Latest news with #UEFAConferenceLeague
Hans India
3 minutes ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Bournemouth sign goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic from Chelsea on five-year deal
Bournemouth: AFC Bournemouth have announced the signing of goalkeeper, Djordje Petrovic, from Chelsea. The Serbian joins the Cherries on a five-year deal and will link up with the squad immediately, ahead of the club's pre-season tour to the US. Petrovic, who has 23 Premier League appearances to his name, enjoyed a standout season on loan at Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg during the 2024/25 campaign. 'I'm really happy to be here. I came to Bournemouth because I want to grow and I want to play at the best level. Together with this club, with these facilities, I think we can achieve it. I want to help the team get the results, improve every day and be a better player.' The 25-year-old played his part as the side finished seventh and secured their place in the UEFA Conference League, consequently being named as the club's Player of the Season and receiving a nomination for Ligue 1's Goalkeeper of the Season. After signing for the club, AFC Bournemouth's President of Football Operations, Tiago Pinto, shared his thoughts with 'I'm really pleased to bring Djordje to the club. The opportunity to sign a player of his calibre in the market was one we had to take, particularly given how vital the position of a goalkeeper is. 'We have been looking for the right talent to invest in within this area of the pitch and Djordje has very impressive qualities, as well as a lot of experience for someone who is still young. We are excited that he is the one coming to join our project and look forward to working with him.' Petrovic joins the club following the arrival of Adrian Truffert from Rennes and Junior Kroupi, who spent the second half of last season on loan at FC Lorient.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
UEFA Conference League 2025/26: Key dates, match schedule & final
In 2025/26, the UEFA Conference League returns for its fifth edition and its second under the new format following a resounding success in 2024/25. Building on a successful debut, Europe's newest club competition kicks off on July 10 and continues until the final in Leipzig on May 27, 2026. Advertisement Here's a look at all the key dates for the upcoming season of Europe's third-tier club competition, along with details on how to watch the matches live. How to watch the 2025/26 Conference League season? All games in Europe's newest club competition during the 2025/26 season will be available to watch online via Conference League live streams. When do Conference League qualifying fixtures start? A total of 155 teams will compete in the 2025/26 Conference League qualifying cycle – significantly more than those contesting in the UEFA Champions League (53) or UEFA Europa League (53). Like in the other two competitions, the structure includes the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 21 teams in the Champions Path and 134 in the Main Path. Advertisement Twenty-four clubs to win their play-off ties will advance to the league phase, where they'll join 12 teams eliminated from the Europa League play-offs. Qualification began on July 10 and will run until August 25. When is the Conference League group stage draw? The 2025/26 UEFA Conference League group stage draw will take place on August 29, the day after the conclusion of the play-offs. When does the Conference League opening phase start? While the Champions League and Europa League newly formatted league phase gets underway in September, Europe's tertiary club tournament kicks off the following month. Advertisement The 2025/26 Conference League opening stage begins at the start of October, with the first matches set for October 2. Last season's winners, Chelsea, qualified automatically for the Europa League but will have a seat at Europe's top table due to their domestic league finish. Beaten finalists Real Betis locked down a Europa League berth by finishing sixth in the 2024/25 La Liga season, leaving Fiorentina as the only former finalists in the competition. When does the knockout stage of the Conference League start? Like last season, the newly formatted knockout phase gets underway with a play-off round in late February. Advertisement The play-off round runs from February 19-26, after which the 32 remaining teams face off in the round of 16 on March 12 and 19. Teams compete in the quarter-final first legs on April 9, then play the return fixtures on April 16. The semi-finals commence on April 30, with second-leg clashes scheduled for May 7. When and where is the Conference League final in 2026? The 2025/26 Conference League showpiece, scheduled to take place at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig on May 27, will be the first final held at the home of Bundesliga giants RB Leipzig. Despite never hosting a major European final, this 47,000-capacity stadium staged five matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and four games at the 2024 European Championship. Advertisement Winning the trophy guarantees a spot in next season's Europa League, if the champions haven't already qualified through their domestic league. 2025/26 Conference League Schedule – In Summary Conference League Qualifying Fixtures First qualifying round: July 10 & 17, 2025 Second qualifying round: July 24 & 31, 2025 Third qualifying round: August 7 & 14, 2025 Play-offs: August 21 & 28, 2025 Conference League Opening Phase Matchday 1: October 2, 2025 Matchday 2: October 23, 2025 Matchday 3: November 6, 2025 Matchday 4: November 27, 2025 Matchday 5: December 11, 2025 Matchday 6: December 18, 2026 Knockout Stage Knockout phase play-offs: February 19 & 26, 2026 Round of 16: March 12 & 19, 2026 Quarter-finals: April 9 & 16, 2026 Semi-finals: April 30 & May 7, 2026 Final: May 27, 2026 (Leipzig) Conference League Draws First qualifying round: June 17, 2025 Second qualifying round: June 18, 2025 Third qualifying round: July 21, 2025 Play-offs: August 4, 2025 League phase: August 29, 2025 Knockout phase play-offs: TBC Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final: February 27, 2026 Conference League Final Venue: Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany.
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Alan Shearer makes Chelsea title prediction and tips Man Utd transfer target to leave
Chelsea ended Enzo Maresca's first season as head coach on a major high, finishing in the Champions League places, winning the UEFA Conference League and then winning the FIFA Club World Cup with a magnificent final victory over Paris Saint-Germain Alan Shearer insists you'd have to be "very, very brave" to back against Chelsea being involved in the Premier League title race this season - as he hailed Enzo Maresca for the "magnificent" job he has done at Stamford Bridge. The Italian coach, who arrived in west London last summer after leading Leicester City to the Championship title, came under widespread scrutiny last season - with his past relationship with Pep Guardiola, having worked as a coach at Manchester City previously seeing him cruelly being dubbed 'Diet Pep' in some quarters. But Chelsea finished the 2024-25 campaign strongly, finishing in the Champions League places, winning the UEFA Conference League and then brushing aside European champions Paris Saint-Germain with a magnificent final display to win the FIFA Club World Cup. Impressively, Maresca has done that while club chiefs continue to spend big in the transfer market on adding more young talent to the Premier League's youngest squad. Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and £60m striker Joao Pedro have all already arrived, while a number of players - including Noni Madueke and Christopher Nkunku - are set to depart. Maresca, vocally backed by Cole Palmer after the win over PSG in New York, has been working on ironing out his side's inconsistencies and getting his side, tactically and mentally, to a point where they can challenge the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City in a title battle again - and not just cup competitions. And former England captain Shearer believes the Blues boss may well have done just that. "I think it would take a very, very brave person to say that Chelsea would not be involved in the title hunt next year because of what they've achieved this season, what they've just achieved [winning the Club World Cup], who they've signed, who they will sign,' Shearer said on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football. "I think you have to say that they will be involved in the title race." Speaking about Maresca and the Club World Cup final, Shearer added: "It was a masterclass from Maresca because PSG went in, their football has worked all season and why not? Why should they change anything? "But I think the little tweaks from Maresca, they're pressing high and all those things, and I just think it worked perfectly for them and he deserves huge credit, not only for the job he's done in this competition, but for the whole season. "I don't think anyone knew what to expect because you know what happens at Chelsea, it's happened before: if you don't win things, you know exactly what happens. "You're in there for a reason and know how it's going to work. He's done a magnificent job, he really has." One player who could also depart in the coming weeks, potentially, is Nicolas Jackson. The Senegal striker was Maresca's main man last season, but has been sent off twice in recent months and has seen both Joao Pedro - who made an outstanding start to life as a Blue in the USA - and Liam Delap arrive at the club. Now the former Villarreal forward is being linked with a move away, with Manchester United monitoring his situation as they continue to look for a new No.9 and suggestions Chelsea could deal for around £50million. Shearer admits: "As soon as [Joao] Pedro came in and scored the two goals and Delap's already there, if there's one person that's going to be shifted out then my guess it would be Jackson. "It wouldn't surprise me if they've already offered him to other football clubs and they've enquired about it." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
The National
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
FIFA have finally done it - I'm getting tired of football
Homer, having died and gone to hell, is sent to the 'Ironic Punishment Division', where he is force-fed an endless supply of his favourite sweet treat – donuts – from a conveyer belt. Here I was, someone who loves football and even depends upon it to make a living, feeling more than a little nauseous from having it crammed endlessly into my cakehole. Unlike Homer, though, it turns out I didn't possess the insatiable appetite to much stomach being force-fed Gianni Infantino's gross, overblown spectacle. I know, I know, no one was actually forcing me to watch it. I could have ignored it completely, as I actually did for most for the tournament. Whether it was morbid curiosity, the fact I hadn't seen a game in a couple of weeks or the 'FOMO' on another exhibition of PSG's slick football after their demolition of Real Madrid, I eventually decided to tune into the final, where the Qatar-backed Parisians were in fact blown off the park in the first half by those plucky underdogs, Chelsea, whose squad was assembled for the measly sum of £1.4bn. (Image: Getty Images) Even the £110m that the Londoners banked from winning the thing only accounts for about a quarter of their spend in the last 12 months. Despite the gawdy glitz and glamour though – the half-time show, the thrones perched on high from where Infantino, Donald Trump and their wives surveyed the scene like vultures greedily eyeing the carcass of a once great sport – the overriding feeling was one of apathy. Read more: Chelsea had won an invitational tournament in the USA, played out during the close season in baking heat. They were crowned 'World Champions', even though some of the world's best clubs were not taking part, while amateur sides like Auckland City (beaten 10-0 by Bayern Munich) were, as a token gesture to the global nature of the tournament. Did anyone really care? For all the billion-dollar bluster, the tournament remains something of a curiosity rather than a must-see event. At best, it seems to occupy a status no greater than the UEFA Conference League. If that. It is the SPFL Trust Trophy of 'elite' competitions. But over and above the whole dodgy premise and overblown extravagance of this manufactured mishmash of a tournament, there was more to my indifference. It was just too much football. And too much club football, specifically. The novelty of summer tournaments is, firstly, that they only take place once every two years, and secondly, that they feature national teams. By the end, despite one South American team, Fluminense, lasting until the semi-final stage, this was little more than a diluted version of the same teams we watch year-on-year slugging it out for real in the Champions League. A tournament which itself has grown a little tired, despite the introduction of the expanded league phase (more games, again) last season. More important than spectator fatigue though is the issue of player welfare. I am certainly no fan of Infantino and the direction in which he is dragging world football, but Sergio Marchi, president of FIFPRO (a worldwide representative organisation with around 65,000 footballers in their membership) really let him have it this week. Comparing Infantino to 'Nero' and describing the Club World Cup as a 'fiction', Marchi let rip. 'FIFPRO cannot fail to point out, with absolute clarity, that this competition hides a dangerous disconnect with the true reality experienced by most footballers around the world,' he said. 'What was presented as a global celebration of football was nothing more than a fiction created by FIFA, promoted by its president, without dialogue, sensitivity and respect for those who sustain the game with their daily efforts. 'A grandiloquent staging inevitably reminiscent of the 'bread and circuses' of Nero's Rome, entertainment for the masses while behind the scenes inequality, precariousness and the lack of protection for the true protagonists deepen.' Ouch. FIFPRO and other bodies such as the English Premier League are taking legal action against FIFA for the lack of communication before staging this tournament, and in an effort to protect those protagonists - the players - have now struck an agreement with the governing body that 'there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period/holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season'. A study conducted on FIFPRO's behalf suggested players should have at least eight weeks of rest between seasons, but I guess it's a start. For many reasons, it is essential for the future of the game that there is an acceptance within FIFA that it might sometimes actually be ok if there is no top-level football to relentlessly feast upon. For the players, endless seasons not only increase the risk of injury, but fatigue also dilutes the quality of the product for spectators. (Image: Getty Images) Players are reluctant at times to speak out over such issues, wary of being criticised for complaining when they are so abundantly remunerated, but the likes of Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois have broken cover over their experiences in the US this summer, and the persistence with afternoon kick off times when temperatures are at their peak. "It is warm and it is not easy to play," Courtois said. "If the games were played in the evening, it would be better for the spectacle." All of this raises concerns about the staging of the World Cup in the Americas next summer. In true Infantino style, such piffling details such as the players weren't factored in when deciding to plough ahead with his plan to expand the tournament to 48 teams, and with 104 games to pack into 39 days, you can probably take a decent guess as to whether commercial broadcasting interests will win out or concerns over player welfare. Also, the only way for the top clubs to cope with the modern schedule is to hoard players, and so the gap between the rich and the rest increases further. 'World Champions' Chelsea, for instance, currently have a first-team squad of 43 players. Almost as much as Motherwell last season. And speaking of the humbler teams who make up the earthlier delights presented to us here in Scotland, most of them are already back in action in the League Cup group stage. It might just be me as I advance into middle age and grow ever more wistful for those long summers without football - stretches that may have seemed interminable at the time, but made the start of each season an eagerly anticipated event after many weeks, if not months, of being starved of action - but this year, it barely feels like there's been a close season at all. I don't know if I'll ever reach a point where I truly lose my appetite for football. But increasingly, I'm starting to come round to the notion, unlike our old pals Homer and Gianni, that you can have too much of a good thing.
The Herald Scotland
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
FIFA have finally done it - I'm getting tired of football
Here I was, someone who loves football and even depends upon it to make a living, feeling more than a little nauseous from having it crammed endlessly into my cakehole. Unlike Homer, though, it turns out I didn't possess the insatiable appetite to much stomach being force-fed Gianni Infantino's gross, overblown spectacle. I know, I know, no one was actually forcing me to watch it. I could have ignored it completely, as I actually did for most for the tournament. Whether it was morbid curiosity, the fact I hadn't seen a game in a couple of weeks or the 'FOMO' on another exhibition of PSG's slick football after their demolition of Real Madrid, I eventually decided to tune into the final, where the Qatar-backed Parisians were in fact blown off the park in the first half by those plucky underdogs, Chelsea, whose squad was assembled for the measly sum of £1.4bn. (Image: Getty Images) Even the £110m that the Londoners banked from winning the thing only accounts for about a quarter of their spend in the last 12 months. Despite the gawdy glitz and glamour though – the half-time show, the thrones perched on high from where Infantino, Donald Trump and their wives surveyed the scene like vultures greedily eyeing the carcass of a once great sport – the overriding feeling was one of apathy. Read more: Chelsea had won an invitational tournament in the USA, played out during the close season in baking heat. They were crowned 'World Champions', even though some of the world's best clubs were not taking part, while amateur sides like Auckland City (beaten 10-0 by Bayern Munich) were, as a token gesture to the global nature of the tournament. Did anyone really care? For all the billion-dollar bluster, the tournament remains something of a curiosity rather than a must-see event. At best, it seems to occupy a status no greater than the UEFA Conference League. If that. It is the SPFL Trust Trophy of 'elite' competitions. But over and above the whole dodgy premise and overblown extravagance of this manufactured mishmash of a tournament, there was more to my indifference. It was just too much football. And too much club football, specifically. The novelty of summer tournaments is, firstly, that they only take place once every two years, and secondly, that they feature national teams. By the end, despite one South American team, Fluminense, lasting until the semi-final stage, this was little more than a diluted version of the same teams we watch year-on-year slugging it out for real in the Champions League. A tournament which itself has grown a little tired, despite the introduction of the expanded league phase (more games, again) last season. More important than spectator fatigue though is the issue of player welfare. I am certainly no fan of Infantino and the direction in which he is dragging world football, but Sergio Marchi, president of FIFPRO (a worldwide representative organisation with around 65,000 footballers in their membership) really let him have it this week. Comparing Infantino to 'Nero' and describing the Club World Cup as a 'fiction', Marchi let rip. 'FIFPRO cannot fail to point out, with absolute clarity, that this competition hides a dangerous disconnect with the true reality experienced by most footballers around the world,' he said. 'What was presented as a global celebration of football was nothing more than a fiction created by FIFA, promoted by its president, without dialogue, sensitivity and respect for those who sustain the game with their daily efforts. 'A grandiloquent staging inevitably reminiscent of the 'bread and circuses' of Nero's Rome, entertainment for the masses while behind the scenes inequality, precariousness and the lack of protection for the true protagonists deepen.' Ouch. FIFPRO and other bodies such as the English Premier League are taking legal action against FIFA for the lack of communication before staging this tournament, and in an effort to protect those protagonists - the players - have now struck an agreement with the governing body that 'there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period/holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season'. A study conducted on FIFPRO's behalf suggested players should have at least eight weeks of rest between seasons, but I guess it's a start. For many reasons, it is essential for the future of the game that there is an acceptance within FIFA that it might sometimes actually be ok if there is no top-level football to relentlessly feast upon. For the players, endless seasons not only increase the risk of injury, but fatigue also dilutes the quality of the product for spectators. (Image: Getty Images) Players are reluctant at times to speak out over such issues, wary of being criticised for complaining when they are so abundantly remunerated, but the likes of Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois have broken cover over their experiences in the US this summer, and the persistence with afternoon kick off times when temperatures are at their peak. "It is warm and it is not easy to play," Courtois said. "If the games were played in the evening, it would be better for the spectacle." All of this raises concerns about the staging of the World Cup in the Americas next summer. In true Infantino style, such piffling details such as the players weren't factored in when deciding to plough ahead with his plan to expand the tournament to 48 teams, and with 104 games to pack into 39 days, you can probably take a decent guess as to whether commercial broadcasting interests will win out or concerns over player welfare. Also, the only way for the top clubs to cope with the modern schedule is to hoard players, and so the gap between the rich and the rest increases further. 'World Champions' Chelsea, for instance, currently have a first-team squad of 43 players. Almost as much as Motherwell last season. And speaking of the humbler teams who make up the earthlier delights presented to us here in Scotland, most of them are already back in action in the League Cup group stage. It might just be me as I advance into middle age and grow ever more wistful for those long summers without football - stretches that may have seemed interminable at the time, but made the start of each season an eagerly anticipated event after many weeks, if not months, of being starved of action - but this year, it barely feels like there's been a close season at all. I don't know if I'll ever reach a point where I truly lose my appetite for football. But increasingly, I'm starting to come round to the notion, unlike our old pals Homer and Gianni, that you can have too much of a good thing.
