Soccer

4/25/2024 |  Spanish government to step in and oversee beleaguered soccer federation (Associated Press (AP)) MADRID (AP) — Spain’s sports authority says it will step in to oversee the Spanish Football Federation after a corruption probe targeted the current and former federation presidents.
Spain’s Higher Sports Council said on Thursday it was taking the extraordinary measure for the coming months “in response to the crisis the institution is facing and in Spain’s national interests.”
The government has expressed concern for the reputational damage to the federation while Spain is set to co-host the 2030 men’s World Cup with Portugal and Morocco. Spain is also hoping for success at this summer’s men’s European Championship and at the Paris Olympics.

4/25/2024 |  FIFA seals closer ties to Saudi Arabia with World Cup sponsor deal for oil firm Aramco (Associated Press (AP)) GENEVA (AP) — FIFA deepened its ties to Saudi Arabia by confirming a sponsorship on Thursday with the kingdom’s state oil firm Aramco which made a profit of $121 billion last year.
The deal was expected and became inevitable once Saudi Arabia was all but sealed last October as the 2034 host of the men’s World Cup. 

4/25/2024 |  Wrexham schedules 3 games in US and Canada in July (Associated Press (AP)) WREXHAM, Wales (AP) — Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are taking Wrexham back to the United States this summer.
Details were announced in an online video on Thursday, confirming two games in California and another in Vancouver, Canada, as part of the Welsh club’s preparations for the English third tier next season.

4/25/2024 |  Whitecaps to host Ryan Reynolds-owned Wrexham AFC (DEADSPIN) The Vancouver Whitecaps will host Wrexham AFC at BC Place on July 27, the clubs announced Thursday.
The match holds special significance for celebrated actor/producer and Wrexham AFC co-chairman Ryan Reynolds, who was born and raised in Vancouver and is a long-time Whitecaps supporter.

4/25/2024 |  Wrexham to play Bournemouth, Whitecaps in US summer tour (Reuters Sports) NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - Wrexham will play Bournemouth and Major League Soccer (MLS) side Vancouver Whitecaps as part of their North American tour in July, the Welsh club said on Thursday after they secured back-to-back promotions earlier this month.