Asia

Lionel Messi has recently unveiled his plans to personally and painstakingly design, build and operate his own theme park in Nanjing, China. It will be called the Messi Experience Park (MEP), which is infinitely lamer than Messi World, Magic Messi Kingdom or Messi's Wonderous Adventureland. With over 20 attractions on a sprawling 42,000 square meter space, the biggest question remains whether or not Mateo Messi will be old enough or tall enough to have any fun.

Former Ivory Coast and Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote has passed away following a suspected heart attack while training with current club Beijing Enterprises. Tiote was only 30 years of age.

Sadly, it has been confirmed that Cheick Tiote has died in China at the age of 30. RIP.

There is no doubt that the India U17 World Cup team earned an impressive road victory this week against a strong Italian side, knocking off the hosts 2-0.

There's just one problem with the narrative that arose after the match. The India U17s didn't actually beat the Italy U17 National Team. Instead, they played and won against a team comprised of youth players from clubs in Lega Pro and Lega Pro 2 (the third and fourth tiers of Italian football, respectively).

With European league seasons winding down, summer transfer speculation has begun in earnest with what you'd expect: 

India’s National Team has never played in a World Cup, but there’s a decent chance that will change when the tournament includes 48 teams in 2026. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) currently sends four teams to the World Cup, and its fifth place team competes in a playoff with the fourth place team from CONCACAF.

When the field expands, eight teams from the AFC will directly qualify. The World Cup’s growth, coupled with the national team’s improvements, provide sufficient reasons to be optimistic about the future of Indian soccer. 

Diego Maradona has one of the more interesting coaching resumes we know of. Besides being a legandary footballer in his own right and managing the Argentina National Team for a spell, Maradona has managed Argentine clubs Racing Club de Avellaneda and Mandiyu de Corrientes and UAE-based Al-Wasl FC.

He's back now, with UAE second-division club Al-Fujairah SC.

Aizawl FC's improbable I-League title is one of the best sports stories of the year, but the fight isn't over for the club based in northeast India.

A proposal to merge the I-League with the Indian Super League to form one unified Indian top division includes every Indian Super League team and three I-League teams, but not Aizawl. The champs are, understandably peeved about this, so much so that they've threatened a hunger strike.

The I-League title race came down to the 18th and final match day of the season, and Aizawl FC prevailed in dramatic fashion. After scoring in the 83rd minute last week to defeat Mohun Bagan, Aizawl only needed a draw against Shillong Lajong FC to clinch the title. Aizawl had to work for the result, as they trailed midway through the second half before Willian Lalnunfela headed home an equalizer in the 67th minute. 

Richard Lai, president of The Guam Football Association since 2001, pled guilty yesterday to two counts of wire fraud and one count of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. His plea marks the first time that the U.S. investigation into FIFA corruption has indicted an official from outside the Americas. Although Guam is a U.S. Territory, the country competes with others in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Aizawl FC will probably win India’s premier league (I-league) title. They lead Mohun Bagan by three points going into the last game of the season, so all they have to do is win or draw, or have Mohun Bagan lose or draw. Much more is on the line, however, than just the championship and subsequent entry into a qualification round for the AFC Champions League.