Lausanne (AFP) – Two clubs from gas-rich Qatar, the 2022 World Cup hosts, were amongst six fined by FIFA on Thursday for non-payment of salaries to players and were warned they face a transfer ban as a consequence. Al Arabi Sports Club were fined 30,000 Swiss francs (25,800 euros) and given a final deadline of […]

London (AFP) – Alexis Sanchez is set to join Manchester United's pre-season tour of the United States after the club confirmed the Chile forward's visa issue has been resolved. Sanchez was absent from United's flight to Los Angeles on Sunday due to what the Premier League side said was an "administrative issue". It later emerged […]

Berlin (AFP) – The France World Cup defender Benjamin Pavard, who shot to fame with a brilliant goal against Argentina, has signed a contract to join Bayern Munich in 2019 but reports in Germany suggested Thursday the 22-year-old may make the switch even sooner. Bayern reportedly agreed a deal with Stuttgart before the World Cup, […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp fears the gruelling demands of international football are putting players at such risk that "we have to collect their bones" during the coming season. Klopp is preparing for the start of the new Premier League campaign without a number of Liverpool stars who are on holiday following international […]

Lausanne (AFP) – AC Milan's senior executives were at the world's top sports court on Thursday fighting to overturn a European ban for breaking UEFA's financial fair play rules. Managing director Marco Fassone, chief financial officer Valentina Montanari and a team of lawyers were set to lobby the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Anderson Talisca revelled in a "wonderful start" after the Brazilian hit a dazzling debut hat-trick for Guangzhou Evergrande as they try to resurrect their challenge for an eighth straight Chinese Super League crown. Talisca, who arrived on loan from Portuguese side Benfica during the summer transfer window, set up Guangzhou's first goal […]

Miami (AFP) – Miami voters will have their say in November on David Beckham's latest plan for a Major League Soccer stadium development in the city, after a vote by city commissioners on Wednesday. The Miami City Commission voted 3-2 to place a referendum on the November 6 ballot that would open the door for […]

London (AFP) – Brazilian international Alisson is expected to sign for Liverpool on a five-year deal worth 75 million euros, a world record for a goalkeeper, media reports suggested Wednesday. The 25-year-old, who currently plays for Roma in Italy, is cutting short his vacation to undergo a medical on Merseyside after being given permission to […]

Doha (AFP) – Last year, Qatar's finance minister Ali Sharif Al-Emadi said his country was determined to have everything ready for the 2022 World Cup well before fans started landing in the Gulf. "We don't want to be painting while people arrive in the country," he said, before going on to reveal Qatar is spending […]

Doha (AFP) – As one of the best World Cups ever ends in Russia, football's biggest tournament must now prepare for its most controversial, in Qatar in 2022. Since the tournament was handed to the supremely wealthy Gulf state, whose team has never appeared in a World Cup, FIFA's decision has been roundly questioned and […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – When Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014 the country dreamt of glory, but the beloved national team was thrashed and the tournament left a legacy of unfinished works, huge debts and missing funds. Brazil were hoping to add a sixth trophy to their record five World Cup triumphs, while […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – South Africa's turn as World Cup hosts in 2010 left the country with 10 world-class stadiums and an influx of tourists — but also vast bills to pay. Eight years on, the tournament is also held up as a rare moment of national unity in a country still deeply divided 24 years […]

London (AFP) – The futures of star Belgian duo Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois can be decided by the Chelsea board, said the club's new manager Maurizio Sarri on Wednesday. The 59-year-old Italian, speaking at his unveiling after being appointed the successor to sacked compatriot Antonio Conte, admitted to being disinterested by the transfer market. […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Gor Mahia of Kenya shed a goal-shy record by trouncing Young Africans of Tanzania 4-0 Wednesday and boosting their hopes of reaching the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-finals. Ivorian Ephrem Guikan was the matchday 3 destroyer-in-chief, scoring late in each half, after Rwandan Jacques Tuyisenge had broken the deadlock in Nairobi. A […]

London (AFP) – Gianfranco Zola was Wednesday named as assistant coach to new manager Maurizio Sarri, marking a return to the club where he spent seven years as a player, the Premier League outfit announced. Zola, 52, played for the Londoners from 1996 until 2003, scoring 80 goals, including the winner in the 1998 European […]