Angel City defender Savy King has been released from the hospital, just more than a week after she collapsed on the field during a match and needed surgery to treat a heart abnormality.
King posted a photo of herself in the hospital holding a heart-shaped pillow and giving a thumbs up on social media Sunday.
"I’m still finding the words to express just how much your love and support have meant to me over these past few days. What I do know is that I wouldn’t be getting through this without my incredible family by my side, my amazing teammates who have shown up for me and prayed for me, the fans, the entire soccer community, and the outstanding medical team here at ACFC who saved my life and cared for me every step of the way," she wrote on the post. "I know God’s got me and I’m looking forward to recovering and getting back out on the field!"
Angel City issued a statement that said King had been released from the hospital the day before.
King, 20, collapsed during the second half in a National Women's Soccer League match between Angel City and the visiting Utah Royal on May 9.
She was treated on the field for more than 10 minutes before she was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Once there, doctors discovered a heart abnormality and she underwent surgery on Tuesday. Her prognosis was good, the team said.
Players and fans alike were shaken by the incident, but the match continued, a move that was widely criticized. The league later said it was reviewing its policies.
The NWSL Players Association was among those that said the match should not have continued.
"These moments demand humanity, sound judgment, and restraint. Any medical emergency that requires the administration of life-saving care should bring play to an end. The match should not have continued," the NWSLPA said.
On Friday, a league statement expressed regret for allowing the match to continue.
"The health and well being of the entire NWSL community remains our top priority, and in any similar situation going forward the game should and would be abandoned," said the statement.
Angel City visited Bay FC in a match on Saturday night, the team's first since King's collapse. Before kickoff at San Jose's PayPal Park, both teams wore shirts with ‘SK3’ printed on the front as a tribute to King. Angel City captain Sarah Gorden also held up King’s jersey during the team photo.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman spoke to reporters at halftime.
"All we could do is learn from the experience and conclude that in a future situation, we will ensure that our policies and protocols do not allow the game to continue," she said in her first comments about King's collapse.
King was the second-overall pick in the 2024 NWSL draft by expansion Bay FC and played 18 games for the club. She was traded to Angel City in February and had started in eight games for the team this season.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) defender Savy King underwent heart surgery following her frightening collapse during a match for Angel City on Friday night, the team said.
King was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after she suffered a medical issue while playing against the Utah Royals. Doctors discovered an abnormality in her heart, and she underwent surgery on Tuesday.
"On behalf of our entire family, along with Savy, we have been so moved by the love and support from Angel City players, staff, fans and community, as well as soccer fans across the country," King’s family said in a statement. "We are blessed to share Savy is recovering well and we are looking forward to having her home with us soon."
Angel City said King was resting and that her "prognosis is excellent."
The incident occurred in the 74th minute of the match. Medical personnel attended to King for about 10 minutes before she was stretched off of the field and onto a cart.
The NWSL said it would review policies to see if changes need to be made when dealing with medical emergencies.
The rules stated that the league "recognizes that emergencies may arise which make the start or progression of a Game inadvisable or dangerous for participants and spectators. Certain event categories automatically trigger the League Office into an evaluation of whether delay or postponement is necessary."
Officials put 12 minutes of stoppage time on the clock and played through the end of the match. Angel City won 2-0.
Bay FC selected King with the No. 2 pick out of North Carolina in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She appeared in 18 matches for the club before she was traded to Angel City in the offseason.
She has played in eight matches this season for her club.
There was a scary moment in a National Women's Soccer League game on Friday night after a player was hospitalized after an on-field incident.
Angel City defender Savy King suffered a "medical event" during the team's game against the Utah Royals.
King went down in the 74th minute and was attended to for some 10 minutes before she was taken from the field on a cart, leaving other players visibly shaken.
"Savy was transported by EMS to the hospital following a medical event on the field. She is responsive and undergoing further evaluation. We thank everyone for their concern and support," Angel City said in a statement.
Alex Loera, of the Royals, was asked to lead both teams in prayer, and "of course I'm going to do that."
Alex Loera: "Obviously, Savy King is one of my really good friends. . . . Those moments are always so scary - we're all sending our thoughts and prayers to Savy King's family," Loera said.
Utah head coach Jimmy Coenraets admitted he was not pleased with continuing the game, which resulted in a 2-0 win for L.A.
"I'm not sure we should have continued the game . . . it was a really tough moment," the coach said, adding that a lot of people were "scared."
King, 20, was the second overall pick in the 2024 NWSL draft by expansion Bay FC and played 18 games for the club. She was traded to Angel City in February and has started in all eight games for the team this season.
Stop Antisemitism founder Liora Rez called on FIFA and the White House's FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force to put a stop to the "Show Israel the Red Card" campaign ahead of the global soccer tournament.
The campaign began in February at a UEFA Champions League match in Scotland. Celtic FC fans unfurled a banner that called on FIFA and UEFA, the confederation that Israel is a part of, to punish the country’s national team over its response in Gaza to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks. There was no penalty against Celtic FC or its fans for the banner.
Since then, CBC reported that the campaign has spread across other European countries, including Italy, Spain and Belgium, along with Brazil, Chile, Malaysia and Tunisia.
Rez said FIFA has done nothing to combat the issue.
"We’ve seen absolutely nothing, which is so alarming," she told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "We’ve seen the head of FIFA say and do, again, absolutely nothing. We’ve seen none of the fans be penalized or removed from the games holding up these signs. So again, we want the task force that President Trump set up to step in ahead of time and be proactive and say, no, this isn’t welcome in the United States. This isn’t gonna fly here."
Rez added that FIFA President Gianni Infantino should take a "strong stand" against the campaign.
"I think it has to be eradicated immediately," she said. "Gianni Infantino needs to take a strong stand and say, ‘Bigotry and bias against the world’s only Jewish country is not welcome in any type of organization I’m heading.’ He has yet to do that.
"And because he hasn’t, we’re calling on President Trump’s task force to step in and demand that this kind of, again, bias and isolation and vilification of Israel is just not welcome in the United States. Americans aren’t going to stand for it."
Fox News Digital reached out to FIFA and UEFA for comment.
President Donald Trump tapped Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as the executive director of the task force.
In March, Trump signed an executive order establishing the task force for the soccer tournament, which will be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trump will serve as the chair of the task force, while Vice President JD Vance will serve as the vice chair. As the executive director, Giuliani will be tasked with managing and overseeing daily operations.
Trump also announced Tuesday that Carlos Cordeiro, a FIFA senior advisor, will serve as a senior advisor on the task force.
The task force was created to lead federal efforts in support of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A White House official told Fox News Digital on Thursday that task force does not support any kind of proposal to exclude Israel from the World Cup.
"We hope that Andrew Giuliani, as head of this task force, really steps in and works with Gianni Infantino to say, ‘This rhetoric is not welcome here, you need to make a statement. And we’re not going to be welcoming antisemites, anti-Westerners, anti-American, pro-terror individuals, whether they’re fans or players, into this country,’" Rez said.
The United States has been waiting for men's soccer to take off; it has been close, but next summer could be the big ascend.
Next year, of course, marks the first time since 1994 that the United States will host the World Cup (along with Canada and Mexico).
The U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) has yet to get over the hump, but they have reached the knockout stage in each of their last two World Cups. With one good showing, former USMNT star Clint Dempsey thinks the sport could be the next big thing in America.
"When I think back to the 1994 World Cup and going to my first game in Dallas, because of how well the U.S. team did and how much the game grew because of having the World Cup here, I’m curious to see what will happen from a good showing next year, if the U.S. can perform well, what could come of that," Dempsey told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "It’s too many times it seems like every four years, everybody that’s mainstream American taking notice instead of mainstream American taking notice every year.
"You have [Lionel] Messi moving the needle in terms of creating an impact in mainstream media, but if the U.S. have a great showing at the World Cup, the sky is the limit as to what can be accomplished. I am a little bit nervous, though, right now, but I’m looking forward to a strong showing at the Gold Cup to get a dance for the big dance in 2026."
Why is Dempsey nervous? Well, not advancing out of the group stage in the Copa América last year, a tournament that only includes countries in North and South America, on their own home soil will do that.
"It was a failure. You’re the only host country to not get out of the group stage in COPA America," Dempsey said bluntly.
"But they can get back on track. I think [head coach Mauricio Pochettino] needs a little more time with them. Hopefully Gold Cup, strong showing, get back on track, and try to do something special."
The World Cup will naturally garner viewers and grow the game on its own. However, Dempsey has always felt a "responsibility" to do it himself. So, that is why he has partnered with Abbott, the Official Health and Nutrition Sciences Partner of Real Madrid Football Club, to make the Abbott Dream Team.
Abbott and Real Madrid are hosting soccer tryouts for 18- and 19-year-olds in Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Dallas this summer, when the 11 top players will travel abroad on an all-expenses-paid trip to Ciudad Real Madrid in Valdebebas, Madrid this fall. Players can sign up at abbottdreamteam.com.
"I’m happy to give kids a platform to chase their dreams. One of those cities to try out happens to be Dallas where I kind of started it all. It comes full circle for me, as that’s where I played my club ball growing up in the classic league. So look forward to being a part of that," Dempsey said. "These young players have an opportunity to chase their dreams and also learn about nutrition to prolong their careers if they get lucky enough to get to do this as a profession. I’m happy to get people be a part of something that gives people the chance to chase their dreams, because at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. I was lucky enough to make it my dream and do it for a living."
"I just kind of always felt like I've been trying to grow the game in terms of trailblazing, but at the same time, if you have opportunities like this to give back and give people that platform to have those experiences, it's special, because that's what life’s about," he added. "I have six kids, and it's pretty busy chasing them around, and sometimes it feels like you're an Uber driver, but's it's me watching them try to chase their dreams. That's what this life is about. You wanna give people the chance to to do something special in their life so you can be at peace and look back be happy with everything. So that's just kind of I'm at in life. I wanna help people out, and this was a perfect platform for that."
Dempsey, like all of us, is hoping the word "failure" is not brought up next summer during the World Cup. The USMNT can avoid that, Dempsey said, as long as they can continue what they have done in recent Cups.
"At the bare minimum, I think you have to get out of the group. If you don't the group, it's a failure," Dempsey said. "There’s gonna be a lot of pressure on this team for being one of the host countries, and not getting out of the group will be a failure. It starts with getting out of the group, get people believing, and anything can happen when you get into the knockout rounds."
Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, was appointed executive director of the White House task force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Tuesday.
President Donald Trump made the announcement in a TruthSocial post Tuesday after holding the first official meeting with the task force. Members of his cabinet and FIFA President Gianni Infantino were also in attendance.
"I am proud to announce the appointment of Andrew Giuliani as the Executive Director of the President’s Task Force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup," Trump’s announcement said.
"During my First Term, Andrew served as a Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison, playing a key role in creating the system that enabled athletes from around the World to re-enter the United States during the Reopening of America in 2020."
In March, Trump signed an executive order establishing the task force for the soccer tournament, which will be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trump will serve as the chair of the task force, while Vice President JD Vance will serve as the vice chair. As the executive director, Giuliani will be tasked with managing and overseeing daily operations.
Speaking to members of the press after the meeting, Trump praised Giuliani and his father, calling the latter the "greatest" mayor in New York’s history.
"He’s going to be great. I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a highly competitive golfer, really good. He’s also a highly competitive person, and he loves what we’re doing. I want to congratulate you and your family and your father, your great father who is the greatest mayor in the history of New York," Trump said, jokingly adding, "It’s a big post. You better do well, Andrew."
Trump also announced Tuesday that Carlos Cordeiro, a FIFA senior advisor, will serve as a senior advisor on the task force.
"I know Andrew and Carlos will work tirelessly to make the 2026 FIFA World Cup an unprecedented success."
Expected to be one of the largest international sporting events, the World Cup's host cities are anticipating nearly half a million visitors with a potential economic impact of up to $480 million that will benefit the tourism, hospitality and retail industries.
The international tournament, spanning North America, will begin in June 2026 and is the first World Cup in more than two decades to take place in multiple countries. The majority of games will take place in the U.S. in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Philadelphia and East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Los Angeles Galaxy defender Maya Yoshida had the only score on Sunday night, but it was an own goal that led to a 1-0 victory for Sporting Kansas City. With the win, they made history, becoming the first MLS team to win a game without registering a shot on goal.
It was just the third win in 11 tries for Sporting Kansas City, this season, but their second in the last three games.
As for the Galaxy, they continued the worst start by a defending champion in league history. The Galaxy (0-8-3) are still looking for their first victory 11 matches into the season and even a 3-0-2 record in five previous matchups with Sporting KC (3-7-1) didn't help.
In the 13th minute, KC's Daniel Salloi sent in a cross on the ground, and it deflected off Maya Yoshida and into the net. There was no attacker near enough to the cross to threaten tapping it in, but Yoshida tried to make a defensive play and it went awry.
John Pulskamp had to make one save, and it came in the first half on the way to his second clean sheet in his 11th start of the season for Sporting KC. His save came just before halftime on a right-footed shot from the center of the box by John Nelson.
It was sweet revenge for Dejan Joveljic, who came to Sporting KC in the first cash-for-player trade in league history after helping the Galaxy win their sixth MLS Cup last season. He leads the team with five goals — all at home.
The Galaxy have missed Riqui Puig, who hasn't played since suffering a knee injury in the playoffs. And Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec, who combined for 50 goals contributions in the championship run, have just four so far this season.
Sporting KC interim coach Kerry Zavagnin and the Galaxy’s Greg Vanney were teammates on the US men’s national team. The two coaches represented their current teams when the two clubs squared off in the conference final of the 2000 MLS Cup — won by the then-Kansas City Wizards, who went on to beat the Chicago Fire 1-0 in the championship match.
The Galaxy travel to play the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Sporting KC travels to play the Portland Timbers on Saturday.
The sports governing body for soccer in England has banned transgender athletes from competing in the women’s sport on Thursday, a policy change that comes weeks after a UK Supreme Court ruling defined a woman as someone born biologically female.
The Football Association (FA) announced its policy change on Thursday, calling the issue "a complex subject."
"As the governing body of the national sport, our role is to make football accessible to as many people as possible, operating within the law and international football policy defined by UEFA and FIFA," the statement began. "Our current policy, which allows transgender women to participate in the women’s game, was based on this principle and supported by expert legal advice."
The previous policy required that transgender athletes wishing to compete in women’s soccer must show a "blood serum testosterone maintained at below 5.0 nmol/L" for a period of at least 12 months prior to competition. The athlete must have medical records to prove hormone therapy and annual verified hormone treatment before the start of each season.
"This is a complex subject, and our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary," the governing body’s statement continued.
"The Supreme Court’s ruling on the 16 April means that we will be changing our policy. Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s football in England, and this policy will be implemented from 1 June 2025."
The UK’s top court ruled on the legal definition of a woman last month. The court of five judges said the ruling did not remove rights for trans people still protected from discrimination under UK law. However, it said certain protections should apply only to biological females and not transgender women.
"We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game," the FA said Thursday.
The top soccer league in Italy has postponed its matches scheduled for Monday following the death of Pope Francis, who, at 88, recently fell ill and was hospitalized with double pneumonia.
Four Serie A matches were postponed to a later date, the Italian football league announced in a post on X.
"Following the passing of His Holiness, Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A can confirm that today's league games in Serie A and Primavera 1 have been postponed," the post read. "The date of the rearranged fixtures will be announced in due course."
Matches between Torino and Udinese, Cagliari and Fiorentina, Genoa and Lazio, and Parma vs. Juventus were all impacted by the postponement.
Pope Francis passed early Monday morning, just a day after he appeared in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City in honor of the Easter celebration. From the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he performed a blessing on the thousands of people in attendance.
His appearance on Sunday came weeks after he was hospitalized for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.
Tributes poured in for Pope Francis, who was known as an avid soccer fan and a supporter of his beloved Buenos Aires club, San Lorenzo.
"Italian soccer joins in the mourning of millions of people following the death of Pope Francis. He was a great example of Christian caring and dignity in the face of suffering and he was always attentive to the sports world and particularly soccer, of which he was a fan," Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina said in a statement.
"He will always remain in the hearts of the faithful and lovers of soccer."
Former captain of Italy’s national team Gianluigi Buffon, who met with the pope on several occasions, called Francis a "special pope" in a post on Instagram.
"Francis was a special pope, able to illuminate in his time like only the greatest can," his post read in part. "He showed us the way with great courage and moved our souls. I will carry his example forever in my heart."
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