GM football fans. It’s Friday, Sept. 5 - Fifa confirms that dynamic pricing will be used for World Cup tickets, Liga MX promotion and relegation has been delayed after a court ruling, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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UEFA World Cup Qualifiers: England vs. Andorra, Saturday 6, 17:00 BST / 12:00 ET. Thomas Tuchel’s side will be looking to make it four wins in four in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers as they sit comfortably at the top of Group K. Meanwhile, Andorra have lost each of their previous seven meetings against England by an aggregate score of 26-0, and have only won one of their last 10 matches in all competitions, which came against San Marino. Italy vs. Estonia, Friday 5, 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET. Having missed out on qualification for the past two World Cups, Italy are looking to catch Group I leaders Norway, who are nine points clear, albeit with two more matches played. Across all competitions, Estonia have won just one of their past six matches. See all the UEFA World Cup qualifier matches here and the Group Standings here.

Results…

FIFA has confirmed that it will use dynamic pricing for the 2026 World Cup for the first time, meaning that prices will fluctuate based on demand. The governing body said tickets will initially range from $60 (£45) for group-stage matches to $6,730 (£5,000) for the final, with some reports suggesting prices could potentially rise up to four times higher. Prices have increased sharply since the 1994 World Cup hosted in the United States, where tickets ranged from $25 to $475.

Fans will have their first chance to secure tickets during the Presale Draw (see here), which opens on September 10 at 11:00 ET (16:00 BST / 15:00 CET) and runs until September 19. Around 1 million tickets will be available in the first presale, which fans can apply for the chance to purchase tickets, but only using a Visa card for the first draw. The second draw will run from late October through early December. There will then be another lottery phase, followed by a first-come, first-served phase, after the World Cup draw.

Fifa officials have justified the use of dynamic pricing by saying that it was the organisation’s way of adapting to the domestic market in the United States and Canada, where the practice is common. Organisations benefit from dynamic pricing as they can set higher initial prices, knowing they can lower those prices if sales are slow, or simply increase prices when demand is high.

An appeal filed by six Mexican second-division clubs seeking the immediate reinstatement or promotion and relegation in the top-tier Liga MX was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This follows a lawsuit filed in May by clubs in Mexico’s second division, Liga Expansion, to return to the system after 18 Liga MX sides requested that the move be made permanent.

Traditionally, only one team has been relegated and one team promoted between the tiers, but that was suspended in 2019 for six seasons at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect clubs from the financial impacts of lost revenue. CAS’s ruling means that the reinstatement of promotion and relegation will not be considered again until the 2026-27 season.

CAS argues that the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) and Liga MX had not formally committed to reinstating promotion and relegation as of June 7, the date marking the end of the six-year suspension. In a statement, the court ruled that “FMF had always determined to suspend the system until the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season, which was made clear to the clubs when the decision was taken.”

Football clubs worldwide spent nearly $10bn on international transfers this summer, according to Fifa. Nearly 12,000 international transfers, with total spending on fees amounting to $9.7bn, representing an increase of more than 50% compared to the same period last year. Read the full report here.

The Premier League accounted for $3bn in transfer fees, with German clubs receiving $893m of that sum. German clubs were also second in total spending at $980m, while Italian clubs were third at $950m. In terms of volume of transfers, England had 535 players arrive, followed by Portugal (479) and Brazil (425).

Women’s football also broke records with more than 1,100 international transfers which totalled more than $12m. Among them, NWSL side Orlando Pride signed winger Lizbeth Ovalle, who became the most expensive transfer in women’s football for a fee of $1.5m.

> Tottenham’s executive chairman Daniel Levy has stepped down after 25 years; he earned an estimated £50+m during his time in charge (More); despite the statement that says he “stepped down”, the BBC claims that he was sacked by majority owners, the Lewis family, due to a lack of on-pitch success; his role will be removed entirely (More)

> Football fans from more than 400 club supporter groups in Europe urged Fifa and Uefa to block requests from the Spanish and Italian leagues to play games abroad (More)

> Sam Kerr is set to make her first appearance for Chelsea since January 2024 after recovering from ACL damage (More) | See all opening WSL fixtures (More) and WSL projection in previous write-up (More)

> Conmebol World Cup qualifier matches will conclude shortly after publication (See Results)

> In the NWSL, Gotham FC will return home for a coast-to-coast clash against Angel City FC, with both teams fresh off of big wins last weekend (More); see a Matchday 19 preview of the NWSL (More)

> Mexico plans to play against Portugal for the reopening of the Estadio Azteca in March 2026 (More)

MLS (Fixtures) | USL Championship (Fixtures)

> CAF World Cup qualifier fixtures and results (More); dive deeper into the state of play in CAF’s World Cup qualifiers (More)

Yesterday’s Poll: Are you looking forward to watching the World Cup qualifiers?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (71%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅‍♂️ Nope (27%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)

Your punditry takes:

Who has qualified for the World Cup–and whose about to?

Messi accused of blackballing by former MLS player.

London City Lionesses to wear bold shirt on WSL opener.

Is £3bn Premier League spending cause for concern?

Lessons from Europe’s most profitable clubs. (report)

Seven uncapped talents to watch during the international break.

Football Manager 26 releases its first trailer.

Question: What do previous World Cup host nations, France, Brazil, Italy, Germany, and Mexico have in common?

Scroll below for the answer.

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers

Women’s Super League

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

Answer

They have all hosted the World Cup twice.

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