LEICESTER SET TO HOST COMMUNITY SHIELD
LEICESTER’S King Power Stadium has emerged as the frontrunner to host next season’s Community Shield. A final decision is yet to be made but insiders have disclosed that the 32,261-seat venue has edged ahead of Elland Road, Villa Park, the Emirates Stadium and the London Stadium. Wembley is unavailable on July 31 because it is hosting the women’s
European Championship final. The Community Shield will see the winners of the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea face the Premier League champions, either Manchester City or Liverpool. If Liverpool win both, they would face second-placed City. In choosing an alternative to Wembley, the FA are mindful of the furore over the FA Cup semi-final between the Reds and City, which saw thousands of empty seats in the City section because the game was played on a weekend when there were no direct rail services to
RUSSIA’S bid to host the European Championship in 2028 or 2032 has been booted out, removing one of the last remaining obstacles to the UK and Ireland hosting the tournament in six years’ time. Following the invasion of Ukraine, UEFA suspended Russia and its clubs from competition and have now delivered a host of sanctions. The bid, which left many aghast, has been deemed ineligible under rules which state those applying to host competitions ‘shall ensure that it does not act in a manner that could bring UEFA, the UEFA final or UEFA final phase, any other bidder (or any employee, officer or representative of any of the foregoing), the bidding procedure or European football into disrepute’. The UK and Ireland bid to host Euro 2028 is expected to be successful, with Turkey — who are also vying with Italy for Euro 2032 — the only other nation in the running. The Russia men’s team will not participate in the forthcoming Nations League and will be relegated from League B at the end of the group phase. Their women’s side will be replaced for this summer’s Euros in England by Portugal, who they beat in a play-off. Russia have also been kicked out of Women’s World Cup qualifying and the Under 21 Euros. No Russian clubs will play in any European competitions in 2022-23. It means that the Scottish champions, most likely Celtic, will qualify directly for the Champions League group stage.