Gareth Bale has wasted no time in grabbing the golf clubs after his retirement, announcing his participation in the upcoming Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The former Tottenham, Real Madrid and Wales player stepped away from football earlier this month following his participation at the 2022 World Cup, bringing an end to a glittering career that included winning five Champions League titles.
The 33-year-old confirmed on social media that he will be lining up alongside professionals and other celebrities at the golf event in California, which begins on February 2.
Bale wrote: "Delighted to announce I will be playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the start of next month! Let's go."
It will surprise few given Bale's renowned love of golf, famously drawing the ire of Real Madrid fans when he posed with a flag while on international duty that read: "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order."
Other confirmed celebrities for the tournament so far include actors Bill Murray and Jason Bateman, as well as Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Chelsea are reportedly looking to make a significant investment in a young midfielder, and remain strongly linked to Benfica's Enzo Fernandez as well as Moises Caicedo of Brighton and Hove Albion.
Fernandez, 22, burst onto the world stage as he forced his way into Argentina's starting XI en route to their 2022 World Cup victory, earning the Best Young Player honour in Qatar in the process.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Caicedo has looked right at home in his second Premier League season, starting in all 18 of his appearances this campaign to help propel Brighton up to a surprising sixth on the table.
With Jorginho's future at Chelsea up in the air and fellow 31-year-old N'Golo Kante having not played since August due to a serious hamstring injury, Chelsea are looking for a long-term solution in the centre of the park – and are once again willing to pay up.
TOP STORY – CHELSEA SET TO RETURN WITH FRESH OFFERS FOR FERNANDEZ AND CAICEDO
According to Portuguese publication Record, Chelsea will attempt to secure Fernandez before the end of January, but are aware Benfica will not budge below the player's £106million (€120m) release clause.
The Guardian adds an improved offer for Caicedo "remains a possibility" after their recent bid of £55m was rejected by Brighton, although it is now believed the Seagulls are "scouring the market for potential replacements" for the Ecuador international.
Caicedo is not the only Brighton player their former head coach, now Chelsea boss, Graham Potter has fond memories of, also enquiring about 24-year-old midfielder and Fernandez's Argentinian team-mate Alexis Mac Allister.
ROUND-UP
– Talksport is reporting Newcastle United have interest in 21-year-old Everton forward Anthony Gordon as a replacement for Chris Wood after the big striker left on loan to Nottingham Forest.
– According to Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg, Manchester United have been put off by Napoli's £88m (€100m) asking price for 24-year-old striker Victor Osimhen and will seek a cheaper alternative.
– Jude Bellingham is expected to reject the latest contract extension offer from Borussia Dortmund, and, per the Daily Star, five clubs will be competing for his services via transfer: Manchester City, United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid.
– The Athletic is reporting Bournemouth are working on an offer of £17.5m (€20m) plus add-ons for 21-year-old Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson, who is also a Southampton target.
– After rejecting approaches from Aston Villa, Fulham and Bournemouth, Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie could get his wish to head to a top club as Arsenal have reportedly entered the race for the £22m-rated (€25m) United States international, per Gazzetta dello Sport.
Jamaica Premier League outfit Chapelton Maorons have been punished for failing to turn up for their fixture with Mount Pleasant Academy at the Effortville Community Centre on Sunday.
The Maroons, who fired experienced head coach Lenworth Hyde last week, were unable to field an 11 due to many players being unavailable.
Notably, the Maroons squad is made up mostly of schoolboys and the JPL has a rule that does not allow a team to field more than five amateurs to a team per match.
Before his dismissal, Hyde noted that this rule will put the team in a tough situation, especially since if the players sign professional contracts, they will be ineligible for overseas scholarship opportunities.
Match Commissioner Anthony Gibbs said he had not gotten any correspondence from Chapelton nor the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for the absence of the Clarendon-based team.
The JFF announced the sanctions in a release on Monday:
“The Competitions Committee of the JFF has handed down sanctions to Chapelton Maroons who failed to turn up for their JPL fixture versus Mount Pleasant FC at the Effortville Community Center on Sunday, January 22.
The Maroons are currently twelfth in the 14-team JPL table with eight points from 10 games.
Inter were brought crashing back down to earth after their Supercoppa Italiana win as they were deservedly defeated 1-0 by Empoli at San Siro on Monday.
Simone Inzaghi's side looked to be set for a big second half to the season after dismantling champions and rivals Milan in Saudi Arabia last week.
But the Nerazzurri's return to action in Serie A saw them completely out of sorts and beaten by teenager Tommaso Baldanzi's goal following a first-half red card for Milan Skriniar.
Defeats such as these may not now cost Inter in the race for Champions League qualification due to Juventus' points deduction, but any remote title hopes appear to have been quickly quashed.
Skriniar's dismissal epitomised an erratic first half from Inter, who could have trailed early on as Andre Onana saved unconvincingly from Nicolo Cambiaghi before Henrikh Mkhitaryan escaped punishment from the subsequent corner when his high boot caught Francesco Caputo's head.
Caputo continued in a bandage while Inter threatened only through Federico Dimarco, who had a volley well saved and also squared for Lautaro Martinez to stab awkwardly wide.
Skriniar, already booked, then became the second Inter man to kick Caputo in the head, and this time the foul was spotted by referee Antonio Rapuano, leading to his dismissal.
Inter showed precious little improvement after half-time and trailed when Onana, whose shaky showing had included another unorthodox stop, was beaten by a Baldanzi shot that was straight at him.
Stefan de Vrij headed against the post from inside the six-yard box but Inter proved as unimaginative in attack as they had been hapless at the back in a frustrating finale.
Kylian Mbappe became the first Paris Saint-Germain player to score five goals in a match as his side eased into the last 16 of the Coupe de France with a 7-0 win over sixth-tier Pays de Cassel on Monday.
The lowest-ranked side left in the competition, Pays de Cassel did not look overawed at Stade Bollaert-Delelis – the home of Lens – but PSG's vastly superior quality unsurprisingly soon shone through.
An 11-minute first-half spell saw the Ligue 1 leaders roar into an unassailable 4-0 lead, with Mbappe scoring three and setting up Neymar.
Mbappe continued his brutal exhibition after half-time with a couple of close-range goals either side of Carlos Soler's impudent finish.
Pays de Cassel gave a good account of themselves initially, putting together some intricate passing moves that brought huge cheers around their home away from home.
But PSG's breakthrough eventually arrived in the 29th minute as Mbappe met Nuno Mendes' cut-back and found the net via a significant deflection.
He then released Neymar to make it 2-0, the Brazilian dazzling the defence with his quick feet before firing left-footed through goalkeeper Romain Samson's legs.
Samson could only watch as Mbappe brought up his hat-trick before half-time with a pair of sumptuous chips.
But the keeper was culpable 10 minutes into the second half, completely missing Neymar's pass and allowing Mbappe a tap-in.
More great work by Neymar just after the hour left Soler to backheel over the line from a couple of yards out.
Soler was involved again 11 minutes from time as Mbappe completed the scoring with another poacher's effort from the Spaniard's cross.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has announced new policy guidelines surrounding sexual harassment, whistle blowers and safeguarding children and young people.
The new policies emerged from a meeting of the JFF board on Saturday January 21st.
The policies, the JFF said, complement the Procurement Policy already approved in December 2022 and submitted to FIFA.
According to the JFF the Sexual Harassment policy aims to safeguard employees of both genders from unwanted sexual advances and provide them with guidelines to report incidents.
The new policy explains how they handle complaints and take action against offenders.
“The JFF aims to provide a safe working environment and prohibits any form of sexual harassment,” the football governing body said it a statement on Monday.
“Hence, any act of sexual harassment or related retaliation against an employee is unacceptable. This policy, therefore, intends to prohibit such occurrences and details the procedures to follow when an employee believes that a violation of the Policy has occurred. Making a false complaint of sexual harassment or providing false information regarding a complaint will also be treated as a violation of the policy,” the JFF said.
With regards to its Whistle Blower policy, the JFF said it will provide a mechanism for all directors, officers, employees and contractors of JFF to report and disclose, in good faith, all improper or illegal conduct which adversely affects this entity or is contrary to the public interest, without fear of punishment or reprisal.
This policy, it said, is also aimed at facilitating prompt and full investigations into reports which are made in good faith and stipulates the procedure which must be complied with when addressing any complaints which alleged acts or attempted acts of interference, intimidation or reprisal against directors, officers, employees and contractors who report, disclose or investigate such acts.
“Therefore, all directors, officers, employees and contractors of JFF are encouraged to adhere to the procedures and guidelines specified in this Policy for reporting all allegations of suspected improper or illegal acts,” the JFF said.
The policy governing the Safeguarding of Children and Young People aims to ensure compliance with the Children (Child care and Protection Act) (2004) that all children participating in activities and programmes organized by the JFF do so in as safe a manner as possible.
In addition to the policies approved, the JFF has also taken steps to ensure that it conforms with internationally accepted standards, by commissioning background checks on all coaching and technical staff, and will further expand this as they seek to bring full transparency and comfort around the persons involved with the operations of the JFF.
“This is especially as we recognize that we are the guardians of children directly, through our national teams and camps, and also have to interact with children nationally,” the JFF said.
In addition, the board also deliberated on the coaching qualifications in Jamaica, as it recognizes how critical coaching development is for a sustainable and improved football product.
Against that background, the board approved the following:
A subsidy of $150,000 for the next batch of 24 coaches that will be doing the CONCACAF B License, which will be selected as at least one from each parish and the national coaches.
For 2023, there will be two B License sessions of 24 each, and in order to encourage participation we will subsidize the first batch. The full cost is $300,000, which means that participants will only have to pay $150,000 and there are currently 27 B License coaches already.
A subsidy of $40,000 for the next batch of 24 coaches that will be doing the CONCACAF C License, which will be selected as at least one from each parish and the national coaches.
For 2023, there will be four B License sessions of 24 each, and in order to encourage participation we will subsidize the first batch. The full cost is $80,000, which means that participants will only have to pay $40,000 and there are currently 57 C License coaches already
The JFF, through the Technical Committee, will do an assessment as to whether a subsidy is needed for JFF D License certification. There are currently 300 D License coaches already.
“The JFF encourages coaches to take advantage of the available certifications, especially that as of next season the minimum coaching requirements will be as follows:
Premier League Men’s – every coach must either have a CONCACAF B License or is actively registered
Tier 2 Men’s and Premier League Women’s – every coach must have a CONCACAF C License or is actively registered
Major League – every coach must have a JFF D License or JFF Advanced Level 2 certification or is actively registered
Every person involved with the youth must do a safeguarding course, and is familiar with the Safeguarding Children and Young People policy.
At the highest level of CONCACAF A License, the JFF currently has 10 coaches completing the course, with seven of the 10 almost certified.
“The JFF is committed to improve the governance and transparency around our operations, to ensure that our stakeholders are fully aware of decisions taken that will affect the JFF and football in general,” said JFF President Michael Ricketts.
“I have therefore asked that these decisions be communicated to the public to show the steps being taken to continue the development of football in Jamaica and chart an even more successful path for Jamaica’s international performance. The JFF recognizes that we are seen as one of the leaders in CONCACAF and will ensure that we do not disappoint.”
Aston Villa signing Jhon Duran has "all the desire in the world" to succeed at Villa Park after completing his move from Chicago Fire.
The 19-year-old striker's arrival was confirmed on Monday as he joined Unai Emery's side for a reported fee worth up to £17.8million ($22m).
Colombia international Duran enjoyed a successful debut Major League Soccer campaign, scoring eight goals and assisting three in 27 appearances for the Fire.
The former Envigado forward wants to replicate that form as he aims to make his mark on the Premier League.
"I have all the desire in the world," Duran told Villa's official website. "Lots of desire to work hard, give everything to the team and win. I'm hoping I can play soon.
"I'm a player that plays with a lot of passion, who is dedicated to the team, and a player that really wants to win always.
"I know it's the most important league in the world. It's the best league in the world, and I have all the desire in the world to get on the pitch and score that first goal."
Duran is said to have signed a contract until June 2028, and he is looking forward to the project under Emery, whose side sit 11th in the Premier League but just three points behind sixth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion.
"We have spoken; he said very touching words and gave me a huge welcome," Duran said of Emery.
"Now I can speak with him, and we can discuss everything to do with the project. It strikes me as a very good project."
Barcelona have denied allegations claiming president Joan Laporta broke club rules when handing out the Camp Nou development contract.
The 'Espai Barca' project was first approved in April 2014, when club members voted in favour of the massive remodelling job that would develop Camp Nou and the surrounding areas.
A further referendum in April 2021 ratified the financial proposal that took the project's maximum budget to €1.5billion.
It will lead to the stadium's capacity increasing by 6,000 to 105,000 spectators plus the installation of a retractable roof, while 40,000 square metres of land is set to be improved.
An announcement earlier this month confirmed Turkish company Limak would be in charge of remodelling the stadium, but a report by Spanish digital newspaper El Confidencial claimed on Monday the club's bidding process for the contract should have excluded the business in question.
According to El Confidencial, Limak should have been ineligible because it allegedly could not provide evidence of building a stadium with more than 40,000 capacity in the past 10 years and did not present two references of buildings constructed in Spain for greater than €150m over the same period.
The publication suggested the alleged oversight put Barca's building licence with the local council at risk, but the club insists the accusations are inaccurate, pointing to a "new tender process" dated from September 1, 2022.
A long statement began: "Barcelona wants to refute the story published today, Monday, January 23, 2023 in El Confidencial titled: 'Laporta broke the Barca rules to award the Camp Nou work to the Turkish company Limak'."
The letter highlighted five specific sections of the report followed by "FALSE" and an explanation, with most points coming back to Barca highlighting the start of a new tender process in September.
"The bid specifications for the restructuring work on Camp Nou were announced to all the companies that submitted bids and were effective date from September 1, 2022," the statement continued. "The terms and conditions set forth therein established no requirement for bidding companies to have built a football stadium with more than 40,000 seats or two constructions in Spain.
"Prior to this bidding process, there was a process that commenced in 2017, and which was cancelled in December 2020 by means of an official communication on the Barcelona supplier portal to all participating companies at that time.
"It was not until September 2022 when the new bidding process began, the outcome of which was for the project to be awarded to LIMAK as the best rated company.
"There was no breach of the terms and conditions as these were associated to the new tender process, which is dated from September 1, 2022."
It added: "As we have set out previously, the document [that El Confidencial claimed to have seen] referred to is for the pre-qualification that began in 2017, and in no way corresponds to the requisites in the conditions laid down on September 1, 2022.
"The process of obtaining a building licence from Barcelona City Council is totally independent of the adjudication process for the company to carry out the construction.
"In no way is the building licence at risk because the name on the licence is that of Barcelona as the initiator of the construction, not the construction company."
Ronald Koeman plans to adopt a more attacking style of play with the Netherlands than the one established by his predecessor Louis van Gaal.
The Oranje reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar under Van Gaal, but criticisms were directed to a style of football that was perceived to be negative.
A five-man defensive line proved to be miserly, conceding just twice in the first four matches of the tournament, but fans wanted more creative output from a side that boasted the likes of Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo.
The Netherlands' venture in Qatar came to an end against Argentina in a shoot-out defeat, having fought back from a two-goal deficit in a game that marked the final stand of Van Gaal's third spell at the helm.
A similar approach will not be adopted under Koeman, who instead plans to return to the four-man defence he used during his previous stint in charge from 2018-2020.
"In principle, we are going back to the system we played before," he said.
"I also change the system sometimes, but we are going to form the basic system with four defenders.
"In the end, it's all about the implementation of the system. I also played with five players at the back at Barcelona, with three central defenders, and that went very well.
"Everything revolves around: put high pressure or let yourself sink. That makes a system offensive or not."
Assessing the Netherlands' performance at the World Cup, Koeman praised Van Gaal's unbeaten record that stretched until the quarter-final defeat to Argentina and hopes he can enjoy a similar run of form, albeit in his own approach.
"We try to play attractive and fun football in the Netherlands. And twenty international matches remain unbeaten, that will be incredible if I manage to do the same," he added.
"It can be done differently, and I want to do it differently."
Koeman faces a baptism of fire on his return to the national side, with his first match coming against France in March as the qualification campaign for Euro 2024 begins.
Julian Nagelsmann dismissed any suggestion that Thomas Muller's omission against RB Leipzig hints that the forward's Bayern Munich future is uncertain.
Muller came on in the 83rd minute as Bayern drew 1-1 with Leipzig on Friday.
The 33-year-old has struggled with injuries this season and has played only nine Bundesliga games.
Muller also failed to spark at the World Cup, as Germany crashed out in the group stage.
Nagelsmann, though, says the media has made too much of Muller being a substitute.
"With Thomas, this is a bigger topic in public than it is for us," he told reporters ahead of Tuesday's clash with Koln.
"When you've been injured for so long, you're always challenging [for your place].
"Thomas also wants the competition. He has an outstanding character, but I haven't made up my mind about if he plays."
Muller could not get Bayern over the line against Leipzig, with the champions having struggled to create much in the way of opportunities in the second half at Red Bull Arena.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting put them ahead late in the first half, netting Bayern's 50th Bundesliga goal of the campaign, before Marcel Halstenberg equalised, but Nagelsmann wants more intensity in attack.
He said: "We didn't build up optimally, it was too slow. We sometimes had good actions after winning the ball, but we made wrong decisions.
"I also warned the team beforehand about Leipzig's strength in transition... There were one or two less-than-perfect situations on both sides."
Koln, on the other hand, go into Tuesday's game having thrashed Werder Bremen 7-1.
"I think the seven goals mean something more to Koln than to us," Nagelsmann said. "They do that very well, they're active and good at counter-pressing.
"[Coach] Steffen Baumgart does that very well. They always play with an open mind, very offensive. We have to be aggressive."
Pablo Barrios signed a new deal with Atletico Madrid running until 2028 and has been promoted to the senior squad.
The 19-year-old made his LaLiga debut off the bench in a 3-2 defeat to Cadiz in October before featuring in the final Champions League group-stage match against Porto just a few days later.
Since the mid-season pause for the World Cup, Barrios has made an impression in Diego Simeone's side with goals in the Copa del Rey victories against Arenteiro and Real Oviedo.
The teenager earned a first LaLiga start in last month's 2-0 victory over Elche and was named in the starting line-up for the 1-0 defeat to Barcelona on January 8.
In total, Barrios has featured in six of Atletico's seven games across all competitions since the World Cup, four of which have come as a starter.
Barrios joined Atletico's academy in 2018 from rivals Real Madrid.
Stefano Pioli expressed confidence that his Milan side can respond against Lazio following a disappointing sequence of results.
The defending Serie A champions have endured back-to-back 2-2 draws in the league against Roma and Lecce to leave them 12 points behind leaders Napoli, albeit with a game in hand.
Pioli's side also suffered a Coppa Italia defeat to Torino and lost the Supercoppa against rivals Inter in Saudi Arabia, resulting in a four-match winless streak in all competitions.
Milan are looking to return to winning ways on Tuesday when they travel to face Lazio, and Pioli is confident the team will respond in a positive manner.
"We have to face these moments, it will be another exam to overcome with humility and unity," he said at a press conference.
"Criticism is there, because the performances have been below our possibilities and the expectations, which, being Milan, are very high, we have strong roots.
"There have been experiences with lightness and good humour, now we need compactness and the will to react. My players are not bad, they deserve my trust and respect.
"We needed to reset. The situations to improve are tactical, technical and mental. The most important aspect is the mental one.
"It's good to remember how we managed to win last year in Rome, going through difficulties, but maintaining balance and focus until winning the game at the end.
"When you coach such a strong team, it's normal that my expectations are also aimed at a maximum performance and result.
"From the missed victory against Roma to the derby, we had to do more. Now we have two options: either to continue feeling sorry for ourselves or to react. I'm sure it's the latter."
Jamaica Premier League club, Portmore United Football Club has signed national player Alex Marshall on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
Olivier Giroud plans to sign a new deal with Milan and is not ready to call time on his international career with France either.
The 36-year-old sees his contract with the Serie A outfit expire in June and has faced questions on his international future in the wake of Les Bleus' defeat in the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina.
France have already seen captain Hugo Lloris call time on his stint with the national side, with Karim Benzema also retiring – although he did not feature in Qatar due to injury.
However, Giroud, who became France's all-time leading scorer during the tournament, does not plan to follow suit.
"For the moment I continue with the national team. I was struck by the fact that Hugo has decided to leave, our relationship is special," he told Canal Football Club.
"Anything can happen, I have not withdrawn from the international stage and for this reason I remain callable.
"I have to understand if I still want to wear the blue shirt, which means a lot to me, I want to take some time before deciding."
Giroud has faced similar questions around his club future, as his deal with Milan expires at the end of the season, but he is keen to continue at San Siro.
"I want to renew with Milan, with the victory of the Scudetto I entered the hearts of the fans," he added.
"I'm talking to the club, if there is a chance to finish my career at a high level at Milan I will. I could choose an exotic destination; I've always liked MLS."
Milan sit second in Serie A, 12 points adrift of leaders Napoli, ahead of Tuesday's clash against Lazio.
Declan Rice appears certain to leave West Ham at the end of this season, with the ambition to test himself in the Champions League.
The 24-year-old midfielder is contracted with the Hammers until 2024, with the Hammers having the option of an additional year.
West Ham reportedly want more than £100million for the England international, but may settle for around £80m.
TOP STORY – ARSENAL CONFIDENT OF WINNING RICE RACE
Arsenal are winning the chase to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, who favours a move to the Gunners, according to The Guardian.
Rice has also drawn interest from Premier League heavyweights Chelsea and Manchester United.
The London-born defensive midfielder is excited by the prospect of working with Mikel Arteta, according to the report, and Arsenal's manager has plans to integrate Rice into his starting XI.
ROUND-UP
– Milan are monitoring Nicolo Zaniolo's situation, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that Tottenham are only offering an initial loan with a buy option, with Roma wanting a €35/40m (£30.7m/35m) guaranteed fee. Zaniolo is keen to join Antonio Conte's Spurs.
– Football Insider claims that Tottenham have offered Spanish winger Bryan Gil to Roma as part of their proposed Zaniolo deal. The report claims he is one of three players Spurs have presented to the Italian club.
– The Sun reports Roma are also in talks with Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech about a move to the Italian capital. The Moroccan has also been linked with Barcelona.
– Inter want to sign Roma's English centre-back Chris Smalling on a free transfer, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. Smalling's contract expires at the end of this season, although he has the option to extend for another year.
– Marseille want to sign Hellas Verona defensive midfielder Ivan Ilic, according to Sky Sport Italia, though OM would leave the 21-year-old on loan at Verona for the rest of the season.
– The Daily Telegraph claims Everton have held talks on the future of manager Frank Lampard, following reports he would be sacked on Sunday.
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