Good morning football fans. It’s Wednesday, August 12 - President Donald Trump backs Gianni Infantino as Fifa president, Championship projections for the upcoming season, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
UEFA Super Cup (August 12): Paris Saint-Germain vs Aston Villa, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. This match, played between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League last season, will take place in Salzburg’s Red Bull Arena in Austria. Of the 50 previous Super Cups, 30 have been won by the team that has won the premier European competition (the European Cup and the Champions League). Two-time Champions League winners PSG will be looking to go back-to-back with the Super Cup after having beaten Tottenham on penalties last season. Meanwhile, Villa’s manager Unai Emery has lost all three of his previous Super Cup matches, while PSG’s Luis Enrique has won both of his. Read more on the fixture here.
TOP TALKING POINTS
Trump’s Infantino Support
United States president Donald Trump says it would be a “terrible mistake” if Fifa president Gianni Infantino was removed from his position. Trump shared a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, following an open letter from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation, which strongly criticised Infantino’s leadership after saying trust had been “broken through deception.”
“[Infantino] is fantastic, having just presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented,” Trump wrote in his post. “If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again.” Venture capitalist Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared, was expected to lead the investor group seeking to buy up to 21% of Fifa Forward Enterprise, the commercial entity Fifa has since abandoned, though Trump denies ever speaking with Infantino on the proposal.
Regardless of Trump’s support, sources claim that the confederations that wrote the open letter are holding preliminary discussions about breakaway competitions should Infantino refuse to step down. Substantive talks are yet to begin.
Championship Projections
West Ham United are 17.2% favourites to win the Championship title and 29.4% likely to earn automatic promotion, according to Opta’s prediction model. The Hammers secured an immediate return to the Premier League after being relegated in 2010-11, but did so via the play-offs. Opta’s model has seen two of its four most likely automatic promotion teams secure a top-two finish in each of the last two seasons.
Despite beginning the season with a four-point deduction, Southampton (23.7%) are projected to be the second most-likely to achieve automatic promotion in Opta’s headline projections. Southampton’s season, marred by Spygate, ultimately was successful in terms of points won, with manager Tonda Eckert winning a league-high 68 points between his first game on November 5 and the end of the season. Middlesbrough (21.0%), Wolves (19.2%) and Burnley (13.5%) follow closely behind in the race for a top-two finish.
This season will also be the first time that the play-offs extend to eighth place, leaving the chances for play-off qualification wide open. Opta’s model found that sixteen of the 24 teams finished inside the play-off spots in at least 22% of their season simulations.
The Championship season begins on Friday (August 14) at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET) with Wolves vs Blackburn Rovers. See all the fixtures here.
Salary Cap Dispute
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is taking legal action against the English Football League (EFL) over changes to financial controls in League One. The EFL has proposed reducing the wage spend cap from 60% of revenue to 50% in the third tier, as League One clubs lost an average of £7.3m last year.
The EFL says it is “concerned and disappointed” that the PFA has filed a case with the High Court, arguing that the proposal had been discussed at length and that the union’s feedback had been taken on board. “This is not about undermining players’ interests,” EFL’s chief executive Trevor Birch said. “It is about creating a stable environment in which clubs can meet their obligations and continue to invest in football.”
The PFA successfully challenged the introduction of a salary cap in 2021. However, the EFL believes the current proposal is not a major change and so should not be judged in the same manner.
POLL
Are you interested in the UEFA Super Cup match?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> The Champions League third round qualifying matches have concluded; see every result (More) | Chelsea Women have been drawn against Real Sociedad in the Women's Champions League third qualifying round; see the full draw results (More)
> Cristiano Ronaldo has officially married long-time partner Georgina Rodriguez in Cascais, Portugal (More)
> Turki Alalshikh, member of the Saudi Arabia government and known for his boxing promotions, has abandoned his proposed takeover of Derby County (More) | Leicester City’s owners are reportedly looking for $300m (£222m) for the club’s entire portfolio of assets, including its Belgian sister club OH Leuven (More)
> Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is suing Crystal Palace for defamation after supporters held up a banner depicting him holding a gun to the head of midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White (More)
Americas
> Several Leagues Cup matches will conclude shortly after publication as teams look for a quarter-final berth; see all results (More) and which teams have already been eliminated (More) | Alexis Sanchez, former Arsenal forward and Chile’s all-time leading goalscorer, has signed for CF Montreal (More)
> An earthquake in Colombia of a 7.4 magnitude has led Conmebol to postpone two continental club matches (More)
> Canadian Championship quarter-final between Ottawa and FC Supra du Quebec (SUP leads 3-1) will conclude shortly after publication; see live result (More)
Rest of the World
> South Melbourne have made it clear they want to take Western United’s place in the A-League after the latter was thrown out of Australia’s top-flight this week (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Has the Premier League ever truly been the top destination for the world’s best players?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (65%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (30%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (5%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 L.J: “Definitely, whilst there's been some superstars who never came to England, successful Barca and Real Madrid players immediately spring to mind, the vast majority of the rest all did at some point in their careers, and many returned too.”
👍 T.J: “As a collective, the Premier League has the world’s top players. Just look at the World Cup. The Premier League was by far the most-represented league in the world.”
🙅♂️ S.F: “Premier League stans make league-to-league comparisons to claim that, top to bottom, the best talent is in the English top flight. But it’s the wrong measurement. Going by Ballon d’Ors or individual performances, the best players are almost always on the continent, and they prove as much in their domestic leagues and the Champions League.”
🙅♂️ K.D: “I think for rising stars, it is a destination. For players who want a Ballon d'Or, it's not, because in Ligue 1 (PSG), the Bundesliga (Bayern) or La Liga (Barca or Real) you can score a ton of goals on poorly designed defences and inflate your stats.”
EXTRA TIME
The map showing the world's divisions over Infantino.
Every Premier League pre-season result.
Inside Spotify Camp Nou stadium’s new facilities. (video)
ESPN updates its NWSL power rankings.
A look at Macron’s bold football kit designs.
False Ronaldo wedding reports sent fans to another couple's big day.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Alan Shearer has scored the joint-second-most Premier League goals in one season, with 34 goals. Which player is he tied with?
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.
The qualities of the players aren’t enough. I want players who are proud to wear the shirt.
Answer
Andy Cole. Both players scored 34 goals in a 42-game season.