Following Burundi’s announcement on Monday that its league is now suspended, one of the final bastions of actual football in the world fell by the wayside. So what do we do now? If you’re jonesing for some familiar faces and the sight of that sphere rolling around a green carpet, FIFA 20 has got you covered this week with the beginning of two massive tournaments featuring some world-renowned players.
For those who thought that marble racing, cherry pit spitting and the Stupid Robot Fighting League represented the future of sports, I regret to inform you that they’ve now each had their respective moments to shine and failed miserably.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has reshaped our lives now and forever, but there’s just no point in hoping that an android with a vacuum cleaner chassis for a body and plastic skateboard deck for a fist can ever captivate in the ways that Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo could.
The Men's International Champions Cup, which annually features European soccer powerhouses such as Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in exhibition play, will not be held this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The tournament's parent company, Relevent Sports Group, made the announcement Friday.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min will be exposed to tear gas, undertake live-fire drills and go on a 30km loaded march during three weeks of intense military training in South Korea this month, a Marine Corps official told Reuters on Tuesday.
All able-bodied men are required to serve in the military for around two years in South Korea, which is technically still at war with the North, but Son received an exemption for leading the country to gold at the 2018 Asian Games.
The domestic Tajikistan soccer season is kicking off on schedule despite almost every other soccer league around the globe having ground to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The clubs in the landlocked Central Asian country of nine million people are largely unknown, even among the world's most ardent football fans.
But the Super Cup clash between champions Istiklol and league runners-up Khujand on Saturday could bring some solace to soccer fanatics this weekend with bookmakers already offering a variety of bets and even live streams of the game.
Chinese football is inching towards a return to action, with teams resuming training this week, though questions remain over when exactly the country's top flight can kick off its coronavirus-delayed 2020 campaign.
Australia coach Graham Arnold has called for the age limit at the Tokyo Olympics football tournament to be raised to ensure that players who helped their country qualify remain eligible if the Games are postponed to 2021. The Olympic men's tournament is largely a youth affair, with squads allowed only three players above the age of 23.
Former Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini has been diagnosed with COVID-19 following his return to China, the Belgian's Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng announced on its official website on Sunday.
Fellaini, who joined Shandong last January from the English Premier League side, returned to the country on Friday to join up with his club and tested positive for the coronavirus. The former Belgium international did not have a fever and was asymptomatic, the club said, and has now been placed in quarantine.
Great news for people who love football and are bored senseless: Sega has announced Football Manager 2020 is now free to play on Steam until March 25 on PC/Mac. That gives you one week to take Gateshead from National League North to the Premier League and European glory.
And if you find yourself hooked come March 25, you’ll be able to continue with your saved file after purchasing the game.
Italy's Serie A soccer league has confirmed that five matches will be played behind closed doors at the weekend because of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, including the clash between leaders Juventus and third-placed Inter Milan on Sunday.