Australian football officials on Sunday said they had submitted a bid to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2010.
It s a very exciting competition, with the best team from each of the six FIFA confederations and a team from the host nation participating, Football Federation Australian chief Ben Buckley said.
FIFA is looking for hosts for 2009 and 2010, and we believe Australia has very strong credentials.
Australia s rivals to host the event are Japan, which has already been selected to stage the tournament in 2008, and the United Arab Emirates, he said.
Buckley said bidding to host major football events was a deliberate strategy by Football Federation Australia which is preparing to launch a formal proposal to stage the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling is hoping an FA Cup run might take him on a trip to Wembley.
The 18-year-old has surprised many so far this campaign with his trickery and eye for goal, resulting in his earning a first full international cap for England under Roy Hodgson against Sweden in November.
Sterling grew up in London and played for QPR as a youngster, and he hopes to be back in the capital playing at the new Wembley.
My school was two minutes away from the stadium. When it was being built I used to ride around the site on my BMX with my friends, he told the Daily Mirror.
At first there was nothing there, then one day we saw the arch starting to go up and we kept going back until it was finished. I didn’t try to sneak in, but I did go there wh…
The highest-paid teenager in world football, Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard is not enjoying life at Santiago Bernabeu.
Having made only one first-team performance for Los Blancos since his 2015 move from Stromsgodset, the 17-year-old talented midfielder’s impact has been limited to Spanish football’s third tier at Real Madrid Castilla.
La Liga giants are now prepared to let the Norwegian youngster leave on loan during January in order to gain first-team experience elsewhere as it is getting highly unlikely that Odegaard will be given a piece of action by Zinedine Zidane this season.
Odegaard was linked with a move away from Santiago Bernabeu during summer, but FIFA rules banned the loans of underage players. With Odegaard turning 18 in December, the January…
Everton manager Ronald Koeman is keen to sign Manchester United outcast Memphis Depay in the January transfer window.
Depay joined United from PSV in June 2015, but the Netherlands international has struggled to live up to the high expectations at Old Trafford.
The 22-year-old has made just seven appearances in all competitions this term, six of those coming off the bench, and Jose Mourinho is reportedly ready to cash in on the winger, whose contract runs until June 2019.
Recent reports suggested Everton were keeping a close eye on Depay s situation and Koeman has now confirmed he would welcome the attacker with open arms.
I would love to have him in my team at Everton, Koeman told Fox Sports.
He is a very interesting player in my opinion. He…
Call of Duty Season 3 is officially live in Vanguard, bringing a new battle pass, multiplayer map, operators, and new weapons to unlock. Season 3’s Sledgehammer melee weapon can pack quite a punch, and here are all the ways you can unlock it.
How to unlock the Sledgehammer
Despite its expected heft, Season 3’s Sledgehammer is a fast swinging melee weapon, but you’ll need to unlock it before you can equip it. This new weapon can be unlocked either for free with an in-game challenge, or it can be purchased as a weapon blueprint with a cosmetic bundle.
Warzone challenge
To unlock Vanguard’s Sledgehammer in Warzone, you must get a multikill with a melee weapon in 15 different matches. This might be best completed in…
The post read: Anyone who knows me is aware of how focused I am on my work. Less talk and more action, this has been my guiding motto since the start of my career. However, in view of everything that s been said and written recently, I have to set out my position.
More than the disrespect for me as a man and as a player, the frivolous way that my future is covered in the media is disrespectful to all the clubs involved in these rumours, as well as to their players and staff.
My story at Real Madrid has been written. It s been recorded. In words and numbers, in trophies and titles, in records and in headlines. It s in the Museum at the Bernabeu Stadium and it s also in the minds of every fan of the club. And beyond what I achieved, I remember that in those nine years I …
Ernesto Valverde has admitted he admires Dani Olmo as Barcelona continue to be linked with a big-money move for the Dinamo Zagreb winger.
Olmo has caught the eye in Croatian domestic football and carried his form into the Champions League, with a host of Europe s top clubs scouting him.
He began his career in Barca s youth ranks but left La Masia as a 16-year-old for a surprise switch to Zagreb.
There he has blossomed to such an extent he earned a first cap for Spain in November and scored on his debut.
Now Barca are said to be piecing together a deal that would see Olmo join them at the end of this season, with reports Dinamo want over €30million for the 21-year-old.
Asked about Olmo on Friday, coach Valverde chose his words carefully but…
World anti-doping chief John Fahey on Wednesday accused FIFA and UEFA of ignoring reality, after they rejected rules that ease out-of-competition drugs testing of individual footballers.
One of the key principles of efficient doping control is the surprise effect and the possibility to test an athlete without advance notice on a 365 day basis, the World Anti Doping Agency President said in a statement.
Alleging, as FIFA and UEFA do, that testing should only take place at training grounds and not during holiday periods, ignores the reality of doping in sport.
Experience has demonstrated that athletes who cheat seize every opportunity to do so and dope when they believe they won?t be tested, he added.
Since the beginning of January, the world anti-dopin…
Rangers and Celtic clash for the final time this season with both sides title hopes in the balance in a powderkeg fixture.
Old Firm encounters are usually seen as determining the destination of the title, but with just one point separating the pair at the top of the Scottish Premier League this Saturday s clash at Ibrox takes on added importance.
The Hoops, with a one-point advantage going into the game, know a draw could be enough to see them over the finishing line in the race for their fourth league championship in a row.
With just four games left a repeat of the 1-0 win the last time Celtic visited the home of their arch-rivals would all but clinch the title.
However, the Hoops have not fared well on their travels in 2009 with just two wins on the ro…
Italy national team manager Cesare Prandelli has revealed A.S. Roma forward Francesco Totti could return to the Azzurri for next year s World Cup in Brazil.
Totti, 37, has started the 2013/14 Serie A campaign on scintillating form for the Giallorossi, who are currently top-of-the-table, having won all seven of their league fixtures.
The 37-year-old talisman, who has spent his entire club career at the Stadio Olimpico, scored nine international goals for Italy in 58 caps between 1998 and 2006 before hanging up his boots following the Azzurri s World Cup triumph in 2006.
“Players with great talent like Francesco [Totti], like Parma’s Antonio Cassano, are always under observation,” said Prandelli.
We ll evaluate Totti a month before the …