FIFA president Gianni Infantino committed to avoiding conflict over OneLove armbands at the Women s World Cup, promising to have a position in place well before the tournament begins.

A number of national teams at the Qatar 2022 men s World Cup, including Denmark, England and Germany, were planning to support the campaign that promotes inclusivity and opposes all discrimination.

Their captains were intending to wear an armband bearing the OneLove logo, but the teams backed down when FIFA threatened sporting sanctions – expected to be a yellow card for the captains.

The decision to host the World Cup in Qatar attracted criticism due to the country s stance on same-sex relationships, as well as the treatment of migrant workers.

Australia and New Zealand w…

Club Brugge forward Charles De Ketelaere is close to joining AC Milan in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Premier League champions Leeds United are interested in the 21-year-old forward, but Italian champions AC Milan are confident of getting a deal done and are favourites for the talented and promising youngster.

AC Milan Technical Director Paolo Maldini and Director of Football Frederic Massara are flying to Belgium today for negotiations with Club Brugge over De Ketelaere. The forward is reportedly open to moving to Milan this summer.

De Ketelaere scored  in the Jupiler Pro League for Club Brugge last season. AC Milan will play in the UEFA Champions League last season after wining the Serie A title in 2021-22, while Leeds narro…

Pep Guardiola would love to stay at Manchester City beyond this season but believes he has work to do to earn a new contract.

Guardiola will begin a fifth consecutive campaign in charge of the same side for the first time in his career when he takes City to Molineux on Monday to face Wolves in their Premier League opener.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has won six major hours in four seasons at the Etihad Stadium, including back-to-back Premier League titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19 triumphs over the course of which they accrued a scarcely credible 198 points.

But Liverpool stormed to glory in England s top flight last term, finishing 18 points clear of City, who again fell short in the Champions League as Lyon punished a limp quarter-final showing in …

This weekend s Community Shield sees the new English domestic season begin as the last one ended, with Manchester City and Liverpool doing battle.

City pipped Liverpool to the Premier League title, but the Reds got the better of Pep Guardiola s men in their FA Cup semi-final, going on to beat Chelsea in the decider and book their place in Saturday s curtain-raiser.

These two are expected to lead the way once again in 2022-23, yet plenty has changed in their ranks since they were last in action – particularly in attack.

At the Etihad Stadium, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling have departed to be replaced by Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.

With Haaland s arrival perhaps the most notable in the Premier League during this close-season, Liverpool responde…

Ivory Coast defender Wilfried Kanon has urged his team-mates to banish the memory of defeat to Morocco as they look to seal qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stages against Namibia.

The 2015 winners fell to a 1-0 loss that handed the Group D leaders a last-16 berth, having beaten South Africa by the same margin in their tournament opener.

It means they are level on three points with Bafana Bafana heading into the final round of fixtures.

We have to forget the Morocco game and focus on tomorrow, ADO Den Haag centre-back Kanon told a news conference on the eve of Monday s match in Cairo.

We trained well and we ll give it everything to win.

Kanon is likely have a different right-back starting outside him after Mamadou Bagayoko c…

Chelsea fullback Branislav Ivanovic says he empathises with the club s fans after sections of the Stamford Bridge crowd voiced their displeasure at the recent performances of some players.

Jose Mourinho was relieved of his duties as manager on Thursday with the defending Premier League champions languishing just a point above the relegation zone, although some supporters maintain the players should shoulder more of the blame.

The names of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa were booed as they were read out prior to a 3-1 victory over Sunderland on Saturday and the duo were subjected to further heckling when they were substituted during the second half.

I can understand the frustration of the fans. This is normal, Ivanovic, who opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge, to…

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Hoping to extend their buffer at the top of the La Liga table this weekend, Real Madrid will make the trip to the Estadio de la Cerámica on Saturday afternoon when they meet Villarreal.

Villarreal

Starting with the hosts, while Villarreal might have opened the New Year in the midst of a sluggish run of form, the Yellow Submarine have managed to find a welcomed bounce. Heading into January s brief winter break with a thumping 3-0 win against Mallorca on home soil, the reigning Europa League champions were last seen laying down a real marker. Putting on a stellar display as they made the trip to Champions League contenders Real Betis last weekend, Head Coach Unai Emery saw his side claim an eye-catching 2-0 win on the road. Finding a ro…

Edin Dzeko has joined Inter as the Serie A champions have moved quickly to replace Romelu Lukaku.

Inter sold Lukaku to Chelsea for a reported £97.5million (€115m) last week, and a deal was swiftly completed to bring in Dzeko from Roma.

The 35-year-old has signed a two-year contract with Inter and, although the move was not officially announced until late on Saturday, he featured in a pre-season friendly against Dynamo Kiev.

Inter won the behind-closed-doors match 3-0, with Dzeko scoring and contributing to another goal.

The sensations are good, I m very happy. This is a great opportunity for me, I want to thank the management and the coach for their trust, because they think I can still make a difference, said Dzeko.

I arrive at Inter, a gr…

Donny van de Beek is in no hurry to add himself to an anticipated close-season exodus from Ajax.

Erik ten Hag s side thrilled European football with a surprise run to the Champions League semi-finals, while the core of that team was a key part of Netherlands qualifying for the Nations League Finals.

That bid for glory ended with runners-up medals after a 1-0 defeat to hosts Portugal in Porto on Sunday, with attention now turning towards what could be some huge moves away from Amsterdam for certain stars.

Frenkie de Jong has already secured a €75million switch to Barcelona – a figure likely to be dwarfed once a number of the continent s elite clubs are through with a bidding war for Matthijs de Ligt.

Van de Beek saw his own star rise after goals in Aj…

There are several ways in which promoted teams can approach their first transfer window in the Premier League.

One method is the path well worn by Norwich City, a more conservative approach to recruitment aiming to consolidate the squad that gained promotion and add in one or two fresh faces on cheaper deals or loans. For the Canaries, it has resulted in them becoming the proverbial yo-yo club; too good for the Championship, but not quite good enough to stay up.

Bournemouth, much to the apparent chagrin of former head coach Scott Parker, seem to have taken that approach this season. It remains to be seen how that will play out. 

There is a middle ground, the route taken by Leeds United in 2020, where five to 10 additions of quality, from across the contine…