Doha, Qatar | AFP | The boss of Qatar Airways said Wednesday his company was considering “several options” for a potential sponsorship deal in the English Premier League. Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony announcing a yet another sponsorship deal, this time with South America football federation, CONMEBOL, Akbar …
Read More »Qatar Airways becomes CONMEBOL ‘airline partner’
Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar Airways announced yet another football sponsorship deal on Wednesday by unveiling a four-and-a-half year agreement with CONMEBOL to become the South American football confederation’s “official global airline partner”. The sponsorship agreement will run until the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “Qatar …
Read More »Rooney urges Man United flops to show respect
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Wayne Rooney has urged Manchester United’s under-achieving stars to show more respect for their troubled club. United are languishing in eighth place in the Premier League and have made a slow start to their Champions League campaign. Sunday’s 2-1 win over Everton did little …
Read More »Amnesty urges AC Milan, Juve to shun Italian Super Cup in Saudi
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Amnesty International on Saturday urged football clubs AC Milan and Juventus to shun the Italian Super Cup — a game Saudi Arabia is set to host in January — over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “Even before the horrific killing of Jamal …
Read More »Russia’s fairytale World Cup run ends in tears
Moscow, Russia | AFP | The impassioned shouts of “Ros-si-ya” died away on the streets and tears filled the stadium as Russia bowed out of their home World Cup in the cruellest fashion: on penalties. The men in red exceeded the wildest expectations by coming within a penalty kick and …
Read More »England set up Croatia World Cup semi as Russia crash out
Samara, Russia | AFP | England reached their first World Cup semi-final since 1990 on Saturday, comfortably beating Sweden to set up a last-four clash against Croatia, who ended Russia’s fairytale run in a nailbiting penalty shootout. Gareth Southgate’s young team started their match in Samara as firm favourites and …
Read More »Careless Sundowns defending helps Barcelona triumph
Soweto, South Africa | AFP | Careless defending gifted European giants Barcelona two goals as they defeated South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 Wednesday in a friendly game to honour the late Nelson Mandela. Ousmane Dembele, Luis Suarez and Andre Gomes scored for the Spanish league and cup winners before …
Read More »UEFA prepares to fight Infantino’s Club World Cup plan
Lausanne, Switzerland | AFP | A united response to FIFA’s plans to enlarge the Club World Cup to 24 teams will be the subject of debate on Wednesday at a meeting of football power brokers organised by UEFA. Ahead of the Europa League final in Lyon, the governing body of …
Read More »Trophy-less Kaizer Chiefs ditch awards ceremony
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Famed South African football club Kaizer Chiefs have scrapped their end-of-season awards function for the first time after a disastrous 2017/2018 campaign. The Soweto club failed to win any of the four league and cup competitions that comprise the season in the republic. It …
Read More »Ajax Cape Town demoted for using ineligible Zimbabwean
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Ajax Cape Town were relegated from the South African Premiership Tuesday for fielding ineligible Zimbabwean striker Tendai Ndoro, league officials said. The club, which has links to former European champions Ajax, had finished second last and were scheduled to play a promotion/relegation match Wednesday. …
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