Paris (AFP) – France kicked off Euro 2016 festivities with a huge open-air concert at the Eiffel Tower Thursday, as President Francois Hollande vowed the event would run smoothly despite ongoing strikes and looming terror attack fears. Security was tight as French DJ David Guetta performed in front of some 80,000 cheering fans at the […]

Paris (AFP) – President Francois Hollande vowed Thursday to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the smooth running of the Euro 2016 football tournament in strike-hit France, as bags of uncollected rubbish piled up in Paris streets. The run-up to Europe's four-yearly football extravaganza has been blighted by strikes and street protests over the French […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Much-travelled Turkish international striker Colin Kazim-Richards joined Brazilian side Coritiba from Scottish champions Celtic on Thursday, the Scottish Premiership team announced. The 29-year-old England-born forward, for whom Coritiba will be his 12th team and Brazil the seventh country in which he has played club football, had only been at Celtic since February […]

Paris (AFP) – Overflowing rubbish bins, transport strikes, violent political protests, and floods — the image of France as Euro 2016 kicks off on Friday is worrying tourist chiefs. With the world's eyes on France, tourism officials fear the country's current difficulties could tarnish its reputation for years to come. As hundreds of thousands of […]

Madrid (AFP) – European champions Real Madrid saw two of their stars go under the knife on Thursday as Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas and Brazilian right-back Danilo both had foot surgery. Danilo had been carrying a right-heel injury for some time but saw out the regular season as Real narrowly missed a Liga, Champions […]

Tulle (France) (AFP) – French President Francois Hollande said he was ready to take "all necessary measures" to ensure rolling transport strikes don't disrupt the smooth running of the month-long Euro 2016 football extravaganza. "I will be paying close attention tomorrow and if decisions need to be made, they will be made," Hollande said Thursday […]

Paris (AFP) – France captain Hugo Lloris insisted Les Blues "don't feel like favourites" despite being fancied to win Euro 2016 which they start on Friday against Romania on Friday. The hosts start the 24-team tournament at the Stade de France in Paris hoping to emulate the French sides that won the 1984 Euros and […]

Zurich (AFP) – Kosovo and Gibraltar are to play 2018 World Cup qualifiers after being admitted as new members of FIFA, world football governing body confirmed on Thursday. "UEFA's Emergency Panel has today decided that Kosovo will join Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey and Finland in Group I, and Gibraltar will join Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, […]

Chicago (AFP) – Lionel Messi will return to Argentina's starting line-up for Friday's Copa America Centenario clash with Panama, coach Gerardo Martino confirmed Thursday. Speaking to reporters at Soldier Field ahead of Friday's Group D game, Martino said Messi had been cleared to play after recovering from a back injury. "Leo trained with the group […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Veteran Brazil striker Fred has agreed a transfer deal from Fluminense to Atletico Mineiro, the two Brazilian clubs confirmed on Thursday. "Fred will be at Independencia (Stadium) on Sunday! He's a Galo (Rooster)," Atletico Mineiro president Daniel Nepomuceno said on Twitter referring to the club's nickname. Fred joined Fluminense in […]

Dinard (France) (AFP) – Wales should not be labelled a one-man team at Euro 2016, superstar Gareth Bale warned on Thursday as their opening game against Slovakia approaches. Real Madrid forward Bale, the world's most expensive player, carried Chris Coleman's side with seven goals in qualifying as Wales reached a major tournament finals for the […]

London (AFP) – Michael Carrick has ended speculation over his future by signing a new one-year contract with Manchester United, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. Carrick was due to be out of contract in the close-season and faced the possibility of having to leave Old Trafford when Jose Mourinho was appointed to replace […]

Paris (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for Portugal before becoming the last of the superstars to arrive in France for Friday's start of the European Championship finals. With the host nation under a state of emergency over feared terror attacks, strict security has greeted Ronaldo and other headline players as well as the hundreds […]

Berlin (AFP) – German football coach Sascha Lewandowski has been discovered dead at his home in Bochum, local police said on Thursday, two months after quitting his coaching job at second-tier club Union Berlin due to burn out. The 44-year-old who admitted to depression when he quit his job in March, was suffering exhaustion, had […]

Paris (AFP) – Diego Maradona hailed his old rival Pele as an "icon" as the pair were reunited for a "match of friendship" on Thursday. The 75-year-old Brazil great and 55-year-old Argentine legend even embraced during the five-a-side exhibition game in a sign that they have drawn a line under their long-running feud. "I want […]