FIFA’s potential own goal

Plus: Why nursing jobs are getting more difficult  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Ruairi Arrieta-Kenna & Miranda Jeyaretnam  | July 31, 2026 Hi there. Today in The Brief, we take a look at Trump’s response to the pushback over his nomination for Todd Blanche and why nursing jobs are getting more difficult. We’re also looking at the fallout over FIFA’s investment plan. 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Yours doesn't have to be one of them. Here's how to future-proof your career: Join the Superhuman AI newsletter - read by 1M+ professionals Learn AI skills in 3 mins a day Become the AI expert on your team Start learning AI now     IN FOCUS FIFA’s potential own goal The future of the World Cup has become the focus of an extraordinary dispute within global soccer. At issue is a new proposal by FIFA to sell private investors stakes in the tournament’s commercial rights, which has drawn opposition from soccer associations representing countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. FIFA is “a social institution,” Joshua McLeod, a senior lecturer in sport management at Australia’s Deakin University, tells TIME. “This is a game that’s supposed to belong to the people and the next generation and the generation after that.” FIFA argues that the plan, which has not been enacted yet and would involve offering select private investors a stake of up to 20% in a new subsidiary for FIFA’s commercial and event operations, would raise up to $4.2 billion and expand development funding worldwide without relinquishing any operational control. But member countries aren’t playing along. UEFA, the European confederation, voted on Thursday to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments if the initiative proceeds. The World Cup trophy is lifted after the final match between Spain and Argentina in New Jersey on July 19, 2026. LI MING—XINHUA/GETTY IMAGES Observers say the controversy that’s erupted over the proposal could throw a wrench in FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s bid for reelection next year, which is currently unopposed, though now some potential challengers are being floated. Infantino has already been scrutinized over his ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. “This looks to have been the final straw,” McLeod says. “It’s a major failing of leadership, and it’s going to take a long time for that relationship to repair.” Private investment is not new in sports, but FIFA’s role as soccer’s global regulator is different, says McLeod, who argues the World Cup is more akin to the Olympic Games.  The debate over FIFA’s proposal, says David Shilbury, an emeritus professor of sport management at Deakin, ultimately comes down to the question of whether soccer is “too much of a business to be a sport” or “too much of a sport to be a business.”     ONE NUMBER 210 The number of soccer pitches that could fit within the roughly 370-acre wildfire burning in Suffolk, England, that broke out on Wednesday. Countries in Europe, including France, Spain, and Greece, have been battling deadly wildfires in recent weeks that have been exacerbated by successive heat waves. 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