Ghana may be in danger of incurring the wrath of world football body, FIFA, following Government’s establishment of a Commission to invstigate events leading to the country’s abysmal performance at the 2014 World Cup. The three-paragraph letter from FIFA, questioned the Ghana Football Association on the composition and competences of the Commission set up by Government. The letter signed by Deputy General Secretary of FIFA, Markus Kattner read: “We have learnt from media reports that {....}

The Germany international will continue his career in La Liga after signing a six-year contract with the Santiago Bernabeu side Bayern Munich have announced that Toni Kroos has completed his transfer to Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee. The attacking midfielder had long been linked with a move to the Champions League holders and he has now signed a contract with Madrid until the summer of 2020. "We would like to thank Toni for his time at Bayern Munich," said Bayern chief Karl-Heinz {....}

After a deal to take the centre forward to London from Atletico Madrid was announced on July 1, the £35 million Spain international is now definitively a Blues player Chelsea have confirmed they have completed the signing of Diego Costa, with the striker putting pen to paper on a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge. A deal to take the Spain international from Atletico Madrid was officially agreed on July 1 but the centre forward has now finalised the details to register as a Blues player. Jose Mourinho's {....}

Tens of thousands of German football fans are giving a hero’s welcome to the World Cup-winning team in Berlin. The main celebrations are at the Brandenburg Gate, where players displayed the cup on a large stage while performing an impromptu dance. Many had gathered since dawn to welcome the players who touched down from Brazil on Tuesday morning. Huge crowds lined their bus route into the capital. It was the fourth German cup win and the first since reunification in 1990. Berlin transformed {....}

Jose Mourinho has defended Lionel Messi for his displays at the World Cup, claiming he is a “historical player” despite Argentina losing in the final to Germany. The Argentina captain won the Golden Ball award, given to the best player of the tournament, but has come under criticism from all corners with many, including Diego Maradona insisting he didn’t deserve the award. But Mourinho has leapt to his defence, insisting that he doesn’t need to win the World Cup to be identified as one {.....}

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has awarded the 2014 World Cup in Brazil a mark of 9.25 out of 10. The tournament, won for a fourth time by Germany, featured a record-equalling 171 goals, some shock results and was described by some as the best ever. Blatter says Brazil outshone South Africa, which was awarded a mark of 9 after it staged the event in 2010. There were fears surrounding security, transport and stadiums, but these proved largely unfounded. Most of the drama of the 20th World Cup came {....}
 

Brazil’s football confederation (CBF) will not renew national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari’s contact, local media reported early Monday, just hours after Germany defeated Argentina to win the 2014 World Cup. Scolari said that he would let the CBF decide his fate after his team lost the game for third place 3-0 to the Netherlands on Saturday, and after being crushed by Germany in a humiliating 7-1 defeat on Tuesday. Tuesday’s performance was the country’s worst defeat since losing the 1950 final game to [.....]

Decisions on whether a footballer can return to the pitch after a head injury should be taken by an independent doctor, and not the player or coach. An editorial in The Lancet Neurology says these decisions should not be made “by those with a vested interest”. FIFPro, the footballers’ union, has called for an investigation into concussion protocols. This follows players being allowed to play on after appearing to be concussed during the World Cup. “Because signs and symptoms of concussion can [.....]

On the day of the Final, the winners of the FIFA World Cup Trophy outshine everything and everyone else. For the fourth time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, Germany have laid hands on the most prized trophy in football. But away from the action itself, a number of outstanding players have been recognised with individual awards, spearheaded by Argentina’s Lionel Messi, named the tournament’s best player by FIFA’s Technical Study Group. And James Rodriguez of Colombia was able [....]

The Juventus midfielder has been rewarded for his strong performances, finishing ahead of his compatriot and the Dutch attacker Paul Pogba has been handed the Young Player award following his fine performances for France at the World Cup. The Juventus midfielder played a key role in les Bleus' run to the quarter-final, impressing in the group stages before putting in a man of the match performance in their 2-0 round-of-16 win over Nigeria. The 21-year-old made five appearances at this summer's [....]

It seems only yesterday that Brazil were kicking off the 20th Fifa World Cup with a thrilling, if somewhat controversial, 3-1 win over Croatia in Sao Paulo. Some five weeks and 64 games later, football's greatest tournament has reached its climax with Germany defeating Argentina by a single extra-time goal at the Maracana. There has been an abundance of star performers on show in South America, making it a very difficult job picking a team of the tournament, but below is Goal's final selection [.....]

The Bayern Munich star's goal in the second half of extra-time was enough to separate the two teams and give Joachim Low's men the world crown Mario Gotze's 113th-minute volley fired Germany to World Cup glory with a 1-0 win over Argentina at the Maracana. The tournament's outstanding team failed to repeat the fluency and brilliance of their 7-1 semi-final romp against Brazil, but Joachim Low's team found one more sumptuous moment during the second half of extra time. Bayern Munich [....]

Spectacular events on the River Thames and at PUMA's Carnaby Street store were held to unveil three new shirts as part of Arsenal's new kit partnership. PUMA have introduced the much-anticipated new Arsenal kits for the 2014-15 season. The home, away and cup kits were revealed through a spectacular 20-metre-high water projection on the River Thames viewed from the North Bank, transforming the EDF Energy London Eye into the iconic Clock End. Each kit has a unique design drawn [....]

Ghana’s poor run in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil has received more damning descriptions from the international public. According to a study conducted by the Cambridge University Press, the top words used by various media reports worldwide in relation to Ghana’s World Cup campaign were “money”, “strike”, “powerful”. These words stem from the Black Stars’ troubles associated with rows over the payment of appearance fees to the players and the airlifting of three million US dollars in cash to [....]

After 120 tedious and goalless minutes that were in stark contrast to the spectacular shock of the first semi-final between Brazil and the Germans, Argentina prevailed and a repeat of the 1986 and 1990 finals - when they played West Germany - will be played out in Rio. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero was the hero with penalty saves from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder, while opposite number Jasper Cillessen was unable to repeat the feats of his deputy, Tim Krul, in the quarter-final win against Costa Rica [...]

The FIFA Emergency Committee has decided today, 9 July 2014, to suspend the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with immediate effect, on account of government interference. Article 13, par. 1 and article 17, par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes oblige member associations to manage their affairs independently and with no influence from third parties. The decision follows a letter sent by FIFA to the NFF on 4 July 2014, in which it expressed its great concern after the NFF was served with court proceedings [....]

Former Ghana international John Paintsil has joined Maritzburg United on a two-year deal after his contract with Santos expired. The 30-year-old was a free agent after parting ways with The People’s Team following their failure to gain promotion to the Premier Soccer League at the end of last season. However, while his stint with the Cape Town outfit may not have ended with the success that either party desired, it has convinced the midfielder to stay in South Africa, with Maritzburg his next  [.....]

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari apologized to fans for failing to lead the host to the World Cup final, saying the ”catastrophic” defeat to Germany on Tuesday marked the ”worst day” of his professional life. ”I have to apologize for the negative result, for not being able to reach the final as we all wanted,” Scolari said, speaking calmly after the humiliating 7-1 loss. Scolari took full responsibility for the drubbing, and said he knows that it’s very likely that his career may be defined by what [....]