Kylian Mbappé interacted with a pitch invader, who, along with three others, was banned from attending sporting events for three years.
The FA "has begun planning in detail" for England's attempt to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by seeking to arrange for the side to "take part in a friendly tournament in the Gulf state in two years." Talks opened with the Qatar FA about England competing in a one-off tournament to give its players "experience of the climatic and environmental challenges that they will face at the World Cup" (LONDON TIMES, 7/17).
JUST GIVE IT AWAY: According to Sports Illustrated, France int'l Kylian Mbappé earned about $22,500 for each of France's seven World Cup matches, plus a bonus of around $350,000 after Les Bleus won the title Sunday with a 4-2 victory over Croatia, totaling "just north of $500,000 for his highly successful month in Russia." According to L'Equipe, he will be donating it all to Premiers de Cordée, a charity that "provides sports activities to hospitalized and disabled children" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/16).
GOOD LUCK CHARM: World Cup final pitch invader Veronika Nikulshina, who received a 15-day jail sentence for her offense, said that her interaction with Mbappé "brought luck" to the French side. Pussy Riot activist Nikulshina said that she was "surprised" by the reaction she got from Mbappé when she "confronted him mid-pitch during the game" (AP, 7/17).
FILLING THE COFFERS: Football fans visiting Moscow during the World Cup added about 96.6B rubles ($1.54B) "to the city coffers during the tournament." Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said, "[A total of] 3.8 million fans attended the World Cup in Russia and fans' consumption growth in Moscow was estimated at 96.6 billion rubles" (RT, 7/17).
NEW DIGS: Argentine FA President Claudio Tapia traveled to Marbella, Spain, to unveil the AFA's center for European recruitment and training. The facility will also give Argentina a place to train during any of its trips to Europe (AFA).
