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UEFA Votes 55 to Zero To Boycott FIFA World Cups; UEFA To Boycott World Cups If FIFA Investment Plans Go Ahead; Polish PM: Missile Fired By Russia Landed Deep Inside Poland; Heat Waves And Wildfires Across Southern Europe; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired July 30, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[12:00:31]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is CNN Breaking news.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Live from London, I'm Christina Macfarlane. Bianna and Zain are off today. This is "One World."
The World Cup is not for sale. In a stunning move, UEFA is now boycotting future World Cups run by FIFA. UEFA and its 55 members are making the
decision unanimously. The controversy stems from FIFA President Gianni Infantino's proposal to create a subsidiary to run the tournaments and sell
stakes to private investors.
In the last hour, UEFA released the following statement. It reads in part, "The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of
football's greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part
of it should ever be surrendered to private investors."
And all eyes now are on Infantino and FIFA as the whole world waits to see how they will respond.
Well, let's bring in CNN's World Sport's Patrick Snell from Atlanta, Georgia. So, Patrick, just bring us a bit more, if you will, of that
statement that was released within the last half an hour. Because, as we were saying, a unanimous vote, 55 to zero.
We were hearing, you know, ahead of this -- this meeting that it could go that way, but it's still a surprise that it has been across the board
unanimous. Just tell us what they're saying.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Absolutely emphatic, isn't it? You know, backing up their statements, backing up their words, this is European
football's governing body, with actions, very forthright indeed.
The message is very clear from UEFA, the beautiful game football is simply not for sale.
Let's get back to that statement, which we've had a little more time now to -- to digest. And just basically, I want to reaffirm and just reassess what
was said here, because it is absolutely strong and emphatic at 55 to nil, 55, zero. Could not be more emphatic.
"UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions. UEFA and its 55 member associations stand as one. We
unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA's proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private
investors. The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football's greatest sporting legacies. It's been built up over
generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors.
The World Cup is not for sale."
And, Christi, I want to just flesh a bit more flesh on the bones and what you mentioned just a few moments ago in the previous hour about the Women's
World Cup. The Women's World Cup is the next big ticket FIFA item. It's the one that, as it stands right now, is going to be absolutely impacted by
this.
The Champions, the reigning champions of Spain, a European nation. The team they beat in the final that year in Sydney, Australia 2023 is England,
another European nation, the Lionesses.
But to your point, the -- the -- the qualifying is ongoing for that tournament. You're absolutely right to highlight that. We've got the
playoffs looming large and I was checking dates. It's looking like October is going to be the -- the dates for that later on this year.
So, that's going to be the first real test. It's never mind that next year's World Cup, before we even get to that, is -- is the playoff. So
massive scrutiny there. It's massive, massive deadline, massive story, huge repercussions and ramifications. Everyone's got an opinion. The beautiful
game is speaking out today.
Back to you.
MACFARLANE: Thank you, Patrick.
Well, let's turn to my next guest who's a professor of political science at Pacific University and former professional football player, Jules Boykoff.
He's also the author of "Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing, and the FIFA Greed Machine." Jules, great to speak to you again.
Look, as we are in this moment trying to dissect the words of that statement and what this 55 to zero boycott means, I just want to ask
because as we look to FIFA, a possible reaction from Gianni Infantino, there is a chance here that if Infantino drops his plans for this business
venture, there's a chance this boycott doesn't go forward.
And if that's so, I mean, could this have been the plan all along for UEFA?
[12:05:03]
JULES BOYKOFF, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: Well, there's no question that UEFA's boycott threat is sending shockwaves
through the football world. This very much ramps up the stakes of the enterprise and says to the entire world that what Infantino is trying to do
with FIFA and the World Cup, privatizing it for private advantage, is across a line.
Whether this is some sort of long-term master plan by Infantino, I have my doubts. But then again, I always thought that Infantino was essentially
sucking up to President Trump just to keep the FIFA money spigot open.
Turns out he might have actually been studying him in terms of how to engage in smashing grab capitalism that can benefit himself and his
cronies.
And so FIFA and Infantino are full of surprises. It'll be fascinating to see what their next move is here.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Jules, you're -- you're a former player. We were just talking there about the impact this could now have on women's football, on
the women's World Cup coming up next year.
How will players be feeling about this? You -- you know better than anyone. I mean, the chance to compete in a World Cup is often a -- a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity for some. How do you think this will be received?
BOYKOFF: Well, first of all, I'm just glad you mentioned that. I'm not some grumpadelic academic sitting in my office thinking about ways of destroying
sport. I actually dedicated a big chunk of my life to playing soccer at a relatively high level.
And I think this is going to affect players negatively if it were to go through. When you start injecting the profit motive into the calendar of
FIFA, a match schedule of FIFA, you're basically guaranteeing that you're going to have more matches.
This is an extractivist enterprise where FIFA's already a greed machine that's trying to get a lot out of the men's World Cup, especially when you
add on top of this this extra incentive to satiate private equity.
You're basically saying to players, you're going to play more matches so we can make more money. So, it's actually very much a labor issue that I
appreciate you raising.
MACFARLANE: Well, I think it's an important one as we consider a reaction which we expect, you know, in the hours to come here.
But, Jules, always great to speak to you. Thank you very much for your analysis in this moment.
I want to turn now to Tariq Panja. He's a global sports correspondent at "The New York Times." Tariq, I know you've closely followed the politics of
the global game for years.
Your reaction, please to today's seismic news.
TARIQ PANJA, GLOBAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, inevitable. Inevitable. Here's a guy who's presented this proposal, which
is completely untenable to large swathes of the game. And you wonder what did he expect?
It almost was a deeply cynical move by Gianni Infantino to -- to essentially offer $20 million in cash to each of these 211 FIFA members for
this thing to go through.
But then he didn't think about the then what. The -- the re -- the reality is the engine of the World Cup. This tournament that is the most popular
tournament in the world. It's bigger than the Olympics in terms of popularity, is a handful of European teams and possibly, you know, Brazil
and Argentina, you take them out, you have no event.
So, this is going to go one of two ways, either this goes through and you have a boycott, such as the one that's just been suggested here by -- by
UEFA, or you have a complete breakdown of -- of the governance of -- of football and FIFA as -- as we know it. And perhaps that is an outcome that
a lot of people around the world would have wanted.
Gianni Infantino's efforts here have highlighted perhaps huge structural problems that have remained at FIFA and at these governing bodies before
and after the DOJ perp walked the previous generation of leaders out of the Baur au Lac Hotel at 6:00 A.M. People were wondering what has changed. You
have this very powerful leader and he's tried to do this thing and now it's blown up in his face.
I think the next thing we're going to see potentially is the removal of Gianni Infantino as the leader of FIFA. Because really, this is a failure
of epic proportions and his position surely is now untenable.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And by that you mean looking ahead, of course, to the presidential elections for FIFA in March of next year. Do you think this is
going to serve really as a referendum on his support?
And if so, I mean, where are we going to see the break here in support for Infantino where he's had it before? Because it's not just all about UEFA.
PANJA: It isn't all about UEFA, but he's gone to the lowest common denominator here. And he said, you know, the fact is for -- for your
viewers who aren't that of favor of how FIFA works, it's 211 member organizations and each one has exactly the same weight.
So Guam, this Pacific island, with I don't know how many handful of people living there and Brazil, five-time world champions in enormous country have
the same weight. And they get the same amount of -- of money through -- through this development fund.
[12:10:08]
And I noticed yesterday Gianni Infantino produced a video and he said, you know, by doing this, we accelerate the amount of money given to the --
these member associations, so we see more Capo Verdes, more Curacaos, et cetera.
But no one has ever asked, why are you giving each country exactly the same amount of money, no matter what the need is?
This structural problem is essentially predates Infantino. It is a vote buying mechanism. It's how presidents of FIFA, previous to Gianni
Infantino, Sepp Blatter, before him, you know, Joao Havelange, have -- have remained in power.
Now, this has been put in stock in the -- in the light here, the mirrors being shown up. Now, what these guys will -- have been told is where do you
think the money comes from? How do you think this money is generated? It's through this World Cup.
I think now, we are likely to see potentially, if we see the removal of Gianni Infantino, we might even get to have conversations about what type
of global football organization should exist here, because clubs are not included in this, players are not included in this, fans, if there is a,
you know, organized fan group are not -- are not part of the decision making process.
What really should be happening here is -- is a line being drawn and perhaps a -- a global conversation about how this organization or -- or a
future organization that runs the most popular sport in the world should be run.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And look, if you're right and this is going to signal a break in -- in world football in FIFA, a splintering of FIFA and of Gianni
Infantino's leadership, what we will look to is a successor to take his place and to make the case that, you know, he can change world football.
Are there any successors that you know of at this point, you know, that could present themselves between now and March of next year?
PANJA: I think there's been a lot of speculation about certain names. And I don't want to get into that because there's a lot of interests that are
pushing certain names until they just -- to -- to say they want to do it.
But -- but I think it's not about the person. It's almost about what happens to the structure of the game because don't forget, Gianni Infantino
came in, in the aftermath of one of the biggest scandals in sports history, promising change, promising more transparency, a greater democracy about
decision making.
And don't forget, what have we seen -- forget this. We saw Saudi Arabia being delivered the World Cup for 2034 in the most underhand opaque way
that we have seen in a long time.
We have seen him escape any kind of discussion around it. As a member of the media or as someone who's covered FIFA for nearly 20 years, we've not
had a press conference.
Can you imagine this? To -- to ask a single question about how Saudi Arabia happened to get the 2034 World Cup. A normal organization, a normal
functioning, decent functional, this would never work, but this has all been kind of normalized in the Infantino period in the last few years.
You know, we -- we have to get into the relationship with Donald Trump. For example, you've talked about it with your previous guests, I'm sure it's
something that the viewers will be aware of. How did this peace prize come together? I understand that the -- the -- the kind of higher FIFA, they
were unaware of how this thing coming together until the very last minute.
There's so many questions here. In a normal functioning governing body, a company, someone who has been the father of so many failures, will no
longer be in charge of this.
But he will be pointing out, look, I've delivered $15 billion for you from the World Cup. That should be my mandate. And it's for these 211 members to
keep me on board.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, money has always driven FIFA or Infantino forward. We'll wait to see if that is enough this time around as we wait for
reaction, not just from Infantino, but from President Trump, potentially as well.
Tariq Panja, always great to have your analysis to have you on the show. Thank you very much.
PANJA: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: And we will have more on this breaking news throughout the show.
But coming up on "One World," there's a giant crater in a field in Poland, thanks to a Russian missile. Why the prime minister thinks his country
wasn't the target.
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[12:15:12]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. We're continuing to update breaking news from the football world.
UEFA, European football's governing body, is now boycotting the World Cup tournaments. It's in response to FIFA's plan to allow private investment in
the game. In fact, all 55 members of UEFA decided to back the boycott.
Well, let's bring in political strategist, Ashish Prashar, for some perspective on this. Ash, really good to see you.
I know that you have been in contact with a lot of those federations who are in the room today for this UEFA conference.
Can you just begin by giving us your reaction to the news and whether UEFA are on the right side of history with this decision today?
ASHISH PRASHAR, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: You know, today, UEFA drew a line in the sand. They made it clear that they won't allow Infantino to undermine
the legitimacy of football by bringing money and interest, who most people don't know whether it's private equity, venture capitalists, who have
actually no interest in the future of football, to simply extract from it.
And Ceferin just frankly refused to comply to these nefarious plans to make more money that is almost greedishly cartoonish at this point.
He opposed the trafficking of football to people who have no interest to it. And frankly, yes, he's on the right side of history because he fought
to save the game.
And one could only hope now that other confederations follow his lead and follow suit here and actually take the same stance if whether by a vote or
a public statement that they will not entertain Infantino's plan here.
MACFARLANE: And that would be a serious threat to Gianni Infantino, not just over this business venture, but potentially for his leadership as well
with that, you know, presidential elections coming up in March of next year.
All of that considered, what do you expect Gianni Infantino is going to do here? Do we think he may back down from this business venture?
PRASHAR: A lot of it has been made about him and his relationship with Trump. And I've said to a lot of people in this space, Trump has a base.
Trump has always got a base, right? Suddenly he made Americans vote for him.
Gianni Infantino doesn't have a base. It's not a secret that majority of UEFA members don't like him, but the majority of football doesn't like him.
I know your previous guest mentioned that Infantino's line is, I made you 15 billion. No, football made FIFA 15 billion. The public made 15 -- made
the FIFA 15 billion. The people's desire to watch the game made it. He didn't do that. He didn't bring that money in. The public did and the love
of the game did. He doesn't have anything to stand on here.
And by doing this, he exposed himself. There's already people looking into the levels of corruption at Congress that has been happening at FIFA in
recent times under his leadership.
And now, you're opening a can of worms here where you've basically tried to ram further corruption, obviously, further extraction from the game down
the throats of members across the world under the guise of, you know, you're going to bring more money to the game.
[12:20:05]
There's a lot of money in the game. I think your previous guest mentioned it really well about redistribution of income. No, members shouldn't be
getting the same. And maybe this should be a better model, but it shouldn't be him who's deciding this.
Because at this point, what this model really showed is that Infantino is looking to line his own pockets, right? He was trying to create a
commissioner-style model, similar to the NFL, similar to the NBA. Those commissioners had $65, $70 million.
Given it's a global game, he was looking for a -- a paycheck of $150 to $250, $200 million a year for his role to bring more money to football.
And frankly, could you imagine a country selling the rights to their game for 20 million? Whether it's a small country in Europe or a small country
in Africa, the game, over time, is worth far more than the $20 million that he was going to give them one moment in time. And your country's football
will not be getting investment at the youth level, at the academy level. It will be owned by an entity in the United States or wherever else he managed
to extract the money from.
Infantino showed here he's never cared about the game. And frankly Ceferin right now looks like he's the only leader left in the game. And I hope, I
truly hope other leaders come together, other confederations come together and ask this man to step down and protect the future of football.
MACFARLANE: Yes. I mean, that anger is evident, right, in a 55 to zero vote that happened at the UEFA Conference today, but also beyond UEFA, among
fans of the game, among, you know, people that love the game, the players themselves. And -- and there is a lot of emphasis now that there needs to
be reform in the game.
How do you see that happening Ash? I mean, obviously, it would need to be - - there would need to be a removal of Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA.
But as our previous guest was saying, there needs to be structural reform, you know, if FIFA are to change and these problems are to, you know, to be
addressed. How do you see that happening?
PRASHAR: It needs a purge of a lot of the (INAUDIBLE) how it's done. I mean, frankly, there's an opportunity here, if you really are bold in
setting up a new organization. Maybe this entity needs to go in its entirety because, yes, it's brought the game up to a certain point, yes,
there has been some good.
But right now, there's an entire leadership. And while I believe this decision is solely him and a handful of people, there's an entire
structural problem that's gone back multiple presidents where corruption has been there throughout that entire time that doesn't seem to ever want
to change.
So, there was an opportunity here for UEFA to partner with a common ball, to partner with other confederations to bring a new entity to life with new
values that bring this -- to bring football to the people again. And still, I'm not going to say they're not going to make money, but do it differently
where everything is invested in the game.
Yes, there is capital for them at the end, but not to this cartoonishly devilish way. And I really believe personally that there needs to be a new
entity born out this moment led by leaders like Ceferin and other people who want to bring who doesn't really want to run it. But they have an
opportunity here to form it and take it into to birth it into a new generation of people who want to take care of football.
Because honestly, if you keep just changing the leader, there's going to be corruption the way it's set up as it is. The people like Joshua Kushner and
the Kushner family who tried to do buy this game are going to look for a leader to be elected that they can work within the future. There are the
people who want to do this who want to take football from the fans, who want to corporatize it but also extract from it.
They're going to look at the next leader and see if they can purchase that person. It's very visible because we've had several presidents go down for
this type of corruption.
So what needs to happen for people who actually care about it, like I believe Aleksander Ceferin does in this moment, is to get together with
other confederations of birth a new entity to take the football forward for the fans.
MACFARLANE: Well, we will wait and see, of course, what the reaction from Infantino, FIFA, and indeed potentially President Trump will be in the
hours to come.
But Ashish Prashar, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your analysis.
And we will have more on this breaking news later in the show. Do stay with us.
Now, Poland and NATO had to scramble their air and ground offenses overnight after what appeared to be a Russian missile exploded in Polish
territory.
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MACFARLANE: That was the sound frightened residents woke up to Thursday morning after dawn. All that was left was a giant crater and debris left in
a field. You can see in the images here.
Poland's prime minister told reporters at the scene, it was likely just a misguided missile.
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DONALD TUSK, POLISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Ukrainian fighter jets right up to the border with Poland were monitoring and attempting to
shoot down those missiles heading towards the Polish border.
There's no reason to believe that Poland was the target, but two of these objects violated Polish airspace. Well, one definitely did, because we have
evidence of it here.
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[12:25:05]
MACFARLANE: Well, several Russian missiles did hit their marks in several Ukrainian cities, killing at least nine people.
Near the city of Kryvyi Rih, six people died in this house, including four children.
Nick Paton Walsh is joining us live from London. So, Nick, first, just turning to this breach of Polish airspace, I mean, misguided or not, it was
a serious development. What are the Polish saying about this? What actions are they taking?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I mean, this is the ultimate complexity for the Polish response and indeed NATO's
response.
And I think Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been clear to point out that he does not believe Poland was, quote, the target of this Kh-101 cruise
missile fired by Russia.
But you've got to look at the coincidences here. The fact that this missile went 90 kilometers inside Poland before it seemed to have crashed landed
and left a 10 meter wide crater in an empty field, unclear quite how it can continue that far unimpeded.
And then the Polish response with F-16s and tail it, don't actually intercept at that particular point. This is also just 31 miles away from
where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Tusk met just hours earlier.
And it also comes after weeks of warnings in which Western officials have been concerned Russia might try and escalate.
None of this is conclusive proof that this was an intentional move by Russia. But many analysts of Russian, you know, military behavior say
that's sort of the point to leave people completely unsure if this was simply one of 70 missiles launched at Ukraine that went astray, maybe
through jamming or just targeting error, or if it is indeed Russia trying to test NATO's boundaries, what they can get away with.
The effect is ultimately the same and that now the Polish have to tread the difficult line between sounding resilient and resolved to prevent someone
like this from happening again.
And remember, you know, Poland itself too short of patriot missiles because it's given a lot to Ukraine. So potentially being tested in that regard as
well here too, while at the same time too not sounding the alarm so loudly that there's clamor domestically for a more muscular response against
Russia. So another sign of the Kremlin just testing and pushing where it can, Christina.
Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much.
Now, Europe has entered a new era of megafires. A stark warning from a forestry expert, as wildfires rage across southern Europe. The latest next
on the growing crisis.
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[12:30:48]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back to "One World." I'm Christina Macfarlane in London.
A fire emergency is sweeping across southern Europe, as heat waves and tinder-dry conditions are fueling wildfires. The dangerous situation could
become even more destructive this week due to soaring temperatures. Look at this.
France says fires are far from over and could burn for months. This as firefighters are battling blazes in the Bordeaux region.
Around 400 people were evacuated off Italy's Gargano coast after a massive wildfire broke out near and spread to the peninsula.
And officials in Spain say there are at least 10 active wildfires across the country. Firefighters there are working to extinguish the flames near
Formariz.
Meanwhile in Greece, three firefighters died on Wednesday battling fires on the island. Two of those deaths happened on Crete, where firefighters
became trapped.
And in the southwestern Turkey, growing flames prompted evacuations, strong winds, and caused the flames to keep changing direction.
And firefighters in England are battling a blaze on the Suffolk coast near a nuclear power plant.
Well, we're tracking the wildfires where CNN's Pau Mosquera in Spain and where CNN meteorologist, Derek Van Dam.
But let's first start with Pau. If you can hear us, Pau. I don't know if you can. I understand you're at a wildfire.
Yes.
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Well, tell us where you are, Pau. And who you -- what you're seeing and who you're speaking to.
MOSQUERA: Well, right now, Christina, we are at Pelayos de la Presa, which is a town located 60 kilometers west from Madrid. This is one of the town's
most devastated by the wildfires that have been raging western Madrid this very last days.
And what do I see around is the material damage that the blaze has caused. Actually, here around me, I can see some properties that have been very
affected by those flames.
For example, I don't know if you're getting the image, Christina, but what we're trying to get to your screens is the result of how a car has been
absolutely burnt out. I mean, we just can get the outer frame because the tires, the seats, everything has been consumed by the powerful flames that
got to this town just a few days ago.
And I can tell you that I've been talking to the owner of this car. And he told me that he's quite afraid that the insurance won't cover what the car
was worth.
But nevertheless, they -- he told me that they are safe. He and his wife, so he's just fine with that because the damage is more emotional than
financial, he was telling me.
Also, I can tell you, Christina, that the government has finally declared and announced the end of the national emergency because of the wildfires.
Because so far, the wildfires in Madrid and Avila are stabilized, but this does not mean that they are absolutely controlled.
And this is why, Christina, firefighters now are trying to get the 100 percent control of the perimeter of those flames, of those wildfires that's
to prevent the flames from spreading around.
And also, it's going to be very important, everything that they can do over the next few hours, because we are in the middle of the fourth heat wave of
the summer and the temperatures are rising.
Right now, just you have an idea, we -- thermometers have reached the 36 degrees Celsius, which is around 97 degrees Fahrenheit. But during the day,
it has been even worst in some parts of the country. They have reached the 40 degrees Celsius. And this is why the authorities are appealing to the
public to please be very cautious and avoid sparking any new wildfires, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes, yes. I mean, those are stifling temperatures, aren't they? And there's really not much anyone can do if you're stuck in one of those
locations right now except take precautions.
Pau, thank you for bringing us that. And that image we can see of the burnt-out car behind you, just showing how brutal this is.
[12:35:00]
Let's turn to you CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, joining us now with the forecast. And, Derek, I mean, this heat and fire emergency set to continue.
What can we expect?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I want to show you just how quickly the landscape changed across France and parts of Spain as well. So what
you're looking at is a satellite image.
OK. So, we're looking down from above. That, of course, is dark shading of green. There's a lot of thick vegetation from the months of rain that we
received during the winter; January, February, were exceptionally wet.
Then we turn the faucets off. And I'm going to fast forward with a satellite image of the same view, but taken about 24 hours ago.
Do you see the darkening that's overcome this part of Western Europe? That is the zapping of the moisture, the vegetation drying out, becoming
tinderbox-like conditions on the ground.
Just as Pau has been mentioning, it does not take much a spark to ignite this type of dried out vegetation. I'll go back again just so you can see
the difference. There it is. What a difference a month or so makes. We can call this a flash drought just because the water here has -- or the taps
here have been turned off.
There are numerous hotspots across the Mediterranean and into the Iberian Peninsula. We've been focusing so much on the fires west of Bordeaux, west
of Madrid. That's not the only wildfires that are ongoing. You saw just a moment ago, parts of Italy.
But now, the current temperature has reached that dreaded 40 degree mark in some locations and that is not good either. This is the peak of this fourth
heat wave. And unfortunately, it's really not going to be dampened much right across the Mediterranean.
There is a weak cold front that's helping cool the temperatures somewhat across northwestern France throughout Europe. And also bring in a small
chance of light precipitation. We'll take what we can get, but it's just not enough to really extinguish flames unfortunately.
And then the temperatures will skyrocket again once the cold front passes. So there will be a drop. You can see it in Bordeaux's forecast. There's the
cold front. There's a resulting precipitation.
But this is the middle of the summer and we start to see these heat domes build in and unfortunately the temperatures will rise once again.
The rainfall chances here at best. We'll see 10, 15 millimeters of rain across central and southwestern France. Not much to say about Spain,
however. The winds continue. The temperatures still are hot. And unfortunately, there is no rain in this forecast, Christina.
So, it's just amazing to me to see that stark difference in the satellite. It's -- it's just astounding, Christina, to just see it from space and be
able to show the difference between that lush green vegetation and the dried out landscape once we stop receiving the rainfall. I mean, here it is
again May to June -- or July rather.
MACFARLANE: Yes. It is such a powerful representation of that. I was actually quite shocked when you first put it up on screen. But it tells --
VAN DAM: Yes.
MACFARLANE: -- the picture here of what is happening, doesn't it?
Derek, appreciate it. Thank you.
VAN DAM: You got it.
MACFARLANE: Time now for The Exchange. Joining me now is Tim Palmer. He's a meteorologist and research professor emeritus at the Royal Society. Thank
you so much for your time.
Look, we've been speaking all week about how wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity globally. But especially right now with this focus
on Europe, which feels somewhat unprecedented.
Why are we seeing such a spread, especially in Europe of what is happening to cause this?
TIM PALMER, RESEARCH PROFESSOR EMERITUS, ROYAL SOCIETY: Well, I think there are two important factors. One, we understand extremely well, and one, we
understand less well.
The thing that we understand extremely well is the notion that the planet is warming, that there is this global warming caused by our emissions of
carbon dioxide. And this is -- this is warming the planet. It's un -- unequivocal, you know. There's no doubt that this is happening.
But on top of this, we're seeing -- and the global warming, you know, maybe a couple of degrees Celsius, but we're seeing this amplification over
Europe.
And as your meteorologist said, this is caused by, I mean, the common phrase is a heat dome. But a meteorologist would talk about high pressure
or anti-cyclonic pressure, high pressure systems, which have the effect of blocking the weather patterns from the Atlantic, so they prevent the high
pressure systems, prevent the rainfall coming into to Europe.
They -- they -- they move them up, say, towards the very far north over northern Scandinavia or somewhere like that.
And in -- in -- and -- and coupled with that, they warm. They warm. They amplify the warming that we're seeing.
Now, the -- the question we don't yet understand as well as we would like is whether these anti-cyclonic weather patterns are themselves a
consequence of climate change, a human-induced climate change. Because if they are, then this is the sort of weather that will become the new normal
for Europe, pretty much every year.
[12:40:07]
MACFARLANE: Yes.
PALMER: And this would be a disaster. They could just be, you know, a fluctuation, which maybe, you know, we won't see so much next year. We
don't know.
So there's this warming effect, which is unequivocal, coupled on the lessons -- the less certain circulation patterns.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And to that point, the World Health Organization are warning actually that wildfires are up 57 percent in Europe alone in the
past four years. And there is talk now among analysts that I've been listening to that there should be a move away now centering on responding
to wildfires and actually, you know, moving towards preventative measures.
And on -- so to that -- speaking to that, what can and should leaders and governments be doing knowing that this could be the new normal?
PALMER: Well, wildfires, I mean, for the U.K., the -- the really big problem, it is on top of this is just drought, is the fact there is a lack
of water. And, you know, we're -- we're coming into what is called an El Nino event this winter.
And the really big question will be whether the water reservoirs get replenished over the winter. El Nino can itself provide dry conditions over
Northern Europe. And this would be catastrophic for -- for the U.K. If we - - on top of an already dry year, we have a dry winter because the assumption is that all these reservoirs will get filled up over winter. We
can't be sure about this.
So we -- so as part of the planning, as well as wildfires, I think it's -- it's increasing our provision of reservoirs and water capacity.
MACFARLANE: And -- and as we've seen that these wildfires have prompted evacuations of hundreds of thousands of people, I think somewhere in the
region of 300,000 naturally across Europe.
I mean, could more -- could these fires trigger -- apologies. Could these fires -- you know, how much more of a displacement could we see in years to
come if, as you rightly point out, you know, this is going to be a repetitive event?
PALMER: Well, you know, I'm not a -- I'm not a fire expert. So, it's just clearly this is one of the -- you know, there is this big issue about
adaptation. How do we adapt as a society and as societies around the world? How do we adapt to climate change? And dry summers seem to be an increasing
norm. Wildfires seem to be an increasing norm.
All these things, you know, and -- and -- and indeed flooding in winter. I mean, the -- the normal -- leaving aside this El Nino, the normal pattern
would be for actually exceptionally wet winters. We hope, in a way, that this is what will happen this winter, but we can't be sure.
But the point -- general point I'm trying to make is that governments around the world have to take the issue of climate adaptation, how to make
society more resilient to -- to climate change, much more seriously than they have done so far.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, we will wait to see if they do that. And whether indeed this results in more climate migration. I mean, who knows? It's
certainly becoming more serious year on year.
Tim Palmer, thank you very much for your analysis.
And we'll be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:07]
MACFARLANE: More now on our breaking news, the World Cup is not for sale. That's the declaration coming from UEFA, European football's governing
body. It says it will boycott FIFA competitions over FIFA's investment proposal, saying all its 55 member associates, quote, stand as one.
This comes in reaction to FIFA's plan to inject private money into the men's and women's World Cup.
Let's bring back our CNN World Sports Patrick Snell.
And, Patrick, are we seeing any reaction yet from the football world to this unanimous decision to boycott?
SNELL: Chrissy, we are getting reaction. And I will try and get to that as it -- as it comes in. But I just want to make it a -- a broader point,
basically, about this. And people have been wondering, when is the next FIFA tournament?
Well, the next big one in play is the Women's World Cup next year. But before that, we have got the Women's World Cup playoffs. And they're coming
up fast and furious as soon as October. So, that's going to be the real first test of this.
I'm just wondering if we can get up the reaction that we want to get to up for us, so we can get to that.
But I want to make a really big point here, just a general point, that this is really UEFA backing up its words, backing up its sentiments with its
actions. And, you know, the beautiful game is not for sale.
That was the message all through, right throughout the week, in the build- up to all of this. And now we're seeing it. Now, we're seeing this big statement of intent that the World Cup is not for sale.
And a resounding vote, 55 to nothing was the voting earlier within the halls of UEFA. Just a big, big statement of intent there.
And now, it's going to be absolutely fascinating to see what the response is from FIFA. FIFA is global football's world governing body. How are they
going to react? What is the next move of Gianni Infantino? He is the FIFA president. How is he going to respond? What is next for him?
And it's just a question of, you know, European dominance. The thought of a major tournament taking place without European nations in it, utterly
unthinkable.
Look at this recent men's World Cup. Three out of the four teams they got to the semifinals, Chrissy, were from Europe. And the last five out of the
last six men's World Cup winners have come from Europe as well. So this is total dominance. Total dominance when it comes to European nations.
I think the only exception, over the last 20 years, has been the fact that -- has been the fact that we got one Argentina. Argentina with a sole
winner is breaking that trend of European dominance.
But let's get to that statement now from UEFA, which is coming in to us over an hour ago. "Now, the World Cup cannot be treated as an investment
product. It is one of football's greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams, and supporters across
every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale."
And I just think, you know, this most recent World Cup that we've had, it just struck a chord with many people, not unhappy. Just people generally,
fans of the beautiful game, unhappy, the traditionalist, if you like, Chrissy, unhappy at the hydration breaks that were introduced seemingly
without consultation.
The musical half-time shows of the World Cup final itself in New Jersey, that match between Spain and -- and Argentina. There's just a lot that
doesn't sit right here. We're looking video there of Spain winning the World Cup for the second time in 16 years after their triumph on South
African soil in 2010.
And important to point out as well that FIFA kind of needs UEFA in a big, big way. Seventy percent of FIFA income comes from UEFA. UEFA oversees the
massively lucrative tournaments like the European Football Championships and, of course, the dueling glittering prize in their portfolio, which is
the UEFA Champions League, just a massive global tournament with massive global eyes on it, even though it's for leading an elite European clubs.
[12:50:21]
But this -- this -- look, this boycott, if it happens, and UEFA say it will, Chrissy, it's going to impact, not just the men's World Cup, not just
the women's World Cup next year in Brazil, in South America, it's going to impact the club sides as well, including, of course, the FIFA Club World
Cup.
The thought of elite clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea not playing in the club World Cup, Manchester United were there to qualify as well,
probably the biggest club when it comes to English football.
MACFARLANE: Yes.
SNELL: Absolutely pivotal day, pivotal day.
MACFARLANE: Yes, yes.
SNELL: And we want to hear reaction. We're going to hear reaction from FIFA. We want to hear as soon as possible. Back to you.
MACFARLANE: Yes. The -- the -- the ramifications are huge and the ball now is very much back in Gianni Infantino's court. We will wait for any sort of
statement from him, from FIFA, whether his business venture will still go ahead, whether he'll back down and indeed whether this boycott will back
down.
All of these are questions, Patrick, in the hours to come. We appreciate it, Patrick, thank you so much.
And we have time for move over Duffy and Donald. There's a new lucky duck - - duck in the spotlight. How Merlin, seemed here, changed one family's life forever.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Oh, well, let's end on a little uplifting football update for you to end the show, Merlin the Duck. You remember him who became Mexico's
unofficial mascot during the World Cup?
Well, the two-year-old male became so popular, he was even taken to meet President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Yes, as Valeria Leon reports, the feathery celebrity has now helped his struggling family find a new home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Merlin the Duck became an unlikely star after going viral during the World Cup.
His fame transformed the life of the Mexican family that raised him.
Karla and her sons, Cristian and Carlos, used to sleep inside a tiny street side shop in Mexico City where they sold bottled water.
KARLA GOMEZ, MERLIN'S OWNER (through translator): Living in a shop working seven days a week, putting in exhausting hours and carrying heavy loads was
very difficult. Sometimes, I would cry at night.
[12:55:05]
I was always apologizing to my sons for making them live in a shop.
LEON (voice-over): Cristian told us how they crawled inside each night and how that reality weighted heavily on his mother.
CRISTIAN GOMEZ, MERLIN'S OWNER (through translator): My mom slept up here. I slept down below and my brother slept down there.
LEON (voice-over): After their story caught the attention of local authorities, Mexico City's government gave the family a home.
With Merlin in their arms, Karla and Cristian returned to their former neighborhood, greeting the street vendors who witnessed their struggle
along with their sudden rise to fame.
K. GOMEZ (through translator): For the first time in many years, we were able to sleep peacefully.
LEON (voice-over): Now that the World Cup has ended, they've dropped by the old shop to pick up Merlin's favorite soccer ball.
C. GOMEZ (through translator): I'm happy, thanks to him. We have a house now and he can sleep wherever he wants.
LEON (voice-over): For this family, their lucky duck changed everything from surviving day by day to dreaming about what comes next.
K. GOMEZ (through translator): I want to pursue the business side of this. I want to start making clothes for ducks.
LEON (voice-over): Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: And I think we'll all kind of agree that we have definitely beaked with that coverage of this hour of "One World." Thank you so much
for joining us. I'm Christina Macfarlane.
Stay -- stay with us. "Amanpour" is up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
