FIFA president Sepp Blatter has announced he intends to stand for a fifth term at the head of football s world governing body in 2015.
Blatter has been head of FIFA since 1998 and has been a strong advocate of moving the World Cup around the continents, including the first on African soil in South Africa in 2010.
The president was also vocal in his support for Qatar s 2022 selection, despite concerns over temperatures in the Middle East country in June when the tournament is normally played.
The 78-year-old pledged in 2011 that this current term would be his last at the helm, but he now intends to seek re-election.
I want to do it (stand for re-election) because it is not over yet, he told Swiss newspaper Blick. My term is indeed over, but my mission is not finis…
Jose Mourinho hailed Louis van Gaal as a great manager, following the Dutchman s appointment as Manchester United boss on Monday.
After widespread speculation, it was confirmed that Van Gaal would be the permanent successor to David Moyes at Old Trafford.
Ryan Giggs has retired from playing to become Van Gall s assistant manager having led the club on an interim basis at the end of the season.
And Chelsea boss Mourinho, who worked with Van Gaal at Barcelona, was delighted with the news that his former colleague would become an adversary in next year s Premier League campaign.
Both clubs will be out to improve on this year s league finishes, after Chelsea ended third behind Manchester City and Liverpool, while United failed to qualify for Europe altogether, finish…
Leicester City have agreed a fee with Sevilla for midfielder Vicente Iborra, the LaLiga club have confirmed.
The 2015-16 Premier League champions have had an offer reportedly worth £12.5million accepted and will now finalise personal terms with the player.
Sevilla and Leicester City have reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of Vicente Iborra to the English side, Sevilla confirmed in a statement.
The player will travel to Leicester to pass a medical and sign his contract. Once the process is concluded, he will return to Sevilla to bid farewell publicly to the fans.
4 No player scored more goals as a sub than Vicente Iborra in La Liga in 2016/17 (joint-high with Morata and Sarabia). Spark.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Iborra, w…
Champions league winners and La Liga title holders are in the market for goalkeeper, but their futile efforts to land long-term target David De Gea from Manchester United have forced Los Blancos to look elsewhere for potential targets.
A surprising target has emerged this week however, with Spanish television programme El Chiringuito claiming that Granada shot stopper Guillermo Ochoa is one of the alternatives Real Madrid are considering this summer.
Ochoa impressed for Granada last season, making 38 appearances during his season-long loan spell away from Malaga and he could be on the move this summer.
The goalkeeper who burst onto the scene with a string of impressive displays for Mexico at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
He is now regarded as a com…
Sheffield United have completed the signing of free agent Jack Rodwell on a deal until the end of the season.
Rodwell had been training with the Blades, who have enjoyed a fine return to the Premier League.
Manager Chris Wilder confirmed in a news conference on Friday there would be an offer extended to the former England international, and the transfer was announced later the same day.
United made no mention of a longer-term agreement, although Wilder suggested there would be the option for the player to prolong his stay at Bramall Lane.
Rodwell has previously played for Everton, Manchester City, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers.
Welcome to the Blades, Jack
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited)
Wilder came to Rodwell s defence …
Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri believes the label given to his playing style is meaningless.
Sarriball is coming in for increasingly harsh reviews in west London, with some reports suggesting the former Napoli boss job is on the line ahead of Sunday s EFL Cup final against Manchester City – a side Chelsea lost 6-0 to in the Premier League this month.
From persistently selecting Jorginho at the base of his midfield and deploying N Golo Kante further forward, to showing huge resistance to any deviation from his preferred starting line-up, Sarri s methods have been railed against by a vocal and growing minority of the Blues fanbase.
That these tactics have a snappy shorthand does not appear to be overly helpful – as demonstrated by the F*** Sarriball chant…
Pavel Nedved has indicated Juventus could make use of the January transfer window as Massimiliano Allegri battles to piece together a winning team.
Vice-president Nedved was livid as he saw Juventus beaten 2-1 by Sassuolo on Wednesday, as the Turin giants fell 13 points behind Napoli and Milan at the Serie A summit.
For now, Nedved is prepared to back the players at Allegri s disposal, but he said January would be a time for reflection and potentially action to strengthen the Juventus squad.
The loss of Cristiano Ronaldo as the last transfer window closed means Juventus have been forced to look elsewhere for goals, given the Portuguese was so prolific in his three years in Italy.
Vice-president Nedved believes Allegri s current squad can come good, yet …
Market: Millwall win
Odds: 19/20 @
Desperate to make an immediate return to winning ways on Tuesday night, Millwall will welcome a struggling Reading to the Den when the midweek fixtures open up.
Starting with the hosts, putting in a sluggish display away at Huddersfield over the weekend, there is no doubt that Millwall will be seeking an immediate boost on Tuesday. Hit with a deserved 1-0 loss on their travels, the Lions will be glad to make a return to home soil in midweek as they hope to extend their buffer in the top-half. Although the south London outfit might still be tipped as an outside pick to clinch a play-off spot this season, Gary Rowett s side have still impressed over the past six weeks. Including back-to-back victories against Stoke and Sheffield …
Stuart Pearce says he wants complete freedom to choose footballers to represent Great Britain at next year s London Olympic Games.
The former England international has been named as manager of the GB men s football team with Hope Powell in charge of the women.
Pearce said he hoped to be allowed to pick players from throughout the United Kingdom, despite opposition from the other home nations.
I m certainly not going into this job looking to only select English players, Pearce said. I think it should be, if at all possible, made up of all the home nations.
All the home nations should come forward and put their players up for selection. A lot of it will depend on the players mentality.
If the players want to be part of it, that will be fantast…
Armenia have formally complained to UEFA over refereeing decisions in their Euro 2012 qualifying defeat to the Republic of Ireland.
Needing to beat Ireland if they were to finish second in Group B and reach the qualifying play-offs, Armenia instead lost 2-1 in Dublin on Tuesday.
They lost Roman Berezovsky to a harsh red card in the 26th minute after the goalkeeper was deemed to have handled the ball outside the box, when he appeared to have used his chest.
Ireland striker Simon Cox also went unpunished after handling the ball in the build-up to Berezovsky s sending off.
The Armenian Football Association (FFA) have since confirmed they will be lodging an official protest with European football s governing body, UEFA.
The incident has drawn paralle…