Money

The head of African football, Ahmad Ahmad, has been banned from football for five years by FIFA following an ethics investigation by world soccer's governing body.

Ahmad, who is president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), had intended to stand in an election in March in which he would have faced a number of challengers. FIFA said in a statement the independent Ethics Committee has found Ahmad guilty of offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, and misappropriation of funds.

The Seattle Sounders are slight favorites to repeat as MLS Cup champions, but several teams are considered strong contenders with the playoffs set to begin Friday.

The Sounders tied with Sporting Kansas City atop the Western Conference standings with 39 points, although Seattle played one more game. Sporting KC open the playoffs being offered at 8-1 to win the MLS Cup by SportsBetting.com.

It is fair to say that money controls the Premier League. Money is the reason Manchester City and Liverpool are title contenders, while Brighton and West Brom languish near the bottom of the table.

Soccernomics co-authors Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski calculated that 90 percent of variation in league position in the Premier League is determined by a club's wage bill.

Seattle baseball icon Ken Griffey Jr. is now a part-owner of Seattle Sounders FC, the club announced Tuesday.

Griffey spent 13 of his 22 big league seasons with the Mariners and remains among the most popular athletes in the city's history.

LaLiga has slashed spending limits for its clubs by $724.25 million for the 2020-2021 season due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain's top soccer league said on Tuesday.

Barcelona's salary cap has been cut to $454 million from last season's $796 million, while defending champions Real Madrid can spend $555 million, down $205 million from last season's spending limit.

Lionel Messi must stay at Barcelona so he can lead the team for the remainder of his career and play a strategic role when he retires, the club's presidential candidate Victor Font told Reuters.

The six-times World Player of the Year and Barca’s all-time top scorer came close to leaving the Catalans in August after his relationship with then president Josep Maria Bartomeu turned sour. But the Argentine can leave the club, where he has spent his entire career, for free at the end of this season unless he pens a new contract before the end of June.

Reigning Major League Soccer MVP Carlos Vela topped the league's shirt sales during the 2020 season.

In a list announced Friday, the Los Angeles Galaxy's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez came in second behind Vela in shirt sales on MLS's web store.

Vela opted out of the MLS Is Back Tournament near Orlando in the summer, and he finished the regular season with four goals in seven games. A year ago, he set an MLS single-season record with 34 goals.

If Liverpool didn't have an injury crisis at center back before, it certainly does now. After losing Virgil van Dijk to a knee injury in the Merseyside derby last month, Joe Gomez is now expected to miss most of the season after injuring his knee during England training on Wednesday.

After a fire sale of players over the summer that was fiercely criticized by supporters and club greats, Valencia are braced for yet more departures, according to a report published by the LaLiga club with their accounts on Thursday.