Club world cup

The Club Benefits Program affords clubs a share of national team competition revenues in return for releasing players and also protects clubs in case their players are injured on international duty.

The previous amount earmarked for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was $209 million. A renewed Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Monday at the ECA General Assembly in Budapest, Hungary.

“We are delighted to have signed this landmark agreement,” ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said.

“The MoU recognizes the central role of clubs in football globally and ensures that they are properly represented in decision making around issues which affect them.”

Earlier this month, FIFA had announced a 32-team Club World Cup will be played every four years from June 2025, replacing its annual competition which featured seven teams.

The decision was met with opposition from leagues such as Spain’s LaLiga but the MoU will now have both FIFA and the ECA working together on its various sporting and commercial aspects for the 2025 edition.

“FIFA and ECA will also now establish closer working practices on a future new Club World Cup… and working together on future editions including on potential structures for managing the commercial rights going forward.”

FIFA also announced a newly structured international calendar which its president Gianni Infantino said had been endorsed by the ECA.

“To have the new International Match Calendar endorsed by ECA provides the necessary balance between club and national team football,” Infantino said.

“We have exciting projects ahead, including the new FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 and the new FIFA women’s Club World Cup. A close collaboration with clubs in Europe, and the rest of the world, will be essential for the success of those events.”

Vietnam entered the last qualification round of the 2022 World Cup for the first time in history, and aims to win a slot in the 2026 tournament, when the number of participating teams increase from 32 to 48.

FIFA will pay clubs almost £300m for sending players to the 2026 World Cup in a huge cash uplift, Sky News understands.

The fund agreed to by FIFA and the European Club Association (ECA) has grown 70% to $355m from the $209m (£170m) clubs split as a reward for developing and releasing players to the 2022 World Cup.

The World Cup is expanding from 32 to 48 teams for the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026 and expanding from 64 to 104 matches.

Sources told Sky News an agreement has been reached ahead of the ECA’s key annual meeting in Budapest which is due to be attended by FIFA president Gianni Infantino .

The ECA is also in talks with FIFA about forming a joint venture to sell the commercial rights to the new 32-team men’s Club World Cup that is set to launch in 2025, Sky News has learned.

A partnership on maximising revenue from the new tournament would mark a significant improvement in relations between Europe’s top clubs and FIFA.

Europe’s elite teams had been opposing FIFA expanding the Club World Cup from a seven-team annual event to a 32-team competition every four years.

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But now clubs are welcoming the new cash stream and gaining more power within FIFA – a blow to the ongoing push for a European Super League.

That breakaway is still being pursued by Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid despite the initial concept collapsing within 48 hours in 2021 after six English clubs were forced to withdraw.

It has been 57 years since Pickles the dog rescued England’s World Cup dream by finding the stolen Jules Rimet Trophy.

The unlikely hero’s discovery came after the trophy had been stolen from a public exhibition just a few months before the 1966 World Cup was due to get underway in England. Pickles’ heroics made him a superstar in the UK and he is not the last pooch to be made famous by football in the years since.

Here, Daily Star Sport looks at the stories of Pickles and six other dogs who have rose to stardom in the world of football.

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Pickles the dog

Despite a middleman being arrested after the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen in March 1966, the missing silverware was still yet to be located a week on from the theft.

That was until Pickles stepped up as he sniffed around a neighbour’s car, with his owner David Corbett recalling in 2016: “There was a package by the front wheel. It was very tightly wrapped – the IRA was in action in those days and I thought to myself ‘was it a bomb?’

“So I picked it up. Put it down. Picked it up, put it down again. I tore a little bit off the bottom and saw a shield. I recognised it straight away and thought ‘This is it!'”

Corbett was initially treated as a suspect before being cleared of any wrongdoing once the trophy had been identified as the real thing. As for Pickles, he was presented with a cash prize for finding the treasure and was photographed posing with a football.

Relegation saviour

Back in May 1987, Torquay United found themselves on the brink of relegation from the Football League as they trailed Crewe Alexandra on the final day of the season.

With Torquay’s desperate attempts to find an equaliser to keep them up appearing to be in vain, right-back Jim McNichol was bitten by a police dog who thought he was attacking his handler.

In the time added on for McNichol receiving treatment, Torquay equalised and secured their place in the Fourth Division for the following season.

Fluminense superfan

Brazilians are known for their passionate support and their pets are no different.

One Fluminense fan’s dog recently went viral after being caught on camera watching the club play on television. The excited pooch could be seen wearing the club’s home shirt as it lay at the foot of a bed watching the match.

After Fluminense scored, the dog excitedly jumped in the air before running round in circles in celebration.

Touching tribute

Unlike the other dogs on this list, one footballer’s pet instead rose to fame after tragically passing away last year.

The player emotionally celebrated scoring for their club by ripping off his jersey to reveal a t-shirt baring an image of his recently-deceased dog.

As his team-mates gathered around him, the player then ushered them away so that the cameras at the side of the pitch could get a good view of the photo. Visibly emotional, he also lifted the shirt up to kiss the photo as he gazed to the sky.

P***taking pooch

Not all of football’s famous dogs have made their mark by saving the day, with one pooch doing the opposite last summer.

A non-league friendly between Yorkshire clubs Ilkley Town and Thackley back in July had to be paused after a dog bounded onto the pitch to relieve themselves during the match.

The dog ran around the pitch before heading to the corner flag to take a “p***”, much to the amusement of the players and those watching on the sidelines.

World Cup guard dog

After his penalty shootout antics helped Argentina win a third World Cup in December, Emiliano Martinez was quick to ensure his winners medal would be well-protected.

The Aston Villa goalkeeper forked out £20,000 on a Belgian Malinois guard dog to protect his medal after returning to the Midlands following the tournament.

Belgian Malinois’ can weigh up to 30kgs and have been deployed by the SAS and US Navy Seals in the past, with Martinez having his pet pooch specially trained to guard his home from invaders.

Club mascots

In addition to pet pooches and pitch invaders, football’s famous dogs also include a string of club mascots to have graced stadiums from the Premier League to League Two.

Huddersfield Town’s Terry the Terrier was the subject of controversy in 2018 after being pictured looking glum during a match against Watford, having been told to sit down to avoid obstructing the view of supporters.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City mascot Beau Brummie was involved in a kidnapping scare in 2012, only for it to turn out the mascot was instead taking a break until the club started spending money.

Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Newport County and Dagenham & Redbridge also have dogs as their official club mascots.

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KYLIAN MBAPPE has told admirers of one of his French teammates that they would be getting a “very complete” striker if they were to sign him.

Speculation is mounting over the £105m-rated Randal Kolo Muani who is enjoying a brilliant season in Germany.

His goalscoring ability has not gone unnoticed either with the 24-year-old on the radar of Manchester United alongside Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen as they prepare to land a top quality striker in the summer.

And new France captain Mbappe , arguably the best player in the world, was happy to offer his take on the Eintracht Frankfurt forward.

Speaking after their 4-0 win over Holland at the weekend, the PSG star said: “He is a striker who offers different game options to our team. He is very complete and has an impressive volume of play.

“We are happy with the game he played on Friday.”

Kolo Muani did not hit the net in the victory but impressed with another dynamic, all-action display.

The striker has only made seven appearances for France and has just one goal to his name, but it was in the World Cup semi-final to help seal the win against Morocco back in December.

Kolo Muani can expect more football at international level in the coming years with Karim Benzema retiring from France duty in the days following Les Bleus’ World Cup Final defeat .

Meanwhile, the country’s all-time top scorer Olivier Giroud is 36 and likely won’t be leading the line in the 2026 World Cup.

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The future is also exciting at club level for Kolo Muani.

Man United have been repeatedly linked to the striker in their bid to find a long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.

And the interest could be mutual with the Frenchman dropping a huge hint earlier this month that he is open to a move away from Frankfurt.

He said of his future: “We talk about it a lot already, but I try to be focused on my club.

“We continue our performances and we will see this summer. Afterwards, I always dreamed of playing in big clubs.”

Kolo Muani has 11 goals and 10 assists in the Bundesliga this season.

Billy Vunipola believes being “selfish” cost him his England place and hopes putting the interests of others first will bring about a World Cup recall.

The Saracens star has not played for his country since Steve Borthwick took charge. The pair had a “very honest” meeting and the number eight was dropped. Three months on, England are no nearer turning their fortunes around and Vunipola is producing the power game they chose to ignore.

In front of 55,000 fans on Saturday the 30-year old eclipsed Alex Dombrandt, the man who took his England shirt, as Saracens beat Harlequins 36-24. On the day Lions great Sam Warburton insisted England need “his carrying power and ability to dominate the gainline” he exhibited both in a man of the match display.

“I got it wrong, I felt I became very selfish in wanting to force myself back into the team,” he said, as Saracens booked a home Premiership semi-final with six weeks of the regular season still to go.

“I’ve seen a better way to do it is to help others around me, who in turn help me. It’s not tennis, I can’t go out there and solely affect the game by myself. I’ve got to do my work within the team structures.”

Losing his England shirt hurt, but the 68-cap forward impressed Mark McCall at his club with what the Saracens boss termed an “unbelievable” response. It can be frustrating for an international, and Billy was disappointed of course not to be in the squad,” said McCall. “But he threw himself in and helped the younger players.”

Vunipola also refused to take the corporate shilling and stayed away from England games, watching on TV alone at home instead.

“It’s tough being at games, knowing you’ve not been picked,” he said. “Doing that [corporate] would feel like almost accepting my fate and saying I’m fine with this. It’s not my job to commentate. I’m still playing, and I want to play.”

Quins felt the full force of that resolve at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where Owen Farrell pulled the strings before being forced off with suspected ankle ligament damage.

Although Dombrandt scored the game’s first try inside two minutes, he was not able to match the 80-minute influence of Vunipola. Asked his secret he laughed: “Training more, eating less. Simple formula but hard to do sometimes, especially in St Albans where there’s Deliveroo all over the shop.

“It was very important to park the [England] disappointment, not sulk but move on and help others around me as well as being inspiring to others.

“Putting in the hard work away from prying eyes has helped me be a lot more consistent. I know I’ve got to work myself back into the [England] team.”

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