Colin Millar

Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has joined Hungarian club Ferencvaros on a loan deal from Werder Bremen. The 29-year-old, who has not made an appearance for Werder this season, has joined the Budapest-based club on a one-year loan arrangement with an option to buy. Keita joined Werder on a free transfer following his exit from Liverpool at the end of the 2022-23 season, but has played just five games for the club and started only once across one and a half seasons in Germany. The Guinea international was suspended by Werder after he “chose not to travel” for their Bundesliga...

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) has criticised the bidding process for the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups, which it says are “flawed and inconsistent with the principles of FIFA’s own reforms.” In a formal letter to FIFA, the NFF is demanding “greater transparency, fairness, and stricter adherence to FIFA’s 2016 reforms” which relate to “good governance and transparent World Cup allocations”. The 2030 World Cup will be held across six nations — Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay — while Saudi Arabia is the...

Spanish club Levante have raised €16,025 (£13,200, $16,833) for the victims of the recent flash floods in Valencia through the auction of mud-stained football shirts. The Valencia-based team wore the shirts in last month’s second-division match against Elche — their first game following the flooding caused by Storm DANA and amid ongoing clean-up attempts in the region. The specially designed shirts were stained brown as a tribute to those who had been impacted by the events and carried the message: “In tribute to all those who will be there when we need them.” The back...

Both bids ran unopposed and were officially voted through at a FIFA Congress meeting on Wednesday.

Dynamic pricing — the practice of fluctuating ticket prices based on demand — has been applied to match tickets for next year’s men’s Club World Cup. FIFA, world football’s governing body, will open the general sale of match tickets on Thursday, but a limited number of presale tickets through the U.S. stadiums went on sale on Tuesday via the online ticketing portal Ticketmaster. After waiting in an online queue for tickets, the “important event info” for each match includes in the terms and conditions: “Please note that ticket prices may change from day...

Valencia club president Lay Hoon Chan says the club is not up for sale but that owner Peter Lim would study any offers received. Lim, 71, is one of Singapore’s richest men and took over at Valencia in 2014. He has become deeply unpopular with a large majority of the club’s supporters and his ownership has been the subject of protests from Valencia’s fanbase in recent years. Lay Hoon, who is in her second stint as club president under Lim’s ownership, was speaking at a press conference following the club’s AGM on Thursday. With the club bottom of La Liga, the meeting was...

Saudi Arabia will play in the 2025 and 2027 editions of the Gold Cup as one of 16 teams participating in the tournaments organised by CONCACAF. The Athletic reported this month the Gulf nation was in talks over an invitation to the 2025 tournament in the United States and Canada, and on Thursday it was confirmed by the governing body of North and Central American football that Saudi would also play in the 2027 edition. Saudi — who this month was awarded the 2034 World Cup with an unopposed bid — involvement in the Gold Cup follows on from a year of significant investment from the state...

Liverpool will play Tottenham Hotspur at the semi-final stage of the Carabao Cup, while Arsenal will take on Newcastle United. Spurs, who last won the competition in 2008, progressed through to the semi-final stage following a dramatic 4-3 victory over Manchester United and they will play the first leg against Arne Slot’s side at home. Competition holders Liverpool are the League Cup’s most successful club, with their 2023-24 triumph the 10th time in their history of lifting the trophy. Arsenal, who are looking to win their first League Cup trophy since 1993, booked their place in...

Manchester City defender Ruben Dias is set to miss “three to four weeks” with an unspecified muscular injury. The 27-year-old sustained the injury in last weekend’s derby defeat at home to Manchester United and he is now unlikely to feature over a busy festive period. Dias has played in 19 matches for Guardiola’s side in all competitions this season, starting in 12 of their opening 16 Premier League fixtures. “Ruben is out for a long time and Ederson, I don’t know if he will be ready for tomorrow,” Guardiola said via Sky Sports ahead of...

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has admitted his form has dipped this season amid his side’s struggles to keep clean sheets. Unai Emery’s side have kept just two clean sheets in their 16 Premier League games this season — in home matches against Manchester United and Southampton — while only six teams in the league have conceded more than their 25 against. Martinez said he had been “really bad” in his objective of keeping more clean sheets. “I am not having a good year in that respect,” Martinez told ESPN Argentina. “But the important...