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GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Feb. 12 - EFL clubs will vote on expanding the Championship play-offs, another World Cup Fan Fest will have its budget cut, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
Premier League MD26 (Feb 12): Brentford vs. Arsenal, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. While Arsenal have gone unbeaten in 12 consecutive midweek Premier League games, they have failed to win or score in any of their last three on Thursdays. However, while Brentford have been in good form, they have won just two of their last five at home and have failed to score in two of their last three at the Gtech Community Stadium. See the Premier League table here.
Results…
Premier League: Villa 1-0 Brighton | Palace 2-3 Burnley | Man City 3-0 Fulham | Forest 0-0 Wolves | Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool
Women’s Champions League: OHL 0-4 Arsenal | Paris FC 2-3 Real Madrid (Bracket)
German DFB Pokal, QF: Bayern Munich 2-0 Leipzig
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TOP TALKING POINTS
Play-off Change Vote
English Football League (EFL) clubs will vote on expanding the Championship play-offs to six teams. The proposal requires a simple majority of both the EFL’s 72 member clubs (at least 37 votes) and the 24 Championship clubs (at least 13 votes) to pass. Currently, only four teams — those finishing third to sixth — compete in the Championship play-offs.
The FA has approved the vote despite concerns from the Premier League. The English top-flight is concerned about a potential drop in standards and reduced competitive balance as it’s possible for a side that finished eighth in the Championship to be promoted to the Premier League. The EFL is reportedly supported by the rights holder in the UK, Sky Sports, which welcomes the prospect of two extra games.
In practice, the proposal sets up a play-off for promotion in which the teams finishing fifth and eighth, and sixth and seventh, play one-off matches at the home grounds of the higher-placed sides. The two winners would then face the teams that finished third and fourth in two-legged semi-finals. If successful, the new format could extend to League One and League Two in subsequent seasons.
Fan Fest Update
Boston has confirmed it will host a 2026 World Cup Fan Fest at City Hall Plaza, but only for around 16 days of the 39-day tournament. Organisers have not confirmed whether entry will be free. The scaled-back plan reflects a broader pattern across host cities, where Fan Fests originally intended to run daily are being shortened, reduced, or monetised due to cost pressures.
Meanwhile, seven matches are scheduled at Gillette Stadium, but the town of Foxborough, Ma., is threatening to withhold the required entertainment license. The dispute centres on $7.7m in security costs, with officials arguing taxpayers should not fund a Fifa event and expecting the Kraft Group to pay, as it does for Patriots games. However, because the stadium is sublet to Fifa, Kraft is not covering the costs. A federal $625m World Cup fund exists, but it reimburses expenses after payment, meaning Foxborough would have to pay upfront — something it is unwilling to do. The town has set a March 17 deadline to resolve the issue.
In related news, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told a congressional committee that the agency would not commit to pausing operations near World Cup sites, saying ICE would be part of the overall security apparatus for the tournament while remaining focused on broader enforcement duties.
Super League Ends
UEFA and Real Madrid have reached an agreement that will end their legal dispute over the European Super League (ESL). It means that Real Madrid are the last club to withdraw from the controversial proposal, just a few days after Barcelona also announced they were officially leaving the project.
Real were pursuing €4.5bn in lost revenue from Uefa for blocking the ESL following a court ruling that Uefa’s rules on approving new competitions had breached EU law. As recently as November, Real president Florentino Perez said he was "more convinced than ever" of victory in the legal case, saying Madrid would "tirelessly pursue" the club's right to organise its own competition.
Real were among 12 European clubs that backed the breakaway competition in 2021 before support collapsed under fan and government pressure.
POLL
Should more teams be given a shot at promotion through the Championship play-offs?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Thomas Frank with the club 16th in the Premier League (More); dive deeper into what went wrong for Frank (More) and Tottenham’s managerial contenders (More) | UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to apologise for saying the UK has been “colonised by immigrants” (More)
> Arsenal Women look set to face Chelsea in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals after the Gunners eased to a 4-0 win at OH Leuven in their play-off first leg (More); see the upcoming WUCL fixtures (More)
> Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a debut goal in stoppage time to secure a win for Celtic over Livingston in the Scottish Premiership title race (More); see the Scottish Premiership table (More)
> Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo said he took a break from football because he was experiencing anxiety and sought help for depression (More)
> Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi has left the club following their 5-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on the weekend (More)
Americas
> England will face New Zealand (6 June) and Costa Rica (10 June) as part of pre-tournament plans in America ahead of the 2026 World Cup (More)
> USL Championship’s Atletico Dallas have appointed Peter Luccin as manager, marking the organisation’s first technical staff hire (More)
Rest of the World
> Melbourne City claimed a 2-1 win at Ulsan HD to earn the Australian side a place in the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League Elite (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should managers adapt to the club’s identity, or impose their own style?
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🛡️ Club's identity (42%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👔 Their own style (54%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
🛡️ A.J: “It should always be about a football club’s identity. But that means it’s up to the board or whoever hires to get a coach who fits within the philosophy.”
👔 J.C: “Presumably, the club would not hire a coach without knowing his preferred playing style. Similarly, what coach worth his salt compromises his identity by coaching a style he's unfamiliar with or doesn't believe in? It's a recipe for disaster, and the marriage between club and coach will end sooner rather than later.”
✍️ M.M: “This is about bringing strengths and traditions that complement each other. A good manager contributes to the club's identity during their tenure. Bad managers do as well. At the same time, a coach needs to have some part of that club's identity resonate within him. Team tactics cannot be dictated from a boardroom, but the club values and philosophy cannot be ignored by the coach. It's a marriage.”
EXTRA TIME
Looking back at Milner’s career after he matches EPL record.
… and the players with the most Premier League appearances.
St Louis City reveal Tina Turner-inspired kit.
Where does every iconic football move originate from?
Refcam highlights from Man Utd vs Tottenham.
How the Premier League is evolving (again).
… and the Prem’s 50 worst transfers of all time.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Dominik Szoboszlai scored his fourth goal from a direct free-kick this season. That’s the most by a Liverpool player in a single season since who?
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I understand that the easiest thing to do is the point at me. That's fair. I work day and night to do everything I can. But it's never one person.
Answer
Luis Suarez - Five.
