London (AFP) – Kick-off in the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United on Tuesday was delayed by 45 minutes after the visitors' bus arrived late. The game, which had been due to begin at 1945 local time (1845 GMT), was pushed back to 2030. Images circulating on social media showed the […]

Mexico City (AFP) – FIFA said on Tuesday that the country that will host the 2026 World Cup will be chosen in May 2020, as it resumed the selection process following a corruption scandal. Countries will have to present their candidacies before the end of December 2018, the world football body said in a statement […]

London (AFP) – England manager Roy Hodgson has announced he will delay naming his England squad for the European Championship until Monday. Hodgson was due to reveal his 23-man list for Euro 2016 at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, but he has decided to switch the announcement until May 16 following a meeting with the English […]

Milan (AFP) – AC Milan moved a step closer to a takeover after the struggling Serie A giants announced the start of "exclusive negotiating rights" with Chinese investors on Tuesday. Club owner Silvio Berlusconi said last week he was open to selling a majority stake in the fallen seven-time European champions, with a preference to […]

Milan (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri admits he would love to coach Italy one day but has committed his immediate future to a Leicester City side that, he believes, could spring a few surprises in next season's Champions League. "I would never rule it out. I would love it. And Leicester's blue shirts are already quite […]

Lost amidst all the excitement about Leicester City winning their first top flight title in their 132 year history was the fact that their closest challengers could have won their first top flight title in 55 years. Tottenham have had a great season, a young team that is expertly coached and in a prime London […]

Berlin (AFP) – German champions Bayern Munich on Tuesday splashed out a reported 73 million euros ($83 million) to launch their Champions League campaign for next season by signing Germany defender Mats Hummels and Portugal teenager Renato Sanches. Centre-back Hummels, 27, becomes the third Dortmund star to join German champions Bayern in three years after […]

Jakarta (AFP) – As former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho mulls his next move, an unlikely suitor has emerged in the form of the beleaguered Indonesian national team, which is banned from international football. Indonesian Sports Minster Imam Nahrawi has announced that he wants Mourinho, who has been out of work since December after being sacked by […]

Berlin (AFP) – Less than a week before he names his provisional Euro 2016 squad, Germany's head coach Joachim Loew has been given a boost by three of his stars. Loew will name his squad at the French Embassy in Berlin next Monday, but has been given good news about injured pair Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany's […]

Guangzhou (AFP) – When Kin Chai was a boy in 1990s China, his rural school had no football team. Or pitch. Or even a ball. Instead, the children kicked an empty plastic jug around in the street. "It was a small village," he said, "not that developed... we tried to put together village competitions, but […]

Bratislava (AFP) – When Slovakia beat Luxembourg in October to clinch their first-ever Euro spot, captain Martin Skrtel made a very special TV appearance, gatecrashing the Slovak coach's interview with a local channel. "Slovakia, Slovakia," he yelled at the camera, jumping wildly, stripped to the waist, displaying his tattoo slogan "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – A glance at Wales's record in qualifying for Euro 2016 reveals a glaring truth: stop Gareth Bale, and you have a very good chance of stopping Chris Coleman's team. That Wales are gearing up for a first major tournament since 1958 owes much to the brilliance of Bale, who scored […]

Mexico City (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino opened a meeting of the football body's new council in Mexico on Monday, as UEFA chief Michel Platini's resignation following a sport ban cast a shadow over the event. Infantino, who was Platini's number two at the European football organization before taking over FIFA in February, lamented […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is facing the biggest fight of his 13 year international career to hold onto his England place going into the European Championships. England's talisman ever since he burst onto the scene as a preternaturally gifted 18-year-old at Euro 2004, Rooney has gone to five major tournaments as […]

London (AFP) – Studious and well-travelled, Roy Hodgson has the weighty responsibility of ending England's 50 years of major tournament heartache at the European Championship in France. After a run to the quarter-finals at Euro 2012, less than two months after succeeding Fabio Capello as manager, Hodgson presided over a galling group-phase exit at the […]