People participate during a Unity Celebration event on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Sunday, June 25, 2023, as part of the lead up to the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer tournament. Australia and New Zealand will co-host the women's World Cup starting on July 20. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
FIFA has its first gambling sponsor for the Women’s World Cup, announcing a deal Monday with the New Zealand state monopoly betting agency TAB.
FIFA said TAB will be promoted in the four New Zealand stadiums at the July 20-Aug. 20 tournament being co-hosted with Australia. The value of the sponsorship was not disclosed.
The deal follows a gambling sponsorship for FIFA at the men’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar, also in the third-tier “supporter” category, to promote the Betano brand in Europe.
The New Zealand betting agency returns commission to sports it takes bets on, and paid NZ$2.4 million ($1.48 million) to the national soccer federation last year.
Soccer bodies are increasingly making deals with the gambling sector even as their own rules bar players, referees and officials from betting on games or having financial interests in betting industry operators.
UEFA signed betting operator bwin to a three-year deal in 2021 for the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
