Sports
Trump advises Iran team to skip World Cup for 'their own life and safety'
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Dec 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; FIFA President Gianni Infantino and United States of America President Donald Trump arrive on the red carpet ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Ernst-Reuters via Imagn Images President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that Iran’s national soccer team should withdraw from the upcoming FIFA World Cup as a personal safety measure.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns, that Iran is welcome to play this summer in the United States, “but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Each of Iran’s three group stage matches is scheduled to take place on American soil.
The Iranians open Group G play in Inglewood, Calif., against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21. They are slated to face Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.
The U.S. and Israel initiated war with Iran on Feb. 28 with a series of airstrikes that killed the longtime Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khameini, and other officials.
Iran’s national sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, reportedly told state television this week that the country could not participate in the World Cup following Khameini’s death.
The White House did not immediately explain the reference to “safety” in Trump’s post, which seemed to conflict with what he said in a recent meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World.”
The 48-team World Cup, the largest in tournament history, runs from June 11 to July 19 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Iran planned to train in Tucson, Ariz., before the group stage.
Ranked No. 20 in the world, the Iranians qualified for the World Cup for the fourth consecutive time last March as one of the top sides in the Asian Football Confederation. They were eliminated from the group stage in 2022 with a 1-0 loss to the U.S. in Doha, Qatar.
Iranian athletes and coaches are exempt from the travel ban Trump imposed against their country last June.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Chicago acquires F Jordyn Huitema from Seattle
Canada forward Jordyn Huitema (9) heads a ball during the SheBelieves Cup against United States at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus on March 4, 2026. The United States won 1-0. Chicago Stars FC acquired forward Jordyn Huitema from Seattle Reign FC on Thursday in exchange for $500,000 in league funds.
The Reign will receive $200,000 in allocation money and $300,000 in intra-league transfer funds.
Huitema, 24, posted 13 goals and four assists in 70 appearances (58 starts) with Seattle from 2022-25. She had three goals and an assist in 22 matches (18 starts) in 2025.
“Jordyn has been a tremendous professional and teammate during her time with the Reign,” Reign general manager Lesle Gallimore said. “We’re grateful for the commitment and energy she brought to the club and to our community. We wish her nothing but the best in the next chapter of her career.”
Internationally, Huitema has earned 96 caps for Canada and won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WNBA, players still at CBA impasse after 2nd marathon session
Oct 3, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert talks during a presser before the start of game one of the 2025 WNBA Finals between the Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Another marathon session between the WNBA and the players association ended early Thursday without a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Representatives from the league and the WNBPA began their meeting at a New York hotel at 2 p.m. Wednesday and wrapped up at roughly 1:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Front Office Sports.
A previous session ran from about 5 p.m. on Tuesday until after 5 a.m. on Wednesday.
League officials had set March 10 as the deadline for a new CBA agreement to avoid the loss of regular-season games.
The league and the players have been at a standstill for months, with revenue sharing and housing among the key issues. The regular season is scheduled to begin May 8.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and New York Liberty Owner Clara Wu Tsai attended both sessions and were joined Wednesday by Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti.
WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson and executive committee members Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark and Brianna Turner also were at the bargaining table.
“We’re feeling movement,” Ogwumike told reporters Wednesday night. “We’re sticking to the process. That’s something we’ve always been true to from the very beginning.”
The WNBA draft is scheduled for April 13, with training camps opening six days later. The league also must hold a free agency period, an expansion draft with the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire set to begin play this upcoming season, as well as preseason games.
“We’ve read a lot of things about timelines,” Ogwumike said. “There’s been timelines that have been thrown out, but for us we’re trying to get a good deal done and we want to play this season. So, to me that’s the time that we’re on.”
The players have been without a collective bargaining agreement since they opted out of their existing agreement in October 2024, a year before its Oct. 31, 2025, expiration, with hopes of having a new deal in place last fall.
–Field Level Media
Sports
UMass rides late rally, hands Miami (Ohio) first loss
Miami (OH) RedHawks head coach Travis Steele communicates with players in the first half of a NCAA men’s basketball game between the Miami Redhawks and Toledo Rockets, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at Millett Hall in Oxford, Oh. Leonardo Bettiol scored 25 points as UMass rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final eight minutes to stun previously unbeaten No. 20 Miami (Ohio), 87-83, on Thursday in a Mid-American Conference quarterfinal in Cleveland, Ohio.
Marcus Banks Jr. had 18 points and Jayden Ndjigue added 16 as the eighth-seeded Minutemen (17-15) advanced to the MAC semifinals in their first year in the conference.
Brant Byers had 17 points and Eian Elmer added 16 for top-seeded Miami (31-1), which must wait to see if it receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when berths are awarded Sunday night.
UMass won the game by dominating in the paint, outscoring the RedHawks, 54-30, in the paint and 23-8 in second-chance points. The Minutemen also out rebounded the RedHawks, 41-24.
When it appeared that Miami was ready to put away the Minutemen by building an 11-point lead at 69-58, UMass answered with a 13-2 spurt. The Minutemen drew even on Ndjigue’s jumper with 4:47 remaining.
The remainder of the game was back-and-forth. Luka Damjanac grabbed an offensive rebound and put home a jumper with 2:38 left to give UMass an 81-79 lead.
The first half featured a wild finish. It appeared the two teams would go to halftime tied when Peter Suder missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. But just before the buzzer, Byers was called for an offensive foul, giving the Minutemen the ball under the Miami basket with a half-second remaining.
UMass guard K’Jei Parker threw the ball the length of the court without anyone touching it, giving Miami the ball under its own basket with a chance to score. The RedHawks capitalized when Luke Skaljac made a perfect pass to Antwone Woolfolk cutting to the basket for a layup at the buzzer and a 39-37 Miami lead at the half.
The Minutemen got into foul trouble early in the second half and the RedHawks entered the bonus with 12:04 remaining.
UMass closed to within 56-52 on a Marcus Banks three with 11:44 remaining. But Miami answered with a 13-6 spurt, capped by an Elmer baseline 3-pointer to take a 69-58 lead with 8:33 remaining.
–Field Level Media
Chicago acquires F Jordyn Huitema from Seattle
WNBA, players still at CBA impasse after 2nd marathon session
