Category Archives: Football

New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium to host 2026 World Cup final as Azteca gets opener

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  • Canada’s first men’s World Cup match will be in Toronto
  • US will play group matches in Los Angeles and Seattle

New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium will host the final of the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across North America in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The 82,500 capacity MetLife Stadium is in New Jersey but is five miles from New York City and is the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants. It hosted the Super Bowl in February 2014 and the final of the Copa America Centenario in 2016.

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Former Barcelona footballer Dani Alves’s rape trial to begin on Monday

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Brazilian, 40, has been charged with the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a nightclub

The former Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves will appear in court on Monday charged with the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a Barcelona nightclub.

Alves, 40, faces damning scientific and video evidence, as well as witness accounts.

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Socceroos goalkeeper Joe Gauci joins Aston Villa in record-breaking Australian transfer deal

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  • Keeper leaves Adelaide United for record fee for A-League player
  • 23-year-old to be understudy to Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez

Australian goalkeeper Joe Gauci has sealed a dream move to Aston Villa, amid a rush of transfer activity in the Socceroos’ Asian Cup camp.

The Premier League side have reportedly broken the transfer fee record for an A-League Men player heading overseas to secure Adelaide United’s Gauci on a deal until 2028.

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The Gambia team make emergency landing on way to Africa Cup of Nations

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  • Loss of cabin pressure and oxygen to blame, says Gambian FA
  • Saidy Janko: ‘The consequences could have been a lot worse’

The Gambia’s coach, Tom Saintfiet, said he and his players feared for their lives after the plane taking them to the Africa Cup of Nations made an emergency landing, delaying their arrival at the tournament in the Ivory Coast.

The Gambia squad set off from Banjul on Wednesday for the short trip to Yamoussoukro, where they will play their opening two group games, but minutes after take-off they turned around because of a lack of oxygen inside the plane, he said, adding: “Luckily for us, the pilot recognised the problem and after nine minutes in the air turned around to land again. We all fell asleep.”

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Sven-Göran Eriksson reveals he has cancer and ‘at best’ about a year to live

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  • Former England manager will ‘fight it as long as possible’
  • He says he is determined to ‘see the positive sides of things’

The former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson has revealed he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and in a “best-case” scenario has about a year left to live.

Eriksson, who managed England for five years before leaving after the 2006 World Cup, stood down from his most recent role as the sporting director at the Swedish club Karlstad 11 months ago due to health issues.

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Hong Kong beat China at football for first time in 29 years

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‘I don’t have to motivate the team against China,’ says manager after 2-1 win in friendly played behind closed doors

Hong Kong have beaten China for the first time in 29 years in a friendly football match in Abu Dhabi.

Hong Kong’s 2-1 victory over China comes as the former British colony prepares to participate in the Asian Cup for the first time since 1968, when the territory was still under British rule.

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‘I can’t celebrate 2023 now’: Jack Grealish ‘devastated’ by burglary

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  • Manchester City midfielder says experience was ‘traumatic’
  • Robbers reportedly took £1m worth of jewellery and watches

Jack Grealish has spoken of his devastation and the “traumatic experience” of burglars targeting his home. Raiders struck at the England and Manchester City midfielder’s Cheshire mansion during his club’s Premier League match at Everton on Wednesday.

Members of Grealish’s family and his fiancee, Sasha Atwood, were reportedly watching the televised match at the property when they heard a disturbance. An alarm was raised and an emergency response was launched with a helicopter, police dogs and a number of officers sent to the property near Knutsford, but no suspects were detected.

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‘An outstanding person’: tributes paid to former Team GB footballer Gemma Wiseman

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Wiseman, who has died at the age of 33, represented England and Great Britain’s deaf women’s teams

Tributes have been paid to former Team GB footballer Gemma Wiseman after her death at the age of 33.

Wiseman represented England and Great Britain’s deaf women’s teams and helped guide GB to third place at the 2016 World Deaf Football Championships.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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‘T-shirt row’ causes Saudi Arabia-based Turkish Super Cup final to be postponed

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  • Galatasaray and Fenerbahce were set to play in Riyadh on Friday
  • Tribute to founder of modern Turkey was reportedly rejected

The Turkish Super Cup final between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Friday was postponed over what the clubs have described as “some problems” in the event’s organisation.

At the heart of those issues, according to media reports, was the wish of the two teams to wear T-shirts featuring the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during the warm-up before the evening kick-off.

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British Asian man sues Liverpool FC over racial discrimination

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Asad Farooq, 25, claims club rejected his job application in favour of someone less experienced

A British Asian man is suing Liverpool Football Club, claiming it racially discriminated against him by rejecting his application for a job in favour of someone less experienced.

Asad Farooq, 25, has a degree in stadium and event management, and has worked for Tottenham Hotspur and at the Qatar World Cup, but was not invited for an interview when he applied to Liverpool in November last year for a job in administration.

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Blair was keen to relocate Wimbledon FC to Belfast in late 1990s, papers show

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Then PM thought move ‘would be excellent’ but Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam was sceptical

Newly released state papers show that the former prime minister Tony Blair backed proposals for Wimbledon FC to move to Belfast but his Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam was more sceptical.

Previously confidential state papers include a note from 1997 described as “following up earlier informal discussions about the possibility of an English Premier League football club relocating to Belfast”.

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Police investigating alleged racist remark aimed at Luton’s Carlton Morris

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  • Luton confirm South Yorkshire police are looking into incident
  • Morris spoke to officials during team’s win at Sheffield United

Luton Town have confirmed South Yorkshire police are investigating an alleged racist comment towards Carlton Morris in his side’s Boxing Day win at Sheffield United.

“We can confirm that Carlton Morris reported an alleged racist comment from the crowd during this afternoon’s Premier League fixture at Bramall Lane,” a club statement said.

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Businessman who tried to buy Sheffield United accused of ‘elaborate’ fraud

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US watchdog sues Dozy Mmobuosi for allegedly faking documents and making up companies out of ‘thin air’

A Nigerian businessman who appeared to be closing in on a takeover of the Premier League football club Sheffield United is being sued by the US financial watchdog for a fraud, in which he is alleged to have faked documents and made up companies out of “thin air”.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Monday it had filed charges against Dozy Mmobuosi, claiming he inflated his companies’ financial performance by hundreds of millions of dollars to defraud investors.

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Bournemouth v Luton abandoned after Tom Lockyer suffers cardiac arrest

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Premier League match halted and Luton Town captain was taken away on a stretcher, described as ‘alert and responsive’

Luton’s Premier League match at Bournemouth on Saturday was abandoned after their captain, Tom Lockyer, collapsed on the pitch after a cardiac arrest.

The match was stopped in the 59th minute as medics tended to Lockyer, who collapsed off the ball.

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‘I need mum and dad here’: the charity helping young Afghan footballers reunite with relatives

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The Refugee Council is welcoming those who fled the Taliban and providing legal advice on resettlement in the UK

• Donate to our charity appeal here

Two years on from their arrival in South Yorkshire, young footballers Elaha Safdari, Najma Arifi and Narges Mayeli are still baffled by the array of regional accents in the UK. “I’m always like, ‘Pardon? Can you please repeat? What did you say?’” laughs Arifi, now 20.

This barrier is only a minor hurdle for the trio, who were forced to flee for their lives when the west pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

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Man jailed for six months after racially abusing Rio Ferdinand at football match

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Jamie Arnold, 33, made racist remarks and gestures at former England defender, who was working as a TV pundit, court heard

A football fan who racially abused the former England international Rio Ferdinand has been jailed for six months and banned from watching live matches for seven years.

Jamie Arnold, 33, uttered racist remarks and made monkey gestures at the former Manchester United defender, who was working as a pundit for BT Sport, a court heard.

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Footballer Ravel Morrison fined £1,000 for using dead person’s blue badge

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Ex-Manchester United player pleaded guilty to using disabled person’s parking permit he said he bought for £50 in Old Trafford

Ravel Morrison, the former Manchester United footballer, has been convicted of fraud after being caught using a deceased person’s blue badge to park.

During his interview under caution, the 30-year-old had claimed he had bought the badge from “someone in Old Trafford” for £50. Morrison, of Westbrook, Warrington, was subsequently charged with one count of fraud.

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Cristiano Ronaldo faces US$1bn lawsuit for promoting Binance NFTs

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Class-action lawsuit alleges footballer’s promotion of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange was ‘deceptive and unlawful’

Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with a class-action lawsuit seeking at least $US1bn in damages for his role in promoting cryptocurrency-related “non-fungible tokens,” or NFTs, issued by the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida on Monday alleges the footballer’s promotion of Binance was “deceptive and unlawful”.

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Dozens of Wales fans arrested in Armenia before Euro 2024 qualifier

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Foreign Office says it is supporting families after 32 Wales football fans arrested in Yerevan

More than 30 Wales football fans have been arrested in Armenia before Saturday’s European Championship qualifier in Yerevan.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) confirmed that 32 supporters had been arrested in the Armenian capital and that the Foreign Office was involved.

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Football fan gets suspended sentence after mocking mascot Bradley Lowery

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Dale Houghton taunted Sunderland fans with picture on his phone of young supporter who died in 2017

A football fan who mocked mascot Bradley Lowery during a match against the youngster’s favourite team has been given a suspended sentence by a judge who said his actions were “utterly appalling” and “disgraceful”.

During a match at Hillsborough stadium in September, the Sheffield Wednesday fan Dale Houghton, 32, taunted Sunderland fans with a picture on his phone of Bradley, who died in 2017.

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