Football | DD News

March 20, 2026 1:25 PM

FIFA mandates female coaches in their women’s competitions

Every team in a FIFA women's competition will be required to have at least one female head or assistant coach, part of sweeping new regulations from soccer's governing body aimed at boosting the number of women coaching at the highest levels. The regulations, approved by the FIFA Council on Thursday, come into effect with this year's U-17 and U-20 Women's World Cups and the Women's Champions Cup, and significantly will include the Women's World Cup next year in Brazil. The new regulations stip...

March 17, 2026 9:43 AM

Chelsea fined 10.75 million pounds, given suspended transfer ban, after Premier League rule breaches

Chelsea have been fined a record total of 10.75 million pounds ($14.3 million) for historical breaches of the Premier League's regulations, the league said on Monday. The club have also been hit with a one-year first-team transfer ban, suspended for two years, as well as an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban. In a statement, the Premier League said Chelsea's current owners voluntarily reported in 2022 that they had evidence of a potential breach of the rules relating to third-party paym...

March 16, 2026 9:32 AM

Man Utd strengthen top-four bid, Liverpool held by Spurs

Manchester United tightened their grip on a top-four place in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over rivals Aston Villa but Liverpool dropped points in a disappointing home draw with struggling Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Goals by Casemiro, Matheus Cunha and substitute Benjamin Sesko took third-placed United to 54 points after 30 games, three more than fourth-placed Villa who suffered a third successive league defeat. Liverpool looked like they would move above Villa into fourth place as ...

January 1, 2026 12:22 PM

Five more Indians join FIFA list of match officials for 2026

Five more Indian match officials have been added to the FIFA International List of Match Officials for 2026. Rachana Kamani (Gujarat), along with Ashwin Kumar (Puducherry) and Aditya Purkayastha (Delhi), have been included in the FIFA list of women’s and men’s referees, respectively. Meanwhile, Muralitharan Pandurangan (Puducherry) and Peter Christopher (Maharashtra) have been inducted as assistant referees. Ashwin Kumar and Aditya Purkayastha, in addition to making the FIFA list, have also...

December 29, 2025 3:21 PM

Cristiano Ronaldo confident of reaching 1,000 goals, keen to keep playing

Cristiano Ronaldo said his passion for the game remains undimmed and that he is still motivated to reach his target of 1,000 career goals after the Portuguese forward was named Best Middle East Player at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Sunday. Ronaldo's double for Saudi side Al-Nassr on Saturday took his tally to 956 goals for club and country, and with the 40-year-old set to play on for "one or two more years" his target looks achievable. "It’s hard to continue playing, but I am motivat...

December 23, 2025 1:53 PM

Neymar undergoes successful knee surgery

Neymar has undergone successful arthroscopic surgery on his knee, his club Santos said on Monday, as the winger bids to get back to full fitness and earn a place in the Brazil squad for next year's World Cup. The 33-year-old returned to his childhood club Santos in January and played a key role in their survival in the Brazilian top flight, playing through the pain and scoring five times in their last four matches In a statement on Monday, Santos said the surgery was performed by the Brazilian...

December 9, 2025 9:30 AM

Fernandes double helps Man United to 4-1 win as Wolves’ misery continues

Manchester United climbed to sixth in the Premier League on Monday as captain Bruno Fernandes scored twice to help them claim a comfortable 4-1 victory at bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers whose calamitous season gets bleaker by the week. Dispirited Wolves fans spent most of the first half chanting in protest at the club's Chinese owners Fosun and their mood worsened when Fernandes gave United a 25th-minute lead. To their credit Wolves showed some enterprise and they were cheered off at half...

November 28, 2025 10:17 AM

Atletico fined for ‘racist’ behaviour of fans during Arsenal game

UEFA have fined Atletico Madrid 30,000 euros ($34,749) and handed down a suspended one-match ban for travelling fans due to the "racist and discriminatory" behaviour of some supporters during last month's 4-0 Champions League loss to Arsenal. European soccer's governing body fined the Spanish club an additional 10,000 euros after some of their fans threw objects during the game at Arsenal's Emirates stadium. The ban on selling tickets to supporters for an away match was suspended for a probati...

November 17, 2025 9:32 AM

Portugal qualify for World Cup with 9-1 thrashing of Armenia

Portugal qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Sunday with a 9-1 hammering of Armenia that included hat-tricks from both Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves. The reigning Nations League champions were forced to wait to book an automatic spot after losing 2-0 to Ireland on Thursday in a game where their captain Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off. But Roberto Martinez's side needed no help from their all-time top scorer in a one-sided match that assured them top spot in Group F with 13 points, giving Ronal...

November 16, 2025 5:58 PM

FIFA says it has stepped up efforts against online abuse

FIFA said on Sunday it had stepped up efforts to tackle online abuse directed at players and officials, reporting a surge in harmful content and referring more offenders to police. Marking the International Day for Tolerance, FIFA said its Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) had flagged more than 30,000 abusive posts to platforms since the start of the year, part of more than 65,000 escalated since the tool was launched in 2022. Eleven individuals in Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland, Spain...