Alexandre Pato is rediscovering his love for football in China after a turbulent few years saw his career nosedive before he had even reached his prime. The 27-year-old forward hit a cracker from long distance in Tianjin Quanjian’s 3-0 weekend win over Shanghai Shenhua, for whom Carlos Tevez now has just two league goals during … Read more
Scotland captain Darren Fletcher has agreed a two-year deal to join Stoke City when his contract with Premier League counterparts West Brom expires. The 33-year-old did not miss a top-flight game after joining Albion in February 2015, making 91 successive appearances under ex-Stoke boss Tony Pulis, who handed him the captaincy. Fletcher spent the bulk … Read more
TP Mazembe star Solomon Asante beat off competition from Dede Ayew and Daniel Amartey to be adjudged the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) footballer of the year for the 2015/2016 season. The 42nd edition of the SWAG awards held at the Banquet Hall of the State House Accra, was well attended by football dignitaries, … Read more
Ex-Black Stars defender and president of the Professional Footballers Association, (PFAG) Tony Baffoe was crowned the Sports Personality of the year at the 42nd SWAG awards. The annual award ceremony that recognises people for their diverse roles towards the development of sports in the country happened at the Banquet Hall of the State House amid … Read more
Manchester United pulled together in their city’s time of darkness, showing no little skill and spirit to overcome Ajax and win the Europa League. Less than 48 hours after a terror attack killed 22 people and injured many more at Manchester Arena, the club’s fans, players and staff stood unbowed in Stockholm. Football seems trivial … Read more
Australia’s A-League will become the first top-level domestic football league in the world to implement the video assistant referee system, officials said on Monday. After six months of training and lower-tier live trials, Football Federation Australia’s director of referees Ben Wilson said he was confident most teething issues had been resolved. “We´ve come across a … Read more
Uefa has achieved its stated aim of 16 slots. Its president, Aleksander Ceferin, made it clear that would be his demand in return for supporting an expanded tournament. Ratification will be straightforward given the heads of the confederations have carved this up between them. The play-off tournament is a new idea. It may sound the … Read more
Neymar will have to stand trial after he lost an appeal against corruption charges relating to his transfer from Santos to Barcelona, a criminal court in Spain has ruled. The Brazilian’s move to La Liga has brought immense controversy to the club due to uncertainty surrounding how much the club paid for him, with Neymar, his … Read more
Neymar will have to stand trial after he lost an appeal against corruption charges relating to his transfer from Santos to Barcelona, a criminal court in Spain has ruled. The Brazilian’s move to La Liga has brought immense controversy to the club due to uncertainty surrounding how much the club paid for him, with Neymar, … Read more
One would be certainly bold to believe Riyad Mahrez and Algeria would struggle at this year’s AFCON tournament. With Mahrez scooping up two titles (BBC and CAF African Footballer of the Year Awards) after a brilliant 2015-2016 season, a few would have predicted the lackluster showing the Desert Foxes have displayed thus far in the … Read more
One would be certainly bold to believe Riyad Mahrez and Algeria would struggle at this year’s AFCON tournament. With Mahrez scooping up two titles (BBC and CAF African Footballer of the Year Awards) after a brilliant 2015-2016 season, a few would have predicted the lackluster showing the Desert Foxes have displayed thus far in the … Read more
Roberto Carlos has backed former Real Madrid team-mate Zinedine Zidane to soon be recognised as the best coach in the world. After taking over from Rafael Benitez at the Santiago Bernabeu in January 2016, Zidane led the club to its 11th European Cup triumph with victory over city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League … Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo is in no doubt that he deserved to win FIFA’s inaugural The Best Men’s Player award for 2016. The 31-year-old beat Lionel Messi to the prize at Monday’s gala following what he considers to be the best year of his career, in which he won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and … Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo was named the world’s best player at the inaugural Best Fifa Football Awards in Zurich. Real Madrid and Portugal forward Ronaldo, 31, beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann to the prize. Ronaldo also won the Ballon d’Or in December, with both honours recognition for success in the Champions League with … Read more
Global football federations are “overwhelmingly in favour” of plans for a 48-team World Cup, Fifa president Gianni Infantino says. The head of football’s governing body outlined his vision for an expanded tournament comprising 16 groups of three teams earlier this month. The top two teams in each group would progress to the knockout rounds. A … Read more
Fifa is discussing whether to allow only captains to speak to referees, says former Netherlands striker and manager Marco van Basten. It would bring football in line with rugby union, which has strict rules around in-match communication. Van Basten, Fifa’s chief technical development officer, said there have been talks about how to improve player behaviour … Read more
Using video replays to review decisions at the Club World Cup has produced “extremely positive results”, says Fifa president Gianni Infantino. The system was first used on Wednesday to award a penalty in Kashima Antlers’ 3-0 win over Atletico Nacional, with the referee alerted by his assistant. Marco van Basten, Fifa’s chief officer of technical … Read more
From an explosive winger the Portugal international now plays almost as an orthodox centre-forward, and it is a change that has allowed him to stay on top of the game Just a short year ago it looked as though Cristiano Ronaldo’s time at the top of football’s elite might be coming to an end. Lionel … Read more
Real Madrid extended their unbeaten run to 36 games by beating Club America 2-0 to reach the Fifa Club World Cup final. Karim Benzema gave the European champions the lead with a clipped finish after a Toni Kroos pass. Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the win – and a place in Sunday’s final against Kashima Antlers – … Read more
Referee Viktor Kassai made some soccer history on Wednesday, using video replay to award a penalty kick during the Club World Cup semifinals. Kashima Antlers midfielder Gaku Shibasaki sent in a free kick in the 31st minute, and teammate Daigo Nishi was then fouled inside the box by Atletico Nacional forward Orlando Berrio. After receiving … Read more