USA announces new women's league
The American federation will pay for up to 24 of its internationals while the Mexican federation will fund at least 12 internationals.
That means each team could field some seven internationals from the top-ranked American national team, No. 7 Canada and No. 24 Mexico.
"Immediately you're going to see one of the best leagues in the world ... You're going to see a lot of top players," said U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati.
"There's no doubt there'll be top players coming from elsewhere."
The league is set to start in March/April next year with eight franchises: Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, New Jersey, Portland, Seattle, western New York state and Washington, D.C.
The schedule will probably run through September/October but could change depending on international competitions such as the World Cup or Olympics.
Benitez begins Chelsea reign
New boss Rafael Benitez will meet Chelsea's players on Thursday as he attempts to swiftly revive the club's flagging fortunes.
The Spaniard was quickly installed in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat on Wednesday night on an interim deal until the end of the season, just hours after Roberto Di Matteo was axed following the club's 3-0 defeat by Juventus in the UEFA Champions League.
Benitez arrived in England on Thursday morning after cutting short an engagement in the Middle East, and he will have little time in which to prepare his side for Sunday's crucial Premier League home date against Manchester City.
Four league games without a win have seen Chelsea slip four points behind leaders City, while the Champions League holders face elimination at the group stage following a dismal result in Turin.
Benitez will be reunited with Fernando Torres in west London and will be hoping to bring the best out of the struggling striker, who enjoyed a prolific spell while working with him at Liverpool.
The 52-year-old, who will name Boudewijn Zenden as his assistant according to the Dutchman's father and agent, may also have to win over the club's supporters as he was involved in some fiery clashes with Chelsea during his reign at Anfield.
But he must find his feet fast, with London derbies against Fulham and West Ham on the horizon following the top-of-the-table clash with City.
Mata hails arrival of Benitez
Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata believes compatriot Rafa Benitez will be a hit at Stamford Bridge.
The Spain international, 24, was the first Blues player to voice his disappointment at Roberto Di Matteo's sacking - dubbing the Italian 'a legend' - but is pleased to welcome Benitez as his replacement.
Di Matteo was shown the door by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich following a dismal 3-0 UEFA Champions League defeat to Juventus in Turin on Tuesday, and the club moved quickly to agree a deal with ex-Liverpool boss Benitez that runs until the end of the season.
Mata said: "Rafa Benitez is a great coach. He's got lots of experience and won a lot of trophies with Liverpool, taking them to a very high level. He knows the Premier League too.
"Di Matteo's sacking means things haven't been going well but we can't just blame it all on the Juventus game. We can't just focus on what happened recently.
"It was a really tough blow losing to Juventus. It was a sad night for all the players. We thought we could at least draw, if not win the game."
One of Benitez's first tasks will be revitalising the career of Fernando Torres, who excelled when the pair worked together at Anfield before the latter's £50m switch to west London in January of 2011.
Benitez previously said of the striker: "He's still trying very hard but I still think he'll improve. Can he get back to that level? I'm not sure but he can improve, especially if he can improve his confidence, he can get back to high levels."
Spurs fans attacked in Rome
A Tottenham fan was left seriously injured and several others needed hospital treatment after being attacked by Lazio supporters in Rome.
Violent clashes erupted after 1am on Thursday morning when around 50 'Ultras' attacked a group of Spurs fans at the Drunken Ship pub in the Campo de Fiori.
Nine Tottenham supporters, aged between 20-60, were left wounded with one critically ill after being stabbed.
The Lazio fans, who had their faces covered by motorcycle helmets or scarves, were armed with knives, baseball bats, belts and knuckle dusters, according to reports.
One witness told an Italian newspaper he 'feared the worst' and photographs showed that the pub was extensively damaged in the attack.
A Tottenham spokesman said: "We understand from local police that nine of our supporters suffered injuries last night following an incident in the city centre.
"Three of these supporters were taken to hospital for further treatment. We continue to seek further information and are liaising with both Italian and UK police on this matter."
Police made a number of arrests at the scene and a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed they are investigating.
A police spokesman said: "A group of about 40 or 50 people in motorcycle helmets or with their faces covered were armed and attacked the group of English football fans drinking in Campo de Fiori square."
Di Matteo 'proud' of reign
Roberto Di Matteo says he leaves Chelsea with his head held high despite his dismissal as manager.
Di Matteo's reign at Stamford Bridge lasted just 262 days - six more than his predecessor Andre Villas-Boas - but during his short time in charge they won the Champions League and FA Cup.
Di Matteo was dismissed in the early hours of Wednesday morning after Chelsea's 3-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus.
Later the same day Rafael Benitez was appointed as interim manager until the end of the season.
Di Matteo said: "I am extremely proud of the successes and trophies that we were able to bring to the club in recent months.
"Lifting Chelsea's first Champions League trophy in Munich was the best achievement in the club's history and without doubt the highlight of my career."
"I have a deep and unreserved passion for Chelsea Football Club and I would like to sincerely thank all of my staff, my players and of course the Chelsea fans for their tremendous support in the intense time I have been manager at the Bridge."
Wilshere earns Wenger praise
Arsene Wenger picked out Jack Wilshere for praise after his performance in the 2-0 victory over Montpellier.
The victory - courtesy of goals from Wilshere and Lukas Podolski - combined with Schalke's win over Olympiakos, means Wenger's men have advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League with a game to spare.
After a poor first half Wilshere scored his first goal since his comeback from injury, clipping neatly over the goalkeeper from Olivier Giroud's cushioned header.
And Wenger was full of praise for the central midfielder.
"He's getting strong physically. Tonight he got in the box - he's the complete midfielder you know," he said.
"I believe he can defend well, attack well and these kinds of matches will give him confidence."
Arsenal are second in the group behind Schalke, and they need to beat Olympiakos in Greece and hope Montpellier hold or beat the Germans to finish top.
Wenger said: "We will try to finish top of the group. You always feel a bit guilty if you don't do it. There are groups where you have Dortmund first, Real Madrid second - you don't really know what is the best.
"But overall statistically it is still better to finish top because you feel you've done your better if you finish top of the group.
"We will try to win at Olympiacos and Montpellier can beat Schalke at home. We will take a full-strength team.
"In this competition you just want to get to the next round and win the game. That's all you can do. Now of course we go into a cup (knock-out) competition which is a little bit different. We have some time and it's important we go into March with our best team available.
"I found Montpellier well organised, strong in their challenges and quite aggressive so for us it was a question of being patient, not making mistakes, using our experience and wait for a chances.
"The first half we had problems in the transitions to go from defence to attack and in the second half it was better.
"We moved the ball quicker, made more incisive runs and scored two goals."
City injury concern for Kompany
Manchester City's Champions League exit could have a nasty postscript after skipper Vincent Kompany left the Etihad Stadium on crutches on Wednesday night.
"The opportunity to claim our place at the top of European football will come again," said Kompany on Twitter. "No sad faces, just the hunger to improve."
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Drogba asks FIFA for loan move
Roberto Di Matteo says he leaves Chelsea with his head held high despite his dismissal as manager.
Di Matteo's reign at Stamford Bridge lasted just 262 days - six more than his predecessor Andre Villas-Boas - but during his short time in charge they won the Champions League and FA Cup.
Di Matteo was dismissed in the early hours of Wednesday morning after Chelsea's 3-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus.
Later the same day Rafael Benitez was appointed as interim manager until the end of the season.
Di Matteo said: "I am extremely proud of the successes and trophies that we were able to bring to the club in recent months.
"Lifting Chelsea's first Champions League trophy in Munich was the best achievement in the club's history and without doubt the highlight of my career."
"I have a deep and unreserved passion for Chelsea Football Club and I would like to sincerely thank all of my staff, my players and of course the Chelsea fans for their tremendous support in the intense time I have been manager at the Bridge."
Wilshere earns Wenger praise
Arsene Wenger picked out Jack Wilshere for praise after his performance in the 2-0 victory over Montpellier.
The victory - courtesy of goals from Wilshere and Lukas Podolski - combined with Schalke's win over Olympiakos, means Wenger's men have advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League with a game to spare.
After a poor first half Wilshere scored his first goal since his comeback from injury, clipping neatly over the goalkeeper from Olivier Giroud's cushioned header.
And Wenger was full of praise for the central midfielder.
"He's getting strong physically. Tonight he got in the box - he's the complete midfielder you know," he said.
"I believe he can defend well, attack well and these kinds of matches will give him confidence."
Arsenal are second in the group behind Schalke, and they need to beat Olympiakos in Greece and hope Montpellier hold or beat the Germans to finish top.
Wenger said: "We will try to finish top of the group. You always feel a bit guilty if you don't do it. There are groups where you have Dortmund first, Real Madrid second - you don't really know what is the best.
"But overall statistically it is still better to finish top because you feel you've done your better if you finish top of the group.
"We will try to win at Olympiacos and Montpellier can beat Schalke at home. We will take a full-strength team.
"In this competition you just want to get to the next round and win the game. That's all you can do. Now of course we go into a cup (knock-out) competition which is a little bit different. We have some time and it's important we go into March with our best team available.
"I found Montpellier well organised, strong in their challenges and quite aggressive so for us it was a question of being patient, not making mistakes, using our experience and wait for a chances.
"The first half we had problems in the transitions to go from defence to attack and in the second half it was better.
"We moved the ball quicker, made more incisive runs and scored two goals."
City injury concern for Kompany
Manchester City's Champions League exit could have a nasty postscript after skipper Vincent Kompany left the Etihad Stadium on crutches on Wednesday night.
Kompany took a knock during the second half of the 1-1 draw with Real Madrid and, although the Belgian was able to complete the game, he was not moving freely.
Manager Roberto Mancini can only hope Kompany has not sustained too much damage, particularly with a visit to Chelsea looming on Sunday."The opportunity to claim our place at the top of European football will come again," said Kompany on Twitter. "No sad faces, just the hunger to improve."
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Drogba asks FIFA for loan move
Didier Drogba has asked FIFA for special permission to move on loan from his
Chinese club despite being outside the official transfer window.
FIFA said Wednesday it is considering the former Chelsea forward's request for an exemption from international rules.
''The FIFA administration services are looking into it,'' FIFA said in a statement.
Drogba's season with Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua finished this month.
If FIFA grants Drogba's request, the 34-year-old Ivory Coast captain could play for a new team to prepare for the African Cup of Nations, which kicks off on Jan. 19 in South Africa.
Existing rules prevent Drogba from representing another club until Jan. 1.
FIFA has upheld the rules in previous cases when David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Landon Donovan had to wait until January to make loan moves to Europe after the Major League Soccer season ended.
Drogba signed a contract through 2014 with Shanghai weeks after helping Chelsea win the Champions League title in May. He scored an 88th-minute equalizer against Bayern Munich, then struck the winning penalty in the shootout.
Drogba is an iconic figure in Chelsea history and was back at Stamford Bridge on Nov. 11 to see his old team draw 1-1 with Liverpool.
Even if FIFA relented and Chelsea was allowed to sign Drogba on a short-term contract, he could not play in its must-win final Champions League group match against Nordsjaelland on Dec. 5.
Champions League teams must register their squad lists for the group stage with UEFA in September before their first match.
For the latest soccer update throughout the day like us on facebook soccer4life or subscribe to our feeds.
FIFA said Wednesday it is considering the former Chelsea forward's request for an exemption from international rules.
''The FIFA administration services are looking into it,'' FIFA said in a statement.
Drogba's season with Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua finished this month.
If FIFA grants Drogba's request, the 34-year-old Ivory Coast captain could play for a new team to prepare for the African Cup of Nations, which kicks off on Jan. 19 in South Africa.
Existing rules prevent Drogba from representing another club until Jan. 1.
FIFA has upheld the rules in previous cases when David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Landon Donovan had to wait until January to make loan moves to Europe after the Major League Soccer season ended.
Drogba signed a contract through 2014 with Shanghai weeks after helping Chelsea win the Champions League title in May. He scored an 88th-minute equalizer against Bayern Munich, then struck the winning penalty in the shootout.
Drogba is an iconic figure in Chelsea history and was back at Stamford Bridge on Nov. 11 to see his old team draw 1-1 with Liverpool.
Even if FIFA relented and Chelsea was allowed to sign Drogba on a short-term contract, he could not play in its must-win final Champions League group match against Nordsjaelland on Dec. 5.
Champions League teams must register their squad lists for the group stage with UEFA in September before their first match.
For the latest soccer update throughout the day like us on facebook soccer4life or subscribe to our feeds.
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