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Magic Johnson Urges Fans to Make Los Angeles their World Cup Destination

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Community Ambassador, speaks during the 30 Days to FIFA World Cup 2026 media event at SoFI Stadium before the pitch installation and temporary renaming to Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Community Ambassador, speaks during the 30 Days to FIFA World Cup 2026 media event at SoFI Stadium before the pitch installation and temporary renaming to Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
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Magic Johnson Urges Fans to Make Los Angeles their World Cup Destination

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Community Ambassador, speaks during the 30 Days to FIFA World Cup 2026 media event at SoFI Stadium before the pitch installation and temporary renaming to Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Community Ambassador, speaks during the 30 Days to FIFA World Cup 2026 media event at SoFI Stadium before the pitch installation and temporary renaming to Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Los Angeles sports royalty and former NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson on Tuesday urged fans from around the world to make Los Angeles their World Cup destination, calling the city the "sports capital of the world."

A '30 Days to FIFA World Cup 2026' event at SoFi Stadium highlighted the sprawling city's desire to ensure visitors experience more than an in-and-out soccer stop, Reuters reported.

"The world game is coming to the greatest city in the world," Johnson said, beaming, at the event designed to entice travelers not only for the tournament but also for the city’s attractions and its role as a global sports hub.

Johnson, a five-time National Basketball Association champion and three-time Most Valuable Player, said this was the time to be in Los Angeles ⁠because "great events are ⁠coming to our city," including the World Cup, the NFL Super Bowl, and the 2028 Olympics.

Los Angeles hosts eight World Cup matches, featuring the national teams of the United States, Paraguay, Iran, New Zealand, Switzerland, Bosnia, Belgium and Türkiye.

The expanded tournament will be played across North America, with matches in 16 host cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada. It will feature 48 national ⁠teams, up from the usual 32.

Local and visiting fans will be able to enjoy a "giant soccer carnival" across the city, said Kathryn Schloessman, President and CEO of Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission and host committee CEO.

The city's commitment to affordable transportation options was also underlined, with $1.75 tickets to the stadium standing in stark contrast to some of the prices that have drawn controversy on the East Coast.

The World Cup's local impact has been debated for months. Critics have raised concerns about regional homelessness, poverty and the cost to taxpayers, warning that the most vulnerable could be hit by price increases, housing ⁠pressures linked to ⁠the event and disruption to urban services.

Los Angeles is also hosting the tournament's US opening ceremony on June 12, featuring pop star Katy Perry. The show follows an opening ceremony in Mexico City the day before and another in Toronto earlier on June 12, underscoring the tournament’s three-country footprint.

While best known for US sports powerhouses such as the Lakers, Dodgers, Rams and Chargers, Los Angeles has also attracted high-profile soccer stars late in their careers, including David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Steven Gerrard, all of whom played for the LA Galaxy.

The city's World Cup committee has taken advantage of its proximity to Hollywood's famous residents by involving Snoop Dogg, Eva Longoria, Will Ferrell and other celebrities as "community ambassadors."

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Sports

Three Talking Points from the Italian Grand Prix

Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli holds his trophy as he celebrates with his team members after winning the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit in Monza, northern Italy on September 6, 2026. (AFP)
Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli holds his trophy as he celebrates with his team members after winning the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit in Monza, northern Italy on September 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Three Talking Points from the Italian Grand Prix

Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli holds his trophy as he celebrates with his team members after winning the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit in Monza, northern Italy on September 6, 2026. (AFP)
Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli holds his trophy as he celebrates with his team members after winning the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit in Monza, northern Italy on September 6, 2026. (AFP)

Rarely has a race, or a singular drive, stirred the emotions as did Kimi Antonelli's spectacular home triumph in Sunday's stunning and wildly-entertaining Italian Grand Prix.

It was a season-defining performance, a display foreseen by his team boss as a "walk on water" demonstration of pure talent.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points from a weekend of the unexpected at Monza where Ferrari fervor turned to Italian joy in celebration of a first home winner for 60 years:

- Antonelli: 'Generational genius' -

It was less about the history and the statistics, impressive as they are, but much more a show of precocious speed and talent as the boy from Bologna, who turned 20 two weeks ago, won from 19th on the grid.

In becoming the first Italian driver to win at Monza since 1966 -- to move 66 points clear of nearest rival and teammate George Russell in the title race -- he proved Italy still produces winners and champions.

Only a series of catastrophes in the remaining 10 races can prevent Antonelli becoming the first Italian to win the world title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

This was Antonelli's seventh win this year, lifting him level with Russell, who was the pre-season favorite, in career victories, despite the Briton having made 128 more race starts.

As he said in the ecstatic aftermath of the race, as thousands of Ferrari fans, in a weekend record crowd of 403,666, thronged below the podium, this win "is great, but the best is yet to come".

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who recruited Antonelli to his junior team and developed him as a protege of extraordinary potential, said he felt sure one of his two protagonists would win.

"I felt it on Saturday," he said. "I chatted with his father Marco. He saw it coming, too. I knew one of the two would win -- George, because he was at the front, or Kimi, because he was going to walk on water."

Antonelli took advantage of a red flag and a virtual safety car to pit twice for new tires while Russell did so only once, for hards, leaving him vulnerable on the final laps.

But, Wolff pointed out, it was something more than tires or tactics that took his curly-mopped youngster through the field to glory.

"I've seen it with other great ones in the past," said Wolff, who oversaw six of Lewis Hamilton's seven championship-winning seasons with Mercedes.

"When a driver and a car are as one, then there's just nothing that can stop them."

- Ferrari season in peril -

Ferrari's home flop ended with Hamilton sixth, conceding his title dream is over and pointing a finger at his team.

Poor strategy, which saw him not take advantage of the VSC deployment to fit new tires, saw him struggling on worn mediums, while a lack of "rules of engagement" resulted in an opening lap clash with teammate Charles Leclerc, who later crashed out.

"At Mercedes, we had written rules," said Hamilton. "And we never had it too bad.

"Here (at Ferrari), there are no rules. It needs to change."

He added that the team had prevaricated too long over asking Leclerc to support Hamilton in the title race. "It's way too late for that now."

- Verstappen proves point -

Max Verstappen's battling drive to take third behind both Mercedes, but ahead of the two McLarens, went some way in justifying his decision to extend his Red Bull contract and erase the pain of a first-lap crash two weeks earlier at his home Dutch Grand Prix.

"For us to be on the podium is, I think, a very strong result," he said after his fifth top-three finish of a difficult season that is yet to produce a win.

"Mercedes were clearly too strong for us but to be behind them after a very difficult weekend in Zandvoort is very positive for us."

Sports

Belgium Withholds Support for Infantino Over Balogun Red Card Row

President of FIFA Gianni Infantino looks on during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan, on January 13, 2024. (AFP)
President of FIFA Gianni Infantino looks on during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan, on January 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Belgium Withholds Support for Infantino Over Balogun Red Card Row

President of FIFA Gianni Infantino looks on during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan, on January 13, 2024. (AFP)
President of FIFA Gianni Infantino looks on during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan, on January 13, 2024. (AFP)

Belgium will not support Gianni ‌Infantino's bid for another term as FIFA president unless it receives satisfactory answers over the handling of the Folarin Balogun red-card case at the World Cup and other governance concerns, the country's football federation (RBFA) said on Monday.

Belgium has sought explanations over the disciplinary process involving Balogun, whose automatic red-card ban was suspended by FIFA, allowing the US striker to face Belgium in their World Cup last-16 clash after US President Donald Trump personally urged Infantino to review the case.

The RBFA said ‌football's world ‌governing body had yet to provide adequate ‌justification ⁠for its decision ⁠or explain how similar cases would be handled in the future.

"It is essential that such cases are handled in a transparent and rigorous manner, in the interests of FIFA, the good governance and the credibility of international football, with clear safeguards for the future," RBFA said in a statement.

The federation has ⁠asked FIFA to place the Balogun case ‌on the agenda for the ‌next FIFA Council meeting on October 15.

The other issue centers on FIFA ‌Forward Enterprise, where the RBFA said several decisions and ‌assessments had not been sufficiently justified, raising broader concerns about transparency and governance.

The RBFA had opposed FIFA's proposed sale of a stake in World Cup commercial rights, saying it remained committed to "a strong, ‌independent and sustainable model for international football."

"My team at the RBFA communicated with FIFA in ⁠a composed ⁠and constructive manner, both during and after the World Cup, in order to obtain clarity in the Balogun case. Two months after the events, we note that our questions remain unanswered to date," RBFA President Pascale Van Damme said.

"Given the importance of transparency and clarity for all parties involved, we request the necessary explanations and, at the same time, wish to explore where improvements to the current processes are possible."

The Belgian federation said it remained in close contact with European soccer's governing body UEFA over both issues and would continue pushing for greater transparency in FIFA decision-making.

Sports

PSG Go for Three in a Row as Champions League Returns

28 August 2026, France, Villeneuve-D'ascq: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique stands on the touchline during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Lille OSC (LOSC) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. (dpa)
28 August 2026, France, Villeneuve-D'ascq: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique stands on the touchline during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Lille OSC (LOSC) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. (dpa)
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PSG Go for Three in a Row as Champions League Returns

28 August 2026, France, Villeneuve-D'ascq: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique stands on the touchline during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Lille OSC (LOSC) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. (dpa)
28 August 2026, France, Villeneuve-D'ascq: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique stands on the touchline during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Lille OSC (LOSC) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. (dpa)

Another UEFA Champions League season gets going this week with the beginning of the league phase as Paris Saint-Germain bid to join the tiny band of clubs to have won the competition three years running.

PSG successfully defended their title last season when they beat Arsenal on penalties in Budapest, retaining the trophy they won for the first time in their history 12 months earlier.

Luis Enrique's side have already secured their status as one of the competition's greatest teams by winning it back-to-back, something only Real Madrid had previously achieved since the inception of the modern Champions League in 1992.

Winning three in a row would be on another level entirely. Real did exactly that under Zinedine Zidane between 2016 and 2018, The only other teams to manage such a feat are Ajax (1971-73) and Bayern Munich (1974-76), while Madrid also won the first five editions of the European Cup from 1956 to 1960.

"Our objectives are clear. I want to win important trophies and there are none more important than the Champions League," said Luis Enrique, who also led Barcelona to glory in 2015.

The back-to-back titles for the French giants have coincided with the introduction of the new Champions League format, with 36 teams in the league phase now playing eight games against eight different opponents.

The Parisians struggled in the league phase in each of the last two campaigns, finishing outside the top eight and having to come through the additional play-off round to make the last 16.

Tough draws were partly responsible for that, and PSG will face some familiar opponents this time in Manchester City, Barcelona and Aston Villa.

With each passing year, the prospect of a team other than one of Europe's super clubs winning the Champions League seems more remote.

- Arsenal to take next step? -

The Premier League's financial strength means all of its representatives can be expected to feature prominently, with Arsenal chief among them.

Over the last three years, the Gunners have lost in the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, and then the final. There is therefore a logical next step for Mikel Arteta's side,

Arsenal topped the league phase last season with a perfect record. They have a tough start this time away to Napoli.

There are five English clubs involved, with Manchester City and Liverpool joined by the returning Manchester United and Villa.

Bayern Munich are formidable, while Jose Mourinho has returned to Real Madrid charged with the task of leading them back to continental glory. Barcelona are itching to get their hands on the trophy again.

It is hard to see beyond one of those clubs, although Inter Milan could have a say and Atletico Madrid will be desperate to reach a final to be held in their stadium.

- Debutants -

The only club outside Spain, England, Germany, Italy and France to have won the Champions League in the last 30 years remains Mourinho's Porto in 2004.

Plenty of new names will add freshness to the competition, including Como, who finished fourth in Serie A last season under Cesc Fabregas to qualify at the expense of AC Milan and Juventus.

Viking Stavanger are in the Champions League proper for the first time after winning a first Norwegian title in 34 years.

Sabah start with a trip to Old Trafford after winning a first Azerbaijani title and coming through four qualifying ties. Their manager, Valdas Dambrauskas, got into coaching with the money he made appearing on the Lithuanian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire".

"Since I was 12, when I realized I will not be a professional player, I knew I wanted to be a football coach," he said in an interview with Flashscore.

"I cannot guess what would have happened without this game, but I believe I would have found a way to achieve my dream."

Sabah might not qualify for the next stage -- although compatriots Qarabag did that last season -- but just being in the league phase is worth almost 20 million euros ($23.2m) at a minimum, significant sums for clubs from lesser leagues.

The Champions League winners pocket around 90 million euros in prize money, before adding millions more, notably from television -- it is understood PSG earned around 150 million euros for each of their last two victories.