Nearly 17,000 fans have refused tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a call for a boycott, according to the Jordanian portal Roya News.

According to the source, the massive refusal of tickets and subsequent calls to boycott the tournament on social networks forced the International Football Federation (FIFA) to schedule an emergency meeting next week to discuss the growing protests and calls for a boycott of the world championship related to political and security issues.

Additionally, calls for a World Cup boycott have affected hotel bookings in cities hosting tournament matches and led to a decrease in ticket resale prices.

The 2026 World Cup will be held in USAMexico and Canada from June 11th to July 19th. For the first time, 48 teams will take part.

Colombian defender Giovanni Palacios joined the Orenburg football club. This was reported by the press service of Orenburg residents.

Terms of the agreement were not specified. According to the Transfermarkt portal, the transfer amount amounted to 510 thousand euros.

Palacios, 26, previously represented Colombian clubs Leones Itagui, América de Cali, Deportivo Pereira, Inter de Bogota and Independiente Medellin.

Forward of the Moscow football club “Spartak” Theo Bongonda he received a further week’s rest after playing for the national team. This was announced by the head of the medical department of Spartak. Kirill Kozlov.

Bongonda played for the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from December 21 to January 18.

“Theo Bongonda played well for the national team. Since he spent most of the winter rest playing for his national team, we gave him an additional week of rest. He is fine. He will arrive a little later and will also undergo a medical examination,” Kozlov said.

Bongonda is 30 years old, joined Spartak in 2023 and played 74 official matches for the club, in which he scored 16 goals and provided 6 assists. The midfielder also played for the Spanish Cadiz and Celta, the Turkish Trabzonspor, the Belgians Genk and Zulte Waregem. As part of Genk in the 2020/21 season, Bongonda became the silver medalist of the Belgian championship and the winner of the national cup.