Soccer – Winnipeg Free Press

Fan outcry needed to curb leagues banking blood money

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

What do the FA Cup, the NBA, the Tour de France and Sudan’s civil war have in common? They’re all being funded by the United Arab Emirates.

Unsurprisingly, the UAE acknowledges only three of these sponsorships. But its financing of the fourth is a widely-held matter of fact and, increasingly, a major problem for the sporting properties receiving its cash.

Last week, the humanitarian agency Refugees International renewed its call for the NBA to sever its relationship with Emirates — the airline owned by the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund. Emirates is the title sponsor of the annual NBA Cup.

It also holds the naming rights for a Tour cycling team and English football’s FA Cup, and its wordmark can be seen on the shirts of prominent clubs like Arsenal, AC Milan and Real Madrid.

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Aston Villa beats Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 in Europa League amid protests and arrests

Karel Janicek, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Aston Villa beats Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 in Europa League amid protests and arrests

Karel Janicek, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025

Aston Villa beat Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 Thursday in a Europa League game played amid heightened security measures, with more than 700 police officers deployed to deal with possible protests.

Morgan Rogers put through Ian Maatsen in first-half stoppage time for the defender to score from a tight angle and Villa doubled the lead on the hour with Donyell Malen hitting the bottom corner from the penalty spot. It was Villa's third win from games in the competition.

The game at Villa Park had become the center of a political debate after Maccabi fans were banned from attending as West Midlands Police deemed the match to be high risk and cited violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi Tel Aviv played at Ajax in Amsterdam last season.

The ban attracted widespread criticism including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said it was the wrong decision.

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Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025

Aston Villa's Ian Maatsen, right, scores his side's opening goal during the Europa League soccer match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Birmingham, England, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)

David latest casualty of Juventus-level scrutiny

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

David latest casualty of Juventus-level scrutiny

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Friday, Oct. 31, 2025

You can count on one hand the number of European clubs that face as much scrutiny as Juventus. Take Thursday’s hiring of new manager Luciano Spalletti, for example.

First, there are the rumours that he’ll soon arrive at the Continassa training ground. Then the details of his contract are leaked. A crowd of supporters gathers outside Continassa. Spalletti is expected to lead the day’s training. He arrives at Continassa.

Next he is shuttled to the J Medical facility — about 1.5 kilometres across the complex. He leaves J Medical after slightly more than an hour. He greets the fans. Damien Comolli, the club’s GM, is now in his car. Spalletti is shuttled back to Continassa. Turns out he will not lead training. His contract is confirmed. The assistants are named. A press conference is scheduled for Friday.

This has all taken place in a single afternoon, and not a gesture, chin stroke or smoothing of a suit has gone unanalyzed by numerous TV and radio stations, at least three sports dailies, the mainstream press, fan bloggers and minute-by-minute logs on social media.

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Friday, Oct. 31, 2025

Alberto Saiz / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Juventus forward Jonathan David reacts after missing a scoring chance during the Champions League opening phase match on Oct. 1 against Villarreal.

Valour playing for pride with club set to miss playoffs for seventh straight year

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

Valour playing for pride with club set to miss playoffs for seventh straight year

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025

One year ago, Valour FC had everything to play for as it concluded its regular-season schedule at home, still mathematically in the hunt for a playoff berth.

On Saturday, when the club hosts the last home game of the regular season against the Halifax Wanderers at Princess Auto Stadium (2 p.m.), the stakes will be the polar opposite.

The penultimate match of the 2025 campaign will be inconsequential for Winnipeg’s pro soccer side, which, with six wins, 15 losses and five draws, finds itself in sixth place and 13 points back of the Wanderers (10-10-6) for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Canadian Premier League.

It’s a grim scenario that fans have become all too familiar with over the last seven years. Valour is the CPL’s only original franchise that has never qualified for the post-season, and Vancouver FC — which joined in 2023 — is the only other club in that boat.

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Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
Valour FC’s captain Raphael Ohin (left) defends against Pacific FC’s Yann Toualy the last time the two clubs met. Valour hosts its final home game of the regular season Saturday against the Halifax Wanderers before concluding the season on the road against Pacific on Oct. 18.

Froese heats up as Valour pushes for playoff berth

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

Froese heats up as Valour pushes for playoff berth

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Teams tend to go as their best players do, and that is proving to be the case for Valour FC.

Winnipeg’s pro soccer club is making a late push up the Canadian Premier League table, and much of their positive results as of late can be attributed to the emergence of homegrown talent Kianz Froese, who has accounted for three assists and a pair of goals in the club’s last two contests, respectively.

Froese, a Cuban-born and Winnipeg-raised attacking midfielder who joined Valour halfway through the season after a year away from pro soccer, suffered a hamstring injury shortly after returning to game action.

The ailment sidelined him for three weeks, but he’s looked like a different player since returning to the field.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Winnipeg product Kianz Froese has racked up two goals and three assists in Valour FC’s last two games as the club pushes for a franchise first post-season berth starting with a road clash against Cavalry on Saturday.

Rashford and Bellingham face off in El Classico

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Rashford and Bellingham face off in El Classico

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Oct. 24, 2025

It isn’t often you get a “first” in El Clasico. Not when Real Madrid and Barcelona have been battling for more than a century, and not after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi completely reconfigured the rivalry’s statistical categories.

There will be one during Sunday’s match at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (10:15 a.m., TSN3).

For the very first time, a pair of Englishmen will go head-to-head in club football’s most famous contest. On the home side: Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, born in Stourbridge in the West Midlands. On the guests’: Barca’s Marcus Rashford, born in Manchester.

Both are England internationals. Both are coming off disappointing seasons. Both scored midweek in the Champions League. Both have well-known attitude problems.

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Friday, Oct. 24, 2025

MATT SLOCUM / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham.

Canadian men’s team consistently full of surprises

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Canadian men’s team consistently full of surprises

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Nov. 14, 2025

Every game tells us something. It’s the case whether a team has run up the score in a trouncing or come up just short after 90 minutes.

And yes, while it can be tricky, we can even find insights in those contests disrupted by an early red card and contorted by extended numerical advantage, or disadvantage.

No match is a throw-away. Not even Thursday’s scoreless draw between Canada and Ecuador in which Ali Ahmed was ejected — rightfully — in the sixth minute.

Let’s start there.

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Friday, Nov. 14, 2025

Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Canada’s Richie Laryea (right) has been a physical presence who plays on the edge every time he sports the Maple Leaf.

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Atlanta United hires coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino a year after he left Inter Miami and Lionel Messi

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Atlanta United hires coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino a year after he left Inter Miami and Lionel Messi

The Associated Press 2 minute read Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta United is bringing back Gerardo “Tata” Martino as coach, signing him through the 2027 season.

Atlanta made the announcement on Thursday, re-hiring the man who led the team to the Major League Soccer title in 2018 and was named coach of the year.

“This moment is not about revisiting the past but about looking ahead and building a new foundation while embracing the continuing evolution of what it takes to contend in MLS on a regular basis,” team owner Arthur M. Blank said.

Martino left Inter Miami nearly a year ago, citing personal reasons after one season with the club. He has won 11 trophies on the club and international level in North America, South America and Europe.

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Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025

Relentless international window expansions detrimental

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Relentless international window expansions detrimental

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

Anyone seen Cole Palmer lately? How about Exequiel Palacios? At least Ousmane Dembélé, surely?

If not, it’s likely because the Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen and Paris Saint-Germain players, who represent England, Argentina and France, respectively, are currently out injured.

Now, they’ve not suffered broken bones, major ligament damage or concussions. Their injuries were not sustained in tackles, knee-on-knees or any other sort of on-field clashes. No, they picked up their knocks over time — time they spent playing too much football without adequate rest and recovery.

They have stress injuries, and they’re not alone.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

Emilio Morenatti / The Associated Press files
The 18-year-old Barcelona and Spain megastar, Lamine Yamal, has barely had a break in two years and has been taking painkillers to keep him going.

Eagles winning against big teams on big stages

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

Eagles winning against big teams on big stages

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

Last April, just four days after a 5-2 dusting by Manchester City, Crystal Palace was whipped 5-0 away to Newcastle.

It was a “demolition,” The Guardian declared at the time — a beatdown so thorough that “the description ‘shock and awe’ (did) not really do it justice.”

Speaking to reporters post-match, Eagles manager Oliver Glasner conceded his side hadn’t been good enough to offer “competitive opposition” at St. James’ Park. “It was a game where nothing worked,” he said. “Sometimes you have games and it’s better to throw them into the bin, and this is what we will do.”

It’s exactly what they did.

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Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

CZAREK SOKOLOWSKI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Crystal Palace’s Eddie Nketiah (centre left) celebrates with teammate Chris Richards after scoring his side’s second goal during Conference League play Thursday.

Argentina favourite again at U-20 World Cup

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

Argentina favourite again at U-20 World Cup

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Friday, Sep. 26, 2025

Before he was scoring the extra-time winner of the 2010 South Africa final, Andrés Iniesta was improvising a scooped finish from outside the box against Uzbekistan in the 2003 Under-20 World Cup.

Two years later, a future Barcelona teammate of Iniesta’s — one Lionel Messi — was whipping the ball inside the near post in a showdown with Brazil. Iniesta, Messi and Xavi, another U-20 World Cup star, would win the Champions League together the following spring.

And before anyone really knew about FIFA’s biennial youth championship, Diego Maradona was drilling a low free kick into the back of the net against the Soviet Union in the 1979 final.

Everyone knew about it after that.

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Friday, Sep. 26, 2025

Matilde Campodonico / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Argentina will be without Claudio Echeverri at the Under-20 men’s World Cup, but his absence only means Maher Carrizo (right) will have a chance to shine for the Albiceleste.

Le Classique a perennial microcosm of country’s state

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Le Classique a perennial microcosm of country’s state

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Le Classique is a powder keg at the best of times.

With age-old fissures dividing south from north, Hellenized from Frankish and working-class from cosmopolitan, the football version of Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain can ignite from the slightest spark.

Their December 1992 confrontation and its more than 50 fouls is remembered as “la boucherie,” and as recently as 2020 a full-scale brawl produced five ejections, a four-match ban for spitting and allegations of racist and homophobic remarks.

Little wonder travelling fans have been prevented from attending Marseille-PSG matches since 2015 — and that no provision was made for the next one: Sunday at the Vélodrome (1:45 p.m., FuboTV).

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

CHRISTOPHE ENA / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (centre) challenges for the ball with Marseille’s Geoffrey Kondogbia (right) and Pol Lirola, the last time the two clubs met back in March. Historically, the most infamous Le Classique occurred in December 1992 with more than 50 fouls committed, while, more recently, in 2020, a full-scale brawl broke out.

Worst Manchester Derby in a generation?

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Worst Manchester Derby in a generation?

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 12, 2025

Depending on Saturday’s results, Sunday’s Manchester Derby could be the first of the Premier League era to feature — though “feature” might be an overstatement — two clubs in the bottom half of the table.

Man City, which will host the game, is already 13th and could drop even lower by kick-off (10:30 a.m., FuboTV). Man United, in 9th, is almost certain to fall two or three places before taking the field at Etihad Stadium. In fact, it needs an otherworldly combination of scorelines to keep it from doing so.

Based on the standings, the stats and the eye test, this is the worst Manchester Derby in a generation.

Not even City, for all its Abu Dhabi oil wealth and recent — perhaps ill-gotten — successes, has indicated it’s up for a title challenge this term. The 2023 treble winner is coming off a campaign in which it finished third in the league and didn’t win a single trophy and, if anything, the current squad is inferior to that one.

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Friday, Sep. 12, 2025

Dave Thompson / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte (left) and Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku fight for the ball the last time the two teams met back in April. Sunday’s Derby will be the least competitive in a generation as both Premier clubs are suffering dismal seasons.

Making his Mark

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

Making his Mark

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Thursday, Sep. 11, 2025

Three years ago, long before he was anointed head coach of the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s soccer team, Mark Colvin was in Sweden, hastily figuring out how to pronounce the most basic words of the native tongue to communicate with preteens at a local academy.

The Toronto-born coach had touched down a day earlier with an agreement to be an assistant coach for U13 IF Brommapojkarna for a season while he adjusted to the European country.

When he arrived for the first day of practice, however, Colvin — jet-lagged and all — was informed that the head coach was sick and that he would need to take over as interim.

“I literally, quickly on a piece of paper, scribbled the Swedish words of pass, shoot, left, right, yellow and red, and then went on to the field to coach these young players, who, a lot of them, their English was not good,” Colvin, who holds onto that scrap piece of paper for sentimental reasons, told the Free Press recently.

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Thursday, Sep. 11, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Mark Colvin was named head coach of the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s soccer team in June, replacing longtime bench boss Vanessa Martinez Lagunas, who had been at the helm for 12 seasons.

Canada walks the walk after shutting out Romania

Jerrad Peters 4 minute read Preview

Canada walks the walk after shutting out Romania

Jerrad Peters 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 5, 2025

It’s one thing to have all the right remarks, the upbeat pressers and the bullish feedback from training. It’s quite another thing to step out into Arena Nationala, to defy the tens of thousands of yellow-clad supporters and back it all up on the pitch.

But that’s exactly what Canada’s men’s soccer team did in Bucharest on Friday when it dropped a money-where-your-mouth-is performance against Romania.

Next up is Wales, and following their 3-0 win the Canadians will have been further emboldened in their swagger to Swansea ahead of Tuesday’s match in Landore (1:45 p.m., TSN4).

Going into the Romania showdown it was hard to keep the eyes from rolling back amidst the overwhelming positivity. Here was manager Jesse Marsch and his best ever practices with the national team. There was midfielder Stephen Eustaquio and his elevated leadership role. Look left, look right — smiles all around.

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Friday, Sep. 5, 2025

Andreea Alexandru / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Canada’s Jonathan David scored the opening goal in the 11th minute against Romania Friday. The men’s national squad blanked their opponents 3-0 in the international friendly in Bucharest.

Manchester United diminishing on Amorim’s watch

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Manchester United diminishing on Amorim’s watch

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

Ruben Amorim is a professional football manager.

Under contract at Manchester United, it’s his job to assemble a coaching staff, train the first-team squad, advise on player transactions and oversee all aspects of matchdays, from picking the lineup and directing the tactics to making on-the-fly decisions regarding shape, substitutions and strategy.

Ultimately, he is paid — about $12 million per year — to win games. More practically, he’s at least required to produce results that show a certain trajectory, ideally while entertaining the club’s supporters.

At the same time, it’s his employer’s responsibility to ensure he has the necessary resources to perform to their satisfaction. They might, for example, back him with $420 million in the transfer market or revamp his training complex to the tune of $93 million — both of which, in this instance, they did.

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

November 21, 2025

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