You can’t say we weren’t warned. The first taste of vast amounts of added time came at the 2022 World Cup as FIFA moved to increase effective playing time, and this season it has hit the club game. In Qatar, average stoppage time — the total played above the allotted 90 minutes across both halves — was 10:11 (10 minutes and 11 seconds), compared to 6:30 in Russia in 2018.…
Manchester United fans were excited for a fresh start when the Glazer family announced a year ago that they would be open to selling the club. Instead, they’ll be getting Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority investment, which is expected to be formally announced within the next week. The British billionaire, who is chairman and CEO of chemical company INEOS, will spend around £1.3 billion to get his foot in the door…
English football clubs have collectively failed to hit annual targets to improve their ethnic and gender diversity, the Football Association (FA) said on Wednesday in a report on the Football Leadership Diversity Code for the 2022-23 season. A total of 53 clubs from the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) have signed up to the code, which was introduced in 2020 to focus on increasing equality of opportunity to…
For almost a full week after El Clásico on Oct. 28, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández fielded questions about midfielder Ilkay Gündogan’s comments following the 2-1 defeat to title rivals Real Madrid at the end of October. Gündogan, who joined from Manchester City in the summer as a treble winner, had criticised Barça for showing a lack of “frustration, anger and emotion” after what was their first loss of the season.…
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…
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…
The summer transfer window has closed throughout Europe, but there are still moves in the works and plenty of gossip swirling around. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
The summer transfer window has closed throughout Europe, but there are still moves in the works and plenty of gossip swirling around. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
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.)…
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…