Soccer

12/31/2025 |  Two Guinea players banned for insulting referee at Africa Cup of Nations (Reuters Sports) RABAT, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Two Equatorial Guinea players have been banned for insulting a referee at the Africa Cup of Nations and Burkina Faso captain Bertrand Traore was fined for post-match remarks, the respective football federations said on Wednesday.

12/31/2025 |  FIFA: More than 150 Million Have Requested 2026 World Cup Tickets (SportsTravel) FIFA has reported that 150 million ticket requests have been made to date for the 2026 World Cup, with fans from more than 200 countries submitting interest.
The current phase of ticketing opened December 11. Demand so far represents 3.4 times more than the overall number of spectators who have attended the 964 matches that make up all 22 editions of the competition combined since 1930.

12/30/2025 |  South Africa coach Hugo Broos blasts lack of ‘AFCON vibe’ at Africa Cup in Morocco (Associated Press (AP)) RABAT, Morocco (AP) — South Africa coach Hugo Broos isn’t getting that usual Africa Cup of Nations feeling in Morocco.
Broos, who led Cameroon to the title in 2017 in Gabon and took South Africa to third place at the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast, said Sunday there was a lack of enthusiasm for the 35th Africa Cup.

12/30/2025 |  Q&A: Kieran Maguire on the year football was played in court (Insider Sport) Football finance expert Kieran Maguire reflects on a year dominated by court cases, balance sheets and regulation and what it means for the game in 2026. 
Some of the most interesting games of football this year didn’t happen on the pitch, but in courtrooms, balance sheets and regulatory filings.

12/30/2025 |  Espanyol ban Barcelona symbols at stadium as Garcia return raises derby tensions (Reuters Sports) Dec 30 (Reuters) - Espanyol have banned Barcelona fans from wearing their team's shirt and stepped up security ahead of Saturday's LaLiga Catalan derby at the RCDE Stadium, with tensions running high as Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia prepares to return to his former club.