Preparations are picking up for the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, less than a year out from the tournament.
Set to begin in June 2012, organisers are preparing for the influx of at least 700,000 tourists during the 16-team competition.
In Ukraine, concerns remain over stadiums in Kiev and Lviv, which are yet to be completed.
More worryingly for the population of Lviv, there still needs to be improvements to roads linking the city with Truskavets, where many tourists will have to stay for the three-week tournament.
But hopes remain high in the city, as hotel employees and restaurants managers have been taking hospitality training in order to cope with the thousands of fans they expect.
UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino …
Chelsea have announced the appointment of Enzo Maresca as the club s new head coach.
The former Leicester City boss has put pen to paper on a five-year deal, with the option for the club to extend his stay for another year.
Maresca replaces Mauricio Pochettino, who left Chelsea by mutual consent last month after just one season in charge.
The Italian oversaw Leicester s promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt in 2023-24, the Foxes topping the Championship table with 98 points.
Welcome to Chelsea, Enzo Maresca!
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
In a statement, Chelsea s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: We are delighted to welcome Enzo to Chelsea.
He has proven himself to be an excelle…
I have to admit I am a big fan of football management simulation games and the biggest of them all Football Manager released their latest instalment earlier today.
Football Manager is the biggest selling football management game ever. It seems to break its own records every time a new edition comes out and this year looks set to be no different.
Dream
Most fans will obviously never get the chance to manage their boyhood heroes to victory but Football Manager gives you a chance to live your dreams and guide your heroes to success. It doesn’t matter if you’re a conference side or a Premier League side you can still achieve your goals on the game.
Addicted
For anybody that has never played Football Manager it is one of the most addictive video g…
Germany coach Joachim Low does not feel any pressure approaching the World Cup as defending champions and favourites.
Low s men were drawn alongside Mexico, Sweden and South Korea in Group F at the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday.
Die Mannschaft will be expected to ease through the group and can ill-afford a slip-up as failing to win it could see them face Brazil in the last 16.
Germany are viewed as the best bet to lift the trophy at the Luzhniki Stadium on July 15.
But, asked if their status as favourites adds any pressure, Low told reporters: No. We are always going to World Cup or a European Cup as favourites, because this pressure, this is normal for us and this is not a problem for us.
We are not nervous because of that. We are used to handli…
Scotland were no match for Germany as the rampant Euro 2024 hosts made a dream start to the tournament on Friday.
Florian Wirtz got the ball rolling in the 10th minute, becoming the youngest scorer of an opening goal at the European Championships in the tournament s history.
The excellent Jamal Musiala soon made it 2-0, rifling home after he was set up by Kai Havertz inside the area.
In Wirtz (21 years, 42 days) and Musiala (21 years, 109 days), Germany became the first team in European Championship history to have two players aged 21 or younger score in the same match.
Havertz turned scorer when he slotted in from the penalty spot before half-time, with Scotland defender Ryan Porteous seeing red for a lunge on Ilkay Gundogan, after a VAR review.
…
Lars Lukas Mai has signed a new contract with Bayern Munich, keeping him with the Bundesliga champions until June 2022.
The 19-year-old defender joined the German giants at under-16 level in 2014 and made two league appearances for the senior side two seasons ago.
Mai s existing deal was due to expire at the end of the 2020-21 campaign, but the ex-Dynamo Dresden prospect has agreed terms to stay on for a further 12 months.
Bayern announced the renewal on Friday and Mai said: I m very glad about the contract extension and the trust placed in me.
Lars Lukas has extended his contract until 2022
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN)
I d like to take the next step in my development, and I think there s no better place for that than FC B…
Jesse Marsch believes Canada can mount something special as they aim to build towards the 2026 World Cup, starting with the Copa America.
Marsch s team somewhat surprisingly made it through Group A behind Argentina, at the expense of Chile, who won back-to-back Copa America titles as recently as 2015 and 2016.
In their maiden Copa America, Canada will now go up against Group B winners Venezuela for a place in the last four.
And looking ahead to the next World Cup, which Canada will co-host along with the United States and Mexico, Marsch thinks the sky is the limit.
I was thinking, Why did I take this job with those three opponents [coming] up?’ Marsch joked in an interview with FOX Soccer NOW, with his team having played pre-tournament friendlies against…
France head coach Didier Deschamps dismissed questions about his future after the world champions surprisingly crashed out of Euro 2020 at the hands of Switzerland in the last 16.
Deschamps France lost 5-4 on penalties to Switzerland after Kylian Mbappe s spot-kick was saved by Yann Sommer, squandering a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes of regulation time remaining in Bucharest on Monday.
France failed to reach the quarter-final stage of a major tournament (European Champion and World Cup) for the first time since the 2010 World Cup following the shoot-out against Switzerland after the dramatic 3-3 draw at the end of extra time.
Deschamps is contracted until 2022 and has been in charge of Les Bleus since 2012, lifting the World Cup in 2018 and finishing European Champion…
FIFA has outlined how the Qatar 2022 World Cup draw will be carried out, including the basis for seeding.
The draw is scheduled to take place in Doha on Friday, April 1, by which time 29 of the 32 participants will have been confirmed for the tournament, which is set to run from November 21 to December 18.
World Cup qualifying continues this week, with 17 places still up for grabs for a place in Qatar.
World governing body FIFA confirmed hosts Qatar will be among the first seeds, along with the seven top-ranked qualified countries according to the FIFA men s world rankings, which will be next issued on March 31.
The countries occupying positions 8-15 in the ranking of the qualified teams will be allocated to Pot 2, while the 16th-23rd best-ranked qual…
League campaigns in top European championships may have just ended, but with the 2014 World Cup just around the corner, football fans around the world will have a cracking tournament to look forward to in the coming weeks.
Hosts Brazil and their bitter rivals Argentina have been made favourites for the coveted trophy and with that in mind you will definitely want to hear what Coral has to offer. The highly rated bookmaker will refund all losing outright bets on the tournament winner if Brazil or Argentina lift the title.
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