As Houston prepares to welcome thousands of international visitors for the FIFA World Cup, the Houston Police Department is launching a new real-time translation system designed to break down language barriers during emergencies, traffic stops, and major public events.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund became an “official tournament supporter” of the World Cup on Thursday and reaffirmed its commitment to invest in sports despite notable retreats from other ventures in recent months.
The upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 will feature seven matches in Houston at NRG Stadium, which will be renamed Houston Stadium during the tournament.
With just weeks until World Cup matches arrive in Houston, the FBI in Houston says security planning has been underway for more than a year — and a key part of that plan is a centralized command post where federal, state and local agencies will work side by side.
Houston’s 8th Wonder Brewery is accusing its landlord of trying to push the company out of its longtime East Downtown property as the value of nearby land surges ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from countries that have qualified for the World Cup and have bought tickets for the soccer tournament pay as much as $15,000 in bonds to enter the United States.
What is normally home to football games is now a full-scale construction zone as NRG Stadium undergoes a dramatic transformation ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup is coming to Houston in just 36 days, but for many locals, the biggest question isn’t excitement—it’s affordability.
With just over 44 days until the World Cup comes to Houston, many homeowners are considering turning their properties into short-term rentals.
Almost all of the costs for organizing the tournament fall on the cities, whose ability to collect revenue is limited. In Texas, that could leave taxpayers on the hook.
Rules for showing red cards to players at the World Cup have been updated because of two controversies in international soccer this year.
With 50 days until Houston hosts the FIFA World Cup, the city is about to see some of its most visible changes yet, and residents will start noticing the transformation almost immediately.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Wednesday that Iran will participate in the World Cup “for sure” despite its war with the United States.
We now know exactly what funding is at risk and why the Governor says Houston could be forced to pay it all back.
FIFA has added new, even more expensive tiers of tickets for this year’s World Cup, asking up to $4,105 for a front category 1 seat at the U.S. opener against Paraguay in Inglewood, California, on June 12.
FIFA raised its top ticket price for the World Cup final to $10,990 during the glitch-hampered reopening of sales after the 48-team field for this year’s tournament was finalized.
Iran players and officials have posed with pictures of children allegedly killed by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes before their World Cup warmup against Costa Rica in Turkey.
FIFA has fined the Israeli soccer federation for breaching anti-discrimination regulations but it took no action on a Palestinian request to suspend Israel from global soccer for allowing clubs based in West Bank settlements.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup quickly approaching, Houston leaders say the city is working against the clock to improve streets, sidewalks, and drainage before hundreds of thousands of visitors arrive.
Iran’s Embassy in Mexico has suggested the country is negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico after President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending the tournament, citing safety concerns.
Two Iranian women soccer players have been seen training with the Brisbane Roar after Australia granted them asylum, and they stayed behind as teammates headed home.
Pushing back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments, Iran’s national soccer team says “no one can exclude” it from playing in the men’s World Cup in the United States.
President Donald Trump says he doesn't think it'd be “appropriate” for the Iranian soccer team to attend this year's World Cup.
Iran’s sports and youth minister said that the country is in no position to take part in the World Cup after the United States killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in its ongoing war.
FIFA is still anticipating that Iran's national team will be allowed to come to the United States, even with war going on between the countries, and compete in the World Cup that begins in about three months.
With 100 days to go until the World Cup, the Iran war has added a new layer of complexity to the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Iran’s place at the men’s soccer World Cup in three months’ time has been put in doubt amid an escalating Middle East conflict sparked by tournament co-host the United States.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is backing a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Donald Trump and his administration at home and abroad.
The Trump administration has identified a host of athletic competitions it classifies as “major sporting events” — aside from soccer's 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games — that athletes and coaches will be allowed to travel to the U.S. to take part in despite a broad visa ban.
Houston’s Pride Festival and Parade is making history by moving to Saturday, June 6, 2026, for the first time in nearly 50 years. The change, due to FIFA World Cup events later in June, kicks off a month-long celebration of diversity, advocacy, and community.
The winner of the 2026 World Cup will receive $50 million from a $655 million prize pool, FIFA said in announcing record financial rewards for teams in a tournament with ticket prices that have sparked outcries.
FIFA slashed the price of some World Cup tickets for teams’ most loyal fans following a global backlash and some will get $60 seats for the final instead of being asked to pay $4,185.
As Houston gears up to welcome the FIFA World Cup, excitement is building far beyond the stadiums. Local businesses, restaurants, and the tourism sector are preparing for a major economic surge — and Airbnb hosts say they’re ready to cash in.
Egypt and Iran, two Middle East nations that target gays and lesbians, have complained to FIFA over the scheduling of a World Cup soccer match in Seattle that’s expected to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s public support for Donald Trump and a peace prize awarded to the U.S. president are the subjects of formal complaints to the global soccer body’s ethics investigators.
It’s been just three days since the schedules were established for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and ticket prices are already through the roof.
FIFA says it will include three-minute hydration breaks in every game at next year’s World Cup, not just those played in hot weather.
Perhaps it's fitting that after the World Cup draw ceremony began, it took about 90 minutes for the actual drawing of teams to begin in earnest.
Argentina and Lionel Messi will play Algeria to open their World Cup title defense as part of a group that also includes Austria.
President Donald Trump will be taking center stage at the World Cup draw as he rolls out the welcome mat for teams and fans from around the globe.
Excitement is building in Houston’s Third Ward as major neighborhood improvements are set to begin ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo will likely avoid missing any Portugal games at the World Cup despite his red card in a qualifying game last week for elbowing an Ireland opponent.
Houston leaders provided a detailed update on the city’s sustainability efforts tied to the 2026 World Cup during a two-hour presentation at City Hall.
Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was at the White House on Tuesday as President Donald Trump hosted a glitzy dinner to honor Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
President Donald Trump is announcing “FIFA Pass,” which will allow foreigners with World Cup tickets to get expedited visa appointments.
FIFA has announced the creation of a peace prize, which it plans to award for the first time at the World Cup draw on Dec. 5 in Washington.
Some four years after players from the Afghanistan women’s national team fled their homeland amid the Taliban’s takeover, a number of the teammates are representing their country once more in an international soccer tournament.
The United States added Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica to its proposal to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup.
Spain still topped the FIFA men’s world rankings published Friday that show Germany back on track to be a top-seeded team in the World Cup finals tournament draw.
President Donald Trump is threatening to relocate World Cup matches set to be played next year in suburban Boston.
Andy Kohlberg, the owner of Spanish soccer club Mallorca, warns that FIFA's ticket pricing for the next World Cup could harm the sport's image.
Tradition-busting plans for Barcelona to play a league game in Miami and AC Milan to feature in Australia should now be able to go ahead.
Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino agreed to hold the World Cup draw in Washington, D.C. This decision was forged during a conversation at a Club World Cup match.
The State Department will increase staffing at certain U.S. embassies and consulates to accommodate an expected major jump in visa applications from soccer fans wanting to attend World Cup matches in the United States next year.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been reminded that FIFA and not government ultimately decides which cities will host World Cup games.
European soccer body UEFA is moving toward a vote to suspend its member federation Israel over the war in Gaza, people familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Ticket prices for next year’s World Cup will range initially from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final, but could change as soccer’s top event adopts dynamic pricing for the first time.
African media have quizzed FIFA president Gianni Infantino if people from the continent will be safe and welcome in the United States at the 2026 World Cup.
Swiss federal prosecutors have finally ended their case against former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini after 10 years and acquittals after two trials.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino says that two incidents of alleged racist abuse which marred German Cup games are “unacceptable” as German police investigate.
FIFA is testing a new protocol for the 2026 World Cup in North America, requiring host committees to develop human rights action plans.
A Dutch group has filed a class action lawsuit against FIFA and five other football associations.
The European Union’s top court has ruled that some decisions by international governing bodies, such as FIFA and the IOC, can be challenged outside Switzerland, opening up a system that currently binds athletes, officials and clubs to accept verdicts there.
The global soccer players’ union has hit back at FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino by saying their autocratic style of leadership was harming the rights of its members.
An expanded Club World Cup marked by empty seats, slashed ticket prices, searing heat, weather-delayed matches and a criticized field surface ended in a surprise victory by Chelsea, the fourth-place team in the Premier League.
FIFA says it has reached an agreement with several players' representatives to prioritize player welfare.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández heads into Sunday’s Club World Cup final wary of the weather, along with Paris Saint-Germain.
Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač has criticized the MetLife Stadium field and extreme heat during the Club World Cup.
France's union of professional soccer players has launched a scathing attack on the Club World Cup, saying it is “urgent to stop this massacre” amid ongoing concerns about extreme player workloads.
Tobin Heath might know something about what makes soccer resonate within the U.S. Her resume, in part: She won NCAA titles in college at North Carolina, then went on to win two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. women’s national team and two World Cup titles as well, all coming after she was inspired by the 1999 Women’s World Cup.
FIFA says it opened a disciplinary case at the Club World Cup after Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger claimed he was racially abused by Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral.
The opening week for the monthlong Club World Cup has seen some wildly fluctuating attendances across the United States.
Airbnb and FIFA have joined forces in a multi-year partnership ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026, which will be hosted in Houston and other cities.
After more than a year of uncertainty and criticism, the Club World Cup kicked off in Miami, and soccer may never be the same.
Referees at the Club World Cup will wear eye-level cameras to finally allow fans to see exactly what the officials are looking at during a soccer match.
A year from the largest World Cup ever, there has been no announcement on general ticket sales, prices for most seats, location of a draw and security arrangements as FIFA mostly avoids disclosing details of an event set for 16 stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
FIFA’s newly expanded Club World Cup kicks off in Miami on June 14, featuring some of soccer’s biggest stars like Lionel Messi and greatest teams like Real Madrid.