GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Sept. 11 - New York’s mayoral candidate goes after Fifa’s dynamic pricing, Champions League projections have been released, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

One-click email share: Send Route One to a friend with this link. (or copy URL here).

New York’s leading mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has launched a “Game Over Greed” petition demanding Fifa to abandon its plan to use dynamic pricing for the 2026 World Cup. The petition, announced through a social media video (watch here), specifically calls for the removal of dynamic pricing, the reinstatement of a cap on ticket resales, and 15% of tickets reserved for local residents at discounted rates. There’s no indication that Mamdani’s petition will change Fifa’s pricing.

Mamdani said in the post: "The biggest sporting event in the world is happening in our backyard. But most New Yorkers will be priced out of watching it live." Eight World Cup matches will be hosted at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, including the final, where ticket prices are projected to reach $6,730.

Fifa confirmed earlier this month that it would be using dynamic pricing for the first time at next year’s World Cup. The model has sparked concern among fans worldwide, including from Football Supporters Europe, which sent a letter to Fifa general secretary Mattias Grafstrom in July to express “serious concerns” about the policy.

Liverpool are 20.4% favourites to win this season’s Champions League, according to Opta’s prediction model. Arne Slot’s side finished top of the league phase last season, and should they do so again, they will likely receive a kinder round-of-16 pairing than last year, when they faced eventual winners PSG. This is due to a new Uefa rule change–dive deeper here.

The likeliest threat to Liverpool are Premier League rivals Arsenal (16.0%), while reigning champions PSG are third-favourites to retain their title (12.1%). Arsenal’s chances have been boosted as they have the second-easiest fixture run in the league phase, whereas reigning champions PSG’s are dampened because they have the third-hardest set of fixtures.

Manchester City (8.4%), Barcelona (8.4%), Chelsea (7%), and Real Madrid (5.8%) are seen as outside contenders. Bayern Munich are given a 4.3% chance, hindered by an unkind draw, with their eight opponents rated the joint-toughest overall.

Brazil’s Football Federation President Samir Xaud said that they played “against the referees, the police and the ball boys” in their 1-0 defeat against Bolivia in Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier. Xaud and Carlo Ancelotti both criticised the ball boys after the game and accused them of wasting time. Balls were thrown onto the pitch in the last stages of the game to disrupt Brazil’s attack.

The five-time World Cup champions, who had already secured their spot in next year’s tournament, lost their first game under coach Ancelotti. Throughout their qualification campaign, they have lost six matches, finished fifth in the group, and achieved their lowest-ever points total (28) in this format.

Bolivia’s victory meant they’ve secured a spot in the intercontinental play-offs. Bolivia will be joined in the playoffs by two teams from Concacaf as well as one each from the African, Asian and Oceania confederations. The play-offs will take place in March.

See which teams have qualified and the path to qualification here.

> Omar Marmoush has been ruled out of Manchester City’s Premier League fixture against Manchester United due to a knee injury picked up during the international break (More) | Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri has been warned by the UK government that “change is coming” amid continued calls for him to sell the club (More)

> Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged with making an indecent image of a minor (More)

> The third qualifying round of the Uefa Women's Champions League gets underway on Thursday (Sept 11) (See Fixtures); dive deeper into how the new-look league phase in the Women’s UCL will be played out (More)

> Barcelona will play their first home match of the season at the 6,000-capacity ground where their reserve and women’s team plays (More)

> Cristiano Ronaldo became the joint-top goalscorer in World Cup qualifying history in Portugal's 3-2 triumph at Hungary (More)

> Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be the venue for a March friendly match between the United States men's national team and Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal (More)

> Following USMNT’s 2-0 win over Japan, Christian Pulisic said that “there’s probably not as much drama as you guys think” between himself and manager Mauricio Pochettino (More)

> USL Championship regular season fixture between New Mexico Utd vs. Detroit City and USL Cup semi-final fixtures between Hartford Athletic vs. Greenville Triumph & Rhode Island vs. Sacramento Republic to conclude shortly after publication (Live Results)

> Egypt missed a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup with two games to spare by settling for a 0-0 draw with Burkina Faso (More)

Yesterday’s Poll: Are you planning on applying for World Cup tickets today?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 🎟️ Yes (47%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅‍♂️ Nope (51%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)

Your punditry takes:

Which European clubs are most likely to win their domestic leagues?

Four ‘new’ Premier League trends emerging.

Under the radar FPL picks for Gameweek 4.

How realistic is a non-Old Firm title challenge?

Teams that have worn parts of three different kits in the same match.

A new way for a manager to travel around the pitch.

Who Am I:

Scroll below for the answer.

UEFA Women’s Champions League, 3rd Qualifying Round

*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.

Answer

Wesley Sneijder.

Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.