Informational/Did You Know

The novel coronavirus has crippled the global economy and devastated lives and families but Atlético Madrid and Spain midfielder Saúl Ñíguez believes there is a way out if people show solidarity with each other. 

With football on hold during the health crisis, Saúl, 25, has launched Saldremos Juntos (“We'll get through this together”), a campaign to boost Spain's freelancers and small businesses whose livelihoods have been bludgeoned by the pause in activity. 

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.

BERN — FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said that football will be "totally different" when it re-starts after the coronavirus. He has talked of smaller, but more meaningful, competitions, more balance and football being "more attentive to true values."

Infantino has not yet gone into further details and some may question his credentials in this matter: as FIFA president he has increased the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams and, in a previous role as UEFA general secretary, oversaw growing financial inequality in European football.

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.