Pratap Nishad

Composure is key.

[Pratap Nishad @PRTPNSHD]

Literally just fluff. Cunt.

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨⚠️ FIFA president Gianni Infatino clarifies his position on Folarin Balogun red card.

“I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s governance.

“FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.

“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.

“What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”

[ASHA @asha_shar]

This is an important email I sent today to all employees at XBOX:

Team,

We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I've made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave XBOX to new management. I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale.

I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building XBOX. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved XBOX. Today's decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.

Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3–10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset XBOX.

First, we will reset our content portfolio.

Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined. We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio. We have also learned that we are not the best home for every type of studio; in a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested. As we reset XBOX, we will help independent creators succeed by providing open development tools and audiences to realize their vision.

Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.

We are also making reductions across other units, and in some cases, shifting investment to focus on higher priority projects. These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and XBOX Game Studios. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.

In addition, Mojang and King will now report directly to me. These two studios have increasingly become platforms and are our largest by monthly active players. They bring critical geographic, demographic, and differentiation to XBOX.

Second, we will reset our platform.

We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset XBOX, we will simplify.

We will reduce management layers to no more than 5, and where possible, 3. We will deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers (individual contributors focused on building), player-coaches (leaders who remain deeply involved in the work while developing their teams), and directly responsible individuals (DRIs) who own key decisions and outcomes. And we will streamline how we work across our tools, with a cleaner code base, shared services, and 50% reduced vendor spend.

Third, we are resetting how we operate.

As XBOX grew our headcount, we became more fragmented. Teams, studios, and functions often operate independently, and it became harder to work towards a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done.

For the first time, we are establishing a Chief Operating Officer with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services. Helen Chiang has been promoted to this role and will report directly to me. Over nearly two decades at XBOX, Helen has helped build some of our most important businesses, from XBOX Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise. She will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.

Thank you, Dave McCarthy, who is retiring after 17 years with XBOX. Dave has played a defining role in building the platform that millions of players rely on every day and has been a trusted partner through many of the biggest moments in XBOX's history. We wish him all the best.

These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one. The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we've seen before. This year, we'll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we'll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.

I want XBOX to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect. I know we can achieve this goal. XBOX has many of the most beloved franchises in entertainment history, talented studios around the world, and we will return to growth in 2027.

History is full of companies that mistake longevity for inevitability. We will not be one of them.

Asha

[Yannick Bolasie @YannickBolasie]

All I’ll say is if this was AFCON and they let a man play after he got a red card, the nonsense being said would be crazy

[Stan Collymore @StanCollymore]

Yes, I've played elite level sport where my particular job was running with a ball at feet at around 30kph+ multiple times a half.

6 ft 4, 95kg.

The tactical information given to me through a 7 day, not 3 minute period sufficed, as did the occasional squirt of electrolyte water per half.

My performance would not have been improved at all by a hydration or tactical break.

Pretty much like 99% of players over a 150 year period playing the most popular and most played sport on the planet by far.

So maybe you can tell me. When was the last time you put your fucking dorittos, big gulp and chicken wings down long enough to know what professional sportsmen need rather than advertising executives or couch potatoes who need to be told 6 times in 20 minutes to buy a Jeep Cherokee, Whopper or diabetes medication instead of just enjoying the sport?

[Pratap Nishad @PRTPNSHD]

Jesus christ its only been 5 minutes but Portugal’s midfield has been masterful

[Pratap Nishad @PRTPNSHD]

The KOL fatigue is real man.

[utdreport @utdreport]

Uruguay arrived in the United States for the World Cup and were greeted by sniffer dogs and full security checks.

Look at Manuel Ugarte’s face 😂

[New Direction AFRICA @Its_ereko]

🚨 VINI JR JUST TOLD FIFA: “WE’LL PAY THE FINE — BUT NOBODY FROM US IS DOING HALF-TIME INTERVIEWS.”

During Brazil’s World Cup match, Vinícius refused the mandatory tunnel interview.

Reporter: “You’ll get a huge fine for this.”

Vini: “We’ll pay. But nobody is coming to the mic.”

This isn’t arrogance. It’s players finally saying enough to FIFA’s corporate circus.

Half-time should be for tactics, water, recovery — not feeding the broadcast machine while the game gets sliced up for ads (sound familiar with those forced “welfare” breaks?).

FIFA under Infantino has turned football into a product. Mandatory everything. Player focus as an afterthought. Suits in Zurich cashing in.

Brazil and Vini just pushed back. Raw. Direct. No bowing to the machine.

The beautiful game belongs to the players on the pitch — not boardrooms selling every second.

Who else is done with this?

[Carl Anka @Ankaman616]

Half these athletes carry too much gym weight to be soccer players.

Harry Kane was the heaviest footballer at the 2018 World Cup and he was in the mid 90kg/208-215lbs.

Explosive speed requires different frames in different sports!!

[Grummz @Grummz]

Watching the new Fable 30min Gameplay trailer and this drops.

Look, can we all agree millennial writing needs to die?

I don't care what side of the "culture war" you're on, this is an objectively dreadful scourge on media.

[Nike @Nike]

It was all going to plan until instincts took over…

Rip The Script

[Atlético de Madrid @Atleti]

HERE WE GO! Hemos enviado un fax al @FCBarcelona_es con nuestra oferta de traspaso: 4 entradas para el concierto de Bad Bunny de mañana, una suscripción anual al ABC y una bolsa de pipas. Esperamos ansiosos la respuesta para preparar el ‘announce’.

[Kevin Bass @kevinnbass]

The truth is called hateful in Belgium. Therefore speaking it is against the law.

This is more frightening than calling the truth "misinformation". They have stopped pretending completely. They are openly admitting that they have criminalized the truth.

[Adam McKola @AdamMcKola]

"Quick no one gives a fuck about City so stick Bruno and Man Utd in it and they'll be all over it"

[End Wokeness @EndWokeness]

IT BEGINS…

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveils plan to "transfer ownership" from landlords to "the community"

[Pratap Nishad @PRTPNSHD]

21!!!!!

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

It's Carrick, you know ❤️

🇾🇪 We are delighted to announce Michael Carrick will continue as our head coach, having signed a new contract.

[Troll Football @TrollFootball]

Elite mentality from Arsenal. They take a moment to celebrate, then immediately go back to practising their corner kick routine.

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say i-

Patrick Ballon d'Orgu ⚽️🏆

[Samuel Luckhurst @samuelluckhurst]

Regardless of tribalism, ‘Emptihad’ taunts etc. it is not a good look that a 7,000-capacity training ground stadium is pockmarked by empty seats at kick-off for an FA Youth Cup final when more than 67,000 were inside Old Trafford for the 2022 final.