The World Cup is coming to the U.S. in 2026, but the company behind it might get there first.

FIFA is exploring moving its financial operations to a major U.S. city from its current headquarters in Zurich as it seeks to attract talent and distance itself from recent scandals. 

Switzerland’s attorney general Michael Lauber resigned last year following revelations that he held improper, unrecorded meetings with FIFA president Gianni Infantino during an investigation of a scandal that forced out Infantino’s predecessor, Sepp Blatter.

In June, the global soccer organization opened a Paris office focused on relations with its 211 members.

• Ten U.S. cities will host the 2026 World Cup along with three each in Canada and Mexico.
• Houston Dynamo and Dash owner Ted Segal told FOS in August that he believes the global tournament will bring U.S. soccer a “step change in enthusiasm that accrues to the benefit of MLS and NWSL.”
• Soccer is the third-most popular sport in the U.S. among 6-24-year-olds, according to a study earlier this year by analytics firm Two Circles.

FIFA earned $6.4 billion in revenue from 2017 to 2020, over 70% of which came in the World Cup year of 2018.

A series of scandals reverberating through the National Women’s Soccer League has ousted multiple coaches and league commissioner Lisa Baird.

The league announced on Friday that Baird had resigned and that five games had been canceled. 

Baird faced mounting criticism for pushing aside complaints of sexual coercion and other abuses from coaches.

• North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley was fired on Thursday following a report from The Athletic that he had coerced players into having sex with him among other abuses. His coaching license has been suspended by the U.S. Soccer Federation.
• On Tuesday, the league announced that Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke had been removed and prohibited from working in the NWSL following a harassment investigation. Spirit representatives are currently barred from participating in league governance for failing to handle the situation.
• Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly and O.L. Reign coach Farid Benstiti were fired during the summer over reports of a toxic work environment (Holly) and inappropriate comments (Benstiti).

The scandals come with NSWL on the rise. Viewership nearly tripled in 2020, with the first and last Challenge Cup matches drawing 572,000 and 653,000 viewers respectively on CBS. 

The NWSL signed three-year media deals in March 2020 with CBS for a reported $4.5 million, and with Amazon-owned Twitch.

Valuations of NWSL and MLS teams, often purchased in tandem, have been increasing. The Orlando Pride and Orlando City SC were bought for up to $450 million in July, and the Houston Dash and Dynamo changed hands in June for a reported $400 million.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 4, 2021. Excel has dropped its lawsuit against Endeavor, and filed a claim with the Major League Baseball Players Association against Endeavor, Michael Stival, and James Murray IV.

Major League Baseball teams are gearing up for a star-studded free-agent class, but in the meantime, there’s a tussle over talent between two agencies. 

Excel Management filed a lawsuit against Endeavor, claiming that the UFC owner knowingly induced two MLB agents to breach their contracts by agreeing to join a competitor. 

Michael Stival and James Murray IV both resigned from Excel on Aug. 31 and joined Endeavor’s agency WME shortly after to lead its MLB division with former Los Angeles Angels general manager Billy Eppler.

• Excel’s legal team wrote that “Endeavor was under enormous pressure to build a baseball division at the risk of losing its sole MLB player — a star player who is up for free agency after this season and who will likely command a contract worth over $200 million.”
• The lawsuit does not name the player but is almost certainly referring to Carlos Correa, WME’s only MLB client, according to MLB Trade Rumors. 
• WME told FOS that it also represents MLB players Spencer Turnbull, Chasen Shreve, Garrett Whitlock, and Brady House.
• Excel’s MLB clientele includes pending MLB free agents Freddie Freeman, Trevor Story, and George Springer, who signed a six-year, $150 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays last offseason.

The legal filing states that “Endeavor repeatedly failed in its efforts” to “build or acquire a baseball agency” and instead poached senior agents at another firm, thus benefiting from the “confidential information, business strategies, and goodwill of their former employer.”

Since its launch in September 2020, the cross-platform role-playing video game “Genshin Impact” has set a new standard for mobile video game earnings. 

The free-to-play title developed and published by Shanghai-based MiHoYo has generated roughly $2 billion in player spending from its mobile version. 

In March, “Genshin Impact” video game became the fastest mobile title to reach $1 billion in player spending on the App Store and Google Play, beating out Niantic’s “Pokémon GO,” which took nine months to generate $1 billion — “Genshin Impact” reached that mark in six. 

• “Genshin Impact” was the third-largest mobile title during its first year in terms of revenue on the App Store and Google Play, only trailing Tencent’s “PUBG Mobile” and “Honor of Kings.”
• China is the title’s largest market, accounting for 28.6% of global player spending — $577 million in revenue. 
• If you exclude China, “Genshin Impact” is the highest-grossing mobile game worldwide followed by “Pokémon GO” and online game creation platform Roblox.

Due to its success, MiHoYo has reportedly extended its original five-year content plan for the title to 12 years.

The popularity of “Genshin Impact” across mobile and consoles helped MiHoYo pocket nearly $800 million in revenue in 2020.