Milan (AFP) – Italian football giants Inter Milan and AC Milan were both back training Friday two months after a strict lockdown which has hit the northern Italian city hard. Inter said all their players and staff have tested negative for coronavirus on Friday, clearing the way for them to return to individual training in […]

London (AFP) – Britain's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden warned on Friday that the Premier League does not yet have the "green light" to resume but restated the government's hope that the season can be completed. Premier League clubs are due to meet on Monday to discuss the latest plans for "Project Restart" — a day […]

Lens (France) (AFP) – Fans of Lens have responded with both "great joy" and also "great dread" after the early end to the French season brought their club's promotion to Ligue 1. The old mining town of Lens has a population of just over 31,000, but fans regularly pack the 38,000-capacity stadium despite their last […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City's Kyle Walker says he is being "harassed" after admitting he breached coronavirus lockdown rules to visit his sister and parents. The defender was forced to issue an apology last month after media reports that he had hosted a party at his home. But Walker has hit back at the latest […]

Stockholm (AFP) – AC Milan was on Friday awaiting the belated return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from a protracted and productive coronavirus exile in Sweden that has fuelled speculation in his native country that their biggest star was coming home for good. While most of his AC Milan team-mates have had to sit idle because of […]

Baghdad (AFP) – Former Iraqi football star Adnan Dirjal swapped his studs for a suit this week when he was named the country's new youth and sports minister. The slender and balding 60-year-old with a quick smile and sloping nose, who was one of Iraq's most prominent national captains, was one of the only recognisable […]

Jeonju (South Korea) (AFP) – The towering stands of the 42,477-capacity Jeonju World Cup Stadium stood empty on Friday as South Korea opened football's post-coronavirus era without fans, but with an unprecedented international TV audience. With most leagues worldwide sidelined by the pandemic, the K-League is the first competition of any standing to come back […]

Shanghai (AFP) – The coronavirus-delayed Chinese Super League could kick off next month but without some leading foreign stars including Paulinho and Marko Arnautovic, the country's football president has warned. The CSL became one of the first sporting victims of the pandemic in January when its February 22 start date was indefinitely postponed. It could […]

Seoul (AFP) – South Korean football will reach new international TV audiences as it leads the way by restarting after the coronavirus on Friday, but there will be no crowds or wild goal celebrations — and even talking is discouraged. With most leagues worldwide sidelined by the pandemic, the K-League is the first competition of […]

Seoul (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min was named one of the top five recruits in his unit as he finished three weeks of compulsory military training in South Korea on Friday. South Korea's marine corps posted pictures of Son wielding an M-16 assault rifle and saluting on their Facebook page as he completed […]

Madrid (AFP) – Leganes coach Javier Aguirre said Thursday that Spain's La Liga will resume on June 20 and end on July 26 despite league bosses refusing to confirm his claim. Aguirre told Marca Claro that he had been told officially of the plan to restart the championship which has been in cold storage since […]

Rome (AFP) – The fate of the Serie A championship remained in limbo on Thursday after state scientists met with football bosses in a desperate effort to save the coronavirus-interrupted season threatened by a new wave of positive tests among players. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) huddled with the government's technical scientific committee to discuss […]

Milan (AFP) – Four Sampdoria players, including one who had previously recovered, and three from Fiorentina have tested positive for coronavirus, the two Serie A clubs announced on Thursday. "During the tests to which the footballers were subjected, three new cases of COVID-19 emerged, with one player testing positive again," Sampdoria said in a statement. […]

Washington (AFP) – D.C. United midfielder Chris Durkin signed for Belgian first-division side Sint-Truiden on Thursday after the 20-year-old American spent last season on loan to the European club. The Major League Soccer squad signed Durkin, who captained the US under-17 squad, in 2016 at age 16 and put him into the lineup for his […]

London (AFP) – Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said Thursday that he will not pressure any of his players to return to action if they are wary of health risks when the Premier League gets the green light to resume. Clubs from England's top flight are due to meet on Monday, a day after British […]