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England's Manchester United and Italy's Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo's current and former teams, both suffered hefty financial losses for 2020-21 as the coronavirus crisis drained European soccer stadiums of fans.

While Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward expressed confidence in United's recovery as Old Trafford hosts capacity crowds for the first time in almost 18 months, Juventus said it would also end its 2021-22 financial year, which will still be heavily affected by the pandemic, with a "significant loss."

The United States Women's National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) on Wednesday labeled the U.S. Soccer Federation's offer of identical contract proposals for both the men's and women's teams as a nothing more than a publicity stunt.

The U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) announced its offer on Tuesday as part of an effort it said was to align the women's and men's national teams under one collective bargaining agreement.

LAHORE, Pakistan — Players from Afghanistan's female youth soccer teams have arrived in Pakistan and will seek political asylum in third countries amid concern over the status of female athletes under the new Taliban government in Kabul.

Some 81 people, including female players of several youth teams, their coaches and family members reached Pakistan through the Torkham border crossing, Umar Zia, a senior Pakistan Football Federation official, said on Wednesday. A further 34 will arrive on Thursday, he said.

Austin FC signed 16-year-old Owen Wolff, the second-oldest son of head coach Josh Wolff, to a first-team contract on Thursday.

Wolff is the first homegrown signing in Austin's history.

The FIRST EVER #AustinFC Homegrown!

Owen Wolff is #VERDE now!

Premier League clubs could face sanctions from FIFA if they play South American players who were not released for international duty in this weekend's games.

Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are among clubs who did not release Brazilian players for the current international break due to them having to travel to "red list" countries and face a choice of not selecting those players this weekend or running the risk of sanctions.

SAO PAULO — Brazilian health officials accused four Argentine footballers of breaking quarantine rules on Saturday and began an investigation that could lead to their exclusion from this weekend's World Cup qualifier between the two sides.

The Argentina squad flew into Brazil on Friday, the day after beating Venezuela 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Caracas.

The squad for Sunday's game at the Corinthians arena contains four players who play in England, Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur duo Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero.

New signings Vicky Losada and Khadija Shaw were among those on target for Manchester City as it ran riot in the first half to secure a handsome 4-0 victory over Everton in their FA Women's Super League opener on Saturday.

Proposals to hold the World Cup every two years, being pushed by governing body FIFA, are set to be opposed by UEFA and Europe's leading clubs, sources have told Reuters.

Arsène Wenger, FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, has been promoting the idea as part of the organization's review of the international match calendar and this week repeated his support for the change from the established four-year cycle.

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been released from the national team squad after picking up a one-game suspension following their 2-1 victory over Ireland on Wednesday, the country's football federation said in a statement.

Soccer's world governing body FIFA said it is negotiating the "extremely challenging" evacuation of soccer players and other athletes from Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover of power.