Human Interest

World Cup winners Kaka and Fabio Cannavaro will be among the former players to take control of FIFA's Twitter account over the next few weeks as the global soccer body seeks to reach out to fans stuck at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Like most of the global sporting calendar, soccer has ground to a halt as countries battle to contain the virus and FIFA said in a statement that it would launch a series of live chats with former players at 18:00 GMT on Thursday. 

Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium will be used as a makeshift storage facility as Spain faces an uphill battle against the coronavirus, the club announced on Thursday in conjunction with the country's Superior Sports Council. 

Spain is second only to Italy in numbers of deaths due to the virus, with the toll passing 4,000 on Thursday. Over 56,000 people have so far tested positive for the coronavirus in the country. The lockdown in Spain is expected to be extended once the initial 15-day measure is completed this weekend. 

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. 

Having spent over 15 years in England playing professionally with Watford, Aston Villa and Manchester United, Ashley Young now sits in the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in northern Italy. Young recently took the time to share with his Twitter followers what the situation looks like and to offer helpful advice.

Hi everyone, just wanted to share my thoughts given I'm currently living in Italy, the epicentre of the virus.

U.S. Soccer hopes that resolving an ongoing pay equity lawsuit with its women's national team will be a first step in a "long process" to rebuild its reputation, the body's president and CEO told reporters on Tuesday. 

President Cindy Parlow Cone took over from Carlos Cordeiro less than two weeks ago after he resigned having taken responsibility for language used in a court filing that prompted public outcry, an on-field protest by players and rebukes from commercial sponsors. 

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have each donated $1.08 million towards the fight against coronavirus. Argentina international Messi’s donation will be split between Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another medical center in his home country, according to a report in MARCA. 

Cristiano Ronaldo and football agent Jorge Mendes joined forces on Tuesday to donate lifesaving equipment to Portuguese hospitals struggling to treat patients with coronavirus. The two will donate equipment for two wards at Lisbon's Santa Maria hospital, providing the wards with 10 beds each, ventilators, heart monitors, infusion pumps and syringes, the hospital said in a statement. 

Players have accepted that playing games in closed stadiums might be the only way to complete the English domestic league season, Bobby Barnes, deputy chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), has said. 

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. 

This season's Champions League, Europa League and women's Champions League finals scheduled for May have been formally postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Tuesday.

All three competitions are currently suspended along with almost every European domestic league because of the coronavirus while UEFA last week postponed the Euro 2020 tournament until next year.