FIFA expands 2026 World Cup again to create 104-game program
KIGALI, RWANDA >> The expanded World Cup in North America got even more supersized on Tuesday.
The governing body of soccer increased the size of the 2026 tournament for the second time — six years after the first — by approving a bigger group stage for the inaugural 48-team event.
By retaining groups of four teams instead of moving to three, FIFA has created a 104-game schedule that will last nearly six weeks in June-July in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The 16 host cities — 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada — now have 24 extra games to stage on top of the 80 they already had for the inaugural 48-team tournament.
Adding about 1.5 million more tickets will also further fuel FIFA’s expected record revenue of at least $11 billion through 2026 from a tournament that will rely on using high-revenue NFL stadiums.
U.S. to play Mexico in April 19 exhibition without top players
CHICAGO >> The U.S. men’s soccer team will play Mexico in an exhibition on April 19 at Glendale, Arizona.
The match announced Tuesday is not on a FIFA fixture date, meaning many if not all Europe-based players will not be available, a group that includes most starters from last year’s World Cup roster.
The U.S., with its full player pool available, has CONCACAF Nations League matches at Grenada on March 24 and against El Salvador three days later at Orlando, Florida.
Mexico is at Suriname on March 23 and home against Jamaica three days later.
Iditarod co-founder’s grandson Ryan Redington wins dog race
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA >> Ryan Redington on Tuesday won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, bringing his six dogs off the Bering Sea ice to the finish line on Nome’s main street.
Redington, 40, is the grandson of Joe Redington Sr., who helped co-found the arduous race across Alaska that was first held in 1973 and is known as the “Father of the Iditarod.”
“My grandpa, dad and Uncle Joee are all in the Mushing Hall of Fame. I got big footsteps to follow,” Ryan Redington wrote in his race biography. He previously won the Junior Iditarod in 1999 and 2000. His father, Raymie, is a 10-time Iditarod finisher.
Canelo Álvarez sets ring return to face John Ryder in Mexico
LOS ANGELES >> Canelo Álvarez will return to the ring May 6 in his native Guadalajara, Mexico, to defend his four super middleweight title belts against Britain’s John Ryder.
Promoter Matchroom Boxing announced Álvarez’s next fight Tuesday. The bout will be at Akron Stadium, the home of Mexican soccer club Chivas.
Álvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) is fighting for the first time since he won the final bout in his famed trilogy with Gennady Golovkin by unanimous decision last September. Álvarez also will be fighting one year after his one-sided upset loss to Dmitry Bivol in a light heavyweight bout.
The 32-year-old Álvarez is returning on Cinco de Mayo weekend to fight in Mexico for the first time in 11 1/2 years. — The Associated Press