London (AFP) – Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has declared himself fit for Saturday's trip to Leicester City after suffering a dizzy spell while on international duty with Argentina. Aguero was substituted at half-time of Argentina's 4-2 friendly defeat against Nigeria in the Russian city of Krasnodar on Tuesday. City dismissed initial reports he had […]

Lausanne (AFP) – The two judges who formerly ran the FIFA Ethics Committee announced on Thursday that they have started a company to advise on good governance in sports. Cornel Borbely, who is Swiss, was chairman of the FIFA committee's investigatory arm, while Hans-Joachim Eckert, a German, presided over the adjudicatory chamber which banned former […]

Damascus (AFP) – Syria coach Ayman al-Hakim on Thursday resigned after the head of the federation criticised his performance, after the team failed to qualify for its first ever World Cup. Syria's hopes to qualify in the Asian playoffs in October for a spot in the 2018 World Cup were dashed during extra time against […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Thiago Motta looks set to go under the knife for a knee complaint which will sideline him until after the winter break, the club said on Thursday. Motta is now 35 and has been playing less as midfield starlet Adrien Rabiot, 22, gradually starts to fullfil his potential in […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has criticised the England set-up after Phil Jones aggravated a thigh injury in his country's friendly draw with Germany. Players including Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson withdrew from Gareth Southgate's England squad for friendlies against Germany and Brazil due to injury. But despite […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur central defender Toby Alderweireld could be on the sidelines until next year due to a hamstring injury, manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed on Thursday. Alderweireld, 28, sustained the injury in a Champions League game against Real Madrid on November 1 and had been expected to return to action sooner. The Belgium […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has described Santi Cazorla's ankle injury as the worst he has seen, but remains hopeful the Spanish midfielder will return to action in January. Cazorla, 32, has not played for Arsenal since October 2016 and has undergone eight operations to address a longstanding Achilles problem. He revealed earlier […]

New York (AFP) – A trial exposing rampant corruption in the business of world football ended a day of testimony Wednesday with a defendant accused of making throat-slashing gestures to intimidate a key witness. The witness, Alejandro Buzarco, was weeping and appeared visibly distraught as he began his second day of testimony in the FIFA […]

Shanghai (AFP) – The Chinese Football Association (CFA) moved swiftly on Thursday to dampen talk of a 2030 World Cup bid, after China coach Marcello Lippi was quoted as saying plans were being made. Football fan President Xi Jinping has stated his aim for China to stage the showpiece one day and wants the country, […]

Wellington (AFP) – New Zealand football fans lamented the end of their World Cup dream Thursday after a 2-0 defeat to Peru, but said the unfancied All Whites' gritty display had done the nation proud. New Zealand, rated 122 in the world, went into the two-legged qualifier as rank outsiders against 10th-placed Peru. But a […]

Lima (AFP) – Emotional Peru advanced to the World Cup for the first time since 1982 by defeating New Zealand 2-0 on Wednesday, goals by Jefferson Farfan and Christian Ramos sealing the last ticket to Russia. Farfan struck in the 27th minute and Ramos scored in the 65th to give "Los Incas" their fifth overall […]

Stockholm (AFP) – Weary of war, persecution, and statelessness, Kurds rejoiced as a Swedish football club founded just 13 years ago by Kurdish immigrants won promotion to the top division. Scores of cheering fans ran onto the pitch, dancing and waving Kurdish flags last week when Dalkurd FF beat Gothenburg's GAIS 1-0 to earn a seat […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Two games, two defeats and no goals scored in the past week, but coach Marcello Lippi says his China side "have made gains". The Italian World Cup winner suffered his heaviest loss since taking charge of China in the 4-0 home drubbing to Colombia on Tuesday, four days after falling 2-0 to […]

Sydney (AFP) – Tim Cahill's call for more playing time surprised his club coach Thursday and raised the prospect of a move for the veteran after Australia qualified for the World Cup following a stellar showing by captain Mile Jedinak. Australia reached their fourth-straight World Cup Wednesday in Sydney after defeating Honduras in a 3-1 […]

Milan (AFP) – Gian Piero Ventura's reign as Italy coach ended on Wednesday after a World Cup qualifying fiasco during which the four-time champions failed to reach next year's finals in Russia. The 69-year-old's fate was sealed after a crisis meeting of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in Rome, with former Chelsea and Real Madrid […]