London (AFP) – West Ham pledged Wednesday to provide new boss Manuel Pellegrini with major funds to rebuild as they bid to avoid another Premier League relegation scrap. The former Manchester City manager, 64, was confirmed as Hammers boss on Tuesday and immediately targeted "four or five" new signings. The Hammers opted not to keep […]

London (AFP) – Everton forward Wayne Rooney will break from his family holiday to travel to Washington this week to meet bosses at Major League Soccer side DC United, reports said on Wednesday. Rooney has reportedly agreed "in principle" to a $17 million (£13 million) deal with the MLS club that would see the 32-year-old […]

Accra (AFP) – Police in Ghana on Wednesday said they were probing claims of corruption against the head of the country's football association after a complaint from the president. "The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service is investigating Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, President of the Ghana Football Association, for alleged offences, including corruption," […]

Moscow (AFP) – FIFA said Wednesday they were "deeply concerned" about the detention in Russia of a rights campaigner that drew international condemnation ahead of the World Cup. Oyub Titiyev was arrested in January on what campaigners believe are trumped up drug charges in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya. Titiyev headed the local Grozny […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal announced former Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery as their new boss on Wednesday, handing him the daunting task of revitalising a club that has slipped well behind their Premier League rivals. The Spaniard, who won the domestic treble with PSG this season, emerged as the shock favourite to replace Arsene Wenger […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal announced former Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery as their new boss on Wednesday, handing him the daunting task of revitalising a club that has slipped well behind their Premier League rivals. The Spaniard, who won the domestic treble with PSG this season, emerged as the shock favourite to replace Arsene Wenger […]

London (AFP) – Fuelled by video nasties and sleepless nights, Unai Emery is ready for the challenge of succeeding Arsene Wenger after being appointed as Arsenal's first new boss for 22 years. Arsenal have made a habit of appointing managers out of left-field — Bertie Mee was a former physiotherapist, former Arsenal star George Graham […]

Paris (AFP) – Midfielder Adrien Rabiot has written to France manager Didier Deschamps saying he is not prepared to be a World Cup standby player. The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain player sent an email to Deschamps saying he would not "be able to follow the training programme" sent to the 11 standbys. A source who had […]

Kigali (AFP) – Rwanda has become the official tourism partner of English football club Arsenal FC, whose players will sport a "Visit Rwanda" logo on their sleeves, the club announced Wednesday. The tiny country's leader, President Paul Kagame, is an ardent Arsenal fan and often expresses his opinions about the club's performances during summits and […]

Riyadh (AFP) – French midfielder Paul Pogba has posted a video of himself at the holiest site of Islam in Saudi Arabia, as he prepares to join his French squad for the World Cup next month. "Only the person that comes here can understand the feeling," the 25-year-old Manchester United star said in an Instagram […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal announced on Wednesday that Unai Emery is their new head coach, succeeding Arsene Wenger at the Premier League giants. Emery, 46, left Paris Saint-Germain this month after winning Ligue 1 and four domestic cups in two seasons in the French capital. The Spaniard emerged as the shock favourite earlier this week […]

Madrid (AFP) – Gareth Bale's relationship with Zinedine Zidane will come to a crossroads when Real Madrid play Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday. The pair have not seen eye-to-eye for some time, ever since Zidane jettisoned the Welshman for Real's last 16 first leg game at home to Paris Saint-Germain in February. […]

London (AFP) – Goalkeepers Loris Karius of Liverpool and Real Madrid's Keylor Navas have the onerous task of keeping the score down when the two most prolific sides in the Champions League this season meet in Saturday's final in Kiev. Spearheaded by the free-scoring Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah, both teams are packed with attacking […]

Kiev (AFP) – Before Real Madrid try to get their hands on a third straight Champions League crown this week, Lyon have the chance to achieve the same feat in the women's showpiece. The dominant French club face German outfit Wolfsburg in Kiev on Thursday (1600 GMT) at the Valeriy Lobanovskiy stadium, a short walk […]

Lyon (AFP) – Wendie Renard towers above almost everyone else on the field, just as her club Lyon have towered above their rivals in France and in Europe in recent years. Lyon dominate women's football on the continent, winning the last two Champions League titles and four since the start of the decade. If they […]