Inside World Football

Levsil Sofia to tear down Georgi Asparuhov Stadium to make way for €100m new build

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:45:37 +0000

March 26 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia have unveiled plans to build a new stadium, which will cost the club BGN 200 million (€100 million). The new facility, which will be built on the site of the current Georgi Asparuhov Stadium (pictured), will have a seated-capacity of 20,200.

The news was revealed by former Levski Supervisory Board member and club shareholder Petar Ganev, who reviewed the documentation before the club’s General Meeting this week.

More abuse in NWSL as fan ‘hate speech’ targets Barbra Banda

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:30:41 +0000

March 26 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is just two rounds into its new season, and with coaching and administrative issues taking up news space off the pitch, they are now having to deal with abuse in the stands investigating ‘hateful language’ directed towards, Barbra Banda.

Banda, who plays for the Orlando Pride was subjected to the ‘hateful language’ during her club’s match versus NJ/NY Gotham FC.

“This behavior is unacceptable and has no place in our league or in our stadiums,”

Newcastle players to take the bus

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:24:14 +0000

March 26 – After waiting 55 years, 10 months, and 1 day since lifting a major domestic trophy, Newcastle United’s long-suffering fans were eagerly awaiting their hero’s open-bus tour through the city, however the club announced there would be instead a party at Town Moor. Cue outrage and the club hastily back tracking.

This coming Saturday, Eddie Howe and his victorious team will celebrate their historic Carabao Cup triumph over Liverpool with the traditional bus tour en route to Town Moor.

The post Newcastle players to take the bus appeared first on Inside World Football.

Joey Barton convicted of assaulting his wife

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:16:03 +0000

March 26 – Joey Barton has never lived a quiet life and yesterday was found guilty of assaulting his wife.

The incident happened on June 2, 2021, when the former Manchester City, Newcastle United, and QPR player pushed his wife to the ground before kicking her in the head at their home in Kew, south-west London.

Barton (pictured) has a long history of violent conduct on and off the pitch, including stubbing out a lit cigar in teammate Jamie Tandy’s eye,

The post Joey Barton convicted of assaulting his wife appeared first on Inside World Football.

Liverpool set to lose Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid on a free transfer

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:05:31 +0000

March 26 – Real Madrid is considered to be the Holy Grail for any top professional footballer, which Liverpool defender, Trent Alexander-Arnold (TAA) most certainly is. Now, following in the steps of other local scouse legends Steve MacManaman and Michael Owen, TAA looks set to move to Spain.

The Reds fullback is out of contract at the end of the season and Madrid has long been rumored as the destination, with the Spanish giants even making a January offer for the defender who has spent his entire career at Anfield.

Blatter and Platini again cleared of corruption charges in Swiss court

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:24:57 +0000

March 26 – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were again acquitted of corruption charges on Tuesday, after Swiss prosecutors appealed a previous ruling that cleared them over a payment of two million Swiss francs in 2011.

Former FIFA president Blatter (pictured left) and ex-UEFA president Platini (pictured right) prevailed once more after the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz, near Basel, cleared the pair for a second time on charges of fraud,

LFP Media expands French leagues’ global footprint with CAMB.AI deal

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:41:10 +0000

March 25 – LFP Media has signed a multi-year agreement with CAMB.AI to enhance the international accessibility of Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Ligue 2 BKT.

The deal will see AI-powered translation, voice emulation and dubbing integrated into the leagues’ media output, allowing global audiences to consume match commentary, interviews and exclusive content in multiple languages.

With Ligue 1’s international following surpassing 50 million across social media, the partnership aligns with LFP Media’s broader commercial strategy to expand the league’s global footprint.

Argentine FA banking on HSBC as it strengthens Asian presence

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:15:59 +0000

March 25 – The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has secured HSBC as its new regional sponsor in India and Singapore, furthering its international expansion strategy.

The deal, still with an undisclosed value, makes HSBC the first banking institution to back the Argentine national team in these key Asian markets and strengthens AFA’s presence in the region, particularly in India, where the federation has been building commercial ties since 2020.

Running through the 2025 competitive cycle and into the 2026 FIFA World Cup,

AFC renews media rights deal with ESPN until 2028

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:13:36 +0000

March 25 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has renewed its media rights deal with ESPN for the 2025-2028 cycle, ensuring continued exclusive coverage of Asian football across South America and Central America, while also holding non-exclusive rights in the Caribbean.

The agreement, with a currently undisclosed valuation, covers several of the top AFC competitions, including the AFC Asian Qualifiers, AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027, AFC Champions League Elite, and AFC Champions League Two.

Club León kicked out of Club World Cup over FIFA’s multiple-club ownership rule

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 10:02:13 +0000

March 25 – Club León have been excluded from the Club World Cup because they don’t meet FIFA’s multiple-club ownership criteria.

The Mexican side were due to face Chelsea, Flamengo and Espérance Sportive de Tunis at the expanded summer tournament, but FIFA withdrew León because they don’t comply with the rules that prevent clubs from holding securities or shares of another participating club in the competition. The global governing body ruled that Club León and CF Pachuca have the same owner,

Ednaldo Rodrigues re-elected CBF President following Ronaldo withdrawal

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 09:34:32 +0000

March 25 – Following the withdrawal of Ronaldo Nazario’s candidacy from the process, Ednaldo Rodrigues has earned re-election as President of the Brazilian Football Association (CBF).

The incumbent received all 141 votes on offer with the share split between the 40 clubs of Serie A and Serie B, and the 27 state federations – the traditional powerbase of the CBF. Rodrigues will now lead the organisation until 2030.

Following his victory,

FSCG dials into Crnogorski Telekom again as partnership stretches to 18 years

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 09:15:10 +0000

March 25 – The Football Federation of Montenegro (FSCG) and Crnogorski Telekom have renewed their cooperation for another year. The country’s largest telecommunications company is one of the FSCG’s longest-standing sponsors, with the pair having been partners for 18 years.

The agreement on the continuation of their cooperation was signed by FSCG president Dejan Savićević and Crnogorski Telekom executive director Stjepan Udovičić (pictured).

Savićević said: “We continue our cooperation with Crnogorski Telekom to our great satisfaction.

Pochettino linked with Spurs return after poor USMNT Nations League displays

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 08:41:29 +0000

March 25 – Fresh from a humbling in the CONCACAF Nations League, United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) boss Mauricio Pochettino is having to deal with expanded rumors about a return to one of his former clubs, Tottenham Hotspur.

Recent photos of Pochettino having coffee with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy went viral on social media last week, sparking speculation that the Argentine, who led the North London club to consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League,

Stamford Bridge future could make or break Chelsea co-ownership

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 08:25:42 +0000

March 25 – Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has a complicated relationship with his partner and the majority owner of the Premier League club, Clearlake Capital, and that looks set to continue unless an agreement is reached regarding the future of Stamford Bridge.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Boehly said: “We have to think long-term about what we’re trying to accomplish. We have a big stadium redevelopment opportunity which we have to flesh out.

CBF’s aim to grow Brazilian women’s football receives Globo renewal boost

Andy Elliott — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 08:12:49 +0000

March 25 – Globo, the giant of Brazilian broadcasting, has renewed its right agreement with the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) to air elite men’s and women’s competitions.

The package is a smorgasbord featuring the Supercopa do Brasil, women’s top-tier Brasileirão Feminino, the under-20 and under-17 age-group youth tournaments, as well as Brazilian women’s national team friendlies. These competitions will air on the TV Globo Network as well as the SporTV pay-TV network.

CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues said: “We are delighted to expand our partnership with Globo,

Mexico to return to SoFi Stadium to kick off Gold Cup 2025 and their title defence

Paul Nicholson — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 05:31:40 +0000

March 25 — On Sunday night Mexico beat Panama 2-1 infront of the 68,000 fans in the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to win the Concacaf Nations League. In June they will be back again to open the defence of their defence of their Gold Cup title. That championship was won in 2023, also at the SoFi Stadium and also against Panama in front of a sold out crowd.

The June 14 game will be the opening match of the 18th edition of the Gold Cup,