The 2026 football season will be welcomed with the UEFA Super Cup, taking place on Wednesday, August 12.

It pits the Champions League winners, Paris Saint-Germain, against the Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in what will be the third meeting in these sides’ history.

One key story is the involvement of the Somalian referee, Omar Artan, who was awarded the game by UEFA after he was barred from refereeing at the World Cup, making history as the first African referee to take charge of a major UEFA final.

Held in Salzburg, Austria, it will be the first UEFA club final to be staged at the venue, becoming the 14th city to stage the Super Cup since the fixture moved away from its long-term Monaco home.

Which Teams Are Playing in the UEFA Super Cup 2026?

In the blue corner stand the back-to-back Champions League winners, PSG. Led by an incredible attack that features the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Flanked by Nuno Mendes, Achraf Hakimi and midfield duo Vitinha and Joao Neves.

They defeated Arsenal in their final on penalties to secure a historic repeat victory and remain the team to beat in Europe. Having defeated Monaco, Chelsea, Liverpool and then overcame Bayern Munich in an all-time great tie, PSG ran out as worthy winners, proving to European football just who reigns on top.

For Villa, Unai Emery worked his magic again to win his fifth Europa League trophy, the most by any one manager. His side defeated Lille, Bologna, Nottingham Forest and Freiburg comfortably in the final to earn a famous win.

The English side enter as heavy underdogs against an all-conquering side but will take inspiration from Tottenham‘s strong effort in 2025, as they pushed PSG all the way to penalties. This ensured PSG became the 26th team to lift the trophy in what was the first time in their history.

How to Watch the UEFA Super Cup 2026

In the United Kingdom, European coverage comes from TNT Sports and will continue for this season. Steaming is available on discovery+.

For other major areas, such as the United States, are allowed to stream the game on Paramount+, and Spanish-language coverage comes from TUDN.

Who Won the Last UEFA Super Cup?

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Last year’s Super Cup final involved PSG and another English team, the 2025 Europa League winners Tottenham. Luis Enrique‘s side were fresh off a five-nil win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, whilst Spurs edged out Manchester United.

Thomas Frank’s side led for 85 minutes, before squandering a two-goal lead at the end of the match before succumbing to the French champions on penalties, losing 4-3.

Villa have previous in this unique final, winning the European Super Cup in 1982, beating Barcelona in the final. PSG won their first Super Cup last season after their first European Cup triumph as both teams eye an early-season trophy.

The two sides have met just twice in their history; that came in April 2025 in the Champions League quarter-finals, as PSG edged an epic tie, 5-4 across two brilliant legs.

The role of the president of FIFA accumulates an incredible amount of power — and typically controversy — with Gianni Infantino experiencing plenty of both in his tenure.

His rise from a legal desk in Switzerland to holding the biggest job in football and nine honourary medals from as many different countries (including Russia), has been sharp and not without its fair share of headlines.

With the 2026 World Cup producing on the pitch, the intense light of public scrutiny has never shone brighter, making him, and his decisions, more visible than ever before.

Given his recent comments, political relationships and larger overriding backlash regarding his vision for FIFA, we’ve delved into Infantino’s career and what makes him a controversial figure.

Early Life

REUTERS/Henry Romero

Born on March 23, 1970, Giovanni “Gianni” Vincenzo Infantino holds a dual Swiss and Italian citizenship and grew up supporting Inter Milan.

He was a gifted linguist, having learned seven languages, and it was a skillset that became increasingly invaluable as he charted his journey into European football.

That began with the study of law before forging a career as the legal counsel and general secretary at the International Centre for Sports Studies in Neuchâtel, before later working his way into FIFA.

UEFA Career

REUTERS/Jia Haocheng

His journey with European football’s governing body began in 2000, aged 30. Working across its legal and commercial departments allowed him to rise quickly, becoming the director of legal affairs and club licensing in 2004.

That led him to the deputy general secretary role in 2007 before being promoted to the full title in 2009, working under then-president Michel Platini.

Whilst some may recognise Infantino from Champions League draws and other media appearances, his influence ran far deeper. He helped to oversee the introduction of key policies like Financial Fair Play regulation, an expanded Euro 2024 and helped start the process of the UEFA Nations League.

This allowed him to build a strong reputation, casting his expertise over key issues that helped shape football.

FIFA Presidency

Following years of behind-the-scenes work, it wasn’t long before he eyed up the main job. Arriving into the FIFA presidency role in 2015, Infantino replaced the outgoing Sepp Blatter, whose reign collapsed under the weight of corruption scandals which allowed him to fill the vacuum before being awarded the presidency the following year.

He was later re-elected in 2019 and 2023 and is heading for potentially another run in the 2027 election. Despite his long reign, he has been criticised by those in the game — including the late Diego Maradona, who stepped down from a FIFA Legends role in 2019, citing that he was treated ‘like a dog’ by Infantino.

Interestingly, the 1986 World Cup winner drew comparisons with Blatter’s controversial reign, and claimed FIFA hadn’t changed in Infantino’s time in the role.

His next big idea? Expanding the 2030 competition to 64 teams, making it a second successive jump in size having already moved to 48 from 32. It would result in more matches, more revenue, more drama and more opportunities to advertise, something which he installed this summer with the ‘hydration breaks‘, which were frequently met with heavy boos from the crowds across 104-game competition.

Friendship With Trump & Other Political Leaders

Kevin Lamarque via Reuters

One of the biggest controversies of the 2026 World Cup has come from Infantino’s relationships with political leaders; most notably, US president Donald Trump. The world watched on in confusion as he awarded Trump the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” in December 2025.

Then, during the tournament, USMNT striker Folarin Balogun was sent off and set to miss the proceeding knockout tie with Belgium. But, after Trump came out and claimed that Balogun shouldn’t have been dismissed, FIFA quickly suspended the red card ruling, allowing him to play.

As a result, he is facing external heat from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as a complaint has been lodged against him for a supposed breaching of rules on political neutrality in his dealings with President Trump — the European Parliament have also registered a complaint.

If that wasn’t enough, he faced frustrated claims that he had assisted Argentina‘s run to the final of the tournament. His comments after their victory over Cape Verde: “Tonight, I suffered with Argentina… But I’m neutral.” — raised plenty of eyebrows.

Recent developments suggest that Infantino’s presidency could be under fire as UEFA have backed a candidate to run against him at the next election, despite his aim to run unopposed. The German football federation has reportedly refused to sign a letter supporting Infantino to serve another term as FIFA President.

It seems the ongoing incidents have begun to compile a strong case for opposing figures in UEFA and other key football figures to turn their faces against Infantino as he faces the battle of his career to remain in charge of FIFA.

Lionel Messi has learned whether he will face a suspension along with an Argentine teammate following the 2026 World Cup.

The 39-year-old was unable to guide his country to back-to-back World Cup titles as La Albiceleste were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the final. That game was marred by controversy, as several Argentina players and staff members got physically and verbally involved with opponents.

FIFA opened an investigation into the chaos that followed the full-time whistle, which Messi stayed well clear of. The greatest footballer of all-time has instead learned whether he’ll be handed a suspension for Inter Miami once he returns from his post-World Cup holiday.

Lionel Messi to Skip MLS All-Star Game

REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

A rule agreed between FIFA and FIFPRO allows players at least 21 days of rest at the end of any season, including after the World Cup. It means Messi and his clubmate Rodrigo De Paul wouldn’t be able to make an appearance for Inter Miami until August.

The MLS All-Star game, where an XI made of the league’s best players takes on LIGA MX All-Stars, will be played on July 29th at Bank of America Stadium. This will be the third successive All-Star match without Messi.

He missed the 2024 match due to an injury picked up in the Copa America final, before he and Jordi Alba pulled out of the 2025 clash on the day of the fixture. The MLS responded by handing both one-game bans.

However, Messi and De Paul will avoid punishment this year due to their participation in the World Cup final. FIFPro, the global players’ union, established specific player welfare protections. A statement made by the MLS explained:

Messi and De Paul Replacements Decided

REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

The MLS had to put forward four replacements as Chicago Fire’s Mbekezeli Mbokazi has been replaced by Philip Zinckernagel of Chicago Fire.

Guilherme, a Houston Dynamo forward, has been drafted in. So have Yannick Bright (Inter Miami) and Andres Cubas (Vancouver Whitecaps). Sebastian Berhalter, who played for the USMNT at the World Cup, is unlikely to participate as he’s moving to Middlesbrough.