Latest news with #ConcacafChampionsLeague
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First Post
6 days ago
- Sport
- First Post
Explained: Why Lionel Messi has been given a one-match ban by MLS
Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has been handed a one-match ban by Major League Soccer (MLS). His former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba also faced a similar sanction. Here's what happened and why Messi and Alba have been banned from their next MLS game. read more will miss Inter Miami's big game against Eastern Conference leaders FC Cincinnati after Major League Soccer (MLS) handed him a one-match ban. The reason behind the ban is a bit bizarre, as Messi didn't take part in the MLS All-Star Game earlier this week. Why was Messi suspended? MLS has a rule that says any player who skips the All-Star Game without official league approval must miss their team's next match. Messi, along with teammate Jordi Alba, didn't play in the exhibition event on Wednesday, July 23, so the rule automatically applied to them. Why did Messi miss the All-Star Game? Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has explained that it was the club's decision and not the players'. He said that the team felt it was necessary to rest Messi and Alba because of upcoming fixtures. Messi has already played nine games in just 36 days, including matches in the MLS regular season, Concacaf Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup. 'I wanted to express today our full support for Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, as the decision for them to sit out this week was made by the club. I think that is an important point. I want to assure everyone that Lionel and Jordi have acted in a way commeasured with what the club would want,' Mas said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'It's untenable. For example, if faced with this situation next year, where we have an away game on Saturday, the All-Star Game is on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and we have a game on Saturday, an important game, we're going to be in the same boat, in the same situation,' he added. More from Football How did Messi and Inter Miami react? Jorge Mas has said that Messi is upset about the suspension given how competitive he is. 'Messi is very upset, extremely upset today, as expected. I'm hopeful it doesn't have an impact long term. Will it have an impact initially in the player's perception of how the league rules work, etc.? Absolutely, no doubt.' Will the rule change? MLS commissioner Don Garber admitted the league will review the policy in the future. 'I'm committed to working with our players to determine how the rule should evolve,' Garber was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Atlanta United CEO Garth Lagerwey steps away after cancer diagnosis
Atlanta United president and CEO Garth Lagerwey, one of MLS's most successful executives, is stepping away from his duties after being diagnosed with cancer. Atlanta announced the news Thursday, referring to Lagerwey's leave of absence as "indefinite" and noting that doctors gave the 52-year-old an "encouraging" prognosis for a full recovery. Advertisement "I have made the difficult decision to step back from Atlanta United to tackle my cancer treatment head-on," said Lagerwey in a team statement. "I would like to express my profound gratitude to Arthur Blank for not only his support, but by doing everything in his power to make this process as painless as possible for me and my family. I could not possibly work for a better organization than [AMB Sports and Entertainment]." "On behalf of myself, Atlanta United, and the entire Blank Family of Businesses, we stand fully behind Garth and his family as they navigate this difficult challenge," added Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank. "Garth's resilience and optimism are part of what makes him such an exceptional leader, and I know he'll carry those strengths in the days ahead. MLS: Lionel Messi transfer rumors won't go away. Will GOAT ink new Miami contract? "I have complete confidence in our leadership team and players as we navigate this transition together. We all look forward to welcoming Garth back in the future and will be praying for him and his family's continued strength, and a smooth recovery." Advertisement Atlanta announced that in Lagerwey's absence, Chief Soccer Officer Chris Henderson, Chief Business Officer Skate Noftsinger and Senior Vice President of Strategy Dimitrios Efstathiou will run their respective departments on a day-to-day basis, with Lagerwey and CEO of AMB Sports and Entertainment Rich McKay receiving regular reports. Lagerwey's statement expressed "full confidence" in the club's leadership to thrive during his absence, and concluded with a simple declaration: "I shall return." Seattle Sounders FC general manager Garth Lagerwey speaks about the Concacaf Champions League title before a game against Minnesota United FC at Lumen Field on May 15, 2022. Garth Lagerwey: Who is Atlanta United executive? Lagerwey began his career in MLS as a player in the 1990s, playing for the Kansas City Wiz, Dallas Burn and the now-defunct Miami Fusion. Upon retiring in 2000, Lagerwey got a law degree from Georgetown, but stayed attached to soccer by working as a color commentator for D.C. United and New England Revolution radio and television broadcasts. Advertisement However, his rise to prominence in MLS came as an executive. Real Salt Lake named Lagerwey its general manager in 2007, and by the end of its third season the club was lifting MLS Cup. Despite running one of the league's smallest-market clubs, Lagerwey's cap management and talent identification kept RSL among the league's serious contenders. A focus on the long-term also saw the club start an academy in Arizona, and to this day RSL is one of the better MLS teams in terms of developing youngsters into pro-ready players. Lagerwey left RSL in 2014 for the Seattle Sounders, and his success continued. Seattle won five major trophies during Lagerwey's tenure, including the 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup (making the Sounders the first MLS club to win that competition in 22 years) and two MLS Cup wins in 2016 and 2019. The Sounders were a model of consistency during Lagerwey's nine-season run, finishing in first or second place in the Western Conference six times, and only finishing outside of the top 10 in MLS's overall standings once. One week after Sounders season-ticket holders voted to retain him in 2022 — a formal process specific to Seattle where the team GM could lose their job should enough fans deliver a vote of no confidence — Atlanta United announced that Lagerwey was its new president and CEO. After missing the playoffs for just the second time ever in 2022, the Five Stripes returned to the postseason in the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, stunning Inter Miami in a major first-round upset last year. MLS AT 30: From infancy to Messi and beyond, MLS celebrates 30 years: What's next? Advertisement The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Garth Lagerwey, Atlanta United CEO, diagnosed with cancer
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sevilla announce new manager on three-year deal
Several weeks after the exit of interim coach Joaquin Caparros, Sevilla have announced that Argentine Matias Almeyda will take over as their new manager. The 51-year-old will take over on a three-year deal, and he becomes their seventh manager in the past two years. Los Nervionenses were heavily linked with former Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil, but after new Sporting Director Antonio Cordon was installed talks collapsed at the last-minute. Shortly after, Almeyda began conversations with Sevilla, and is supposedly backed by Cordon as his preferred option. Almeyda's experience Almeyda, who had a long playing career spanning nearly two decades, spent time at Sevilla as a player. Moving from River Plate, the playmaking midfielder signed in Andalusia in 1996 for €7.5m before moving onto Lazio the following summer for €6.5m. Image via Marca Advertisement He began his coaching career at River too, in 2011. He would spend just over a year there, before roles at Banfield, Chivas Guadalajara, San Jose Earthquakes and most recently AEK Athens. His last three spells have all last three years, a stability Sevilla would be delighted with. During his 14-year coaching career he has won nine trophies, including a Greek League, the Greek Cup, the Concacaf Champions League, a Mexican Clausura and two leagues in Argentina. Alguacil heading to Saudi Arabia? Meanwhile Alguacil appears to be on his way to the Middle East. Matteo Moretto reports that he is set to accept a lucrative two-year contract with Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia. The two sides have an agreement in principle on a deal. Tough job ahead at Sevilla Sevilla finished just one point above the relegation zone this year, the latest step in their downward trajectory since the exit of Jose Luis Mendilibar. They are also set to field offers for the likes of Dodi Lukebakio and Loic Bade, but Sevillistas will be grateful that they now have both sporting director and manager installed, albeit not before time.
USA Today
10-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What teams are in Club World Cup? Full list of participants in 2025 FIFA tournament
What teams are in Club World Cup? Full list of participants in 2025 FIFA tournament Show Caption Hide Caption lionel-messi-fifa-club-world-cup-michelob-ultra-TV-commercial Soccer superstar Lionel Messi appears in a new Michelob Ultra TV commercia for the FIFA Club World Cup. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is a radical departure for an event that for years existed as a seven-team tournament. FIFA has created a 32-team event for 2025, with Europe's 12 berths by far the largest share among the six confederations that manage the sport on a continental level. Oceania, by contrast, will have just one representative, the same total that region held in the old format. South America is next on the list with six participants, including four from Brazil (the most from one nation). By virtue of this year's tournament being held in the United States, Concacaf — the governing body for North and Central America as well as the Caribbean — is next up with five entrants, while Asia and Africa will get four apiece. MLS will be represented by three teams: the Seattle Sounders, Inter Miami, and LAFC. Here is a breakdown of the full 32-team Club World Cup field sorted by confederation, as well as tournament groups for this year's event: 'CLUB WORLD CA$H GRAB': MLS players want fair share of Club World Cup prize money. Here's how one club protested. What teams are in Club World Cup 2025? With a long build-up for the Club World Cup ending with the tournament being used in part to hype soccer in general before the 2026 World Cup, FIFA couldn't just pull from continental championships conducted in 2024. With a 32-team field planned for the Club World Cup and the realities of different levels of quality from confederation to confederation, FIFA had to get creative to put together the final pool of teams for the first-ever Club World Cup on this scale. Here is the full list of teams participating, broken down by confederation and with an explanation of how each team earned its berth: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) - Four teams Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia): Winners of 2021 AFC Champions League Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan): Winners of 2022 AFC Champions League Al Ain (United Arab Emirates): Winners of 2023-24 AFC Champions League Ulsan HD (Korea Republic): AFC club rankings Confederation of African Football (CAF) - Four teams Al-Ahly SC (Egypt): Winners of 2020-21 CAF Champions League (as well as 2023-23 and 2023-24) Wydad AC (Morocco): Winners of 2021-22 CAF Champions League Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia): CAF club rankings Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa): CAF club rankings Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) - Five teams Monterrey (Mexico): Winners of 2021 Concacaf Champions League Seattle Sounders (USA): Winners of 2022 Concacaf Champions League Pachuca (Mexico): Winners of 2024 Concacaf Champions League Inter Miami (USA): Host nation, winners of 2024 MLS Supporters Shield LAFC (USA): Winners of play-in game* *Note: Concacaf originally planned to send Club León, winners of the 2023 Concacaf Champions League, but the Club World Cup forbids multiple clubs owned by the same person or organization to participate. León and Pachuca are both owned by Grupo Pachuca, and FIFA eventually disqualified León from participating. LAFC (which lost to León in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League final) and Club América (the top eligible team in Concacaf's club rankings) were paired in a playoff that LAFC won, 2-1. CLUB WORLD CUP: DAZN believes Club World Cup could be most streamed sporting event ever Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) - Six teams Palmeiras (Brazil): Winners of 2021 Copa Libertadores Flamengo (Brazil): Winners of the 2022 Copa Libertadores Fluminense (Brazil): Winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores Botafogo (Brazil): Winners of the 2024 Copa Libertadores River Plate (Argentina): CONMEBOL club rankings Boca Juniors (Argentina): CONMEBOL club rankings Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) - One team Auckland City FC (New Zealand): Winners of the OFC Champions League in 2022, 2023, and 2024 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) - 12 teams Chelsea (England): Winners of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League Real Madrid (Spain): Winners of the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League (as well as the 2023-24 competition) Manchester City (England): Winners of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League Bayern Munich (Germany): UEFA club rankings Paris Saint-Germain (France): UEFA club rankings Borussia Dortmund (Germany): UEFA club rankings Inter Milan (Italy): UEFA club rankings Porto (Portugal): UEFA club rankings Atlético Madrid (spain): UEFA club rankings Benfica (Portugal): UEFA club rankings Juventus (Italy): UEFA club rankings Red Bull Salzburg (Austria): UEFA club rankings Club World Cup 2025 groups The 32 teams in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup have been placed into eight groups of four, with a round-robin group stage serving as the tournament's first round. Here are the eight groups: Group A Al-Ahly (Egypt) Porto (Portugal) Palmeiras (Brazil) Inter Miami (United States) Group B Paris Saint-Germain (France) Atlético Madrid (Spain) Botafogo (Brazil) Seattle Sounders (United States) Group C Bayern Munich (Germany) Auckland City (New Zealand) Boca Juniors (Argentina) Benfica (Portugal) Group D Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia) Flamengo (Brazil) Chelsea (England) LAFC (United States) Group E River Plate (Argentina) Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) Monterrey (Mexico) Inter Milan (Italy) Group F Fluminense (Brazil) Borussia Dortmund (Germany) Ulsan HD (South Korea) Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) Group G Manchester City (England) Wydad AC (Morocco) Al Ain (United Arab Emirates) Juventus (Italy) Group H Real Madrid (Spain) Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) Pachuca (Mexico) Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) Club World Cup 2025: How to watch, TV, streaming Every one of the 63 games at the Club World Cup will stream for free on DAZN, while select matches will be carried on TNT in English. Univision, TUDN, and ViX will all carry games in the U.S. in Spanish. Watch the entire Club World Cup FREE on DAZN The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Whitecaps say 'significant number' of players, staff are ill following CONCACAF Champions Cup defeat in Mexico
Earlier this week, the Vancouver Whitecaps dropped the Concacaf Champions Cup final with an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Cruz Azul. But in the week since, Vancouver's situation has gotten a little more unsettled. The White announced Thursday that a "significant number" of players and staff developed "gastrointestinal symptoms" following the team' return from Mexico. The team said that it had cancelled practice on Wednesday as a result of the widespread illness, calling it a "precautionary measure" after consulting with medical staff. Advertisement "The health and well-being of our players and staff remain our top priority. Each player has been provided with an individualized program by the medical and performance staff to support their continued preparation and recovery," the team said in the statement. "We are actively monitoring the situation and will provide updates as more information becomes available." Players who were cleared had individual closed sessions in place of team practice on Wednesday. Per the club, each player has an "individualized program" to address their personal recovery. The Whitecaps aren't the only MLS team whose Concacaf tournament was marred by tummy troubles: A similar situation happened last year with Columbus Crew. A huge number of Crew players and staff struggled with a gastrointestinal illness ahead of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup final against Pachuca, also held in Mexico. The team doctor later surmised that the team had suffered food poisoning. Columbus went on to lose the game 3-0. Advertisement "My players gave everything knowing that they were sick," Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy said at the time, adding that much of the team and staff had been suffering from diarrhea the day before the game. Nancy later said that he believed the tournament's final should take place at a neutral site, pointing to the food poisoning illness. Regardless of the malady, MLS teams have not had a very good run in the Concacaf Champions Cup (formerly known as the Concacaf Champions League). Since the tournament was changed to its modern format in 2008, only one MLS club — the Seattle Sounders — have won the cup. The other titles have all gone to Liga MX squads. Advertisement Going forward, it's not entirely clear how many players the Whitecaps will be able to field for the next few games. In addition to the players out with illness, Vancouver has nine players that will be leaving the club during the international window — the second most in MLS. Vancouver hosts the Sounders on Sunday, before traveling to play the Crew on June 14.
