PANORAMA: LA28 sells two million tickets in second sale period; Mediterranean Games open; FIFA penalizes Argentina for World Cup shenanigans

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 1996: Atlanta ● Despite significant community pushback, Atlanta Legacy 96 is reported to be moving ahead with its plan to move the Olympic cauldron from the top of the Olympic Flame tower in the Summerhill community. The Flame Tower has been in its current location since 1997, a short distance from where it stood during the Atlanta Games.

The Atlanta Legacy 96 plan is to leave the tower, but move the cauldron itself to Centennial Olympic Park. The Atlanta City Council passed a resolution opposing the move and Mayor Andre Dickens has asked that it stay put; those requests have been rebuffed.

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The LA28 organizers said that at the end of the second ticket sales period, about two million tickets were sold, for a grand total of more than six million so far. About 10.5 million Olympic tickets are expected to be available in all.

LA28 stated that more than 700,000 tickets have been sold at the lowest price level of $28 and “nearly a quarter of all tickets sold have been priced under $100.” Sales have been made to buyers in 129 countries and territories.

Additional sales will be held beginning in 2027, but without limits on the number of tickets one can buy. Registration will be required. Official resale sites will also open in 2027.

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Panam Sports announced a partnership with GOCAL – Greater Ontario California – to establish a training camp in June and July 2028 for smaller nations in the 41-country and territory confederation, in Ontario, California, 36 miles east of Los Angeles.

About 400 athletes and coaches are expected to participate from about 30 National Olympic Committees, for training in archery, athletics, badminton, beach volleyball, boxing, fencing, gymnastics, judo, road cycling, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, weightlifting, and wrestling. Team sport use for baseball, volleyball, cricket, and flag football may be added.

Venues expected to be used include the Ontario Convention Centre, Toyota Arena, and Ontario Sports Empire multi-field complex, along with facilities at the Claremont Colleges.

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“To ensure that local entrepreneurs, small businesses, and workers can fully access these economic opportunities, DEO [Department of Economic Opportunity] is partnering with cities and community organizations to offer the Path to 2028 – Business Readiness Workshops.

“This education and training series is designed to strengthen Los Angeles County’s vendor ecosystem by providing no-cost tools, guidance, and support businesses need to prepare for contracting, procurement, hiring, and partnership opportunities related to the Games and other public-sector projects.”

That’s from Los Angeles County, with its own program to try and help business to get involved in 2028. This is positioned as an education outreach, not a direct path to contracting opportunities.

The City of Los Angeles has obtained a commitment from the LA28 organizers to post all Games-related contracting opportunities on the City-operated Regional Alliance Marketplace for Procurement (RAMP).

● Mediterranean Games 2026: Taranto ● The XX Mediterranean Games, long troubled by delays and funding issues, opened on Friday at the renovated Stadio Erasmo Iacovone by Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

The program includes 279 events in 28 sports, with 26 participating nations plus an athletic delegation from the Vatican. There are 3,803 athletes registered, plus 3,000 volunteers to help stage the events. The Games run through 3 September, and more than 100,000 tickets have been sold so far.

● Russia ● Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev wrote on his Telegram page on Friday that World Triathlon has approved the re-integration of Russian athletes without restrictions.

The federation has not announced this as yet.

● Athletics ● U.S. sprint star Aleia Hobbs, 30, a Tokyo Olympian and three-time national champion, “accepted a six-month period of ineligibility after receiving an intravenous infusion greater than 100 mL per 12-hour period” according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

She has not run this year and “declared the use of an intravenous infusion during out-of-competition sample collection on February 5, 2026. She explained that she received a saline infusion at her home that was greater than 100 mL per 12-hour period in an effort to self-treat flu-like symptoms.”

Her period of ineligibility began on 19 May 2026, so she will miss the entire 2026 outdoor season.

● Football ● FIFA handed down penalties to Argentina for its actions at the end of its loss at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, which included brawling with the winning Spanish players and coaches.

Player penalties included a 10-game suspension and $90,000 fine for midfielder Leandro Paredes, seven-match ban and $90,000 fine for defender Nahuel Molina and a one-match ban and $30,000 fine for forward Thiago Almada. An Argentina coach, Roberto Ayala, was fined $30,000 and banned for three matches.

The Argentine federation was fined $321,000 for the team showing a political banner claiming the Falkland Islands as national territory, and for team misconduct and racist abuse. It was ordered to play two home matched at 50% of spectator capacity.

Spanish midfielder Pablo Gavira (“Gavi”) was also suspended for one match and fined $30,000.

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Britain’s The Guardian reported that UEFA and CONCACAF are discussing a combined “Nations League” which would involve all 96 nations across both confederations, to be held biennially, possibly as early as 2028.

The tournament would replace games set in the existing international match windows and would bring European national teams to North America, and send the top CONCACAF teams, such as Canada, Mexico and the U.S., to Europe.

The Asian Football Confederation may also be interested, but as it does not have a national-teams league structure now, this would have to be created and integrated. All of this is a continuing exploration of possibilities that do not involve FIFA, as pressure continues to be applied for the resignation or removal of FIFA chief Gianni Infantino (SUI).

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