Deposed Spanish football boss Angel Maria Villar, in custody on corruption charges, has resigned as vice-president of both FIFA and UEFA, the two governing bodies announced yesterday. The 67-year-old’s near three-decade tenure as head of the Spanish federation ended this week when he was suspended following his arrest on July 18.
“Mr Villar has stood down from his post as senior vice-president at FIFA,” a spokesperson for world football’s ruling body said. At UEFA, European football’s governing association said his resignation tendered “with immediate effect” on Wednesday had been accepted by the organisation’s president Aleksander Ceferin.
Villar, who denies all charges against him, was detained with his son as part of a fraud probe launched last year. Also arrested in a series of early morning raids on federation headquarters and other sites last week were the Spanish federation’s financial vice-president Juan Padron and Ramon Hernandez Baussou, general secretary of the Tenerife federation.
They face charges including falsifying documents, misappropriation of funds, collusion and administrative breaches linked to skimming profits from international friendly games. Villar has headed the Spanish federation for the past 29 and under his watch Spain became one of the dominant forces in world football, winning two European championships and the 2010 World Cup. But his critics say his period in charge was marked by ethical issues and an autocratic management style.

Argentina and Uruguay want
to co-host 2030 World Cup

Argentina and Uruguay plan to apply to co-host football’s 2030 World Cup, according to statements made by an Argentinian government official to local media on Wednesday. “We are absolutely determined to raise this issue with FIFA,” Argentinian sports secretary Carlos Mac Allister told Argentinian newspaper La Nacion on Wednesday, after a meeting with Uruguayan football officials.
The paper reported that the countries’ two presidents, Mauricio Macri and Tabare Vazquez, could meet in Montevideo on August 31 to discuss the bid, ahead of a 2018 World Cup qualifier between the two nations.
Uruguay hosted the first football World Cup tournament in 1930, eventually winning the final against Argentina 4-2. So far only South Korea and Japan have co-hosted a World Cup, in 2002. China and England are also reportedly interested in hosting the 2030 tournament, while the 2026 World Cup is expected to go to co-hosts United States, Canada and Mexico.

Hart keen to retain England
gloves after West Ham move

Goalkeeper Joe Hart says his loan move to West Ham United from Manchester City was aimed at getting regular playing time at club level to ensure he continues to be first choice for England. The 30-year-old, who has 71 caps and made 348 appearances for City, appears to have been deemed surplus to requirements by manager Pep Guardiola and spent last season on loan at Torino.
“I’ve said before, there’s absolutely no chance I’d play for England without playing for a team,” Hart said. “To be playing for the national team you have to be playing, especially for a team as high quality as England. That was part of the thought process, but it’s a short career and I love football. I didn’t really stand a chance of playing at my previous club, so there was no point hanging around. I want to play for a team that wants me, wants me to play and I want to give that back to them.”
Hart said he would have preferred a permanent deal but maintains he is fully committed to every team he plays, for no matter the contract situation.

Maracana to stay unused in Brazil’s World Cup qualifying campaign
Brazil are to play their final home game of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Sao Paulo, the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Wednesday, meaning the famous Maracana stadium will have not hosted a single match in the campaign.
The Oct. 10 game against Chile was expected to take place at the iconic venue that hosted the final match of the 1950 and 2014 World Cups. Yet Rio de Janeiro is in the midst of a crippling economic and public security crisis and the Maracana has been the subject of legal fights over who has the right to manage it.
The ground lay abandoned for months after the 2016 Olympics and has been used sparingly by Rio’s soccer clubs this season. Brazil, who have already qualified for the 2018 tournament in Russia, try to play their home qualifiers in different cities so fans across the nation can see them. The final Chile game will now be played at Palmeiras’ Allianz Parque, meaning Sao Paulo will have hosted two games following the 3-0 win over Paraguay at the Corinthians arena in March. Brazil will play their penultimate home game against Ecuador at Porto Alegre’s Gremio Arena in September.

Watford goalkeeper Gomes
signs new contract

Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes signed a two-year contract extension with the Premier League club. Gomes’s deal was given the green light by new Watford manager Marco Silva and will keep the Brazilian at Vicarage Road until June 2019.
Gomes joined Watford from Tottenham in 2014 and has made 122 appearances for the Hornets. The 36-year-old was voted the club’s player of the season in 2016 and has won the players’ player of the year award for the last two seasons.
Gomes played a key role as Watford secured promotion to the Premier League in 2015 and has helped them preserve their top-flight status for the last two seasons.

Patrick Kluivert’s son lands first sponsorship deal — at age 9
Shane Kluivert, the son of former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert, has landed his first sponsorship contract — at the age of 9. “Very proud signed my first contract with Nike,” the young Kluivert said on his Instagram account on Wednesday after signing the deal with the American sports goods giants. Father Patrick said on Twitter: “My son so proud of you.”
Shane Kluivert is seen as a big football talent and currently plays in the junior ranks at French top club Paris Saint-Germain where Patrick Kluivert was technical director until summer. The young one has more than 128,000 followers on the Instagram account managed by a brother. His YouTube videos, which include cooking sessions, are also widely popular.
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