No armbands, no beer, pockets full. What else did you expect?

Top-3 Business Highlights?

(1) Flight of the pigeon

I assume you watched the match yesterday. Or that at least that you saw the goal. Yes, THE goal. But maybe you haven't seen the beautiful homage that The Players' Tribune did for Richarlison, in Brazil. Watch it here. While you're at it, maybe you can spend some extra minutes reading the fresh first-person pieces by Rodrygo, Koulibaly, Brennan Johnson and Romario's letter?to Neymar.?

(2)?Not really a great result on the pitch, but they deserved the front page

Germany?players?covered?their mouths during their team photo prior to their opening World Cup group stage match vs. Japan in protest against FIFA's ban against using the OneLove armband. Because of the ban,?supermarket chain Rewe anticipated the termination of its partnership with the German Football Association (DFB). The German supermarket chain is recognized as an LGBTIQ+ friendly employer and said in a statement that "The company sees itself called upon to clearly distance itself from Fifa’s position and to waive its advertising rights from the contract with the DFB – especially in the context of the World Cup".

(3) ?Holiday Shopping Spree

Steve Ballmer?— the owner of the?Los Angeles Clippers?and the richest sports team owner in America —?is no longer?considering?a bid for?Liverpool FC. In similar "club shopping" news, according to?90min,?Sir Jim Ratcliffe?is?expected?to launch a bid for?Manchester United?following confirmation from the Glazer family that the club is on the market for either a full or partial takeover. According to the Financial Times, David Beckham could be "enlisted by prospective bidders to enhance their chances of sealing a deal".

The Business of the World Cup?

If you STILL haven't been dragged into the?World Cup?frenzy or if you have questions you're afraid to ask,?check out?The Athletic's "World Cup 2022 — a beginner’s guide: Every question you’ve been too afraid to ask".??:)?

FIFA?reported?that it banked a record $7.5 billion in commercial deals for the four years associated with this World Cup. That sum represents an increase of more than $1 billion from the four-year cycle associated with the 2018 World Cup in Russia.?Sponsors from host country Qatar helped drive revenue.?Qatar Energy?is a top-tier sponsor of the tournament, while bank?QNB?and telecom company?Ooredoo?are third-tier.

Qatar Airways, the state-backed airline,?decided?to sponsor?Fox Sports' coverage of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in the United States -- for which the broadcaster has been receiving significant criticism.?

Budweiser?will reportedly?seek?an approximate $47.4 million deduction for the 2026 World Cup portion of its deal with FIFA, after their alcoholic beers were banished from the stadiums.?They're paying FIFA around $75 million to be the official beer supplier for this World Cup and have a deal for roughly $112 million for the 2026 World Cup.

Sports betting firm?Betano?has?become?Fifa's first gambling sponsor with a last-minute deal announced after the 2022 World Cup kicked off in Qatar. Betano, owned by Greek company Kaizen Gaming, was announced as a Fifa Regional Supporter for Europe.

Canada Soccer?announced?a new partnership with?Samsung Canada?that will bring the two companies together to host watch parties.

The Business of everything else that's going on

Mexico's Liga MX and California-based identity verification platform Incode Technologies have partnered to introduce Incode's Fan ID across Mexico's stadiums in the country's premier soccer division. Fans will have to complete an identity verification process to be cleared to attend the more than 400 Liga MX annual matches.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has agreed a new Chinese broadcast deal with Beijing Shinai Sports MediaTechnology that will keep coverage of its international and club soccer competitions on streaming platform iQiyi.

The NWSL announced its 2023 scheduling framework, including the UKG Challenge Cup running concurrently with the regular season rather than as a preseason tournament -- it will happen from April to September with three groups of four teams playing two-leg round-robin matches for a total of six matches.?

MLS' Atlanta United appointed Seattle Sounders' Garth Lagerway as their new president & CEO.?

The Football Association of Ireland has signed a three-year, expanded agreement with global logistics firm DHL, which will now include the Irish women’s national soccer team.

The?Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF)?-- yes, the same Saudi Arabia that beat Argentina in their opening game at the World Cup, let's not forget about that -- has?signed?up?Adidas?as the national team kit supplier, from 2023 until 2026, replacing rival?Nike.?