S
TEN HAG CLOSES IN ON UNITED JOB
Erik Ten Hag is the strong favourite to be named Manchester United’s next full-time manager, dealing a crushing blow to the dreams of embattled Paris Saint Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino. The 52 year Ajax manager is see as fitting the profile the United board want for the man who they hope will restore the glory days the club enjoyed under Alex Fergusson. United have held talks with Ajax whose chief executive is former Mancherster United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar last week and discussed the conditions under which Ten Hag can leave. It is reported Ten Hag has a $2 million release clause which shouldn’t be an issue for Manchester United.
UEFA TO REPLACE FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY
The European football governing body UEFA approved the new licensing and sustainability regulations to replace its existing Financial Fair Play rules, allowing European clubs to make bigger losses than before while bringing in caps on spending on wages and transfers. FFP limitations had been exposed by the emergence of state-held superpowers like Man City and PSG, while huge losses incurred by Covid-19 pandemic left poorer clubs with little room for manoeuvre.
KUMBLE FELT HE WAS UNFAIRLY TREATED
In his recently published book “Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings with BCCI, Rupa Rai touched upon various issues that he dealt with during his 33 month tenure with the BCCI. In his book Rai opines that Anil Kumble felt he was treated unfairly and forced to resign as head coach of the Indian cricket team. Then skipper Virat Kohli had highlighted back then that the players were not happy with Kumble’s intimidating style of enforcing discipline according to the former Committee of Administrators head.
EIGHT TEAMS TO BATTLE IN RFDL FROM APRIL 15
FC Goa along with six other Indian Super League clubs and Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) will play the inaugural Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) in Goa from April 15 to May 12. The month long league will see Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, Jamshedpur FC, Kerala Blasters FC, Mumbai City FC, Hyderabad FC, FC Goa and RFYC participate in this first of a kind initiative in India that will provide a unique opportunity for emerging players to compete against the best talent in their age group from across the country.
The added bonus for teams that finish in the top two at the end of the league will be given the chance to participate at the Next Gen Cup to be hosted in the United Kingdom for the first time later this year .The Next Gen Cup will be hosted by the Premier League as part of its longstanding partnership with the ISL.