With all of the major European domestic soccer leagues finishing their seasons until they start again in August, and before the Champions League final next Saturday, the attention turns this weekend to domestic cup finals across the continent. And thanks to the coverage from ESPN, GolTV, beIN SPORTS and FOX Sports, all of the games will be […]

Paris (AFP) – France's parliament approved Thursday a two-month extension of the state of emergency, in place since November's jihadist attacks, to cover the Euro 2016 football tournament and Tour de France. Already backed by a large majority in the upper house Senate last week, the lower house National Assembly confirmed the measure on Thursday […]

Bangkok (AFP) – Newly crowned English Premier League champions Leicester City received a royal seal of approval Thursday at Bangkok's Grand Palace, with the Thai-owned team presenting its trophy to a portrait of the king before a bus parade through the capital. The East Midlands team is currently visiting the football-mad Southeast Asian nation as […]

NBC Sports has announced that the 2015/16 season of its coverage of the Premier League was its most successful yet. NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the 2015-16 Premier League season reached more than 36 million viewers, a record and an increase of 26% over last season (28.7 million). For the third consecutive year, NBC Sports […]

Madrid (AFP) – Sevilla's rout of Liverpool in the Europa League final is a new sign of which country rules the continent's football and a powerful warning to Barcelona ahead of their kings of Spain clash. Coke's double in the 3-1 win in Basel highlighted the value of the Spanish system of turning home talent […]

Shanghai (AFP) – The new Chinese owner of English football club Aston Villa appears to be a highly educated, politically well-connected businessman — but questions have been raised over Tony Xia's academic credentials and background. Xia, whose Chinese name is Xia Jiantong, and his private conglomerate Recon Group were largely unknown to the outside world […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool's failure to qualify for the Champions League will make it harder for manager Jurgen Klopp to attract leading players to the club, according to former Anfield favourite Steve McManaman. Liverpool could have secured a return to Europe's top competition by beating Sevilla in Wednesday's Europa League final in Basel, but despite […]

London (AFP) – Aston Villa revealed ambitions to become the most popular team in China after Harvard-educated businessman Tony Jiantong Xia snapped up the relegated club for a reported $87 million. The "Villains" crashed out of England's Premier League after winning only three times this season, but they will have their fingers crossed for better […]

Bangkok (AFP) – Newly crowned English Premier League champions Leicester City received a royal seal of approval at Bangkok's Grand Palace Thursday, with the team kneeling en masse in front of a portrait of the king alongside their new trophy. The Thai-owned East Midlands team is currently visiting the football-mad Southeast Asian nation as part […]

Bangkok (AFP) – Leicester City's billionaire owners say they hope to use the Premier League winners to nurture young football talent with the aim of Thailand qualifying for the World Cup within a decade. The newly crowned English champions are on a celebratory post-season tour of Thailand, home of publicity-shy billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his son Aiyawatt […]

Basel (Switzerland) (AFP) – Superior technique honed by playing in the "best league in the world" was key to Sevilla's record-setting Europa League triumph over Liverpool on Wednesday, said the club's French central defender Timothee Kolodziejczak. Five-time European champions Liverpool travelled to St Jakob-Park in Basel confident of a first Europa League trophy since 2001. […]

New York (AFP) – New York City FC moved to the top of Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference standings on Wednesday after extending their unbeaten run to five matches with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Toronto FC. City, fresh from a 2-1 victory over champions Portland on Sunday, took the lead through Ghanaian international Kwadwo […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spanish football fans breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when Mediaset Espana announced they had reached agreement to broadcast matches at Euro 2016 which gets underway in France on June 10. "Mediaset Espana concluded an agreement with CAA Eleven Marketing for the acquisition of rights to broadcast Euro 2016," said the group […]

Basel (Switzerland) (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he will give it "everything I have" to reach another final after collecting his fifth successive losers medal following a 3-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday. Liverpool had been hoping to end their 15-year wait for Europa League glory having last […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey coach Fatih Terim on Wednesday announced his squad for the Euro 2016 finals spearheaded by foreign-based star midfielders Arda Turan and Hakan Calhanoglu, saying the team was aiming for the highest possible outcome. Announcing the squad on state-run TRT Sport television, Terim said he was expecting great things from his side […]