Nicaragua football seeing surge in popularity as country’s league continues despite COVID-19

New Barcelona signing Martin Braithwaite admitted he was surprised to learn the Spanish champions wanted to bring him to the club but said he had always felt he could perform among European football's elite.

Barcelona may have a new coach but Lionel Messi remains their unquestionable talisman after guiding the Spanish champions to a nervy 1-0 win at home to Granada in La Liga on Sunday in Quique Setien's first game in charge of the club.

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after the Spanish champions announced he is to undergo surgery to treat a knee problem.

Chelsea will only allow striker Olivier Giroud to leave in the January transfer window if they can sign the right replacement for the Frenchman, assistant coach Jody Morris said on Friday.

Nigel Wray has retired as chairman of Saracens with immediate effect, the English Premiership side announced on Thursday.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has ruled out selling midfielder Paul Pogba in January and denied media reports that the club are in talks with Salzburg striker Erling Haaland over a possible transfer.

Sundowns lived up to expectations and came from a goal down to claim victory over Maritzburg United, who were looking to add their name for the very first time in the Telkom Knockout.

The University of Pretoria cemented its position in the top four brackets of the National First Division GladAfrica Championship.

Lionel Messi claimed a record sixth Ballon d'Or award on Monday, beating Liverpool's leading nominees and Cristiano Ronaldo to lift soccer's most prestigious individual trophy.

Jose Mourinho began life as Tottenham Hotspur manager with a 3-2 victory at West Ham United on Saturday, while Premier League pacesetters Liverpool won to remain eight points clear and defending champions Manchester City also took three points.

Chelsea notched a sixth successive Premier League win as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0, while Leicester City beat Arsenal 2-0 to move into second place on Saturday.

Ajax coach Erik Ten Hag believes his side must produce the 'perfect performance' if they are to get a result against Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday .

Lionel Messi showed Barcelona what they have been missing with his repeated injuries this season by producing a stunning and decisive assist in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Inter Milan which kick-started their Champions League campaign.

Manchester City will need to loosen their purse strings and sign players in the January transfer window if they are to compete for titles this season, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has said.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola shrugged off his team's shock 3-2 defeat by newly-promoted Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday saying his team simply cannot be expected to win every week.

European champions Portugal got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign back on track with goals from William Carvalho, Goncalo Guedes, Cristian Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva helping them to a pulsating 4-2 Group B victory in Serbia on Saturday.

Manchester United have condemned and are working on identifying individuals who racially abused Paul Pogba online after the midfielder missed a penalty in Monday's (August 19) 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Premier League club said on Tuesday (August 20).

Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt says the club's captain, Thulani Hlatshwayo, is going nowhere.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba must distance himself from speculation that he is set to end an unhappy spell at Old Trafford and focus on pre-season training until a decision is reached on his future, club legend Bryan Robson said.

Brazil's Gabriel Jesus made one goal, scored another and was sent off in the second half as they beat Peru 3-1 on Sunday to win the Copa America for the ninth time in a pulsating contest at the Maracana stadium.

Thembinkosi Lorch scored on 85 minutes to give South Africa a stunning 1-0 victory over Africa Cup of Nations hosts Egypt after a pulsating last-16 clash in Cairo Saturday.

  Frank Lampard was one of the hardest trainers as a player and the new Chelsea manager will expect the same level of effort and commitment from his squad at Stamford Bridge, his uncle Harry Redknapp has said.

Bafana Bafana scraped through to the knock-out stage of the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament thanks to Mali.

Lionel Messi vowed to extend his international career after yet another bid to win a major title with Argentina ended in failure at the Copa America on Tuesday.

Egypt have removed striker Amr Warda from their Africa Cup of Nations squad for disciplinary reasons, the Egyptian Football Federation (EFA) president Hany Abo Rida announced on Wednesday.

Brazilians for the first time heard from the woman who says that football superstar Neymar sexually assaulted her.

 Bafana Bafana COSAFA Cup coach David Notoane says lack of experience let them down in the loss against Botswana in the quarter-finals.

Liverpool ended an incredible season by winning Europe’s biggest prize after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in Saturday’s all-English Champions League final, earning sweet redemption after agonizingly missing out on the Premier League title.

Massimiliano Allegri's five-year reign as Juventus coach ended in defeat on Sunday as late goals from Gregoire Defrel and Gianluca Caprari gave mid-table Sampdoria a 2-0 win over the Serie A champions in their last game of the season.

Former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has has been without a team since December after an unsuccessful three-month spell at Olympiakos in Greece.