Van Praag pulls out of Fifa presidency campaign

Fifa presidential candidate Michael van Praag has stood down from his election campaign to support Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein's attempt to oust Sepp Blatter. The Dutch FA president has thrown his support behind fellow candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, not incumbent Sepp Blatter "Michael van Praag has decided, after long consideration with stakeholeders and third parties that he withdraw his candidacy for the Fifa presidency," the KNVB said in a statement. "He will support the bid of Prince Ali Al Hussein now. Eight days before May 29's election, the Dutch FA (KNVB) chief has chosen to back out of the race to run world football's governing body, and he is expected to elaborate on his decision at a press conference on Thursday.

Luis Enrique: PSG can beat Barcelona without Ibrahimovic

The two sides were drawn in the same group and PSG defeated Barca 3-2 in the French capital only to ultimately miss out on a top seeding for the knockout stage after being beaten 3-1 in their return clash at Camp Nou. Barcelona boss Luis Enrique does not believe that the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic will hinder Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday's Champions League showdown at the Parc des Prince, pointing out that the Ligue 1 titleholders have already proven that they can beat the Catalans without their star striker. Luis Enrique thus believes it foolish to read too much into the fact that PSG will be without the suspended Ibrahimovic and a number of injured players for their quarter-final, first-leg clash.

Stephen Keshi begs for forgiveness over Afcon 2015 miss

Coach Stephen Keshi has offered apology to the country after failing to qualify the Super Eagles for the Equatorial Guinea Africa Cup of Nations staged earlier this year. The former Mali and Togo handler has been in the news of recent with speculations rife that he might be given a second chance of handling the country despite failing to reach the 2015 Afcon as well as having scores to settle with some top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation. "Keshi has always related well with Amaju as a brother and as Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission before now. The chairman’s passion and achievements over the years bear eloquent testimony to what he is capable of replicating in his new job at the NFF,” Ado told media. In a chat with journalists, his media aide Emmanuel Ado described the relationship between the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF and Stephen Keshi as of mutual respect and insists differences between them will be resolved amicably in the interest of the game.

Best football is played in Bundesliga, but Premier League is more physical - Subotic

Neven Suboti  a Borussia Dortmund defender had said that "The best football is played in the Bundesliga, which has established itself in internationally very well," he told Kicker. "It is as much on a high as the DAX [the German equivalent of the FTSE 100]. Subotic has been a key player for Dortmund for the last seven years, winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 and reaching the 2013 Champions League final, but has been unable to prevent Jurgen Klopp's men from enduring a dramatic slump this season. "I can still imagine playing in a league someday which rates physical football. The game in England is tougher, more aggressive and more physical, in a sportsmanlike sense. As a centre-back I don't always want to fear just touching an opponent.

Morocco's Afcon sanctions overturned by CAS

An appeal lodged by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), and that appeal has been upheld by Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), meaning the national team will take their place in qualifying for the next edition, while their fine of €900,000 has been reduced . Morocco will have the chance to qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations after having their ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). After withdrawing from hosting the 2015 tournament due to concerns over the spread of Ebola, Morocco were banned from the next two editions of the competition by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).  . "The CAS Panel has upheld the appeal in a large proportion," a statement read. "The sanctions imposed by the CAF on the FRMF have been set aside, with the exception of the fine, which is however reduced to $50,000 (€45,000). "The disqualification of the Moroccan team from the CAN 2015 is final."

Super Eagles lack maturity and character – Garba Lawal

Former Nigeria midfielder Garba Lawal has attributed the mixed results in recent international outings on lack of maturity and character on the part of the players. He noted that “Football is about winning. We defeated South Africa easily both home and away in international matches especially in qualifiers but that has changed as we now play a draw with them. Anyway, If Uganda could secure a win in Nigeria, then playing a draw against Bafana Bafana means we were very lucky and I don’t really know where we are going," He lamented the inability of Daniel Amokachi’s men to beat Bafana Bafana despite going a goal up with less than five minutes to the end of the game, insisting that the country’s senior national team is far from super.

SA coach Mashaba warned players of Ahmed Musa’s threat

South Africa coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba said he warned his side of the danger posed by Nigeria forward Ahmed Musa ahead of Sunday’s friendly match in Nelspruit. The Bafana Bafana coach has spoken highly of the CSKA Moscow forward who captained the Super Eagles and scored their only goal in Sunday’s draw. The CSKA Moscow striker sent the visitors ahead against the run of play in the second half before Bongani Zungu equalized deep into added time. Musa, 22, who captained the Super Eagles in the absence of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw against Bafana Bafana. bBafana coach Mashaba said he warned his players about the Nigerian forward who ended up punishing them with a superb curling shot outside of the box which left goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune glued to his spot.

Wenger: Arsenal gunning for Manchester City

Arsene Wenger has his sights set on chasing down second-placed Manchester City and believes Arsenal can leapfrog the champions if they improve their consistency. The Gunners moved up to third place in the Premier League table after beating Everton 2-0 on Saturday and now lie just four points behind Manuel Pellegrini’s men after City lost to Liverpool. The French boss has not given up hope of overhauling the champions, while midfielder Aaron Ramsey returns to the squad to face QPR on Wednesday. With 11 matches left to play this season, Wenger has not given up hope of finishing as runners-up – a feat the north Londoners have not managed since the 2004-05 season - though he admits they are "nowhere near" to winning the title.

Benedito suspects Barcelona board wanted to sell Messi

The Catalans' current president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has claimed he hopes the Argentine attacker will remain at Camp Nou for many years to come, but Benedito says the mixed messages coming from the Barca board show they cannot necessarily be believed or trusted. Barcelona presidential candidate Agusti Benedito suspects the club's current boards have seriously contemplated selling star player Lionel Messi.   Messi's relationship with the current board is known to be somewhat strained and came to a head when economic vice-president Javier Faus upset the four-time Ballon d'Or winner in 2013 by saying there was "no need" to give the club's all-time top goalscorer a new contract. "Sometimes they say things and then their actions go in the opposite direction. I hope in Messi's case that their words and their actions correspond."Barca face Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday and, despite difficulties with Financial Fair Play, the Premier League champions are one of the teams monitoring Messi's situation at Camp Nou, along with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.