Good morning. Angela Skujins with your Thursday newsletter, where dollar signs are beaming from all corners of the bloc. But before we get into the money weeds, it is a mammoth day for international football fans.
Blow the whistle. The 2026 FIFA World Cup — a competition billed unlike any other, as it is split between three countries — kicks off on June 11 with its first opening ceremony in Mexico City.
A star-studded performance is expected from Colombian popstar Shakira, before the tournament’s first fixture between Mexico and South Africa gets underway. From there, the action spreads across Canada and the United States as football’s biggest tournament takes off.
But like everything on that side of the Atlantic, it is marred in controversy. Expensive ticket prices have been widely panned, Somali referee Omar Artan was rejected from entering the US, and social unrest in Mexico City due to teacher strikes threatens to topple the opening ceremony.
European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef just told Europe Today that he has "world cup fever" and there are many in the Berlaymont who will be watching Europe's 16 teams participate.
