Martyn Ziegler is on one of the biggest and most important heaters in sports journalism history 🫡
🔺EXCLUSIVE
Gianni Infantino offers Morocco World Cup final in exchange for support
Fifa president is trying to persuade countries to issue statements of endorsement as pressure builds on him to resign
✍️ @martynziegler
thetimes.com/sport/football/…
Tim Elbra retweeted
Still marvel at the fact that the great Sobers coached a little suburban club in Melbourne, with the initial terms of his contract scratched out on a beer coaster.
Wrote about it a while back.
Vale Sir Garfield Sobers.
codesports.com.au/cricket/ra…
Tim Elbra retweeted
Zlatan sends a message to 18-year-old Lucas Herrington who missed his penalty in Australia's Round of 32 loss to Egypt
@Ibra_official
Tim Elbra retweeted
Fan sneaked tequila into the stadium in a flask disguised as a mobile. Mexicans are light years ahead of us.
Tim Elbra retweeted
Khamzat Chimaev’s story is no longer that of a fearless contender rising to greatness, but of a gifted fighter diminished into a warlord’s prized pet—a UFC champ who sold his soul to the strongman.
My latest for @SportsPolitika
sportspolitika.news/p/khamza…
Tim Elbra retweeted
In this Backyard, it’s “win or go home,” and this crew hasn’t left since the 90's.
Where there’s a pitch, there’s a legend.
#YouGotThis
Tim Elbra retweeted
Grateful to be back writing track & field and other things for @FOXSportsAUS.
(Still waiting for @ato_gov_au to bring @WestsTigers sponsor @PlayUp_AU and their shelf company Fan Media to account over the 16 months super owed to @TheRoarSports staff)⏰
foxsports.com.au/more-sports…
Dynamic pricing for sports tickets is an abomination that must never be allowed to infect the rest of the world.
This has been weighing heavily on me, and I can’t stay quiet about it any longer.
I am 71 years old. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend five World Cups, starting in 1986. Those tournaments weren’t just events to me, they were life chapters. They were about connection, about culture, about standing shoulder to shoulder with people from every corner of the world, united by the game we love.
But what I’m seeing now breaks my heart.
The current dynamic pricing strategy for the upcoming World Cup feels completely detached from the very soul of football. Yes, this tournament is being played mostly in the United States, and yes, it’s a premium market. But football was never meant to be a luxury product reserved for the highest bidder. It belongs to the people. Always has. I looked back fondly at USA 94 and everything we did then to fill stadiums and bring the game to life for Americans who were just dipping their toes into the water of the beautiful game.
Right now, it feels like the average, passionate supporter, the ones who save for years, who travel across continents, who bring the color, the noise, the spirit, are being pushed out. Replaced by a model that prioritizes revenue over reality.
That’s a dangerous road because once you lose the authentic fan, you lose the essence of what makes the World Cup special.
I say this not just as a fan, but as someone who has spent a lifetime in and around the game. During my time at EA SPORTS, we stood shoulder to shoulder with FIFA when they needed it most. Our game kept millions of fans connected to football and to the World Cup when trust in the organization was at its lowest. We helped carry the flame.
Which is why this moment feels even more disappointing.
This may well be one of the last World Cups I have the chance to attend and I find myself wondering if the game I’ve loved all my life is slowly drifting away from people like me, and far more importantly, from the next generation who deserve to feel what I felt in 1986.
The World Cup should unite the world. Not divide it by price.
Football deserves better. And so do the fans. Come on @FIFAcom , sort this out… It’s not too late.
The awkward bit for Eels/Broncos: the way Parra is going, we’ll fast arrive at the point where there is zero reason for them to play Jonah Pezet
Tim Elbra retweeted
Great to see Graham Arnold doing so well. Good coach, great company and very, very competitive. Arnold was assistant coach to Frank Farina when Australia beat England at Upton Park in 2003. “We walked up the tunnel at half-time,” Arnold told me once, “and all you could hear was Beckham going to Sven, ‘we’re not f****** coming off. We can’t be down 2-0 at half-time and come off.’ Sven still changed the whole team. That p*ssed us off.”
Very good coach in his own right. Yet overlooked for English vacancies down the years, including Millwall, Bolton and Norwich. His managerial record warranted greater consideration. A-League legend. And since.
Guided Australia to the 2022 World Cup, into the knockouts and only lost to Argentina, eventual champions. L’Equipe named Arnold the best coach of the tournament. Australia alarmed England in a 2023 Wembley friendly before losing 1-0. “Last Fright of the Poms” Mirror headline. Arnold has now steered Iraq to the 2026 World Cup, their first appearance in 40 years. 👏👏
Just me, or did the genius who designed the Winter Olympics bobsleigh track sneak a dick and balls into the finish?
