GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Dec. 18 - The UK government has given a final warning over assets related to the sale of Chelsea, Fifa has announced record prize money for the World Cup, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
Italian Super Cup, Semi-Final (Dec 18): Napoli vs. AC Milan, 19:00 GMT / 14:00 ET. With the game taking place in Riyadh, the lack of home advantage favours Milan as Napoli have been poor away from home, losing four of their eight away league matches. However, the last four meetings between these sides have been split evenly, with victories for both. Their most recent clash took place in September in Serie A when AC Milan came out with a 2-1 victory. The winner will face either Bologna or Inter Milan in the final.
Results…
Intercontinental Cup: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Flamengo (PSG win 2-1 on pens) (Report)
EFL Cup QF: Man City 2-0 Brentford | Newcastle 2-1 Fulham
Women’s Champions League: Bayern 3-0 Valerenga | Juventus 0-1 Man Utd | OHL 0-3 Arsenal | Lyonnes 4-0 Atletico | Paris FC 0-2 Barcelona | Roma 6-1 St. Polten | Benfica 1-1 PSG | Twente 1-1 Real Madrid | Wolfsburg 1-2 Chelsea (KO Bracket)
Scottish Premiership: Dundee United 2-1 Celtic (Table)
TOP TALKING POINTS
Frozen Chelsea Assets
The UK government has told Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich that it is his final opportunity to release the £2.5bn ($3.5bn) he pledged to donate to victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine following the sale of Chelsea. Abramovich was forced to sell the club in 2022 after being sanctioned by the UK due to his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The government has reportedly given Abramovich three months to release the funds before commencing legal action.
The money has remained frozen since the sale amid a deadlock over how and where the funds should be distributed. Abramovich has said he wanted the money to go to “all victims of the war in Ukraine” and has demanded that Russians also benefit from the proceeds. The government added that it would consider proposals provided the money does not benefit Abramovich or any other sanctioned individuals.
The development comes ahead of an EU summit, where leaders are expected to discuss using Russia’s frozen assets to provide Ukraine with a £79bn loan, as the country faces a projected £62.9bn budget shortfall next year.
Record World Cup Prize
FIFA has confirmed a 50% increase in World Cup prize money for next year’s tournament, with a total prize fund of $655m. The champions will receive $50m (£37.5m), runners-up $33m (£24.7m), and the third-place team $27m (£20.1m).
Teams that fail to progress beyond the group stage will still receive $9m (£6.7m). Each qualified team will receive $1.5m (£1.1m) to cover preparation costs, meaning that all participating member associations are each guaranteed at least $10.5m (£7.8m). Fifa president Gianni Infantino claims the payments showed the World Cup would "be groundbreaking in terms of its financial contribution to the global football community". See the history of World Cup prize money here (w/graph).
Fifa has projected $13bn of revenue during the four-year cycle leading through next year’s World Cup, almost double the figure they made in the previous cycle.
Women’s Club World Cup Date
The inaugural Women’s Club World Cup will be staged in January 2028, meaning it will clash with top European domestic leagues. The 16-team tournament, initially due to be played in 2026, currently has no host but is expected to be staged in a country with a warm climate at that time of year. Europe will be guaranteed five teams in the tournament, while Asia, Africa, Concacaf and South America will each have two. A ‘play-in’ phase will fill the six remaining places.
The timings mean the tournament would clash with the top European domestic league seasons. However, it does not interrupt the Women’s Champions League, which takes a break in January, and the National Women’s Soccer League will be in its offseason. The dates were chosen after a consultation, though no further details were given.
The addition of a Women’s Club World Cup has raised questions about calendar congestion and player workload. A new report found that Chelsea’s men's team, which won the expanded Club World Cup this summer, has seen a 44% increase in injuries this season, with 23 sidelined, while Manchester City’s men’s side has recorded 22 injuries, having also competed in the competition.
POLL
Should commentators stop giving score updates from other matches during live broadcasts?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper became the first player to save four consecutive penalties during a penalty shootout at a Fifa-organised tournament in their Intercontinental Cup final win over Flamengo (More)
> Fiorentina, Crystal Palace, and AZ Alkmaar are aiming to confirm knock-out phase places as the Uefa Conference League league phase concludes on Thursday (Dec 18); see all fixtures (More) and everything to look out for in Matchday 6 (More)
> Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (More)
> Macclesfield forward Ethan McLeod, 21, has died in a car accident while travelling back from a game on Tuesday (More)
Americas
> MLS’s Chicago Fire have held positive talks with Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski (More) | Luis Suarez has signed a contract extension with Inter Miami through to the 2026 MLS season (More)
> Forward Sophia Wilson will return to the NWSL’s Portland Thorns FC in 2026 by exercising her player option in a deal worth $1m (More)
Rest of the World
> Former Fremantle Dockers boss Steve Rosich has been named as the new Australian A-League chief executive (More)
> Nigeria have filed a complaint to Fifa over the alleged use of up to nine ineligible players by Congo DR in their World Cup qualifying match (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think it’s fair for ‘loyal fans’ to receive priority access to cheaper World Cup tickets?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (61%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (34%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (5%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 P.J: “The World Cup is a marquee event, like the Super Bowl. Everyone with anything more than a mild interest in football would want to attend, making competition for tickets savage. Allowing federations to allocate these tickets to ‘loyal fans’ is a step towards correcting the touristification of the World Cup. Anything Fifa and the national federations can do to ensure that actual, dedicated fans can get into the stadium for these games is a step in the right direction.”
🙅♂️ W.D: “I don’t agree with Fifa’s decision to allocate such tickets this way. These tickets will only create more issues for the country associations. What does loyal even mean? How are they going to be distributed?”
✍️ J.M: “I think it is fair for 'loyal fans' (who I assume are fans who have been to several matches for their national team, including away matches) to receive some allocation of discounted tickets. That said, the general ticket prices are absurd for the World Cup, and there should be far more ‘affordable’ tickets available to everyone.”
EXTRA TIME
Netflix will add a football simulation game for the World Cup.
The best XI that didn’t make Fifa’s best team.
… and who Messi voted for as the Best Men’s Player of 2025.
Nike release AFCON 2025 commercial.
Casemiro wears his coat upside down.
How a new role has helped Phil Foden’s return to form.
What is the longest penalty shootout in soccer history?
Haaland goes under cover as Santa.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who was the last Chelsea player to wear the no 25 shirt before Moises Caicedo arrived in 2023?
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.
Tell him he's Pele and get him back on.
Answer
Gianfranco Zola.
