern from football authorities in Australia and New Zealand, Infantino confirmed talks had taken place but said a deal was not reached.

"I can clarify that there were discussions with Visit Saudi," the FIFA president said. "At the end, this discussion didn't lead into a contract. How do you say it? It was a storm in a water glass. A storm in a teacup."

Infantino expressed his belief there had not been as much backlash around trade deals between Saudi Arabia, which has been criticised for alleged human rights violations, and Australia.

"This doesn't seem to be a problem," Infantino said. "But between a global organisation like FIFA and Visit Saudi this would have been an issue. There is a double standard here, which I really don't understand."

He added: "There is no issue and no contract. There are discussions and of course we want to see how we can involve Saudi sponsors in women's football generally, how we can involve Saudi sponsors in men football, or we can involve Qatari sponsors in women's football and men's football, and all other sponsors from all over the world."

The chief executive of Football Australia, James Johnson, was pleased to hear Infantino's comments, saying: "Equality, diversity and inclusion are really deep commitments for Football Australia, and we'll continue to work hard with FIFA to ensure the Women's World Cup is shaped in this light."

Gianni Infantino believes there should be "way more" football as he defended FIFA's expansion of the World Cup and new Club World Cup proposal.

Infantino was re-elected as FIFA president at the FIFA Congress on Thursday after running unopposed.

FIFA confirmed earlier this week that the 2026 World Cup will consist of 48 teams, up from 32, split into 12 groups of four, while plans were also confirmed for an expanded Club World Cup containing 32 teams.

Speaking at the Congress in Rwanda, Infantino said: "When I hear there is too much football, yes, maybe in some places, but not everywhere. In fact, in most parts of the world there is not enough football played.

"We need way more and not less competitions, we want football to develop worldwide.

"We are discussing organising a women's Club World Cup and a FIFA World Series in March every two years, when teams are free from playing qualifiers."

He also later pointed to the English football calendar as well as the Super Cup tournaments in Italian and Spanish football, believing that there is less criticism of others from the media than there is of FIFA, which was a theme of the president's closing remarks.

Infantino also addressed previous controversial comments he believed had been falsely reported, including at the World Cup where he accused reporters of racism for criticising the host country of Qatar.

"I think I called racists those who were qualifying fans who had different skin colour of fans who were cheering European teams as not real fans, that's when I used the word 'racist', and I stick to that," he said.

He had also appeared to compare his refusal to give up on becoming FIFA president with Rwandan genocide in his opening remarks on Thursday, but was quick to quash this suggestion when it was put to him by The Athletic's Matt Slater at the closing press conference.

"I find it really incredible that you can interpret what I say as making an association with one of the most terrible tragedies that happened with anything that happened in my life," he said.

"I would never make a comparison with a tragedy and my life. What I want to say is that this country is so inspiring for so many people that when we come with our little problems, we should just be a bit more humble about things. That's all that I said."

LaLiga has spoken out against FIFA over plans to reshape the structure of the 2026 World Cup into four-team groups.

Football's governing body had originally intended to have 16 groups of three teams after expanding from 32 to 48 nations for the tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

However, following the Qatar 2022 edition, plans to maintain the current four-team system resurfaced and have now been rubber-stamped at FIFA's annual congress.

The decision has enraged LaLiga however, with the competition set to expand to 104 games from 64.

LaLiga has also objected to plans for a new international club tournament, which will join an expanded Club World Cup on the football calendar. The latter is due to take place every four years starting from 2025, but an as-yet-unnamed additional event is set to take place annually alongside it.

"Following the announcements made today at the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, LaLiga states that FIFA continues its malpractice of making unilateral decisions on the world football calendar," read a statement.

"[FIFA is] showing complete disregard for the importance of national championships, and the football community in general. FIFA completely neglects the economic damage these decisions inflict on leagues around the world.

"Leagues were not consulted about any of the changes presented, especially about the new annual club competition, of which we were completely unaware, and which seriously affects our competitions.

"These decisions do not take into account the competitive, sporting and economic impact on national leagues, clubs and players, by further cramming an already overloaded schedule.

"LaLiga and other leagues represented in the World Leagues Forum will analyse FIFA's decisions and decide on the most appropriate next steps."

Under the three-team World Cup group structure, all nations would have played two games before the top pair from each group would have proceeded to a round-of-32.

Now however, the eight best-ranked third-place sides from 12 groups will also be included in the mix, with the revised format ensuring every side plays at least three games.

It also means those who reach the final will play eight games, including the showpiece match itself, one more than teams who reach the end of the tournament currently partake in.

The German Football Association (DFB) has announced it will not support Gianni Infantino's re-election as FIFA president.

Infantino is set to be re-elected at the 73rd FIFA Congress in Rwandan capital Kigali on Thursday after no challengers came forward to stand against him in the leadership race.

However, despite Infantino having a clear run at another term in charge, Germany have joined a select few nations to publicly declare they do not back the decision.

The DFB added in a statement on Wednesday that it has contacted FIFA in recent weeks on a matter of issues but has received no reply or only insufficient information.

DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said: "The DFB will not support the re-election of FIFA president Gianni Infantino in Kigali. 

"We have received little to no substantial information from FIFA in response to several inquiries from our part in recent weeks, especially on contentious issues. 

"However, we can expect FIFA to take the concerns of its member associations seriously and address them. 

"FIFA should become much more transparent and open in its dealings with the national associations."

Neuendorf has previously criticised FIFA for its attempts to restrict teams' political protests at the Qatar World Cup, but he hopes for a positive outcome in future discussions.

"It is in its own interests to explain how and why certain decisions are made and who is involved in them. This has not been the case of late," he said.

"Nevertheless, there was a constructive exchange between several European member associations and the FIFA president on contentious issues today. 

"We therefore remain hopeful that this will lead to an improvement in our cooperation in the future.

"I am interested in maintaining a critical and constructive cooperation with FIFA, in particular with its president, and hope that this can be realised in the coming years."

Infantino succeeded Sepp Blatter as the president of world football governing body FIFA in February 2016.

The 2026 World Cup will maintain the four-team group stage format rather than change to three, FIFA has confirmed.

With the next iteration of the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada seeing the number of competing teams increase from 32 to 48, the intention had been to have 16 groups of three teams.

However, it is believed the exciting nature of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar prompted a rethink, and it has now been confirmed that the four-team groups will continue, with the top two in each group and the eight best third-place teams going through to the knockout stage.

FIFA said in a statement on its website: "Based on a thorough review that considered sporting integrity, player welfare, team travel, commercial and sporting attractiveness, as well as team and fan experience, the FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four with the top two and eight best third-placed teams progressing to a round of 32.

"The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams."

It was also announced at FIFA's council meeting in Rwanda that the next men's World Cup final will take place on Sunday, July 19, 2026 as the men's international calendar from 2025-2030 was confirmed.

Further details will be "published in the coming days", but FIFA was able to confirm some headline information from the calendar, including plans to have a 16-day, four match international window in late September/early October from 2026.

It was also confirmed that the women's international calendar from 2024-2025 will "contain six international windows per year".