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GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, Feb. 11 - A supporters’ group claims the FA is struggling to sell thousands of World Cup tickets, Inter Miami becomes the most-valuable MLS team, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MD26 (Feb 11): Aston Villa vs. Brighton, 19:30 GMT / 14:30 ET. Brighton have won just one of their six Premier League away games against Villa. However, Villa have lost their last two home Premier League games, having won eight in a row beforehand. Manchester City vs. Fulham, 19:30 GMT / 14:30 ET. Fulham have lost their last eight away league games against City by an aggregate score of 25-4, though three of their four Premier League victories against them have come at the Etihad Stadium. Sunderland vs. Liverpool, 20:15 GMT / 15:15 ET. While Sunderland are winless in their last 11 Premier League games against Liverpool, they have won three of their last five league home games against the reigning champions. See every Premier League fixture today here.
Results…
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TOP TALKING POINTS
Unsold World Cup Tickets
Leaked FA data shows thousands of England tickets remain unsold across their allocations for potential 2026 World Cup matches, according to the Football Supporters’ Association, a fan supporters group in England and Wales. A former FSA writer, quoted in the report, claims that if England reach the final, the FA will not sell out its 4,500-ticket allocation, citing ticket costs as the main factor. It’s unclear whether this is true.
Credible sources report that Group stage and knockout phase games through to the quarter-final, which could feature England, are oversubscribed. However, that’s not the case for the latter stages, where the cheapest tickets cost £686 ($938) for the semi-final and £3,119 ($4,267) for the final.
In December, Fifa reported that it had received 150 million ticket requests, suggesting the tournament is oversubscribed 30 times based on verified individual credit card numbers submitted with each application. Fifa president Gianni Infantino defended the price of tickets due to the organisation receiving “10 million ticket requests every single day”. See the ticket price evolution in each city here.
MLS Values Revealed
Inter Miami is the most valuable MLS club at $1.45bn, making it the first time it has held the top spot, according to Sportico—see the full list here. Miami’s growth represents a 22% year-on-year increase, placing the club firmly in the top 20 most-valuable clubs in the world, as of 2025 figures. For context, the most valuable club globally is Real Madrid at $6.53bn.
In terms of the top 10 amongst the MLS clubs, Los Angeles FC rank second ($1.4bn), LA Galaxy third ($1.17bn), Atlanta United fourth ($1.14bn), and New York City FC fifth ($1.12bn). Meanwhile, CF Montreal is the least valuable at $430m.
Collectively, the 30 MLS teams are valued at $23bn, with the average MLS franchise worth around $767m. By comparison, in 2023 the average English Premier League club was valued at $1.51bn, with the 20 teams valued at just over $30bn.
Promotion/Relegation Push
Several leading amateur clubs have formally written to the Dutch FA (KNVB) requesting talks on opening up the football pyramid, including the possibility of promotion and relegation involving the second tier. While the Netherlands operates normal promotion and relegation between the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie, the second tier is effectively closed off from the amateur levels below.
The KNVB, which has confirmed these letters are real, has openly admitted that the entry system needs to be reworked. The governing body has also acknowledged that the level at the top of amateur football is approaching that of the second division clubs. This discussion is timely because the current agreements between amateur and professional football expire after the 2027-28 season.
Without promotion and relegation, there has been a competitive problem for amateur sides, with clubs like VV Katwijk having won the title multiple times without advancing to the next level.
POLL
Should managers adapt to the club’s identity, or impose their own style?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Former French winger Franck Ribery has released a statement regarding recent allegations of his involvement in the Epstein files (More)
> Jose Mourinho is set to be offered the Portugal national team job when Roberto Martinez's contract expires after the Fifa World Cup (More)
> Nambatingue Tokomon, who scored PSG’s first goal in a European competition, dies at 73 (More)
> Liverpool boss Arne Slot says this season is the toughest he has had as a manager "by a mile" and his side are "not performing to Liverpool's standards" (More) | Everton forward Jack Grealish has confirmed that his season is over, after undergoing surgery for a foot issue he sustained in January (More)
> WSL Football is monitoring X’s (formerly Twitter) AI tool Grok due to concerns regarding its creation of sexualised images (More/paywall)
Americas
> Adidas release all 30 MLS kits ahead of the new season (More); see ESPN’s rankings of each kit (More)
> Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is removing its artificial turf to install a natural grass surface ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup (More)
Rest of the World
> Jabalia Youth took on Al-Sadaqa in the Gaza Strip's first organised football tournament in more than two years (More)
> Global players union FIFPro says the professional standards for female footballers in Asia still lag behind global benchmarks (More)
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ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should Manchester United keep Michael Carrick on as manager beyond this season?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (84%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (10%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (6%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 R.M: “Yes, if the team qualifies for Champions League, no brainer. As much as the likes of Tuchel, Ancelotti, Enrique, Glasner, or Nagelsmann sound progressive, sexy or top, top shelf, that is not what the team needs. Michael Carrick is what the team needs. In three days, he built a quality staff to assist him, who are really the biggest upgrade so far from the previous coaching staff.”
🙅♂️ G.B: “Much too soon to elevate someone who has won nothing and was sacked from his previous position. Had he achieved promotion and kept Middlesbrough in the Premier League, then he would have a case. It might be a feel-good appointment, but Man United still need a complete reset of coaching and management to be able to go forward.”
✍️ M.D: “So torn. On one hand, the club must reward results, and he has delivered (only 4 games, I know), but on the other hand, I’m having Ole flashbacks (unfair, I know). Does he have the pedigree to manage a club like Man United? I’m meandering because it’s a near call. I wouldn’t be annoyed, but if they got a super high-profile manager, instead, I would have a hard time arguing.”
EXTRA TIME
The worst free-kick routine you’ll see all week.
A cinematic of Dembele’s Ballon d’Or contender this year.
Are European away days becoming more unsafe?
Ranking the best (and worst) managers in the world.
Fashion-forward Venezia reveal fourth kit.
Why Liverpool concede so many 90-minute winners.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Can you name the top-scoring player in the Premier League in each of these decades, whose goals in the competition have come exclusively in that decade?
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
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.
When I started at 18, back in the dinosaur era, people smoked in the locker room and drank during breaks. Everything has changed.
Answer
1990s: Ian Wright (113)
2000s: Ruud van Nistelrooy (95)
2010s: Eden Hazard (85)
2020s: Erling Haaland (105)
Question credit: The Athletic
