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Time to treat footballers like human beings, not products

The horrible spate of injuries to elite footballers during this international window has serious repercussions for both their international teams and, more importantly, their clubs. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain still have work to do in order to assure qualification from their Champions League groups, but they’ll need to complete their task without Gavi and Warren Zaïre-Emery, respectively. Imagine the repercussions if both of those teams found themselves demoted to the…

Atlanta to host ’24 Copa opener, Miami gets final

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was awarded the 2024 Copa América opener and South Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium will host the final of the tournament, held outside of its home continent for only the second time A joint announcement was made Monday by soccer’s governing bodies of South America and of North and Central America and the Caribbean. Other sites and the schedule for the 16-team tournament were not revealed. The…

Barça’s Gavi suffers ‘significant knee injury’

Barcelona midfielder Gavi is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Spain’s 3-1 Euro 2024 qualifying win against Georgia on Sunday, various sources have told ESPN. A Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) spokesperson confirmed they have already transmitted the diagnosis to Barça, who will carry out their own tests on Gavi’s right knee Monday. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)…

Power, precision and $30K ‘boots’: Inside the Powerchair World Cup

SYDNEY — When football “boots” cost $30,000 and your luggage is measured in tonnes, not kilograms, packing up to travel across the world for a tournament is no mean feat. However, as France departed Sydney Airport for the long flight home, the national team added one more valuable piece of excess baggage to their haul: The 2023 FIPFA Powerchair World Cup trophy. Dominating the group stage, Les Bleus conceded just…

Wrexham branded ‘stupid’ over ticket price row

Wrexham were criticised for making “stupid mistimed statements” by Accrington Stanley owner Andy Holt after a row over ticket prices erupted ahead of the two teams’ League Two fixture Saturday. Accrington beat Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s side 2-0 at Wham Stadium after both sides were involved in a public spat on X over the home team’s decision to increase their ticket prices for both sets of fans for this…

Are wild goal celebrations a ‘waste of energy’? One manager thinks so

Whether it be a single raised hand or a full triple-somersault, the goal celebration in all its many forms has been part of footballing culture for as long as anyone can remember. In the past, goals were marked with a polite recognition of the scorer via a stout handshake and a muttered word of congratulations. However, in the modern game, knee slides, cartwheels and even ensemble dance routines are par…

Diaz, reunited with his father, leads Colombia to historic win over Brazil

Football has come up with a storyline so improbable, yet so sensationally right, that had it been presented as a work of fiction it would surely have been rejected as being too contrived. But it happened — and in the future the last few days in the family of Liverpool striker Luis Díaz may well be turned into a film. The father of Luis Diaz was recently kidnapped back in…