Zurich (AFP) – FIFA voted to expand the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026 in a victory on Tuesday for its president Gianni Infantino but derided by critics as driven by money and politics. In a deeply divisive move which will enrich scandal-tainted FIFA's coffers, its ruling council unanimously adopted an expanded format with 16 […]

Zurich (AFP) – Critics of FIFA's decision Tuesday to expand the World Cup to 48 teams were quick to blast it as a politically and money-driven ploy that will be detrimental to football's showpiece tournament. But there was support — particularly in Asia and Africa — for FIFA president Gianni Infantino's expansion plan, unanimously approved […]

London (AFP) – Cohen Bramall signed for Premier League giants Arsenal on Tuesday just a week after being made redundant from his factory job with luxury carmakers Bentley. The 20-year-old defender — who had previously failed to convince Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday to take him on after trials with them — signed for a […]

When it comes to polarizing players in the Premier League, Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud may just be at the top of the list. The Frenchman has scored is fair share of goals since making the switch from Montpellier to north London in the summer of 2012; however, many Gooners (as well as other fans around the […]

Doha (AFP) – China's big spending football revolution poses little threat to Europe because the world's top players want to play in the best competitions, Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti insisted on Tuesday. The Italian, who has played for and managed some of Europe's biggest clubs, said modern-day players still chased glory as much as […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona need a quick turnaround to get their start to 2017 back on track when Athletic Bilbao travel to the Camp Nou on Wednesday for the second leg of their Copa del Rey last 16 tie defending a 2-1 lead. The Cup holders are yet to taste victory this year following up […]

London (AFP) – Damian Collins, co-founder of the campaign group for FIFA reform, New FIFA Now, criticised Tuesday's decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams, telling AFP it was taken for financial and not sporting reasons. The 42-year-old — who is also a lawmaker for the ruling British Conservative Party — said football's […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA's decision Tuesday to expand the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026 will allow more countries to "dream" of qualifying for the globe's top sporting event, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. "We have to shape the World Cup of the 21st Century... football is more than Europe and South America," Infantino […]

Doha (AFP) – Bayern Munich will not sell centre-back Holger Badstuber in the summer but he can leave on loan in January, club coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday. Bundesliga rivals Schalke 04 are thought to be competing with Manchester City and Swansea to sign the international defender in January's transfer window. But, speaking from […]

Zurich (AFP) – Following FIFA's ruling council's unanimous approval Tuesday of an expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026, AFP Sport looks at the evolution of the tournament since the inaugural edition in 1930. – 1930: The first World Cup final kicked off with 13 teams in Uruguay, including four European nations […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA's governing council is set to decide on Tuesday whether to expand the World Cup, a controversial idea that has created deep divisions among global football's most powerful camps. Making the tournament bigger for 2026 is a top priority of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who took over the scandal-tainted body last […]

Libreville (AFP) – Guinea-Bissau captain Bocundji Ca insists there is no secret recipe behind the sudden success of the one-time African football whipping boys, just outstanding teamwork. "We attack and defend together," he told a radio station in the tiny, impoverished former Portuguese colony on the west African coast. "I realise that sounds very basic, […]

Libreville (AFP) – Benjamin Moukandjo insists he feels no pressure taking over the Cameroon captaincy as the forward prepares to lead a diminished squad into the Africa Cup of Nations this weekend. The 28-year-old striker with French Ligue 1 strugglers Lorient was handed the armband by the Indomitable Lions' coach Hugo Broos and has since […]

Libreville (AFP) – Kalidou Koulibaly admits he waited and waited for the call to come from France before choosing to play for Senegal, and does not regret his decision for one second. The powerful 25-year-old centre-back was born in France and represented the country of his birth at under-20 level, but he accepted the call […]

Libreville (AFP) – Debutants Guinea-Bissau achieved one of the most remarkable qualifications in the 60-year-old Africa Cup of Nations by reaching the 2017 finals, and are plotting more shocks. The Djurtus (wild dogs) topped a group, ahead of former champions Congo Brazzaville and Zambia and Kenya, that they were considered certainties to prop up. Like […]