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Good morning football fans. It’s Thursday, July. 23 - The World Cup final viewership breaks records in the US, Southampton’s manager has been charged by the FA for Spygate, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
TOP TALKING POINTS
Viewership Rockets
The 2026 World Cup final saw 63 million Americans tune in across Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock, almost trebling the 22.3 million US viewers who watched the Qatar 2022 final. Fox saw 38.9 million viewers watch its English-language broadcast, while Telemundo had 23.9 million viewers tune in for the Spanish-language coverage, according to Nielsen figures.
Some earlier World Cup knockout matches also outperformed recent championship games in other major US sports. England’s Round of 16 win over Mexico drew nearly 45 million viewers, well above the 27.3 million who tuned into Game 7 of Major League Baseball’s World Series or the 24.5 million who tuned in for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, when the New York Knicks ended a 53-year title drought.
In the UK, the BBC had an average audience of 9.7 million, peaking at 15.8 million, while ITV reportedly recorded an average of 2.4 million, peaking at 3.4 million. The gap in audience size between the broadcasters for the Qatar final was similar, though the discrepancy is likely due to the BBC’s lack of advertisements.
Liverpool Sale Signals
The fourth-richest person in the world, Jeff Bezos, has been approached to join a consortium that is in talks to buy a minority stake in Liverpool FC. Amazon’s founder, who Forbes says has a net worth of $257bn, has reportedly held talks to join the consortium. Bezos has previously explored bids for NFL franchises Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders, although he did not proceed with either deal.
The consortium group is being led by former Queens Park Rangers co-owner Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of billionaire steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal. The group is looking to buy around 30% of the club for £1.35bn, with some observers speculating that this deal could pave the way for an outright sale of Liverpool, with owners FSG having previously entertained talks of a sale of the club it bought for £300m in 2010. The Bhatia bid for Liverpool values the club at around £4.5bn ($6bn), comparable to the valuation of Manchester United when Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchased 25% of the club two years ago.
Eleven of the 20 Premier League clubs are majority-owned by US-based investors. Dive deeper into the data and why American investors are flooding into English football here.
Spygate Charge
Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert has been charged by the FA with misconduct and potentially bringing the game into disrepute over the Spygate scandal. Eckert’s side were kicked out of the Championship play-off final in May after admitting they spied on three clubs during the season, yet they failed to win any of the three matches they admitted to spying in the build-up to.
An independent commission ruled that Eckert was responsible as the espionage was a “contrived and determined plan from the top down.” WhatsApp messages were a key part of the evidence, with messages such as “You legend. Manager loved it” being sent to a junior analyst after observing Oxford United’s training. The intern later refused a request to spy on Ipswich Town’s training after being told that “the boss is adamant that someone needs to go”. At the time, Eckert defended his actions by stating that spying was a common practice in German and Italian football.
Eckert has until 28 July to respond to the FA's charges. The worst-case is that he will be banned from coaching in England, though this measure would be unlikely. In a comparable case, Fifa banned three members of Canada’s women’s national-team staff for one year after a drone was used to film New Zealand’s training at the 2024 Olympics.
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POLL
Are you looking forward to the Premier League season starting?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Manchester United supporters’ groups have complained about the club’s decision to suspend some season tickets as part of a move to stop illegal reselling (More) | Wrexham are bringing Newcastle United’s former head of recruitment on as their new sporting director (More) | Phil Foden has extended his contract at Manchester City until 2030 (More) | Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign Alejandro Garnacho, 22, from Chelsea on loan with a conditional obligation to buy (More)
> Pep Guardiola has held talks to become the Italy manager, according to the Italian FA (More); the Italian FA also says they are willing to make financial “exceptions” should Guardiola be interested in the role (More)
> League One side Leicester City’s owners are exploring a sale of the club a decade after they won the Premier League (More) | Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare forced the cancellation of a training session after he refused to leave the pitch in protest that the club would not let him move to Fiorentina (More)
> John Textor is suing Michele Kang for at least $400m related to her takeover of Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais (More) | La Liga president Javier Tebas says Fifa president Gianni Infantino must step down, claiming the world governing body is “destroying the football industry” (More)
> Former Netherlands midfielder Mark van Bommel is set to become Belgium’s new head coach until June 2028 (More)
Americas
> Inter Miami have signed Brazilian midfielder Casemiro but, as LA Galaxy had his discovery rights, the league is looking into tampering charges (More) | The Portland Timbers have hired Marti Cifuentes as the team’s new head coach (More); see results for MLS fixtures that conclude shortly after publication (More)
> US President Trump reportedly wants Fifa president Gianni Infantino to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations (More)
> Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has announced his retirement from professional football, bringing an end to a 22-year career (More)
Rest of the World
> A film in China called ‘Kung Fu Soccer’ has earned just over $200m in its first two weeks (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think removing relegation contributes to the long-term development of clubs?
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (17%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (80%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 H.H: “Let's be real, if the Premier League or La Liga began today they would not have pro/rel. I expect more leagues outside of Europe to adopt the American franchise model as time goes on. Even Premiership Rugby in England ended pro/rel. It's an outdated model.”
🙅♂️ J.K: “Definitely not. How can lower-tier clubs justify investment in their clubs to improve when there is no possibility of promotion to higher competition? This is a model that promotes stagnation at the higher levels and disincentivises investment in all levels.”
🙅♂️ T.H: “Relegation can be a very strong motivator for clubs and fans alike to fight like hell to stay up, at risk of losing massive revenue. On the other hand, perhaps counterintuitively, when clubs are repeatedly relegated, they become more connected with their supporter groups, and they are forced to focus more on internal development and youth development because they cannot afford to pursue high-profile signings. This is also good for the sport. Locking up the league as a franchise model and keeping newcomers out with a paywall looks more like a monopoly, and less like a good-faith effort to grow the sport and make it about entertaining the fans.”
EXTRA TIME
Ranking every Premier League 26-27 kit released.
… and Man United unveil blue away kit.
What World Cup tracking data revealed about Messi’s walking.
Has anyone else ‘completed football’ like Rodri?
Why did Brazil submit two different team sheets in a World Cup final?
Five experienced free agents still looking for clubs.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who was the only Premier League player to score a hat-trick in the 2026 World Cup?
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.
Football is the most important of the unimportant things in life.
Answer
Bukayo Saka.