Pele "would have been sad" at the state of the current Brazilian national team, his son Edinho has told AFP in an interview days before the first anniversary of his death. Brazil have struggled in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and presently occupy sixth place in the South American table, the last spot that affords direct qualification. The Selecao have struggled without their biggest current star, Neymar, who is a long-term injury absentee after tearing knee ligaments. "This crisis didn't appear overnight, there are big and complex problems," said Edinho, 53, who is one of Pele's seven children. "We are experiencing a decline... we still have great players but in previous times we had more high-level players than we do today." Edinho, who was raised by his mother as Pele and her separated shortly after they moved to New York when he signed for New York Cosmos in 1975 but grew closer to him in later life, added: "There is no doubt, if (Pele) had been there this year, he would have been very sad." Santos, the Brazilian club where Pele spent most of his career, are also going through a tough period after they were relegated to the second division for the first time in its 111-year history. The club is wracked by financial problems and boardroom rifts. "Unfortunately this is no surprise. Anyone who has followed the daily life of the club could have anticipated such a scenario, and it has ended up happening," said Edinho, who was Santos' goalkeeper for several seasons. The ceremonies to mark Friday's first anniversary of Pele's death from cancer at the age of 82 are expected to be low-key. The six surviving children of the man widely considered the greatest footballer in history will hold a virtual meeting to mark the moment as several live in the United States, while a ceremony is scheduled to be held at the mausoleum in Santos that was opened to the public in May. Edinho, whose life has been far from smooth serving time for money laundering and drug trafficking, said the loss of the charismatic man who scored 77 goals in 92 appearances for Brazil had left a huge hole in the family's life. "He was exceptional, we miss him a lot," Edinho said. "He carried our country's name through football, which we are very proud of."   Source: BSS

Tickets to see Lionel Messi in a Hong Kong friendly were snapped up in under an hour on Friday after nearly two million people queued online, organisers said. The Argentine great and his Inter Miami side will face a Hong Kong XI at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium on February 4. Football fans in the finance hub of 7.5 million logging in to the ticketing app on Friday morning faced a mammoth queue for tickets, which cost from HK$880 to HK4,880 ($110-$625). "We are absolutely thrilled with the response from the fans," said Michel Lamuniere, chairman and CEO of Tatler Asia, which is helping to stage the game. Some social media users posted screenshots of the app showing an error message which cited "traffic overload". Messi last played in Hong Kong in 2014, also for a friendly game. Miami co-owner David Beckham, who played in Hong Kong in 2003 soon after joining Real Madrid, previously said the MLS club was looking forward to playing in a "beautiful city with a great sports scene". Miami's line-up in Hong Kong will also include Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, according to organisers. The Hong Kong XI will be made up of players from the Chinese territory's top division. Source: BSS

Lionel Messi has been named Time magazine's "Athlete of the Year" for 2023 after a trailblazing season marked by an eighth Ballon d'Or award and his ground-breaking move to Major League Soccer's Inter Miami. Time said the Argentine superstar had already had a transformative impact on the American sporting landscape, which has been historically slow to embrace football. "Lionel Messi this year managed to do what once seemed impossible, when he signed with Inter Miami: turning the US into a soccer country," Time commented. The 36-year-old Messi made his debut for Miami in July following an acrimonious departure from Paris Saint-Germain. The World Cup-winner also rebuffed a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia in favor of a new chapter in MLS. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner made an instant impact on Miami's fortunes, playing a pivotal role in helping the team win the expanded Leagues Cup, a cross-border competition for teams from MLS and Mexico's top flight. Messi finished the campaign with 11 goals in 14 appearances across all competitions, but an injury towards the end of the season meant he was unable to help Miami force their way into the playoffs. Messi was quoted by Time as saying that his first preference after PSG had been a fairytale return to Barcelona, but that move stalled over the club's finances. "I tried to return, and it did not happen," Messi said, adding that he was also "thinking a lot" about joining the wave of overseas players who have headed to the Saudi Pro League. "It was Saudi Arabia or MLS, and both options seemed very interesting to me," Messi told the magazine. Time said Messi's arrival had driven a surge in attendances, ticket prices, merchandise sales and viewership, revealing that on the day of his debut, subscriptions to Apple TV -- which retains exclusive rights to MLS -- had jumped by 110,000, a 1,700% increase over the previous day. Source: BSS

Bangladesh national women's football team achieved victory against Singapore in an international friendly match at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur on Monday (December 4). The hosts took a 3-0 lead in the first-half. Tahura Khatun, Ritu Porna Chakma scored braces, while Sanjida Akter, Sabina Khatun, Sumaya Matsushima, and Shasunnahar Jr got one goal each. The women in red and green won the first of the two matches 3-0 at the same venue on December 1. Besides, Sabina Khatun showed a more devastating form in the second and last match of the series.

Lionel Messi is not ruling out another bid for World Cup glory with Argentina in 2026 despite acknowledging that time is working against him. Messi, who recently won his eighth Ballon d'Or, raised the World Cup almost a year ago after starring for Argentina in the final against France in Doha. The 36-year-old had suggested at the time that the tournament in Qatar would be his last and that he wouldn't be around for the next tournament which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. But having moved to Major League Soccer's Inter Miami and continued performing for the national team in qualifiers for 2026, he says the door remains open. "I'm not thinking about the World Cup and I'm not saying 100 percent that I won't be there because anything can happen. Because of my age, the most normal thing is that I won't be there. Then we'll see," said Messi in an interview with Argentina's Star+. The Argentina captain said his focus on June's Copa America which will be held in the United States. "Maybe we'll do well at the Copa America and everything will work out for us to continue. Maybe not. Realistically it's difficult," he said of the chance of a sixth consecutive appearance in the World Cup. Messi said he would be "the first to know when I can be there and when I can't. I'm also aware that I've gone to a lesser league. But it's all about the personal side of things and the way you deal with it and how you compete. "As long as I feel I'm well and can continue to contribute, I'm going to do it. Today all I'm thinking about is getting to the Copa America. After that, time will tell if I'm there or not. "I'm going to arrive at an age that, normally, doesn't allow me to play in the World Cup. I said I don't think I'm going to be there. It looked like after the World Cup I was retiring and it was the opposite. Now I want to be there more than ever," he added.   Source: BSS

Argentina captain Lionel Messi won a record eighth Ballon d'Or for the best player in the world on Monday, beating Norway's UEFA player of the year and treble winner Erling Haaland of Manchester City to the prestigious prize. Inter Miami's Messi, who last won the award in 2021, played a pivotal role in guiding Argentina to their first World Cup title in 36 years when they beat defending champions France in the final last year. The 36-year-old is now three Ballons d'Or clear of rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the last of his five trophies in 2017. Messi has now finished among the top three a record 14 times in total, finishing runner-up on five occasions.

FIFA has provisionally suspended the Luis Rubiales, the head of Spain's national football association, almost a week after he kissed player Jenni Hermoso allegedly without her consent after the team won the Women's World Cup. "The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee... has decided today to provisionally suspend Mr Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities at national and international level," FIFA said in a statement on Saturday. The action was taken to preserve "the fundamental rights" of Hermoso. FIFA also ordered Rubiales and the Spanish football federation not to contact Hermoso or those around her. The suspension period will initially last for 90 days, pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings that FIFA opened against Rubiales on Thursday. The Spanish football federation later said Rubiales would defend himself against the suspension. "Luis Rubiales has stated that he will legally defend himself in the competent bodies, he fully trusts FIFA and reiterates that, in this way, he is given the opportunity to begin his defense so that the truth prevails and his complete innocence is proven," the federation said in a statement. The entire women's team and many more players said the would no longer represent Spain until Rubiales steps down. Spanish football federation threatens legal action The suspension comes after the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) threatened to take legal action against Hermoso. In a statement published late on Friday, it said it would take "as many legal actions as necessary to defend the honor of the President of the RFEF." Rubiales meanwhile said this week that he considered himself the target of a "social assassination."  It said that it had attempted to contact Hermoso but was unsuccessful in receiving a response. "In a state governed by the rule of law, as [Rubiales] has argued, opinions are countered with facts and evidence and lies are refuted in court," it said. It did not specify what the legal action would consist of. The RFEF said that the federation would prove that claims that had been "spread either in [Hermoso's] name [...] or by the player herself" were "lies." In its statement, the federation published three photos and claimed they showed that Hermoso had lifted Rubiales up during a hug, meaning that the federation boss "could not exert any force." However, the photos were seemingly taken before Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the lips. Earlier, Hermoso said: "I want to make clear that, as was seen in the images, I did not at any point consent to the kiss he gave me and of course I definitely did not try to lift up [Rubiales]." The player also said that she felt "vulnerable and like the victim of an assault." RFEF had claimed that Hermoso said that the kiss was a "mutual gesture" between her and Rubiales, which the player later said was falsely attributed to her. "I won't tolerate anyone putting in doubt my word and even more so that anyone invents words that I did not say," she said. Spanish sports council demands Rubiales' suspension Spain's National Sports Council (CSD) submitted a request for the country's administrative court for sports (TAD) to suspend Rubiales over "unacceptable behavior." The council said that it considered that Rubiales had abused his authority and had committed public acts that had infringed on dignity or decorum in sports. "Both infringements are considered 'very serious,' which allows for the adoption of a measure of provisional suspension of Luis Rubiales as the president of the [RFEF]," it said in its petition. Rubiales on Friday refused to resign following broad condemnation of his conduct. FIFA has also launched its own proceedings against the Spanish football boss. "Mr Rubiales has not lived up to what was expected of him," CSD president Victor Francos said. "His reaction has disappointed us." Player's union calls for action, FIFA launches probe On Wednesday, the Spanish player's union, FUTPRO, issued a joint statement calling for action to be taken against Rubiales. The England women's team, who lost against Spain in the World Cup final, expressed their solidarity on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying: "We all stand with you Jenni Hermoso and all players of the Spanish team." They also slammed the "Unacceptable actions allowed to happen by a sexist and patriarchal organisation. Abuse is abuse and we have all seen the truth." Meanwhile, the head of Germany's FC Bayern Munich Karl-Heinz Rummenigge defended Rubiales' behavior, saying it was "absolutely OK," comments for which he drew widespread condemnation. "When you become a world champion, you get emotional. And what he did there is, with all due respect, absolutely OK," he said, adding that he had "kissed men" when the team won the 2020 World Cup. On Saturday, German Bundesliga fans condemned both Rubiales' behaviour and Rummenigge's defense of him. During a match against Werder Bremen, Freiburg fans held held a banner that read: "A fist instead of a kiss for Rubiales and Rummenigge — sorry, with all due respect — absolutely OK." freiburg supporters also held another banner reflecting on the week-long saga. "Balance of power played out perfectly again," it read. "Women win the World Cup — everyone's talking about toxic masculinity."