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Adidas, Real Madrid Extend Partnership for 8 Years

FILE PHOTO: An Adidas logo is seen at the new Futurecraft shoe unveiling event in New York City, New York, US April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An Adidas logo is seen at the new Futurecraft shoe unveiling event in New York City, New York, US April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney/File Photo
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Adidas, Real Madrid Extend Partnership for 8 Years

FILE PHOTO: An Adidas logo is seen at the new Futurecraft shoe unveiling event in New York City, New York, US April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An Adidas logo is seen at the new Futurecraft shoe unveiling event in New York City, New York, US April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney/File Photo

Germany's Adidas said on Wednesday it signed ⁠an eight-year ⁠extension ⁠of its sponsoring partnership with Real Madrid, covering soccer and basketball.

“First formalized in 1980 and then re-established after a short break from the 1998/1999 season, the Adidas and Real Madrid partnership has seen the club become the most successful on the European stage, delivering eight UEFA MEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE™ trophies in this period while wearing the Three Stripes,” it said in a statement.

“From best-in-class technical performance wear that has supported athletes like Zinedine Zidane, Toni Kroos, David Beckham and Jude Bellingham on the field of play, to culture-wear that enables fans to carry their support through all parts of life, the partnership has created some of the game’s most famous sportswear,” it added.

“The new agreement follows shortly after the release of the new Real Madrid Home jersey, a design that brings the finer details of the club’s crest to the fore with deep green and bold pink details,” the statement said.

“The strategic alliance between Real Madrid and Adidas has helped us, over these three decades, to experience one of the most wonderful periods in our history. It has also enabled us to continue nurturing this universal feeling known as madridismo,” the statement quoted Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, as saying.

Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden expressed pride that “the Three Stripes will continue to be part of this extraordinary success story.”

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Sports

Iran Threatens to Stop World Cup Games if Faced with Unauthorized Flags or Slogans

Soccer Football - International Friendly - Iran v Gambia - Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey - May 29, 2026 Iran players pose for a team group photo before the match REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Soccer Football - International Friendly - Iran v Gambia - Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey - May 29, 2026 Iran players pose for a team group photo before the match REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
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Iran Threatens to Stop World Cup Games if Faced with Unauthorized Flags or Slogans

Soccer Football - International Friendly - Iran v Gambia - Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey - May 29, 2026 Iran players pose for a team group photo before the match REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Soccer Football - International Friendly - Iran v Gambia - Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey - May 29, 2026 Iran players pose for a team group photo before the match REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

Iran threatened to halt its matches at the World Cup if unauthorized flags are displayed or slogans targeting the national team are chanted at stadiums, Iranian media reported, citing Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali, following criticism of the team’s presence at the tournament.

The World Cup begins on Thursday, with Iran opening their Group G campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. They next face Belgium at the same venue on June 21 before taking on Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

"We have informed FIFA that if unofficial flags are brought or slogans against the national team are chanted in the stadiums where Iran plays in the World Cup, the team manager will definitely be responsible for stopping the match," Donyamali said on Tuesday, according to Iranian media, Reuters reported.

"We have been assured that no disruptive incidents will occur in the stadium during the match against Egypt."

In April, protesters gathered outside the FIFA Congress in Vancouver called for Iran to be banned from the tournament, saying the team represents the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps rather than the Iranian people. The Iranian team has also faced organizational challenges, with Iran’s football federation saying its ticket allocation was withdrawn days before the tournament, leaving supporters who had already made travel plans unable to attend their team’s matches. The team, currently training in Tijuana, Mexico, will be able to enter the US the day before each match, the Department of Homeland Security said, amid a conflict that has added a geopolitical dimension to the tournament.

Sports

Soccer Offers West Bank Palestinians an Escape as the World Cup Kicks Off

File: Palestinian players leave the field after an Asian Group B World Cup qualifying soccer match against Oman at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/John Duerden)
File: Palestinian players leave the field after an Asian Group B World Cup qualifying soccer match against Oman at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/John Duerden)
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Soccer Offers West Bank Palestinians an Escape as the World Cup Kicks Off

File: Palestinian players leave the field after an Asian Group B World Cup qualifying soccer match against Oman at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/John Duerden)
File: Palestinian players leave the field after an Asian Group B World Cup qualifying soccer match against Oman at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/John Duerden)

As the FIFA World Cup gets underway on June 11, with Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia among the Arab nations set to compete, soccer remains both a passion and a struggle for many Palestinians in the Israeli- occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian national team came agonizingly close to qualifying for the tournament but fell just short of reaching the 48-team field. Still, the World Cup will be closely watched in the West Bank, where, for many young Palestinians, the game offers both an escape from daily pressures and the realities that surround them.

In the Bedouin village of Umm al-Khair, in the Masafer Yatta region south of Hebron, children play on a small soccer pitch bordered by barbed wire erected by Israeli settlers from the nearby Carmel settlement. During a recent game, a ball kicked toward the goal landed beyond the fence as young settlers passed by. The settlers took the ball away, ending the match.

Residents say such incidents are common. The community has lost dozens of soccer balls. Attempting to retrieve them can risk confrontation with settlers and, at times, Israeli soldiers.

Further north, in Nablus, children and teenagers from a local soccer academy train on a municipal stadium pitch that has fallen into disrepair. Along the sidelines, Palestinians from Gaza who held permits to work in Israel before the war watch the sessions as they hang clothes to dry. Stranded in the West Bank since the war broke out in October 2023, many have created makeshift homes in the stadium’s locker rooms, the facility's manager says, fearing they could be forced to return to Gaza.

The Palestinian Football Federation has halted league matches throughout the war, citing the precarious security situation in the West Bank, where the Israeli military frequently conducts arrest raids and has erected scores of checkpoints. Once-rowdy soccer stadiums are largely empty, with some neglected.

At Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in Al-Ram, home to the Palestinian national team, amateur players gather for training sessions. In Tulkarem, young players, some wearing national team jerseys, do the same. FIFA offered some funding to the Palestinian Football Association, but moved the national team's “home” matches to other countries, including Jordan, Qatar and Malaysia, due to security concerns.

In the absence of regular league play, training sessions have become one of the few remaining spaces for exercise, social interaction and a sense of normality.

As the world’s attention turns toward soccer’s biggest tournament, the game continues to provide moments of community, resilience and hope for Palestinians across the West Bank.

Sports

Somali Referee Says World Cup ‘Dream’ Ruined

Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan gestures during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group D football match between Mauritania and Algeria at Stade de la Paix in Bouake on January 23, 2024. (AFP)
Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan gestures during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group D football match between Mauritania and Algeria at Stade de la Paix in Bouake on January 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Somali Referee Says World Cup ‘Dream’ Ruined

Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan gestures during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group D football match between Mauritania and Algeria at Stade de la Paix in Bouake on January 23, 2024. (AFP)
Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan gestures during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group D football match between Mauritania and Algeria at Stade de la Paix in Bouake on January 23, 2024. (AFP)

Somali referee Omar Artan said the "biggest dream of my life" had been ripped away after he was denied entry to the United States to officiate at the World Cup.

Artan, who was named referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football, has been dropped from FIFA's list of officials after he was refused entry to the United States on arriving in Miami on Saturday.

Somalia is one of several countries on a travel ban list introduced by President Donald Trump's administration as part of a broader immigration crackdown.

A US State Department official told AFP late Tuesday that the referee was "associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations," therefore "making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States."

After an 11-hour interview with border officials, Artan said he was taken to a separate holding cell where he was detained for several further hours before being put on a flight back to Istanbul.

"I'm just simply a referee who's trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup," Artan told the New York Times on Tuesday in a telephone interview from the Turkish city.

"I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa," he added.

FIFA said it was powerless to influence the decision, which it said was the sole preserve of tournament co-hosts the United States.

"In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country," said a spokesperson for football's governing body.

A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection said Artan was denied entry following a routine inspection.

"Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry," the statement said.

The Somali government expressed "deep regret" at Artan's exclusion from the tournament.

"Artan represents the very best of Somali talent," the sports ministry said.

The largest World Cup in history begins on Thursday, shrouded in political tension.

Iran, who will play their three group games on American soil, were forced to switch their training base to Mexico due to the military conflict between Tehran and the US.

The Iranian football federation on Tuesday said its allocation of tickets for supporters had been revoked, while some of the team's support staff have been denied visas.