Central & South America

After a break of 187 days due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 Copa Libertadores resumed on Tuesday, Sept. 15, with the continuation of the group stage. 

BERN — The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to cost club football $14 billion this year worldwide, around one third of its value, a leading official at global soccer body FIFA said on Wednesday.

Olli Rehn, who heads the FIFA committee set up to tackle the effects of the pandemic, said that FIFA, along with financial consultants, had estimated the club game to be worth between $40 billion and $45 billion worldwide.

It’s been almost four years since the LaMia Flight 2933 disaster which claimed the lives of 77 people, including 19 Chapecoense players. Of the three surviving players, two are still directly involved with the club.

Barcelona forward Luis Suárez is due to sit a language test on Monday in a bid to obtain Italian citizenship that would enable him to move to Serie A champions Juventus, Italian and Uruguayan media said Sunday.

There have been widespread reports that Juventus are chasing the 33-year-old Uruguayan who, if the moves go through, would line up alongside defender Giorgio Chiellini, the Italy defender he famously bit in a World Cup match in 2014.

In 2019, Concacaf held the largest-ever Gold Cup, with 16 teams creating an event that was actually pretty exciting. For the 2021 Gold Cup format, Concacaf is doubling down on the 16-team field but adding some weird new spice to the tournament — and for some reason an odd choice for its first guest participant in over a decade.

Own goals are the most cringeworthy moments in football. A player inadvertently turns the ball into his or her own net and gifts the opposing team a goal. Sometimes they’re down to the attacking team putting too much pressure on the defense; sometimes they’re down to horrible back-passes or lapses in concentration. Rarely do we see an own goal from the halfway line, which is exactly what happened on Saturday in Uruguay. Was it the worst own goal ever?