Skift Take

FIFA president Gianni Infantino predicts a soccer frenzy will spread through the U.S., with the sport eventually surpassing baseball, football, basketball and hockey.

Matthew Parsons

North America’s historical ambivalence to soccer is no match for the spectacle of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday, as he bids to make the world’s “beautiful game” the preeminent sport in the region as well.

World soccer governing body FIFA announced the 16 cities — 11 in the U.S, three in Mexico and two in Canada — that were successful from the 22 bids put forward in a special event at the Rockefeller Center in New York.

In televised remarks, Infantino boldly pledged that soccer would overtake all other sports in the region.

It’s a tall task in North America, where baseball is long considered “America’s pastime” and ice hockey Canada’s religion, and only Mexico can reasonably claim soccer as king.

For Infantino, changing that is imperative — if not inevitable.

“This part of the world, these three countries you are leading the world in many areas,” he told reporters. “But in the number one sport in the world, which is soccer or football, you are not — yet.

“And the objective must be that you will be leading the world as well in the world’s number one sport.”

A record audience of more than 3.5 billion people watched the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the final between France and Croatia pulling in 1.12 billion viewers, underscoring the sport’s enduring global appeal.

The 1994 World Cup, the last time the U.S. hosted, sparked a boom in popularity for soccer, with Major League Soccer kicking off its inaugural season two years later.

But the sport has not overtaken the big four men’s professional leagues: Major League Baseball, the National Basketball League, National Football League and National Hockey League.

In fact many of the matches in 2026 will take place on reconfigured American football fields, as some now use artificial turf. The 2026 World Cup will be planned on natural grass.

But with passionate fans around the globe planning to travel, Infantino said the region was poised for a soccer revolution.

“This part of the world doesn’t realize what will happen here 2026 — I mean these three countries will be upside down and then flipped again back,” said Infantino.

“The world will be invading Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. and they will be invaded by a big wave of joy and of happiness because that’s what football is about.”

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Additional reporting by Philip O’Connor and Rory Carroll; Editing by William Mallard)

This article was written by Amy Tennery from Reuters and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

Skift Take

Qantas is currently sourcing its sustainable fuel from outside Australia. This partnership with Airbus will give it much greater control at home to meet those super-aggressive targets for converting to more environmentally friendly fuel.

Tom Lowry

Qantas Airways and Airbus said on Sunday they would invest up to $200 million to accelerate the development of a sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) industry in Australia to help meet the airline’s goal of lowering carbon emissions.

The agreement, announced on the sidelines of global airline industry body IATA’s annual meeting in Doha, is in line with Qantas’ target of using 10% SAF in its fuel mix by 2030 and comes after it placed a multi-billion dollar order for Airbus narrowbody and widebody planes last month.

The global airline industry, aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2050, is relying on SAF usage to rise from around 100 million litres (26 million gallons) a year in 2021 to at least 449 billion litres a year within three decades, a mammoth and costly undertaking.

Qantas is sourcing SAF in London and Los Angeles but not in Australia.

“The problem is there is no sustainable aviation fuel industry in Australia and we would like to buy this in scale,” Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce told reporters. “We think the way to do that is to put our money where our mouth is.”

The investment, which includes A$50 million ($35 million) of funding previously committed by Qantas, could go to a mix of start-up firms and more established operators and could include equity investments, Joyce said.

The funding will be split between Qantas and Airbus with a smaller contribution from Raytheon Technologies-owned engine maker Pratt & Whitney, he added. Qantas has ordered Pratt & Whitney engines for its new Airbus narrowbody fleet.

Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said the deal with Qantas was “unique” due to its recent plane order and Australia’s isolated location and was not expected to be replicated with other airlines.

The SAF investment partnership will last for an initial five years with an option to extend, the companies said.

Joyce said he hoped it would encourage the Australian government to improve the policy framework and help fund the development of a local SAF industry.

He said Qantas had held promising initial talks with the new centre-left government elected last month.

($1 = 1.4430 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Doha; Editing by William Mallard and Louise Heavens)

This article was written by Jamie Freed from Reuters and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].