Soccer

FIFA just made official the 11 U.S. cities that will host World Cup games in 2026 ... dropping a list including Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and even Kansas City.

The soccer association made the announcement on Thursday ... unveiling the 16 areas the tournament will be played in for their first-ever 48-team bracket (it was previously 32 teams).

60 of the games -- quarterfinals and semifinals -- will be played in the U.S. throughout 11 cities.

Of course, the two largest cities in the U.S. -- Los Angeles and New York -- made the cut ... with Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle also getting picked.

KC Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was hyped the World Cup chose his city ... saying, "Let's show them why Arrowhead is the loudest stadium in the world!"

The event will also hit Canada and Mexico -- each hosting 10 games -- and they will be played in Toronto, Vancouver, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey.

This will be the first time in FIFA history that three different countries will host the matches ... and the first time in the U.S. since 1994.

Cristiano Ronaldo is off the hook in his Vegas rape case -- the civil one, for now -- because a judge just threw out the lawsuit against him ... and kinda admonished the accuser too.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey dismissed the case entirely Friday, but not because she found there was no merit in the accusations ... but because the lawyer repping Kathryn Mayorga (the alleged victim) was apparently leaking like a sieve throughout the proceedings.

The attorney who got a forceful berating is Leslie Mark Stovall, whom the judge accused of disseminating stolen documents in the case, containing sensitive info being shared by Ronaldo and his own lawyers ... which the judge said utterly tainted the case.

The order read in part, "I find that the procurement and continued use of these documents was bad faith, and simply disqualifying Stovall will not cure the prejudice to Ronaldo because the misappropriated documents and their confidential contents have been woven into the very fabric of Mayorga's claims." The judge added, "Harsh sanctions are merited."

While the suit won't move forward at this point, Mayorga can appeal to a higher court if she wants. It's unclear if they plan to do so -- neither Mayorga or Ronaldo have commented.

As we reported ... Mayorga claims Ronaldo raped her in 2009 after a night of partying. She claims he paid her hush money in the amount of $375k ... but went public a few years ago, launching a criminal probe against the soccer star ... and which was ultimately dropped.

Six Haitians who were in Florida for the Special Olympics this month have mysteriously vanished ... and now, an active search is underway to find them.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office announced this week that Oriol Jean, 18, Anderson Petit-Frère, 18, Peter Mianovich Berlus, 19, Nicholson Fontilus, 20, Steevenson Jacquet, 24, and Antione Joseph Mithon, 32 all disappeared on June 6.

According to cops, the six -- members of Haiti's Special Olympics delegation who were competing in the soccer competition -- were last seen at around 2:30 PM in Kissimmee. All of them, police say, turned in their hotel room keys, left their personal belongings and then vanished.

The sheriff's office said it's now investigating it all as a "missing person's case."

"We are in communication with Walt Disney World, Special Olympics, and our Law Enforcement and Federal partners," cops said in a statement. "At this time, we believe this is an isolated event and do not suspect foul play."

The Special Olympics event began on June 5 in the Orlando area and is slated to run through the end of this week. According to organizers, it's set to feature around 5,500 athletes and coaches -- with roughly 120,000 people expected to tune in at the venues.

One of the missing Haitian Olympians, Petit-Frère, wrote in a social media post just last week that he was excited for the event ... and called it an "honor" to be a part of the team.

One of the most recognizable fight songs in all of college sports is getting a makeover ... Notre Dame just announced its changing lines in its famous tune to recognize the university's "daughters."

The school just made the change official ... revealing Friday morning instead of singing "While her loyal sons are marching/Onward to victory" in the song, the line will now be sung as, "While her loyal sons and daughters/March on to victory."

Notre Dame officials say they made the change to the song -- which is played and sung continuously at Fighting Irish sports events -- in part to honor the 50th anniversary of the university's decision to admit female undergraduate students.

Be afraid future quarterbacks ... another Watt is on the way into the world!!!

Arizona Cardinal superstar J.J. Watt just revealed he and his wife, Kealia Ohai, are expecting their first child together.

"Could not be more excited," Watt said while breaking the news on his social media page.

Fans and pro athletes rushed to Watt's comment section to show the 33-year-old and his pregnant wife major love ... with Browns star Myles Garrett and Patriots star James White both writing congratulations notes.

30-year-old Kealia revealed in a social media post of her own that the bundle of joy is expected to arrive in October 2022.

Watt and Kealia -- who plays midfielder for the Chicago Red Stars -- have been together since 2016 and got hitched in February 2020.

The lovely couple just celebrated their 2nd anniversary ... with Watt saying, "Through 2 years of marriage, many memories have already been created, with so many more on the horizon."

U.S. Men's National Team superstar Christian Pulisic just called out American soccer fans for not showing up to the squad's friendly against Morocco on Wednesday ... saying he was "not super happy" with the turnout in Cincinnati.

The 23-year-old striker -- easily the best U.S. footballer -- sounded off after the Red, White and Blue's 3-0 victory ... admitting he was bummed about the thousands of empty seats at TQL Stadium.

"To be honest, for whatever reason, I'm not super happy with the amount of Americans here -- however that works out, if I'm being completely honest," Pulisic said.

"But, thanks to the ones who did come ... and the support is always great from them."

FYI -- according to the U.S. Soccer match report, 19,512 fans were in attendance in Cincy ... nearly 6,500 short of TQL Stadium capacity.

Pulisic added it was "nice" to play on American soil again after months away ... but he was clearly irked.

Sue Bird's TOGETHXR company has made good on its threats ... its now filed a lawsuit against The Rock's XFL over the league's rebranded logo less than a month after initially claiming it was way too similar to theirs.

The lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, was filed on Wednesday -- nearly four weeks after Bird and her fiancée, Megan Rapinoe, threatened to get lawyers involved following the XFL's creation of a new "X" logo.

In the lawsuit, TOGETHXR -- a media org. co-founded by Bird, Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim and Simone Manuel -- says the football league's logo, which was debuted on April 6, looks and feels "confusingly similar to TOGETHXR's brand and logo."

They included in the docs a side-by-side of the logos ... and said they made "repeated attempts" to contact the XFL and its legal team over it all.

But, in the docs, attorneys for TOGETHXR said the XFL has "failed to acknowledge that it has tread on TOGETHXR's rights" -- and now, they want a court to step in and force the league to stop using the X logo ... plus damages.

Bird and Rapinoe initially brought up their gripe with the logo on April 7 ... with the two star athletes sending loud-and-clear messages to Dwayne Johnson on social media.

"Welp. This is awkward," Rapinoe said in a tweet. "Only thing @TheRock and @XFL2023 are gonna be cookin up is a response to the Cease and Desist and an ENTIRE new brand ID. @togethxr got this on [lock] boys."

Soccer star Kurt Zouma will not have to spend time behind bars for attacking his cats ... instead, he was sentenced to community service on Wednesday.

Zouma had faced jail time after pleading guilty last week to kicking and slapping his pets during a February incident ... but a judge ordered him to just 180 hours of community service and a five-year ban from owning cats.

His brother, Yoan -- who pleaded guilty to a charge last week that he aided and abetted Kurt during the incident -- was sentenced to 140 hours of community service and was also banned from owning cats for five years.

The two were ordered to pay fines and fees as well.

During the sentencing hearing, the judge scolded the two brothers -- calling their actions "disgraceful and reprehensible."

"As a public figure," the judge said, "you must be aware that others look up to you and many young people aspire to emulate you."

Both of Zouma's cats had been taken away from the 27-year-old, who's a member of France's national team, earlier this year after video show him kicking and slapping the felines.

The cats are currently in the care of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ... and are in the process of finding a new home.

Camila Cabello put on a great performance before the UEFA Champions League Final this weekend -- pristine in presentation ... but exactly the opposite of what was unfolding outside.

The singer was tapped for the opening ceremony show at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis just north of Paris -- where Real Madrid was facing off against Liverpool in a huge showdown between Europe's best soccer teams ... a must-see match fans were dying to see.

That might even be literal, because tons of prospective gamers were outside the stadium shortly before kickoff -- while Camila was doing her gig -- and desperately trying to get in by any means necessary ... with several of them hopping gates and having run-ins with security.

Some of these videos are absolutely insane -- people are climbing over each other and risking it all just for a chance to get inside. Unclear if these are people who purchased tickets and were turned away, or if they're simply hooligans trying to take it in for free.

At any rate, the cops and security officers on hand weren't having any of it ... pepper spraying people who were trying to rush the gates and who wouldn't back down. There are some reports (and videos) of minors getting tear gassed as well.

Even the cops themselves were trying to wipe the residue from their eyes ... that's how much they fired off, it seems.

As for Camila ... it appears she was completely oblivious to the pandemonium happening just a couple hundred feet from her on the pitch -- and paid it no mind, doing what she was there to do ... sing. Even if she knew what was going on, it's not really her problem.

BTW, she killed it during the show ... performing for a packed stadium and putting on an elaborate spectacle with backup dancers and a grand entrance to set everything off.

While no one is faulting her for continuing on with the ceremony, some are pointing out it's funny that the contrast here is so stark -- and frankly, it is. A lesson learned ... get to your seats early and often. Also, Euro soccer fans are low-key bonkers for the beautiful game.

Soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimović says he went through hell the past six months while playing with "no ACL" in his left knee ... revealing Thursday he had "20 injections" in the leg and "never suffered so much."

The AC Milan superstar added the knee that he injured roughly one year ago required weekly drainage ... and he had to take painkillers daily in order to compete on the field with his squad this past season.

"I was only able to train with the team 10 times in the last six months," Zlatan said in a social media post Thursday morning.

"Barely slept for six months because of the pain. Never suffered so much on and off the pitch."

Zlatan, though, had the ligament repaired on Wednesday -- and despite his team saying he'd be out for roughly the next eight months -- he seemed to be in good spirits while reflecting on everything he did in 2022 to help his squad win the Serie A title.

"I made something impossible to something possible," said Zlatan, who was somehow able to score eight goals in 27 appearances this season despite the injury.

"In my mind I had only one objective, to make my teammates and coach champions of Italy because I made them a promise."

"Today I have a new ACL and another trophy."

Soccer star Kurt Zouma has pleaded guilty to charges he attacked at least one of his cats in an abhorrent act back in February -- admitting in court on Tuesday that he did kick and slap at least one of the pets.

Zouma was seen on video back on Feb. 6 punting one of his two felines across his house's floor, and then slapping one of them as well. Earlier this week, he was formally charged over the incident.

The 27-year-old, who's a member of France's national team, appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court in London ... and pleaded guilty to two charges -- one accusing him of kicking a cat in the abdomen, and one accusing him of slapping a cat in the head.

Kurt's younger brother, Yoan, also pleaded guilty to a charge that he aided and abetted Kurt during the incident after officials say he was the one who filmed it all and posted it to social media.

The two are due back in court on June 1 for sentencing -- it's unclear if either is facing significant jail time.

Kurt had previously apologized for his actions in the days after the video went viral, saying, "There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret." He was later fined by his West Ham team, and lost sponsorships as well.

At the hearing Tuesday, Kurt agreed to give up the cats -- which have been in the possession of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals since February. They're now in the process of finding a new home.

Crazy scene following a Premier League game on Thursday ... ex-soccer star Patrick Vieira -- who now manages Crystal Palace -- kicked a fan in a wild altercation on the field.

It all went down after C.P. lost in heartbreaking fashion to Everton ... when a bunch of Toffees supporters stormed the pitch to celebrate their team's big win.

At one point in the chaos, one of the fans appeared to taunt Vieira -- and an altercation quickly ensued.

You can see in video, Vieira grabbed the man, took a swipe at the fan's face, and then kicked him so hard in the leg -- he fell to the turf.

Another fan then appeared to shove Vieira -- but, thankfully, others intervened ... and the fracas died down before it could escalate any further.

Vieira -- who starred for Arsenal from the late 1990s to 2005 and took over the Crystal Palace managerial role in 2021 -- was asked about the incident by reporters just minutes after it happened ... but he said, "I've got nothing to say on that."

Former Kansas Jayhawks soccer player Regan Gibbs died on Monday ... and her husband has since been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with her death.

The Lawrence Police Department in Kansas says officers were called to Gibbs' apartment at 7:26 PM on Monday ... when they say they found 26-year-old Chad Marek and a "mortally wounded" Gibbs.

Cops say Gibbs -- a former Jayhawks women's soccer goalkeeper -- was declared dead on the scene, and added Marek was arrested a short time later on suspicion of murder.

Police say "domestic violence is being investigated as a contributing factor" in Gibbs' death.

Marek and Gibbs had just gotten married last fall. Gibbs was just 25 years old when she died.

KU women's soccer head coach Mark Francis mourned the tragedy in a statement released by the school on Tuesday, saying, "Our soccer program is heartbroken to hear about the tragic loss of Regan."

"She was a tremendous teammate and young woman, and touched so many during her time at Kansas."

Gibbs played for KU from 2015 to 2018 and had the lowest goals-against average by a first-year goalie in Jayhawks history. The Washington native was also a part of two teams who made NCAA tournament runs.

"We are devastated to hear about the loss of former KU student-athlete Regan Gibbs," Jayhawks AD Travis Goff said.

"Our KU family sends our love, support and prayers to Regan’s family, friends and former teammates as we all mourn her loss."

A GoFundMe has been launched in Gibbs' honor -- with family and friends writing in the fundraiser, "Regan had a precious soul and she was loved by everyone who knew her."

"She is leaving behind her mom and four younger sisters who are heartbroken by this tragic loss."

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is just days away from his possible re-election and might've just earned some serious points with the anti-kid crowd ... tackling one unlucky boy to the ground.

The leader of the liberal party -- who was elected to office in 2018 -- was campaigning in Tasmania Wednesday and took some time for a photo-op with a group of kids playing soccer.

Turns out, dress shoes aren't the best choice for a grassy field, as Morrison finds out the hard way. After prepping himself for a pass, the PM sort of trips over himself, diving straight into an unsuspecting kid and taking him to the ground.

Lucky for all involved in the crash, the kid seemed to be OK ... and Morrison came off as just slightly embarrassed.

Megan Rapinoe and the U.S. Women's National Team got what they've been wanting for so long -- U.S. Soccer just announced both the men's and women's national teams will receive equal pay.

The org. just announced the groundbreaking deal on Wednesday ... saying World Cup earnings for both teams will be split equally between players on both teams.

"This is a truly historic moment," U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said of the deal. "In becoming the first federation in the world to solve the massive and vexing challenge of equalizing FIFA World Cup prize money, U.S. Soccer and our players have changed the game forever here at home, with the hopes of inspiring change around the world."

On top of the WC money, the teams will also receive the same appearance fees and game bonuses ... and share commercial revenue.

As we previously reported, the USWNT has been fighting for this since winning the World Cup in 2019 ... chanting for equal pay as they celebrated the win.

All 28 players on the USWNT filed a lawsuit against the USSF shortly after ... accusing it of engaging in "institutionalized gender discrimination" against the team.

Rapinoe also gave a passionate speech about equal pay at the White House in 2021.

The lawsuit resulted in a $24 million settlement ... which was contingent on the new deal.

Lionel Messi -- arguably the greatest soccer player of all time -- is reportedly taking his talents to the United States after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain is up in 2023 ... as he's slated to join David Beckham's club, Inter Miami.

The 34-year-old 7-time Ballon d'Or award winner is expected to take a 35% stake with the MLS franchise, according to Front Office Sports.

Messi, who's currently playing for PSG, will sign with Inter Miami once his contract expires with one of France's top clubs.

On Monday, Beckham posted pics with several members of PSG's club -- Messi being amongst the group -- where he appeared chummy with the Argentinian player.

As we previously reported, Messi parted ways with Barcelona after the club said financial obstacles prevented them from offering him a suitable deal.