Jobs, pride and a double at stake as Manchester heads to Wembley
May 24 – It’s a repeat of last year’s showpiece final but this time, it could be judgement day for one of the two managers.
Maradona’s family sue French auctioneers to get ‘Golden Ball’ trophy back
May 24 – Diego Maradona’s heirs have taken legal action in France to block the controversial sale of the Argentine legend’s ‘Golden Ball’ trophy from the 1986 World Cup.
Barca fire Xavi, Hansi Flick to take over
May 24 – Barcelona have sacked manager Xavi with former Germany and Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick set to replace him.
Marinakis toys with idea of moving to new stadium as council seek to boost his rent
May 24 – The Greek owner of Nottingham Forest, Evangelos Marinakis, has teased the idea of moving away from the City Ground and building a new stadium on the outskirts of the city as the Council looks to push up current rent by 400%.
Arsenal’s youth and contract policy places them top of a ‘sustainability’ ranking
May 24 – Arsenal have the most ‘sustainable’ squad in world football, according to a CIES Football Observatory study which balances the stability of the squad with its age structure and contract policy.
AC Milan fire Pioli after second place Serie A finish behind Inter
May 24 – Stefano Pioli has been sacked as head coach of AC Milan two years after guiding them to the Serie A title, the Italian giants announced on Friday.
Ajax put faith in Italy’s Francesco Farioli to return them to their true philosophy
May 24 – Ajax Amsterdam have put their trust in Italian manager Francesco Farioli to lead the Dutch club for the next three seasons. He succeeds John van’t Schip.
Winner takes £140m. Leeds and Saints battle for the richest prize in football
May 24 – Dubbed the richest match in world football, this Sunday’s Sunday’s Championship Play-Off Final for a place in the Premier League between Leeds United and Southampton will be worth a minimum £140 million to the winner, according to analysis by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
Hankook Tires keeps on rolling with Europa and Conference League renewals
May 24 – Hankook Tire has renewed its sponsorships of UEFA’ Europa League and Conference League for a further three seasons, taking them to until the end of the 2026/27 season.
Concacaf releases match schedule and centralised group structure for 2024/25 Nations League
May 24 – Jamaica will open against Cuba and Costa Rica will start against Guadeloupe as they chase for places in the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League quarter finals alongside pre-qualified Mexico, United States, Panama, and Canada.
FIFA’s lawyers abandon ship as move to Miami encounters heavy seas
May 23 – The transfer of FIFA’s legal department in its entirety to the world governing body’s new offices in Coral Gables in Miami is proving a disaster with reports that only 20 to 25 of the roughly 120 legal executives will complete the move.
Budapest to host 2024/25 UCL final. UEFA waits for San Siro refurb news before awarding 2025/26
May 23 – Next season’s Champions League final will be staged at Budapest’s 67,215-capacity Puskas Arena, UEFA have decided.
Trio of European legal eagles urge FIFA to set up Saudi monitoring group ahead of 2034
May 23 – FIFA have been urged by a group of international lawyers to properly scrutinise Saudi Arabia’s human rights record before allowing the kingdom to host the 2034 World Cup.
Alonso feels the pain of Europa League loss as Leverkusen now look to German Cup final
May 23 – Losing for the first time in 361 days was a bitter pill to swallow for Bayer Leverkusen’s young coach Xabi Alonso following 51 unbeaten games.
EA Sports launches new UNICEF projects as it nears £100m fund raising mark
May 23 – Electronic Arts, developers of the FC24 hit video game, have announced that their EA Sports FC Futures initiative has opened up grassroots football to more than 170,000 people over the course of its debut year.