Sports
Why SoFi might be odd stadium out for 2026 World Cup final
Southern California learned 20 months ago it would be hosting games for the 2026 World Cup. This weekend it will find out exactly which games it will get and when they’ll be played.
On Sunday the match schedule for the largest and most complicated World Cup in history will be announced by FIFA at noon Pacific time on Fox and Telemundo, the U.S. rights-holders for the tournament. And it might not go the way the Los Angeles World Cup host committee had hoped.
Multiple media reports in the U.S. and England have said the July final will be played in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the 100,000-seat retractable-roof home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Those reports remain unconfirmed and Larry Freedman, a co-chair of the L.A. host committee, repeatedly has argued that Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, the center of a palatial $5.5-billion complex built by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, should get that match.
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., is also in the running for the championship game.
The finals of the previous three World Cups held in the U.S. — the 1994 men’s tournament and the 1999 and 2003 women’s competitions — were played at the Rose Bowl and Dignity Health Sports Park. Yet for all its grandeur, SoFi Stadium, the only local venue chosen for the 2026 tournament, has some inherent problems.
World Cup games must be played on natural grass and SoFi, like seven of the other tournament venues, including AT&T and MetLife, has artificial turf. That can be remedied by covering the playing surface with a grass carpet.
More troublesome is the fact that SoFi’s field, built with the NFL in mind, is too narrow for soccer and FIFA is demanding expensive modifications to bring the pitch up to code. Kroenke reportedly agreed to spend millions on the upgrades, which are scheduled to begin Monday, but sought assurances the stadium would be awarded a marquee match in exchange.
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood could host up to eight World Cup games in 2026. It’s artificial turf will need to be replaced with natural grass and the field will be modified to meet FIFA specifications.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
However the stadium might be too small and too far from Europe to get the final.
SoFi squeezed in just 70,048 people for the 2022 Super Bowl and extending the playing surface will require removing seats in the lower bowl, dropping the capacity well below the 80,000 seats FIFA requires for a World Cup final. AT&T Stadium, on the other hand, easily can accommodate more than 90,000 people after making modifications to the field. That gives Arlington a huge advantage over SoFi and MetLife, said Alan Rothenberg, the former U.S. Soccer president who was the driving force behind the 1994 World Cup, still the most successful ever.
“It’s a financially driven decision. It’s clear that the stadium capacity that they have is so much greater,” said Rothenberg, whose sports marketing agency, Playfly Premier Partnerships, is advising a half-dozen 2026 host cities. “The suites probably all balance out. But more than anything else, it’s the stadium capacity. It means a lot of revenue for them.”
FIFA can waive its rules regarding stadium capacity but it can’t change the time, and central Europe is nine hours ahead of Inglewood, meaning a SoFi final would have to kick off by noon to end before midnight for television viewers on the continent.
Rothenberg doesn’t think that’s an issue.
“If you’re talking about heat in the summer, what’s the difference between noon and 3?” said Rothenberg, whose 1994 final at the Rose Bowl kicked off at 12:30 in 100-degree temperatures. “This is so big, if they did it at 9 in the morning, this would still be a sold-out, massive event.”
SoFi still is likely to be awarded some significant games. With the World Cup expanding to 48 teams, 104 games and 16 cities spread throughout the U.S., Mexico and Canada, some venues could get as many eight games, said a spokesperson for the Los Angeles host committee.
FIFA officials are known to be infatuated with both the Southern California market and SoFi Stadium, which has a panoply of luxury boxes and tunnel entrances, exactly the kind of opulence and faux privacy the federation’s royalty loves. Stadiums need just 60,000 seats to stage a semifinal, according to FIFA’s often-elastic regulations, and in recent months, as the final increasingly appeared out of reach, members of the L.A. organizing committee quietly acknowledged a final-four game or even the U.S. team’s group-play opener would be acceptable.
There are potential hiccups with that plan too. The Athletic reported Thursday that U.S. Soccer and coach Gregg Berhalter will have a say in where the Americans train, play and travel during the World Cup, and with the federation moving its national training center to Atlanta, Berhalter might prefer keeping his team on the East Coast through the group stage.
“From L.A.’s standpoint, if we can’t get the final, the hope is eight games, hopefully an opening and certainly a semi and maybe a quarter if possible,” said Rothenberg, who lives on the West Side but is not a member of the local organizing committee. “I’d be disappointed if we don’t get that.”
The match schedule was expected to be released last fall but was delayed several months as FIFA officials paid additional visits to the host cities, 11 in the U.S., two in Canada and three in Mexico. In addition to the size of the playing surfaces and stadium capacities, World Cup organizers also appeared to worry about the weather. North America was rocked by severe weather last summer, raising concerns that similar conditions could impact the tournament. That likely worked to AT&T Stadium’s favor as well since its retractable roof makes it one of the largest air-conditioned rooms in the world.
Geography also favors AT&T Stadium. Arlington is a three-hour flight from Los Angeles and just an hour more from New York, which would allow FIFA to play semifinals on both coasts and have the winners meet in the middle for the final.
Yet regardless of who gets what game, Rothenberg said the real work for the 16 host cities will begin after Sunday’s announcement, which will leave them with just more than two years to get ready.
“They’ve been waiting a long time,” he said. “So they’re going to be delighted and relieved. And also realize now that they’ve got to entertain the burden of making this thing happen in a couple of years.”
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U.S. men’s national team star Folarin Balogun received a red card in the second half of their Round of 32 World Cup matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night.
Balogun was making a challenge on a ball when he stepped on an opposing player’s leg.
The U.S. men’s national team is down to 10 players for the rest of the match. If the U.S. holds their 1-0 lead, Balogun will have to miss the Round of 16 game.
Balogun scored for the U.S. in the first half.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
SACRAMENTO — The first half of the season will conclude with Will Smith in the same place he has been for the last month: the injured list.
The Dodgers’ three-time All-Star catcher has been on the IL since June 8 because of what the Dodgers list as neck inflammation. Smith said he had been diagnosed with an inflamed disk.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he “just can’t see any world” in which Smith would return before the All-Star break, which concludes July 16.
“It’s certainly longer, I know, than all of us expected,” Roberts said. “But I don’t think it’s anything real, kind of affecting-the-season type thing.”
Roberts said Smith has not been able to accelerate his rehabilitation to the point of doing baseball activities.
Dalton Rushing, who has taken over as the Dodgers’ primary catcher in Smith’s absence, is batting .213 with one home run and 19 strikeouts in 18 games while Smith has been on the injured list. The Dodgers gave Rushing the day off Wednesday.
The Dodgers were 14-6 with Smith on the IL entering play Wednesday.
Also Wednesday, the team scratched shortstop Mookie Betts from the starting lineup because of a sore right wrist.
Sports
Ex-NFL reporter Dianna Russini interaction with police officer to dodge traffic ticket comes to light
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Police bodycam footage appeared to refute a claim made by former NFL reporter Dianna Russini earlier this year about what she did to get out of a traffic ticket.
Russini, whose relationship with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel led to her resigning from her role with The Athletic in April, said on the “Stugotz and Company” show back in February that she FaceTimed the NFL coach, though she didn’t drop the name, of the officer’s favorite team after being pulled over for being on her phone.
It was a story that came up again during the New York Times’ deep dive into the Russini-Vrabel controversy, and now police bodycam footage has confirmed that wasn’t the case. However, she did name-drop a coach.
ESPN reporter Dianna Russini looks on during the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Sept. 16, 2018. (Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire)
The footage went just over seven minutes long, as Russini was stopped in Ridgewood, New Jersey, for using her phone while driving. Not only did a FaceTime never happen, but no call at all occurred during the exchange between Russini and the officer.
What did occur, though, was Russini showing the officer texts she had been having with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, and she showed the officer her phone with the texts on it.
DIANNA RUSSINI PULLED PATHETIC MOVE WITH AN OFFICER TO GET OUT OF A TICKET, AND IT SHOULD HAVE THE NFL NERVOUS
“I’m an NFL reporter, and I just broke that Seam McDermott got fired from the Bills,” Russini told the officer almost immediately, understanding why she was being pulled over. “I was gonna pull over because I have to make calls. I know you don’t care, but I’m just letting you know my reason why. It was a work thing and it was an emergency for what I do.”
McDermott was fired the morning of Jan. 19, which was the date shown on the bodycam footage, after the Bills’ AFC Divisional Round loss to the Denver Broncos.
The officer replied that Russini had been on her phone “for a while” before pulling her over, though he did acknowledge she had a job to do.
Russini continued, telling the officer that former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll “wants the job” with the Bills. He was connected to the team given his history with Buffalo prior to joining the Giants, but they hired in-house with Joe Brady being promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach. Daboll ended up joining Robert Saleh’s staff as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.
Dianna Russini, left, and Mike Vrabel, right, are shown in a split composite image featuring Russini with an ESPN microphone and Vrabel on the Titans sideline wearing a headset. (Imagn Images)
Russini, then, asked if the officer was a Giants or Jets fan given the New Jersey ties. When he responded by saying he was a Vikings fan, it prompted Russini to seemingly show texts with O’Connell. The conversation, which included Russini saying the Vikings’ quarterback “sucks” and “KOC’s awesome” ultimately led to the officer letting her off with a warning.
“I’m gonna cut you a break on the cellphone,” the officer was heard saying. “I understand your job requires you to be on the phone a lot. Just try to wait until you get home, OK?”
PATRIOTS SAY THEY ‘FULLY SUPPORT’ MIKE VRABEL AMID LATEST IN CONTROVERSY INVOLVING DIANNA RUSSINI
The Center Square first reported Russini’s interaction with the officer.
Fox News Digital reached out to Russini and the Vikings for comment.
Ridgewood Police Chief Forest Lyons issued a statement on the matter.
“On January 19, 2026, at 9:40 a.m., a Ridgewood police officer conducted a motor vehicle stop on Godwin Avenue involving Ms. Dianna Russini for the use of a handheld cell phone while driving,” the statement read. “After following department protocol during the stop, and reviewing Ms. Russini’s driving history, the officer exercised his professional discretion and issued a verbal warning to Ms. Russini.
Dianna Russini attends the 2026 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at Pier 48 in San Francisco, California, on Feb. 7, 2026. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
“The use of officer discretion in determining whether to issue a warning or a citation is consistent with Ridgewood Police Department policy and longstanding practice. Police officers are encouraged to use their judgment and, when appropriate, provide motorists with warnings as part of the Department’s commitment to fair, impartial and community-oriented policing.”
Russini resigned from her post at The Athletic amid mounting criticism over her relationship with Vrabel after photographs of them hugging and holding hands at a private resort in Sedona, Arizona, went viral. After initially trying to downplay it, saying “reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues,” Russini ultimately released her resignation.
After the original photos, others dating back to 2020 showed Vrabel and Russini kissing at a bar in New York City. The pictures exclusively obtained by the New York Post were taken in the early hours of March 11, 2020.
“They were kissing, and they were all over each other,” an eyewitness told the outlet. “He had a ring on.”
Dianna Russini appears on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors awards presentation at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 10, 2022. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
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While Russini resigned, Vrabel was back with the Patriots after a counseling visit, which fell on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Vrabel said he had difficult conversations with his family, while also speaking with his players about the situation. The Patriots said before the draft they “fully support” Vrabel, allowing him to seek the counseling he desired despite four rounds of the draft still remaining.
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