London (AFP) – Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was named the Football Writers' Association player of the year on Friday for leading the Reds to their first league title in 30 years. The 30-year-old beat Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and teammates Virgil Van Dijk and Sadio Mane to the prize. […]

Suzhou (China) (AFP) – Wuhan Zall will make a poignant return to action when the delayed Chinese Super League season kicks off on Saturday, having endured 104 days in exile because of the coronavirus. The central Chinese city was ground zero for the virus before it spread worldwide and its football club was locked out, […]

London (AFP) – The longest Premier League season on record will finally come to a close on Sunday just two weeks short of a calendar year since it began, but the fact it will finish on the pitch at all is cause for celebration after months of uncertainty caused by coronavirus. In the 100 days […]

Miami (AFP) – Jeremy Ebobisse scored a late equaliser as the Portland Timbers snatched a 2-2 draw with Los Angeles FC to avoid a knockout-round clash with Seattle in Major League Soccer's restart tournament on Thursday. Paris-born striker Ebobisse headed home in the 81st minute for the Timbers after Los Angeles failed to deal with […]

Milan (AFP) – Seko Fofana scored the winner as Juventus fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at struggling Udinese on Thursday to miss the chance to seal the Serie A title for the ninth time in a row. Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt had put the defending champions ahead three minutes before the break in Udine. […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at struggling Udinese on Thursday to miss the chance to seal the Serie A title for the ninth time in a row. Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt had put the defending champions ahead three minutes before the break in Udine. But a diving Ilija Nestorovski header […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Former South Africa and Lazio star Mark Fish became embroiled in a social media storm Thursday over the Black Lives Matter movement, claiming: "If you stand for nothing you will fall for everything ... all lives matter". It began when the centre-back, who helped South Africa win the Africa Cup of Nations […]

Paris (AFP) – Four months after French football ground to a standstill as the coronavirus pandemic worsened, Paris Saint-Germain head into Friday's national cup final against Saint-Etienne looking to land the first of a potential three titles in a five-match burst. Declared Ligue 1 champions for the seventh time in eight years after the season […]

Kiev (AFP) – Dynamo Kiev on Thursday appointed Mircea Lucescu as their new coach, sparking uproar from fans angry over the Romanian's 12-year spell in charge of bitter rivals Shakhtar Donetsk. The 74-year-old succeeds the sacked Oleksiy Mykhailychenko who guided the club to a 12th Ukrainian Cup earlier this month but came second in the […]

Quito (AFP) – Dutchman Jordi Cruyff has quit as coach of Ecuador without taking charge of a single match due to the coronavirus pandemic, the country's football federation announced on Thursday. The FEF said in a statement that severance "terms have been agreed" that included "compensation for unilateral termination of the contract by the coach". […]

Geneva (AFP) – International Automobile Federation chief Jean Todt has hailed Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton's strong anti-racism stance, but said that all drivers must be free to decide whether to demonstrate their support. Jean Todt told AFP in an interview that he had a long video call this week with Hamilton, who has […]

London (AFP) – A total of 13 arrests were made in Liverpool and Leeds as thousands of fans gathered outside stadiums on Wednesday night to celebrate their clubs' title triumphs despite warnings to stay at home. Merseyside Police introduced a 48-hour dispersal zone around Liverpool's Anfield stadium during the club's match against Chelsea. Nine arrests […]

Kolkata (AFP) – A star Indian footballer known as the "midfield general" has blown the whistle on a possible political career just a day after joining the ruling party. Mehtab Hossain, who represented India 31 times, was welcomed with open arms to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP party in Kolkata when he joined this week. […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Burkina Faso star Aristide Bance, one of the most colourful and popular footballers in Africa, has called time on his international career. He played 79 times for the 'Stallions' and scored 24 goals over 16 years while helping the national team of the west African state rise from obscurity to a regular […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – South African Absa Premiership officials say they will decide Friday whether to restart the richest league in the continent or cancel it amid the coronavirus pandemic. The league sponsors and broadcasters favour the 16-club championship resuming with all matches behind closed doors in Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg. But club officials remained […]