Philadelphia
CNN
 — 

The scenes in Philadelphia on Friday were exactly what FIFA wanted when they came up with this super-sized version of the Club World Cup.

A clash of soccer cultures was on full display as Brazilian club CR Flamengo took on English giants Chelsea at Lincoln Financial Field. Under a beautiful early summer afternoon sun, the Linc – a venue no stranger to noise as the home of the Philadelphia Eagles – was positively bouncing as 54,000 fans screamed their lungs out.

The Flamengo fans, fresh off one of their club’s best seasons in recent memory, having captured the Brazilian Supercopa and the Campeonato Carioca, were making unbelievable noise from the moment they filled in the stadium’s northern end. The few fans in Chelsea blue who purchased tickets among them must have realized fairly quickly they were in for a long day.

The bizarre mix of world football and American football was once again clashing early in the game. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has likened this tournament and next year’s World Cup as the equivalent of three or four Super Bowls every day for a month, and his organization has undoubtedly tried to bring a little of that American flair to the world’s game.

The starting lineups for each team were introduced individually to pounding music – a far cry from the understated team walkouts that generally mark the start of soccer matches around the world. When music shook the concrete of the stands, it seemed like most of the fans – both those in black and red and blue and white – were simply waiting for things to quiet down so they could start singing once again.

And sing they did – particularly the Flamengo fans, who seemed to hardly take a breath. Each forward attack was met by screams, urging their players. Whistles and boos met Chelsea possessions and when Pedro Neto scored the opening goal for the Blues in the 13th minute, the cheers from the blue end of the field were overtaken by the screams of rebuttal from the Flamengo fans scattered around this massive stadium.

Neto’s goal was also followed by an ear-splitting playing of Blur’s “Song 2.” The soccer purists in the London club’s end were surely aghast at the playing of music to celebrate a goal – another very American trend that has increasingly been used by clubs around the world, much to the chagrin of hardcore supporters.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said the atmosphere at the team’s first match in Atlanta on Monday was “a bit strange” as they played in front of a mostly empty Mercedes-Benz Stadium. While this tournament, as the Confederations Cup once did in a previous era, serves as a chance for the World Cup host nation to iron out the details before the world arrives for the quadrennial tournament, the match was seen as a possible sign that FIFA’s new competition was falling flat in the USA.

The crowd in Philly will have eased those fears. Despite being a 3 p.m. ET start on a work day, much of the stadium was filled – though large portions of the eastern stands, fully in the sun on this warm June day, were empty – and the noise was something to behold.

For a tournament that critics have said means nothing, the Flamengo fans at times sounded like a hair dryer directly into the ears. Their players played with the same effort and fire that their supporters were showing in the seats.

And for a team that just endured a long Premier League season in which they fought for qualification to the UEFA Champions League, Chelsea didn’t exactly seem to be treating this as a stateside summer vacation. Neto celebrated his goal by pointing to the name on the back of his shirt in front of the Flamengo fans and the referee’s denial of a penalty after Enzo Fernandez was knocked over in the box brought impassioned complaints to the referee.

Any other thoughts about whether this competition mattered to the players on the field vanished in the 54th minute when Flamengo’s Gerson shot from the left side of the box. The attempt took a deflection and trickled toward goal. Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez threw himself at the ball, colliding with the goal post as Gonzalo Plata tried to tap in Flamengo’s first goal. The shot went wide and Sanchez and Plata both ended up lying in pain on the turf.

It was full-commitment – the kind of stuff one expects to see next year when this stadium hosts five World Cup group games and a Round of 16 knockout match.

A massive save from Sanchez in the 61st minute sent supporters from both teams upward from their seats as the Flamengo supporters sensed a goal was coming. And it was Bruno Henrique, who had entered the game only minutes earlier as a second-half substitute, who showed a true goal poacher’s instincts by tapping in Plata’s header to send the black-and-red kitted fans into hysterics in the 62nd minute.

The stadium shook with their jumping and black and red smoke soon filled the air above the northern end of Lincoln Financial Field as the noise went to 11. A second goal just minutes later – another close-range goal from Danilo off a headed flick from Henrique – resulted in shirts being ripped off and waved in the air as the Flamengo support ascended into something akin to soccer heaven.

The atmosphere seemed to be getting deep inside Chelsea’s psyche. A rash 68th-minute tackle by Nicholas Jackson, who just entered the game four minutes earlier, on Ayrton Lucas resulted in a straight red card. Chelsea was forced to play the final 22 minutes with 10 men, much to the delight of the bouncing Flamengo fans.

A third goal in the 83rd minute iced the game for Flamengo and turned the Linc into Carnival. The strike, powered past Sanchez by Wallace Yan, was the result of the kind of shambolic defending that has plagued Chelsea since its golden generation of players left the squad. The forward took advantage of the Blues’ sloppy attempt to clear the ball to bury his shot, setting off a 3-1 victory party in the sunshine that any Brazilian would be proud to attend.

It was a sumptuous preview of what this stadium will look – and feel – like next year when 48 countries send their national teams to the US, Mexico, and Canada for the World Cup. The US is not nearly the soccer-crazed nation that Brazil or England are, but Friday’s scenes in Philadelphia showed the kind of festival of football heading for North America in a year’s time.

CNN
 — 

For 19-year-old Fatimazarah from Ifrane, a small mountain town known as the “Switzerland of Morocco,” dead dogs are a common sight. Fatimazarah asked CNN not to publish her surname for fear of being targeted by local authorities.

“Walking to school, I would pass pools of blood on the street,” she recalled in an interview with CNN. “At a certain point, I realized it wasn’t normal to start your day stepping over dead bodies.”

According to Fatimazarah, the killings have gotten especially bad in the last year. “There used to be occasional shootings every few months,” she said. “Now, they are more systematic. They kill dogs like it’s a sport – like people hunt ducks.”

Animal welfare groups say the killings are part of a campaign to “clean up” Morocco’s streets ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which the nation is co-hosting with Spain and Portugal, while Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina will all host stage an opening match each.

“Individuals armed with rifles go out into the streets, often at night, and shoot the dogs,” Les Ward, head of the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition (IAWPC), told CNN. “Others are rounded up and taken to municipal dispensaries where they are poisoned. They simply disappear.”

Omar Jaïd, President of the Provincial Tourism Council of Ifrane, told CNN that the city has “started cleaning the streets of stray dogs, as part of our preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.” Ifrane is roughly a 40-mile drive (about 64 kilometers) from Fez Stadium, one of the proposed tournament venues which is expected to host a multitude of national soccer teams alongside thousands of visitors.

Jaïd added that the animals are rounded up and relocated to dispensaries where they can be vaccinated. He emphasized he is a “dog lover.”

Fatimazarah, however, witnessed something different.

On the night of February 9, 2024, she was jolted awake by the sound of gunshots. Stepping outside, she discovered three dead dogs in a dumpster. One of them was a male husky she knew from the neighborhood.

“I was terrified,” she recalled. “I carried the husky out of the trash can, covered in blood. I didn’t know what to do. I felt so helpless.”

CNN cannot independently confirm who killed the dogs. CNN contacted Ifrane municipality for comment but did not hear back.

“Stray dogs pose a serious public health risk, particularly as carriers of rabies,” Mohammed Roudani, head of the Public Health and Green Spaces Division at Morocco’s Ministry of Interior, told CNN. “Around 100,000 people are bitten every year, 40% of them children under 15.”

In 2019, Morocco’s government introduced the Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (TNVR) program, a humane strategy to control stray dog populations. “We are working with local authorities to implement this in compliance with animal welfare standards,” Roudani said.

But there’s a major obstacle: municipalities, not the national government, are responsible for managing stray animals. “There’s a legal vacuum,” Roudani explained. “Some cities still rely on traditional methods, and there’s currently no law against killing stray dogs.”

In some cities, stray dogs are poisoned with strychnine, a pesticide banned in many countries for causing inhumane suffering. “We must deal with the issue in a different way,” Roudani said. “No more slaughter. No more strychnine. We need an ethical solution.”

CNN has verified footage of dog culling in cities including Marrakech, Casablanca, Agadir and Ifrane. Videos filmed as recently as May 2025 show dogs being restrained with metal wires and tossed into pickup trucks already filled with carcasses.

And it’s not just animals at risk.

On January 24, Abderrahim Sounni, a barista in the town of Ben Ahmed, had just finished his shift when a stray dog dashed past him, chased by a car.

Gunshots rang out and three bullets missed the dog, instead striking Sounni in the knee and thigh. The 34-year-old recounted the incident in a local media interview, later confirming the details in a call with CNN.

Sounni didn’t believe the shooter saw him but was instead focused on the dog. As he cried out for help, bleeding on the sidewalk, the vehicle sped away.

Bystanders found him and he was rushed to a hospital in Casablanca, where doctors were unable to remove the bullets. He said police later informed him that the vehicle belonged to the municipality.

CNN has contacted the local police, who didn’t comment on the incident. Sounni declined to provide further comment to CNN, saying he felt overwhelmed by the media attention.

“It’s gotten to the point where people are in danger,” IAWPC chairman Ward told CNN. “You can’t have shootings happening on the street – especially during a World Cup with thousands of tourists.”

In February this year, a coalition of 10 animal rights groups urged FIFA to address Morocco’s “increased capture and culling” of stray dogs ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

In a letter addressed to FIFA’s Secretary General, conservationist Jane Goodall said she was “absolutely appalled” to see Morocco’s government “engaging in large-scale killings of street dogs as part of an apparent effort to make FIFA World Cup venues more ‘presentable’ to foreign visitors.”

FIFA did not respond to the letter but told CNN in a statement that Morocco’s World Cup bid “outlined its commitment to the protection of animal rights,” including the expansion of “clinics and support programs for stray dogs.”

“FIFA is following up with its local counterparts with the aim to ensure commitments are upheld,” the statement said.

As international scrutiny has grown, the dog catchers appear to have become more discreet, particularly in tourist hubs like Marrakech.

Jane Wilson and Louise Jackson – two British residents living in Marrakech – told CNN that, until last year, vans openly displayed cages in the back with dead and alive dogs in plain sight. Now, unmarked white vans quietly patrol the streets, seizing stray animals, they said.

In Casablanca, vans bearing the logo of Casa Baia, a municipal development company, are rounding up animals. Owned by the municipality, the company’s website claims its “expert teams are permanently mobilized” to “capture and impound” more than 20,000 stray dogs per year.

CNN reviewed footage prepared by an animal rights group showing dogs being dragged into Casa Baia vehicles with metal chains. Smaller dogs are shown ensnared in fishing nets, their bodies thrashing in distress before being thrown into white vans.

Erin Captain, originally from Indiana, moved to Casablanca with her husband last year and quickly grew attached to the local strays. “They’re amazing creatures,” she said. “I began caring for two puppies: vaccinating and feeding them, watching them grow.”

Then, one by one, the neighborhood dogs started disappearing. Captain told CNN that Casa Baia vans prowled the streets day and night. One night, she says, they came for her puppies.

“They took them from outside our house, kicking them,” she recalled. “One had its little legs broken; the other was kicked to death. It was a nightmare – I was terrified. My husband had to step in before they drove off.”

For months, Captain paid to vaccinate as many dogs as she could. “But the dog catchers came and killed them anyway,” she said. “It’s more barbaric than you can imagine. I don’t sleep anymore.”

Reached by CNN, a spokesperson for Casa Baia declined to comment on accusations of killing stray dogs or using inhumane methods to capture stray dogs.

FIFA has been aware of Morocco’s dog culling since at least 2023. That March, the European Link Coalition (ELC), a UK-based NGO, met with senior FIFA officials to present evidence of a rise in culling ahead of the 2030 World Cup. The materials included dozens of photos, videos, and witness testimonies – some directly referencing Casa Baia.

In April 2024, FIFA Human Rights Advisor Marta Piazza told ELC that the organization “truly valued” their input and was engaging with Morocco’s government to “ensure alignment with FIFA’s bidding requirements” – the checklist of services and standards expected of a prospective host nation.

A “suggested way forward” was promised in the coming weeks.

According to the ELC, FIFA then fell silent. The organization says it hasn’t heard from Piazza or her colleagues since. In response to CNN’s request for comment, FIFA said it is “in contact with animal welfare organizations on this important matter.”

Morocco’s government is taking steps to regulate dog culling practices.

Last month, Roudani and his colleagues submitted a draft law mandating municipalities to stop killing stray animals and implement TNVR programs.

In a statement to CNN, FIFA said it had contacted the Moroccan Football Federation and “received confirmation that a number of measures have been implemented over the last 5 years,” with new legislation in the works aimed at balancing public health and animal welfare.

The issue is drawing global attention ahead of the 2030 World Cup, with celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Peter Egan condemning the killings on X, calling them a “slaughter.”

“Football fans around the world love dogs,” Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch told CNN. “Animal mistreatment could become a major PR issue if FIFA doesn’t take concrete action.”

“It’s not just a question of animal mistreatment,” added Nick McGeehan, co-director of rights group FairSquare. “Having a clear knowledge of issues and choosing to ignore them – that’s a breach of basic human decency.”

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
CNN
 — 

There’s a well-worn cliché in soccer: No player is bigger than the club.

At the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday in Atlanta, with the event still in its infancy, that old saying was tossed to the side and replaced by a question on the lips of the 31,783 in attendance – can a player be bigger than the tournament?

The soccer star in question, of course, was a certain Lionel Andrés Messi, for whom the masses had made their pilgrimage to worship, as his Inter Miami took on Portuguese giant FC Porto in the second matchday of Group A.

But until a magical Messi moment in the 54th minute, the match was in danger of becoming a mere sideshow to supporters expressing their admiration – actually, more like unbridled passion – for the 37-year-old who has long cemented his status as one of the greats of the sport. And let’s face it: winning nearly everything of note for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain – as well as his country of Argentina, who is the reigning World Cup champion – doesn’t exactly hurt his case.

Ahead of kickoff outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it was evident how the pull of Messi knows no limits – or rather miles. While there were supporters from Atlanta in attendance, CNN Sports spoke with families from Louisiana, Alabama, Charleston, Washington DC, and Buffalo, as well as Puerto Rico and Dublin, Ireland.

They had made the journey for one reason, despite one fan doing his best to convince all in earshot, including himself, that “we are here for the football!” Inside, when Messi was introduced 30 minutes ahead of kickoff, the roar from the fairly sparse crowd resembled an environment more in keeping with a sold out stadium.

It went up a couple of notches when he walked out again to a fuller house, as the players made their individual entrances to the field, seemingly a nod towards the Americanization of the sport – as FIFA President Gianni Infantino told CNN Sports’ Coy Wire recently, this tournament will deliver “63 Super Bowls in one month.”

Upon kickoff, with seemingly every touch of the ball from the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, the sounds from the stands ranged from “ooh’s” to whistles, with the “Me-ssi!” chant the most popular. It was bordering on surprising that the crowd didn’t serenade the Argentine with a chorus of “Happy Birthday” given the Barça legend turns 38 on Tuesday.

The match was a slow-burner, but exploded into life in the second half. Inter Miami found itself a goal down at the break, courtesy of an early penalty from Porto’s Samu Aghehowa.

After the spot kick was converted, Messi’s reaction from near the center circle was to keep his hand firmly on his hip and not move a muscle for a good 10 seconds in a manner which suggested: “This wasn’t the plan.” Perhaps, then, it was Porto which didn’t plan on Inter Miami’s rapid response.

Just two minutes into the second half, Telasco Segovia’s smart finish flew past goalkeeper Cláudio Ramos to level the score, and seven minutes later, Messi stepped up. In every way.

A free kick on the edge of the box, which the Argentine star won, brought the crowd to the edge of their seats. A sense of inevitability hung in the air as the maestro marked his territory and figured out the exact angle to place a whipped shot into the corner of the net. You almost had to feel for Ramos, who couldn’t lay a glove on either strike.

The goal was a thing of beauty, as we have been treated to so frequently over the years, with Portuguese defender José Fonte lauding Messi on the DAZN broadcast: “Touched by God, isn’t he? Incredible. What a player.” The stunner ended up not just being the match winner but resulted in the first time a team from the CONCACAF region has defeated a European side in a competitive fixture.

It was Messi’s 50th goal for the team as well. Not too shabby for a Thursday afternoon in the middle of June. A point in the final group game against Brazilian outfit Palmeiras next Monday will guarantee Inter Miami’s place in the knockout phase.

Cutting through the noise and one wonders what the powers at be in FIFA make of it all. The sport’s governing body essentially fast-tracked Inter Miami into the 32-team tournament, not by virtue of winning the MLS Cup, but rather the regular season Supporters’ Shield, which may have come with a trophy, but is ultimately a pathway into the postseason.

Messi and Miami were shockingly bounced last year in a best-of-three playoff series by the team which can normally be found playing at this stunning 70,000-capacity stadium, Atlanta United, with the MLS Cup eventually hoisted aloft by LA Galaxy. But the Seattle Sounders and LAFC completed the contingent of the three MLS sides in the Club World Cup, leaving the Galaxy on the outside looking in, gazing enviously at the brightest star of them all.

And with the Club World Cup finally finding its feet, thanks to Messi’s left foot resulting in one of the tournament’s first signature moments, the reality remains that he is what has drawn the crowds here on Thursday, and last Saturday to boot, with the opening game of the tournament attracting over 60,000 fans to Hard Rock Stadium in Messi’s American base of Miami.

Inter Miami is a relatively new MLS franchise, with co-owner David Beckham – who may have felt a modicum of sympathy for his former club, the LA Galaxy, not getting an invite to FIFA’s party – the original reason for this franchise gaining relevance in 2018.

Whether the Club World Cup – which is set to take place every four years, the same cycle as the slightly more established FIFA World Cup, which will be 96 years old next summer – can grow in stature remains to be seen. In the here and now, Messi and Messi alone is on the mind of everyone fortunate enough to witness him in action. And that extends to the players as well.

When CNN Sports speaks with Messi’s teammate Fafà Picault after the match, the three words the winger associates with the soccer superstar are ”leader, winner, and winner again,” before noting, “Sometimes, it’s not always said with words but just with signals and body actions, so we try to read off of that. Obviously, we have conversations behind doors, but there’s a lot more than just talking that can show signs of leadership.”

And on Thursday, Lionel Messi’s actions spoke far louder than words.