Cheapest tickets for 2018 WC priced at $105

The cheapest tickets for the 2018 World Cup in Russia will cost $105 (94 euros, £80.50), with a place in the stands for the final costing at least $455, FIFA announced yesterday. For Russian residents, a special price is in place of $19.75 for the group stages, and $109 for the final.
“We wanted to ensure that prices are fair to make the event accessible to as many people in the world as possible,” said FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura in a statement.
Prices for the final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow will range from $455 to $1,100, with opening-match tickets costing between $220 to $550. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil the cheapest first-round tickets were $90, and $440 for the final.
In stark contrast, it was possible to find group-stage tickets for the ongoing 2016 European Championship in France for 25 euros ($28, £21), with the cheapest spots for the final at the Stade de France on Sunday costing just 85 euros.

Valencia sign Portugal winger Nani
Portuguese international winger Nani has reached an agreement to join La Liga side Valencia from Fenerbahce on a three-year deal, the Spanish club confirmed yesterday. The 29-year old left Manchester United in 2015 for the Turkish outfit following a loan spell at his former club Sporting Lisbon.
During his successful seven years at Old Trafford, Nani won four Premier League titles, the League Cup, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. The deal is reported to be in the region of 8.5mn euros ($9.4mn).

Argentina struggling to prepare team for Rio
Twice men’s football gold-medal winners Argentina are in danger of failing to send a team to the Rio Olympics football tournament due to a leadership vacuum at the Argentine FA (AFA).
“Today, there’s a 50 % chance Argentina won’t present its men’s football team at the Olympic Games,” Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) president Gerardo Werthein said. “It has something to do with what’s happening at the AFA. They haven’t spoken to us for 20 months,” Werthein was quoted as saying in
La Nacion newspaper.
The cash-strapped AFA is under scrutiny from world body FIFA over irregularities in funds from television revenue and a failure to agree on holding presidential elections and a format for the first division championship due to kick off next month.
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino, fresh from steering the senior national team to the Copa America Centenario final in the United States last month, was due to begin training with the Olympic squad this week but does not even have 11 players to make up a team. The men’s Rio football tournament kicks off on Aug. 3, two days before the official start of the Games.
Argentina were drawn in a group with Portugal, Honduras and Algeria. Argentina, who also hold two soccer silver medals, won gold at the 2004 Games in Athens and 2008 tournament in Beijing but missed out on the London Olympics four years ago. They qualified last year for the Rio Games, where under-23 teams can include up to three over-age players, as South American under-20 champions.

Long-serving defender Coloccini leaves Newcastle
Long-serving captain Fabricio Coloccini has decided to end his eight-year association with Championship side Newcastle United after terminating his contract by mutual consent. After scoring seven times in his 275 appearances during his spell with the Magpies, the 34-year-old defender will return to his native Argentina to join San Lorenzo.

Cameroon bans youngsters for lying about their ages
Fourteen Cameroonian players have been suspended by their federation, for lying about their ages in order to play in the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, local media reported.
“14 players have just been found to be adjusting their ages by an MRI test” reported the Cameroon Radio television (CRTV). They had been selected to play in the 2017 event to be held in Madagascar. The results of the tests revealed that the footballers were older than they had claimed originally in an attempt to play in the junior tournament.
In Cameroon, as in many African countries, cases of young athletes lying about their age to boost their careers are common. In total, 40 young players went through the tests on June 30 and July 1 in Yaounde.

Leicester poised to sign CSKA Moscow striker Musa
Nigerian striker Ahmed Musa is set to complete a move to Premier League champions Leicester City from Russian club CSKA Moscow subject to a medical, according to the player’s agent.
The 23-year-old, who scored 13 league goals in 29 league appearances last season as the club won the Russian title, was linked by British media to Leicester City in January and had also attracted interest from Southampton and West Ham United. The fee for the Nigerian international is in the region of 16mn pounds ($21.20mn) according to British media reports.