England

England's National League clubs, which represent the fifth and sixth tiers of the country's football pyramid, have voted to immediately end the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, league organisers said on Wednesday.

The clubs were asked to support a resolution to end the season early because of the coronavirus and a clear majority voted in favour of the proposal.

Ninety percent of responses had been received and the resolution had passed because the outstanding votes would not change the outcome, the league said.

Major League Soccer (MLS) must remove caps on salaries if it is to fulfill its potential and compete with Europe's top leagues, former England captain Wayne Rooney has said. 

The salary cap was introduced to help level the playing field by preventing teams from spending big on players. It has worked to an extent, with 10 different teams crowned MLS Cup champions over the last 13 seasons. 

The break in football has allowed us to step back and analyze some of the trends that’ve defined the 2019-20 season so far, and there’s nothing more eye-catching than the steep decline of headed goals in the Premier League. According to a recent tactical study, the English top-flight is on course for its fewest headed goals ever in a single season.

Once the formalities are out of the way, the Premier League will finalize the sale of Newcastle United from owner Mike Ashley to a consortium that’s headed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). In terms of the richest Premier League owners, Newcastle's jumping from 11th on this list all the way to the top.

There is unlikely to be any relegation from the English Premier League if the season ends with no more play possible because of the coronavirus outbreak, Brighton and Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom has told British media. 

Premier League clubs met on Friday to discuss possible models for finishing the season but all options remained hypothetical after the U.K. government extended lockdown restrictions for another three weeks. Brighton were two points clear of the relegation zone with nine matches remaining when the league was brought to a halt on March 13. 

Arsenal's psychologist has been in constant communication with the Premier League club's players to offer any help they may need during the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, manager Mikel Arteta has said.

Soccer in England has been suspended since March 13 because of the virus that has infected more than 2.23 million people globally causing over 151,000 deaths.

LONDON — Former Leeds United and England defender Norman 'Bites Yer Legs' Hunter has died at 76 after contracting the new coronavirus, the Championship (second-tier) club said on Friday.

"Norman was taken to hospital last week after being diagnosed with COVID-19 and despite continuing to battle and the best efforts of NHS staff, he sadly lost his fight earlier this morning," Leeds said on its website.

Newcastle United and USMNT right back DeAndre Yedlin has become the latest soccer personality to speak out in favor of a promotion/relegation system in MLS. 

Speaking to ESPN, Yedlin joined MLS alumni such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, DeMarcus Beasley and Bob Bradley in claiming it would make MLS a more competitive league. 

Welcome to our wall-to-wall coverage of Day 2 of the FIFA Stay and Play Cup — it's the first four matches of the Round of 16!

If you missed yesterday’s play-in round, catch up on all the action here. Wednesday was dominated by Scandinavian clubs while Marseille, Valencia, PSV and Helsinki all ate it. 

A possible takeover of Premier League side Newcastle United by a group fronted by British financier Amanda Staveley with Saudi Arabian backing appeared to be moving closer to completion on Tuesday. 

A 31-page charge agreement filed with Companies House and signed by Staveley for PCP Capital Partners and a lawyer for St James Holdings Ltd indicated a framework for a deal was being put in place.