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      in Soccer

      Sportwashing won’t make the Saudis any money and it won’t make fans love them – and here’s why

      by

      NEXT season, when you’re at a ­football match, take a look at the directors’ box. What do you see? If you think you’re looking at fat cats, you’ll probably be right.
      This week the Saudi Arabian wealth fund that owns Newcastle got their bulging wallet out againCredit: Getty
      The Saudi-funded LIV golf tour was threatening to tear the sport apart… football could be nextCredit: Getty
      The Saudi’s have taken a stake in the Saudi Pro League team Cristiano Ronaldo plays for, Al-NassrCredit: AFP
       But if you think you’re looking at profit-mongers filching a fortune from your beloved club, you’re almost certainly wrong.
      Because hardly any club owners make a profit. Most of the money coming in, like a bad late-night curry on top of a load of beer, races straight through the guts of the game into the pockets of players and their agents.
       Perhaps that’s only right and proper — certainly as far as the players are ­concerned. Not sure about the agents.
      But the fat cats in the directors’ box won’t get any fatter through football.
      READ MORE FROM ADRIAN CHILES
       Well, some directors might be handsomely paid, but the owners are much more likely to get poorer than richer.
       As the old joke goes, the only way to make a small fortune out of football is to start with a large fortune.
      Madness, just madness
      The scales fell from my eyes when I asked Kieran Maguire, of the brilliant podcast The Price Of Football and author of the book of the same name, if it was possible for a Championship club to get promoted without spending any more money than they were making from ticket sales, merchandising, TV deals and so on.
       “Not only is it impossible to get ­promoted without someone throwing in lots of extra money from somewhere,” Kieran told me, “But without that cash ­injection, it’s almost impossible not to get relegated.”
      Most read in Football
      Madness, just madness.
      And we’d be mad to assume that ­promotion to the Premier League necessarily makes the gamble worthwhile.
       If you’re not very careful, your massive wealth will be matched by equally massive costs and you’ll soon be back where you started, or worse.
      So what, you might ask. What do I care if rich owners know they’ll get no richer?
       I wonder if the discipline involved in having to turn a modest profit might just keep a few more of them honest and fewer clubs from going to rack and ruin. The problem is this: if owners aren’t in it for the money, what are they in it for?
       Well, they might be in it for love. Take a bow the owners of Brighton, Brentford and Crystal Palace.
       But more often it’s about something else.
      Ego-tripping, asset-stripping . . . who knows flipping what many of these ­mysterious men from far-off places are up to.
      This week the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund that owns Newcastle got their bulging wallet out again and took stakes in four of the country’s biggest clubs, including the team Cristiano Ronaldo plays for, Al-Nassr.
       Now they are after more marquee ­European players, if reports are correct.
      To be fair to the Saudis, it’s pretty clear what they’re up to.
       I’d probably be up to the same if I was in charge of a bottomlessly wealthy regime that is widely disliked and ­disrespected.
       I too would try to buy some love.
       I’d buy something big and beautiful, whatever it costed. I’d buy football.
      I’d buy a big, underperforming club and make it great again. I’d buy into several of my own country’s football clubs to help bring the most ­money-grabbing legendary has-beens to play for them.
       I’d do whatever I could to buy the love of Fifa so I could stage the World Cup.
      I’d go for other sports, too. The Saudi-funded LIV golf tour was threatening to tear the sport apart.
       The old guard, the PGA Tour and so on, were fighting them tooth and dagger.
       Golfers who’d taken the Saudi shilling said silly things, claiming they hadn’t gone just for the money.
       Golfers who’d refused to take the Saudi shilling said horrible things about those who had, who then returned the insults with interest.
      But now, rejoice, because peace has ­broken out and the two sides have merged, having kissed and made up.
       How sweet.
      You can see this, if you like, as an ­outbreak of common sense.
      Hypocrisy and cynicism
       Or as an example of quite excruciating hypocrisy and cynicism by all those who swore blind they’d have nothing to do with the Saudis. Only to then jump into bed with them.
      For what it’s worth, I see it like a tree. Yes, a tree.
       It’s like the PGA et al have been fighting the Saudis for control of the tree’s branches, only for the Saudis to go and buy the whole tree.
       Football could be next.
      So, as humble fans, what do we do?
       Well, given there’s next to nothing we can do about it, I wouldn’t blame anyone for putting their head in the sand, crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.
      I despair.
      Saudis are buying up football to boost their image
       But one thought cheers me. In the end, these so-called sportwashers — be they Russians, Chinese, Qataris, ­Emiratis or Saudis — cannot truly win.
      No, we can’t apparently stop them from buying our game by taking control of our clubs and hosting World Cups.
      But the delicious irony is that ultimately they are wasting their money.
       Because no amount of it will be enough to buy our hearts and minds.
      Read more on The Sun
      We know who they are and what they are and what they’re all about.
       And if they think they can change that, the last laugh’s going to be on them. More

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      in Soccer

      If you judge Zlatan Ibrahimovic for having sport’s biggest ego, you don’t know the hellish upbringing that forged him

      by

      As football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his tearful retirement speech inside Italy’s iconic San Siro stadium yesterday, a chorus of taunting boos and jeers suddenly erupted from the opposition fans.
      The 41-year-old Swedish superstar abruptly stopped his emotional heartfelt address to his beloved AC Milan supporters, turned, and pointed derisively towards the Verona fans.
      Football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his tearful retirement speech inside Italy’s iconic San Siro stadium yesterdayCredit: GETTY
      The iconic striker has called time on his incredible careerCredit: Getty
      Piers describes Ibrahimovic as one of the greatest footballers in history
      ‘Keep booing,’ he mocked. ‘This is the biggest moment in your year, seeing me.’
      The Milan fans roared, the Verona fans were silenced, and he turned away to continue with his goodbye message.
      It was all classic Zlatan; only he could be loudly booed while announcing he was retiring, and only he would respond in the hilariously taunting way that he did. 
      Make no mistake, Ibrahimovic is one of the greatest footballers in history.
      READ MORE FROM PIERS
      He won 34 trophies including 14 League titles and scored 573 goals in 988 games, with well over 200 assists.
      This sensational record puts him right up there with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

      Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on Sky 522, Virgin Media 606, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 or on Fox Nation in the US

      But there was so much more to Zlatan than just scoring goals.
      Most read in Football
      The guy has the biggest ego ever seen in any sport – and the bar for that accolade is very high – and he’s been a supremely entertaining quote machine who like his equally self-effacing sporting hero Muhammad Ali, liked to talk the talk as much as walk the walk.
      For instance, Zlatan doesn’t just think he’s God-like, he believes he’s actually God.
      Asked whether Sweden would beat Portugal in a 2014 World Cup play-off, he told a journalist: ‘Only God knows.’
      ‘It’s hard to ask him,’ replied the journalist.
      ‘You’re talking to him now,’ said Zlatan.
      This is a guy who makes even me look crippled by low esteem issues.
      ‘I can’t help but laugh at how perfect I am,’ he once declared.
      But that jaw-droppingly arrogant self-belief was born out of a very tough poverty-stricken upbringing on a rough housing estate in Malmo, Sweden.
      His cleaner mother, Jurka used to brutally beat him over the head with a wooden spoon until sometimes it broke – then order him to go and buy a new one.
      When his parents divorced, Zlatan ended up spending half his time with his abusive mum, and half with his father Sefik, a Bosnian Muslim caretaker who drank heavily in torment at the unfurling Yugoslav war.
      Zlatan, a consequentially damaged and socially awkward young man who spoke with a lisp, hated his big nose, and was permanently hungry, turned to stealing and vandalism and admits he would probably have become a criminal if it wasn’t for football.
      But his natural ability to kick a ball, brilliantly as it quickly turned out, turned out to be his salvation.
      Zlatan honed his skills, and ferocity, in tough street matches, and as his talent grew so did his size until he ended up a 6ft 5in 15st monster who terrorised defenders all over the world.
      ‘You can take the boy out of the ghetto,’ he said, ‘but you can’t take the ghetto out of the boy.’
      He was physically imperious, a giant of a footballing deity walking among mere mortals, but he was notably patient and courteous to everyone, young and oldPiers on Zlatan
      Zlatan viewed football as he viewed life: ‘It’s a fight.’
      And he knew how to fight, becoming a taekwondo blackbelt.
      He also knew what made him so good.
      ‘I need to be angry to play well,’ he admitted. ‘I need to shout and make some noise.’
      That he certainly did, breaking almost as many opponents’ bones as he broke records in two decades of rage-fuelled kicks, slaps, headbutts, and sneaky punches.
      Zlatan’s tongue was as savage as his feet.
      He once called Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola ‘a coward with no balls’, told Romelu Lukaku to ‘go do your voodoo sh*t, you little donkey’ (for which he received a 10-match ban) and branded fellow bad-boy Joey Barton an ‘English p*ssy.’
      Away from football, he was just as reckless, boasting of out-speeding police in his Ferrari or Porsche while ‘driving like a madman’ and reaching 202mph on one occasion.
      But beneath the fire and fury was a more sensitive soul.
      ‘Complex is the best word to describe Zlatan,’ said David Lagercrantz, the Swedish author who co-wrote the star’s autobiography I am Zlatan.
      ‘On the one hand he’s a strong, warrior type who knew he had to be very tough to survive. So, he takes on fights all the time because he’s always had to. But another part of him is vulnerable.
      ‘He’s a guy wounded by his upbringing, who uses all that to create strength for himself. In his position, 99 guys out of 100 would have gone under, but he used his anger to make himself better.’
      It certainly did.
      Ibrahimovic once scored all four of Sweden’s goals in a 4-2 victory over England, and his last goal, a 35-yard bicycle kick, was described by the late great commentator legend John Motson as the best he ever saw.
      But I don’t think it’s even the best Zlatan scored.
      There’s a YouTube clip of a goal he scored for Dutch team Ajax against NAC Breda that is so breathtakingly, dazzlingly magnificent in its panache, verve, and audacity, it almost defies belief. He basically tortures half the rival team with his genius before he scores.
      The only place Zlatan isn’t No1 in his own eyes is at home.
      His wife Helena Seger, a beautiful blonde economics graduate from a smart middle-class background who is 11 years his senior and mother of their two sons, Maximilian and Vincent, was a successful former children’s TV presenter when they met outside a bureau de change at Malmo train station.
      She thought Zlatan, then just 20, was a rude, crude, cocky yob.
      But they soon fell in love, and she is credited with taming the beast.
      Or almost.
      ‘She understands my character and accepts that I am a bit crazy. I was surrounded by chaos when we met. I was out of control. I am calmer today.’
      When asked what he’d bought her for a Valentine’s Day gift, he replied: ‘What do you mean, ‘present?’ She got Zlatan.’
      I’ve only met him once, in Los Angeles four years ago when he was playing for LA Galaxy in the MLS League and scored both goals in the home side’s win.
      Afterwards, to appease my eldest son Spencer who loves him and had come to the game with me, we waited 90 minutes for Zlatan to emerge from his media duties and walk down a line of starry-eyed people wanting to pay homage.
      He was physically imperious, a giant of a footballing deity walking among mere mortals, but he was notably patient and courteous to everyone, young and old.
      He had no idea who I was, but I congratulated him on his performance, he thanked me politely, we posed for a selfie, and then he walked on.
      And I realised that, as with my friend Cristiano Ronaldo, there were two Zlatans: the swaggering cocky iconic beast of a football genius, and the far humbler person away from the pitch and TV cameras.
      He was the main inspiration for Ted Lasso’s Series 3 star signing Zava, the ‘best player on the planet’ who’s a very nice guy away from his chest-beating press conferences.
      And as with Cristiano, it comes down to this: if I needed a team to win a match to save my life, Zlatan Ibrahimovic would one of my first choices.
      He’d snarl, he’d taunt, he’d fight, he’d argue with the referee, he’d gesticulate abusively to the opposition fans, but he’d also score, and win the game.
      Because that’s what Zlatan’s done throughout his life and career.
      ‘I’m very competitive,’ he once said, ‘so the more extreme and the more challenging, the better. I never turn down a challenge. My continued desire to play comes from that inability to ever give up.’
      Now, that desire has finally succumbed to Father Time, but don’t expect Zlatan Ibrahimovic to go quietly into the sunset.
      Whatever he does next though, his legacy is assured.
      ‘Where I come from,’ he said, ‘people were always judging me and telling me, “No, that’s not possible”. I want to show kids growing up like I did that anything’s possible. I’m the living proof that you can succeed.’
      He is.
      Read More on The Sun
      Thanks for all the entertainment, Zlatan.
      You’ve not quite been the greatest ever footballer – that’s Cristiano – but you’ve been the game’s greatest character.
      Over the course of his career Zlatan won 34 trophies including 14 League titlesCredit: Rex
      His wife, Helena Seger, is credited with taming the beast and celebrated with him as he made his speechCredit: GETTY More

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      in Soccer

      West Ham legend Julian Dicks reveal eye-popping scrapes including 21-man brawl, Gazza chaos & day Harry Redknapp flipped

      by

      HARDMAN footballer Julian Dicks doesn’t do regrets or apologies.Branded an “animal” by former Tory minister David Mellor and red-carded eight times, the legendary West Ham defender was never one to shy away from trouble in the 1990s.
      Hardman footballer Julian Dicks, in action for West Ham in 1997, doesn’t do regrets or apologiesCredit: Rex
      Julian, at a cafe near West Ham’s ground in 2018, was branded an ‘animal’ by former Tory minister David Mellor and red-carded eight timesCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      Julian is applauded at his 2000 testimonial game between West Ham and Athletic BilbaoCredit: Getty
      While other players from that era talk about toxic dressing rooms or bemoan its boozy culture, Julian prefers the no-nonsense approach of the past — and pulls no punches in his new memoir Hammer Time.
      It’s an ode to the days when ­football had a rough edge, and he has no problem with his old boss Harry Redknapp throwing a plate of sandwiches against the wall in rage, ex-manager Lou Macari calling him “fat” or for players getting into punch-ups in training.
      About his former teammate John Hartson kicking his colleague Eyal Berkovic in the head during training, ­Julian says “these things can happen.”
      Off the field he ran naked through a hotel corridor on England duty after being pranked by Paul Gascoigne, branded a team mate with a hot iron and had the plaster cast on his leg cut off so he could get into a nightclub.
      READ MORE ON WEST HAM
      Julian, 54, doesn’t even regret playing on through a knee injury which has left him in so much agony that now he can’t ride a bike with his little daughter.
      Ahead of the release of his book, Julian, who also played for Liverpool and Birmingham City, tells The Sun: “Back then you were concussed, it was, ‘It’s OK, carry on’.
      “You got cut, you got elbowed, my eye socket was cracked in four places. Nowadays it isn’t like that.
      Sly elbow
      “When I played it was the best time. We could go out, we could drink, we had fun.”
      Most read in Football
      Julian, originally from Bristol, learned from a young age that the football pitch was no place for whingers.
      In a youth game when he was 12 he told his dad Ron he was coming off due to a swollen hand, and was ordered to get back on the pitch.
      Just a couple of years later the talented youngster was living in digs in the West Midlands away from his family, and at 16 he started training with senior pros at Birmingham City, who would “kick s*** out of you”.
      Having joined West Ham in 1988, Julian became an instant fan favourite on his debut for pole-axing a winger with a “sly elbow”.
      In the same year he was called up by England’s under-21s — and made the mistake of offering to be Gazza’s room mate during a tournament in Toulon, France, when Dave Sexton was manager.
      Julian says: “No one put their hand up and I went, ‘Yeah, I’ll share with him’. F***ing wrong decision.
      “He would wake up in the night and put his a**e on my face.
      “He put about 20 firecrackers around the rim of the toilet and they started going off and I thought it was a bomb.
      “I’m naked and I am running down the corridor and he’s just stood in the door, laughing his head off.
      “It was funny, although it wasn’t at the time because I was standing in front of Dave Sexton and other people.”
      Julian, who married in the same year and had twin daughters Katie and Jessica, didn’t obey the rule of being in bed by 10pm when he was on international duty. He says: “I was 21 years old. F*** off, leave me alone. I was never going to be that person.”
      Instead, Julian recalls, he would be drinking Jack Daniel’s whiskey and smoking cigarettes the evening before a game.
      He says: “I trained when I was p***ed sometimes. But not during the game, because I loved football too much.”
      On a stop-over in Singapore on the way to a pre-season warm-up in Australia with West Ham, Julian was barred from a nightclub for having his leg in plaster.
      He was undeterred, and recalls: “I went all the way back to the hotel and got the club doctor to cut it off with a carving knife so I could get in the nightclub.
      “From what I can remember it was a good night.” And it turns out Julian wasn’t a much better room mate than Gazza.
      He confesses to scalding team mate Mark Ward with an iron so hot that bits of his skin were left behind.
      Julian suspects it was his reputation for being too aggressive on the pitch that cost him the chance of winning a senior England cap.
      Former England boss Glenn Hoddle had been in charge of Chelsea in 1995 when Julian was accused of stamping on the head of his player John Spencer during a match.
      Julian insists it was an accident.
      He says: “I remember John coming back on with a bandage and he said to me, ‘Did you mean it?’ I said, ‘Mean what?’
      “And he said, ‘Julian, I’ve got eight stitches in my head’, and I said, ‘If I meant it you’d have f***ing 28’.” The public outrage was so intense that even Julian’s daughters were affected.
      He says: “My kids got bullied at school. That crossed a line.
      “What I did on the football pitch shouldn’t interfere with my family life, they were six or seven years old.
      “It’s wrong. I went down to the school and sorted it out.”
      There are very few lines that are uncrossable for the West Ham stalwart. As far as he is concerned, John Hartson was unfortunate to have Sky TV cameras recording the Hammers training session when he kicked team mate Eyal Berkovic in the head in 1998.
      Julian says: “These things can happen. Players have a fist fight in training.
      “There were fisticuffs and people throwing punches in five-a-side. John regrets it, but unfortunately Sky was there.” He also accepts managers giving players the hairdryer treatment — a furious telling off — with Harry Redknapp showing a tougher side than the one viewers saw when he was on I’m A Celebrity in 2018.
      Julian says: “We came in, we’d got beat 4-0 by Southampton. Don Hutchison went, ‘Who wants salmon sandwiches after a game of football?’
      Physically sick
      “And Harry went, ‘F***ing salmon sandwiches’, and he just lugged them at the wall.
      “The managers back then threw pots of tea, cups of tea, stuff like that. It was a common thing.
      “These days you’d probably lose your job for that. But if you lose 4-0 you should be able to b*****k the players and they should be man enough to take it.”
      Unsurprisingly, Julian has little time for players rolling around after receiving the slightest touch, or being booked for thundering into tackles in the modern game.
      He says: “I remember playing against the Crazy Gang (Wimbledon FC) and we had a 21-man brawl.
      “It’s a passionate game. A lot of the passion has gone out of the game. Now you can get booked for using too much force.
      “To me, that’s the biggest load of b*****ks in the world.”
      Julian says he would have been “embarrassed” to have been floored by another player and would have got up as quickly as possible, even if he had been in agony.
      But in 1990 that proved to be a mistake when he went against the advice of a medical assistant and played in a game, despite carrying a serious knee injury.
      He lasted for just 38 minutes of the match and recalls: “When I done my knee the first time and I was told I was going to be out for 14 months I felt physically sick.
      “I could have threw up all over the surgeon.
      “I ended up bordering on being an alcoholic, I felt sorry for myself. I’m going down the pub drinking, going home, going down the pub drinking and doing it all over again.”
      A young Julian at Birmingham City in 1986Credit: BPM
      Julian was accused of stamping on the head of Chelsea player John Spencer during a match, aboveCredit: Sky
      A cheeky Sun Sport headline during Julian’s playing daysCredit: .
      In 1997 came a recurrence of the knee injury — and when Julian was ruled out for the rest of West Ham’s season, The Sun’s then Sports Editor Paul Ridley couldn’t resist writing Swollen Dicks Out as the headline.
      The injury led to Julian’s retire-ment aged just 31 a couple of years later, as well as permanent pain.
      He says: “Basically my legs are f***ed. It stops you doing everything. I can’t ride a bike. I can walk into town with my daughter, but I can’t go on long walks.”
      Julian, who was divorced from wife Kay in 2001, became a dad for the third time two and a half years ago when his partner Lisa gave birth to daughter Eliyanah Grace.
      He says of her arrival: “It was a shock because my partner was told she could never have children. But it was a good shock.” Julian says he never felt down about losing the routine of training, mainly because he hated running.
       Since his playing career ended he has tried dog breeding, owning a pub, playing pro golf and managing other football teams — until a few months ago he was assistant manager at Watford.
      But he admits he would prefer to be playing than standing on the touchline yelling at footballers.
      Even so, he insists he wouldn’t turn back the clock to escape that crippling injury.
      Read More on The Sun
      He says: “People say, ‘Would I change anything?’ but no, everything I got, I got through football. This might be the down side of that, but it is what it is.”

       Hammer Time: Me, West Ham And A Passion For The Shirt, by Julian Dicks, is published on Thursday.

      Since his playing days ended he has tried dog breeding, owning a pub, playing pro golf and managing — until a few months ago he was assistant manager at WatfordCredit: PA:Empics Sport
      Julian pictured at the pub he ran for a whileCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      Hammer Time: Me, West Ham And A Passion For The Shirt, by Julian Dicks, is published on Thursday. More

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      in Soccer

      How Luton Town and Coventry City have an embarrassing thing in common as they face off in £200m Prem battle

      by

      THE biggest-money game in football isn’t the Champions League final for the top clubs in Europe – it is the one to get in to the Premier League.And on Saturday afternoon two teams who couldn’t be further removed from the glamour of Manchester City or Italy’s Inter Milan will battle to triumph in a match estimated to be worth more than £200million to the winner.
      Coventry City keep getting evicted from their troubled stadium
      If they win Premiership status, Luton Town will have to knock down one side of their dilapidated 118-year-old ground to meet top flight standardsCredit: Reuters
      Away fans have to enter Luton Town’s ground through Victorian terraced houses – with residents saying their homes shake when goals are scoredCredit: Damien McFadden
      Luton Town, who will have to knock down one side of their dilapidated 118-year-old ground to meet top flight standards, will face Coventry City, who keep getting evicted from their troubled stadium.
      If Luton win, they will be the first side to go from the non-league up to the Premier League. On the other hand, Coventry were just 15 minutes away from going out of business a decade ago because they didn’t have anywhere to play.
      As former Manchester United striker Mark Robins, 53, who manages Coventry, says: “It’s one for the romantics.”
      Premier League fans have been shocked by the prospect of watching the beautiful game at Luton’s Kenilworth Road. The turnstile to the cramped away end goes through Victorian terraced houses.
      READ MORE ON PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF
      Multi-millionaire stars such as Man City’s Erling Haaland will make their way to the tiny dressing rooms via a potholed car park and a door under a concrete bridge.
      This week the club’s chief executive, Gary Sweet, joked about the way in under people’s homes, saying: “Haaland isn’t going to walk through that entrance, he’ll go through the other s*** entrance we’ve got.”
      Coventry City’s star striker Viktor Gyokeres will be hoping to fire his side to the Premier LeagueCredit: PA
      Luton Town striker Carlton Morris’s goals helped the Hatters to third place in the Championship and a Playoff finalCredit: Getty
      Away fans hoping their section of the ground is going to be redeveloped will be disappointed.
      The club plans to knock down the neighbouring Bobbers Stand, containing executive boxes, and put up a temporary one in 14 weeks at a cost of £10million to fit in cameras and pundits.
      Most read in Football
      The headache faced by Coventry isn’t much better.
      Their stadium is owned by retail magnate Mike Ashley, 58, much hated by Newcastle United fans when he owned their club.
      Ashley, who isn’t part of Coventry’s football set-up, bought the Coventry Building Society Arena in November last year. He is now leasing it to the football club for five years.
      Whatever happens with the stadiums, fans of both sides will just be excited by the prospect of a return to the big time for two teams that were at their peak in the 1980s.
      Coventry pulled off one of the greatest FA Cup final shocks in 1987, beating Tottenham 3-2.
      A year later Luton defeated Arsenal by the same score­line in the League Cup final.
      The past two decades have been a struggle for survival for both clubs.
      Twenty years ago, Luton was taken over by chairman John Gurney, whose pie-in-the-sky plans included build­ing a Formula One racetrack around a 70,000-capacity stadium over the M1 motorway.
      He held a Pop Idol-type vote for a new manager, charging fans 50p to take part, and talked about merging with rivals Wimbledon.
      Coventry City manager Mark Robbins used to play for Man UtdCredit: Rex
      Luton Town manager Rob Edwards will be hoping to do the unthinkable by taking the Hatters up to the top flightCredit: Damien McFadden
      Even though the fans wrestled back control of the club from Gurney, their problems were far from over. In 2006 their then-manager Mike Newell promised to tackle a “bung scandal” in the game, which led to an investigation of the club’s dealings with players’ agents.
      Two years later, they were deducted ten points “for paying agents via a third party”, then docked a further 20 points for being in administration, when they had no money but those put in charge believed they had a chance of saving the business.
      They started the 2008-2009 season in the fourth tier with minus 30 points — then the worst penalty ever handed down by the Football Association. Their then-manager Mick Harford was unable to pre­vent relegation to non-league status.
      But former England striker Harford, 64, who played in Luton’s League Cup final, saw it as the moment the Bedfordshire club was reborn, because it was in the hands of devoted fans. He told The Sun: “I said to the players, this is the time the new Luton Town starts.”
      The club had so little money that the players trained on a public field where locals complained when balls hit their dogs.
      Midfielder Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, 29, who has been with Luton since their non-league days, recall­ed: “We were on a dogs’ field with a few Portakabins.”
      He was part of the team that won promo­tion back into the football league in 2014 and will be the first player to climb up all the divisions with one club if Luton win today.
      Locals know how much Premier League action will mean to the team and the town.
      Coventry City were FA Cup winners in 1987Credit: Getty
      Luton Town won the League Cup in 1988Credit: Getty
      The stadium’s wooden boards that make up some of the stands rock when the fans roar.
       Musamoth Lucky, who lives in a housing asso­ciation property over the ground’s entrance, felt the walls shake when the team won the home clash that put them in the play-off final. She said with a smile: “My living room was vibrating.”
      The town council owns Luton’s Kenilworth Stadium and is considering plans for a new 20,000-capacity ground which would be owned by the club.
      All the shareholders are local businessmen and Luton Supporters’ Trust has a one per cent share.
      Kevin Harper, from the trust, says: “It will be sad to leave, but if we are to have any chance of competing in the Premier League we need a bigger stadium.”
      Coventry City appear to be a cautionary tale for any club thinking of a stadium upgrade.
      In 2001 there were plans for a 90,000-capacity ground with a retractable roof, but that was soon scaled back.
      In the top flight for 34 years until May 2001, rising debts from the new ground forced Coventry to sell their best players.
      Before the stadium was even finished, it was sold by the club in 2005 to property developers and rented back at a high cost.
      Coventry City super fan will hope to see his team back in the big timeCredit: PA
      It would be a dream for Luton Town supporters to be in the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty
      In 2013 the club was forced to ground share with Northampton Town following a rent row.
      Supporter Ian Davidson, 70, says: “I was told we were 15 minutes from going out of business before we went to Northampton.”
      The club have had points deduct­ed for going into administration and failing to fulfil fixtures due to the state of their pitch, which they used to share with Wasps rugby club. In 2017 they were relegated to lowly League Two, before climbing back up the leagues.
      Premier League status would be a much-needed boost for Luton. It is estimated that half a billion pounds has poured into Brighton since they made it into the world’s richest football league in 2017.
      Nearly a third of all children in Luton live in poverty, and its jobless rate of 8.5 per cent is almost twice the national average.
      Gary Sweet praised the local community, saying: “It’s an indus­trial town, tough, hard-working and kind-hearted. More is don­a­t­ed to charity than anywhere in the UK.”
      Neither Coventry nor Luton have splashed cash in the promotion push. Their wage bills are in the lowest three in the Championship.
      Gary claimed: “A couple of Championship clubs spent more on agents fees than we did on players.”

      For that reason their rise has been described as a fairytale.
      Mick Harford, who is in charge of recruitment at the club and is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, concludes: “They should make a film out of it if we win.”
      Coventry fan Ian Davidson, 70, says: ‘I was told we were 15 minutes from going out of business before we went to Northampton’Credit: Supplied
      Luton Town supporter Kevin Harper says: ‘It will be sad to leave, but if we are to have any chance of competing in the Premier League we need a bigger stadium’Credit: Damien McFadden More

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      in Soccer

      From Arsene Wenger to Jose Mourinho, the world’s sexiest football manager has been crowned – do you agree?

      by

      MANCHESTER United may have fallen short of winning the league – but their manager Erik ten Hag has still trounced all rivals.The 53-year-old boss has been ranked the hottest manager of all time in a new survey, backed by science.
      Wag Nicola McClean gives her verdict on each fellaCredit: Getty
      Sports boffins at ticket site SeatPick used the geometric “golden ratio” theory of attractiveness to come up with their Sexiest Footie Bosses league table, with experts using AI to analyse their faces for sexiness.
      Their ratings also take into account managers’ net worth, as well as their height and the number of tweets referring to them as “sexy”.
      Dutchman ten Hag topped the table, scoring 7.78 out of ten in the sexiness stakes, with Arsenal gaffer Mikel Arteta, 41, bagging second place with a score of 7.35.
      Man City’s Pep Guardiola, 52 — who turned heads this week when his team demolished Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final — shares third place with Chelsea’s former “Special One” Jose Mourinho, 60.
      Read More on Football
      Perhaps more surprising additions include ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, 73, and former Newcastle United manager and mullet fan Kevin Keegan, 72, who beat heart-throb Frank Lampard, 44, and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, 55, to make it into the top ten.
      Here we list the top ten and their golden ratio score.
      And Wag Nicola McClean, wife of former footballer Tom Williams, gives her verdict on each fella.
      1. Erik ten Hag Man Utd, 7.78
      THE Red Devils leader is the full package – handsome, looks good in a suit and his managerial skills make him attractive.
      Most read in Football
      I can see why he topped the chart.
      Man Utd’s Erik ten Hag topped the chart with 7.78Credit: Getty
      I prefer men with hair but I get why women think he’s fit.
      He looks domineering, which is appealing too.
      2. Mikel Arteta Arsenal, 7.35
      I CAN’T say anything nice about Arsenal, they’re my least favourite team.
      But Mikel is the best looking manager.
      Mikel Arteta is the best looking managerCredit: Getty
      He is my type – dark and handsome.
      And it looks like he joined me in Turkey for those teeth. A great smile.
      3  . Pep Guardiola Man City, 7.07
      A MAN who makes ladies swoon, class Pep has it all – and I like his facial hair.
      Fans’ eyes will be glued to the pitch when his lads play the Champions League final, but I’m sure the ladies won’t be able to take theirs off him.
      The ladies won’t be able to take their eyes off Pep GuardiolaCredit: Getty
      3 . Jose Mourinho Roma, 7.07
      THE Special One is like Marmite but I love an arrogant, confident man.
      I could listen to his voice all day.
      Jose Mourinho is an arrogant, confident manCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      He’s the most intriguing of them all – and he’s my number one.
      5. Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid, 7.02
      JUST no. Unless you want a rich sugar daddy, I have no idea how any woman could choose him.
      What is he even doing here?
      Carlo Ancelotti looks like a rich sugar daddyCredit: Kenny Ramsay
      He makes Keegan look like David Gandy.
      6. Steven Gerrard ex-Aston Villa, 6.77
      I LOVE Gerrard. His wife Alex is one of the best Wags ever too.
      Any bloke whose wife loves dancing on tables must have good banter, which is also very attractive.
      Steven Gerrard has good banter which is attractiveCredit: Getty
      7. Arsene Wenger ex-Arsenal, 6.76
      I DON’T like Arsenal and I don’t like Arsene. He’s grumpy, which is unattractive.
      The stress of managing Arsenal has aged him.
      The stress of managing Arsenal has aged Arsene WengerCredit: PA:Press Association
      A bit of Botox wouldn’t go amiss, either.
      8. David Moyes West Ham, 6.46
      HE manages my team and when we go to matches he is very entertaining.
      He is passionate on the sidelines and not afraid to question the referees.
      David Moyes is passionate on the sidelines and not afraid to question the refereesCredit: Getty
      Is he good looking? No.
      But he has a lot going for him and is one of my favourites.
      9. Rafael Benitez ex-Everton, 6.24
      HOW on earth has this guy made it?
      There is nothing attractive about the ex-Everton and Liverpool boss. I’m speechless.
      There is nothing attractive about Rafael BenitezCredit: Getty
      It really shows that beauty is in the eye of the beholder if Rafael is in the top ten and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp isn’t.

      10. Kevin Keegan ex-Newcastle, 5.60
      I AM seriously shocked – but he did make the hideous mullet famous back in the day so he deserves a medal for that.
      I’d give him an eight out of ten for nostalgia, and in my fantasy fitties league he’s above Wenger and Benitez.
      Kevin Keegan made the hideous mullet famous back in the dayCredit: PA:Press Association More

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      in Soccer

      Inside the football clubs making sure EVERY child can play as Harry Maguire and Phil Foden back our grassroots scheme

      by

      AFTER years of desperately wanting to be picked first for the football team, Eddie finally found somewhere that let him play every match.The nine-year-old, who is affected by autism and skull birth defect craniosynostosis, has found confidence with a group of friends.
      Ashford United’s under-11 disability team offers a way into football for youngsters and transforms their lives for the betterCredit: Louis Wood
      And it’s all thanks to Ashford United –– one of the football clubs that The Sun wants to benefit from our Footie For All campaign to help grassroots sport.
      Eddie’s grandmother, Linda Burrows, credits the Kent club’s under-11 disability team, run by Dan Ambler, with giving her grandson new confidence.
      She said: “When Eddie first went along he was hiding behind his mum, but now he is straight out of the car and playing with the other kids.
      “It’s amazing what it has done for his confidence. He believes in himself now.
      “He’s always smiling when he’s playing — even if he doesn’t always get a chance to touch the ball.
      “It’s really nice seeing Eddie do ­normal things that he wasn’t comfortable doing just a few months ago.
      “Dan and the team have made a world of difference. Eddie was never going to be able to play in a traditional team, but this club has made sure he doesn’t miss out.”
      Figures show the cost-of-living crisis is forcing kids away from football, with 94 per cent of grassroots clubs voicing concern about the impact of soaring prices on their membership, according to the charity Sported.
      Most read in Football
      Clubs across the country have told The Sun how parents are struggling to afford to keep their children playing sports as the cost of everyday essentials continues to spiral.
      England stars John Stones, ­Raheem Sterling, Jarrod Bowen and Eric Dier, who all started out in local football, have already lent their support to our campaign.
      Ashford United ace Dan, 37, set up the disability team when he realised his autistic son Jack could not keep up when playing alongside mainstream kids.
      He said: “I saw him being left out, and I wanted to do something about it. I thought other parents might see their children in the same position so I asked around — and within a few days I had 17 other parents whose kids wanted to play.
      “It’s been amazing seeing the kids coming out of their shells. They’ve formed close friendships and the confidence they’ve developed is incredible.
      “Eddie went from being very shy to doing the “worm” celebration in front of everyone at our last match.
      “It’s incredible. It doesn’t matter if you have the skills of Ronaldo or can’t kick a ball — all are welcome.”
      Kids who play on one of the two Ashford under-11 teams have a mix of disabilities, from neurodivergent conditions to physical disabilities such as a missing limb.
      Ashford Town United has been heavily involved in keeping the team going and it provides a lot of ­support to Dan, a podiatrist by day, to get everything right.
      But he has to raise around £800 to keep things afloat, on top of the £25-a-month payment from parents.
      Thanks to huge interest, he is opening up three new teams for this season, bringing the total to six, all of which will need sponsorship.Dan added: “I never turn anyone away.
      “They are welcome whatever disability they have, and I don’t want that to change.
      “It’s going to be quite a challenge, but I’m always up for it and we are used to overcoming difficulties. Hopefully, we’ll make it all work.”
      Today, England footballers Harry Maguire and Phil Foden back our campaign to keep kids playing.
      Two teams also reveal how they are dedicated to making sure all children have access to the sport amid the cost-of-living crisis.
      Phil Foden
      Premier League winner Phil Foden started out with Reddish VulcansCredit: PROVIDED
      Phil Foden now stars for Manchester City and EnglandCredit: Getty
      GRASSROOTS football is where it began for all of us. Whether you play in the Premier League, for your country or on your local park, we all started out playing for our grassroot teams.
      For those of us lucky enough, it goes on to become our jobs. But the grassroots game is for everyone, and it’s important that we continue to support it so that boys and girls across the country can benefit from everything it has to offer.
      For me, playing for my local team gave me the chance to make new friends and learn new skills.
      I loved football then as much as I love football now.
      Knowing you could go and train with your mates during the week and play at the weekend was such an important part of growing up.
      It brings happiness for so many people across the country and it’s so important nothing gets in the way of everyone having that opportunity.
      Harry Maguire
      World Cup ace Harry Maguire began his career with Brunsmeer AthleticCredit: PROVIDED
      He has gone onto play for Sheffield United, Hull City, Leicester City and Manchester UnitedCredit: Getty
      I SPENT my childhood with a football at my feet whenever I had the chance.
      My first memory is having a kickabout with my brother.
      Playing in youth teams for Brunsmeer Athletic, then later Barnsley and ­Sheffield United, gave me a chance to make football into a career, not just a ­passion.
      Kids these days should have that same option, no matter what else is going on around them.
      There is nothing better than playing with a team, winning and learning how to lose.
      It also gives them an outlet and a chance to learn discipline, teamwork and friendship with people they might otherwise not have met.
      I loved my time in grassroots football. Those memories never leave you.
      Beacons FC, Kidbrooke, South East London
      Beacons FC are trying to help make football more afforable for parents and have launched a boots swap schemeCredit: Olivia West
      BEACONS FC has recently launched a boot swap shop to help families keep their kids in footie ­footwear without breaking the bank.
      Club secretary Adam Gillham said: “They are a necessary item parents have to shell out for each season but they can be so ­expensive – especially when kids outgrow them so quickly.
      “At the swap shop, they can donate a pair of boots their child has outgrown and swap them for a pair that fits. Anything we can do to help them save a few quid helps.”
      The club started in Kidbrooke, South East London, in 2001, and now fields eight teams of boys aged seven to 17.
      To play for the season, each player pays a one-off £50 registration fee and £245 in subs which parents are able to pay off in monthly instalments.
      Praising the Sun’s Footie For All drive, Adam said: “We are well aware of the impact of the cost of living on our players’ families in the past year, so any campaign like this will certainly help the grass- roots game.
      “We deliberately kept the fees as low as we could this season, for that reason.
      “We have not increased them since before the pandemic because we know times are hard for so many families – even though we have seen our own costs going up year on year. Football should be for all – not just for those who can afford it.
      “As a club, we do everything we can to help mums and dads who may be struggling financially.
      “If a parent comes to us and says they cannot afford the subs any longer, then of course we would not stop their child playing.
      “Each child deserves a chance to play football – no matter their ability or background. It’s the people’s game.
      “I would like to see more money filter down from the Premier League to real grassroots football – youth football in parks and recreation grounds around the UK – where it is truly needed.”
      Blackburn Eagles FC, Lancs
      Blackburn Eagles vow never to turn away anybody despite parent money strugglesCredit: BLACKBURN EAGLES
      BLACKBURN Eagles has seen more kids struggling to afford to play – but it never turns anyone away.
      The Lancashire academy’s vice chairman Chris Hughes says prices haven’t been raised in around eight years, in a bid to maintain access for all children.
      Kids as young as two take part in the Little Eagles under-six mini-kicker sessions, which cost £15 a month for weekly training.
      As the kids progress through to teams, parents pay £25 a month for a one-weekend game, and £30 a month if kids play Saturdays and Sundays every weekend.
      The club’s team keeps on growing and now has 650 players on its books, making it the biggest in the area.
      Chris, 39, said: “We don’t turn anyone away. We just take on more children, create new groups, create new training sessions and create new teams.”
      The Eagles has a hardship fund to help out families who start to struggle with the costs of subs and kits.
      The club has also recently taken teams out of the Junior Premier League due to the cost of the regular four-hour round trips to play against other teams across the North West.
      Chris said: “There have been conversations about the cost of living and cost of petrol.
      “Stuff is getting expensive, so we’ve brought some of our teams back a little bit more local to help with that.”
      To give even more kids the opportunity to play, Blackburn Eagles is currently looking to link up with local schools and charities to potentially start providing free after-school sessions in poorer communities and deprived areas.
      And Chris believes every child should have the opportunity to play football, due to its benefits for physical and mental wellbeing.
      He added: “It gives kids a good focus and we find that football can be a ­massive part of certain children’s lives.
      Read More on The Sun
      “That might be the one thing they’ll look forward to all week, and sometimes it gets them out of situations where they don’t want to be at home all the time.”

      The Sun’s Footie For All campaign aims to support families through the cost of living crisis More

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      in Soccer

      How Erling Haaland went from lanky teen to goal machine thanks to cow’s heart diet and very strict rule

      by

      ERLING Haaland was once a “little guy” with a buzz cut who couldn’t score for the first team of his home town side in Norway.Now the 6ft 4in Manchester City striker is football’s most deadly predator, breaking the Premier League goal-scoring record with seven games to spare.
      Ering Haaland is football’s most deadly predator and has broken the Premier League goal-scoring recordCredit: Getty
      With his long blonde locks lapping his shoulders, he fired home against Arsenal on Wednesday to notch up 33 Prem strikes.
      In all, he’s scored 49 times on his debut season in England.
      On Twitter, former Five Live presenter Peter Allen branded City “a petrodollar powered juggernaut driven by a Nordic goal monster easily beating everyone”.
      But even those who aren’t fans can admire the work that has gone into his transformation from a lanky teen to Viking marauder.
      Read More on ERLING Haaland
      Here, Grant Rollings looks at how the 22-year-old became a goal-scoring machine.
      Calorie-controlled killer
      It is hard to believe now but as a baby Erling was a small, thin boy.
      Over the years he has worked hard to bulk up his 6ft 4in tall frame.
      Haaland shows off his milk smoothies with kaleCredit: https://www.instagram.com/erling.haaland/
      He eats his dad’s home-made lasagne before every home game, wolfs down cow’s heart and liver and drinks milk laced with kale, which he calls “my magic potion”, to maintain a 6,000-calorie-a-day diet.
      Most read in Football
      Erling also pays for his own chef, who cooks up a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired lunch of boiled fish and vegetables.
      The young player’s development was undermined by growth spurts which meant he suffered injuries.
      To prevent them, he installed a £50,000 walk-in cryotherapy chamber in house in Cheshire and takes regular ice baths.
      He spends hours in the gym every day honing his six-pack, earning him the nickname The Terminator.
      It has paid off because defenders bounce off the powerful player when they try to bring him down.
      It has paid off because defenders bounce off the powerful player when they try to bring him down.
      Man City manager Pep Guardiola called the Norwegian a “machine”.
      Nearly two million rival fans signed a petition calling for Erling to be deported because he’s a “robot.”
      Not a Jack the Lad
      ERLING is very different from City’s most expensive-ever signing, £100million England forward Jack Grealish.
      While Jack is often seen out on the town with his pals and girlfriend, the Norwegian keeps a low profile with his 19-year-old girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen.
      Erling Haaland was born in West YorkshireCredit: Instagram
      It was during a trip back home to Scandinavia around two years ago that he fell for Isabel, who, like him, had been part of the Bryne FK team’s football academy.
      Erling is not one for partying or boasting about his exploits, preferring to do his talking on the pitch.
      Ex-coach Alf Ingve Berntsen said: “In our part of the country we used to have a lot of farmers. People had to work very hard and not speak too much.
      “So it’s in our genetics. It’s better to do the work than to talk a lot. So Erling is a typical person from our region.”
      The player, though, thinks he’s been able to adapt to the laddish Premier League.
      He said: “My father spent ten years in England so he kind of brought me up to have a bit of English banter.”
      Since moving to Manchester last summer, though, pals back in Norway have apparently seen less of their golden boy.
      Bryne player Robert Undheim says: “We see little of him. I think he has cut out a lot of people he knows and is halfway friends with.
      “But he has a very good team around him that is easy to relate to. That makes a lot of sense, I think.”
      Self-belief in his DNA
      Even though Erling was incredibly quick and skilful, few people in his home town thought he’d go on to be a superstar – apart from the player himself.
      This week classmate Robert Undheim, who was replaced when a 15-year-old Erling made his debut for Bryne football club in 2016, revealed: “In high school he said he was going to be the best in the world in football.
      Proud Erling as a kid with his mum, dad, brother and sisterCredit: INSTAGRAM/Gabrielle Braut Haaland
      “People made fun of him. But he meant it. One hundred per cent.”
      His former coach Alfe Ingve Berntsen said: “Erling was the best when he was a little guy, but we didn’t think when I began to coach him when he was seven that he would become top scorer in the Champions League.”
      Erling never scored in his 16 first team games for Bryne.
      But his pace attracted the attention of Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when he was manager of Norwegian side Molde.
      He saw his potential and signed him as a 16-year-old, teaching the youngster how to head the ball.
      He then joined Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg in 2019.
      A year later he moved to Borussia Dortmund in Germany, before joining Man City last summer.
      Football farm
      THE striker isn’t the first top flight player off the Haaland production line.
      He was born in West Yorkshire when his dad, Alfie, was playing for Leeds United in England’s top division.
      His dad Alfie played for Leeds United in England’s top divisionCredit: alfiehaaland/Instagram
      Athleticism and mental toughness are in Erling’s DNA.
      Alfie was brave enough to get into an on-field feud with Manchester United hardman Roy Keane, while his mum Gry Marita Braut was a Norwegian heptathlon champ.
      At the age of three, Erling moved to Bryne in Norway, where generations of the Haaland family are from. It is a farming community, and in the summer Erling has been known to help out his maternal great-uncle, former Norway international Gabriel Hoyland, with his pigs and potatoes.
      He regularly returns to see his older brother Astor and sister Gabrielle, while his dad has helped to manage his career.
      Erling’s relentless drive to improve came from a desire to be better than his footballer dad, who also played for Man City.
      Explaining his motivation, he said: “When I was young it was getting better than my father and getting as good as I can.
      “Now there is something inside me that just thinks about football all the time, about what I can do better.”
      Money-making machine
      THE world’s most in-form striker has enough star quality for big brands to pay big bucks so they can be linked to him.
      He has a £20million deal with Nike, earned a reported £2million from Samsung and was paid around £1million by luxury watch firm Breitling.
      Haaland owns a £300,000 Rolls-Royce CullinanCredit: Cavendish
      He has spent some of that money on a string of luxury cars, including a £300,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan and a £120,000 Carbon Black Audi RS 6.
      He also flies on private jets and splashes out on good food, reportedly adding a £25,000 tip to a £400,000 bill at a restaurant in Greece.
      City pay him a reported £385,000 a week, with some suggestions that bonuses are worth another couple of hundred grand.
      Bryne, a coastal town of just 12,000 people, is cashing in on the association with their most famous citizen.
      There is talk of building an Erling Haaland museum to attract tourists who already visit to see the mural and statue of the striker and to buy shirts from the club shop.
      Local businessman Inge Brigt Aarbakke said: “Imagine a place where people can come and look at the shirts he has used in the different clubs, not least the match balls he has scored his hat tricks with.
      “I’m convinced that families on holiday would want to visit Bryne. The children would want to see where Erling grew up.”
      Getting some shut-eye
      THE athlete is dedicated to the trend of following the body’s natural sleep pattern – known as the circadian cycle.
      He revealed: “The first thing I do in the morning is to get some sunlight in my eyes. It is good for circadian rhythm.”
      The striker taking a nap with a match ballCredit: Instagram / @erling.haaland
      Erling won’t touch his smart phone or any other electronic device two hours before bed time and at night he filters out blue light from digital screens with special spectacles.
      He said: “I see this as key to improving performance by even just a few percentages. It’s a matter of mentality.”
      The striker is so wrapped up in the Champions League that his morning alarm plays the competition’s anthem.
      It is having the right effect because Erling is the top scorer this season with a dozen goals so far.
      Read More on The Sun
      He knows that City’s United Arab Emirates billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour is paying him a fortune to win the most coveted silverware in club football.
      Erling said: “The club want to win the Champions League. They didn’t bring me in to win the Premier League because they already know how to win it.” More

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      in Soccer

      I’ll never forget the summer of 1996 – the country buzzed about the Euros and we need that back

      by

      LIKE most Sun readers, I will never forget the summer of 1996. The whole country was buzzing because of the Euros.As a teenager, I soaked up almost every second of the tournament, convinced that it would be England’s moment of glory.
      PM Rishi Sunak is backing a historic joint bid by the UK and Ireland to host the Uefa European Championships in 2028Credit: Dan Charity / The Sun
      England captain Harry Kane is joining with sides to back the bid to hold the prestigious tournament in the UK and IrelandCredit: Getty
      Scotland’s Andy Robertson is also behind the push to secure the tournament on home soilCredit: Rex
      Steven Davis, Northern Ireland captainCredit: Sportsfile
       It gave me a love of the game — its highs and lows — that I still have to this day, especially as a long-suffering Southampton fan.
      As a country, our passion for football is unparalleled. It is known the world over.
      From the Premier League to Sunday league, the game brings us together.
      Our stadia aren’t just ­sporting venues where the best players in the world want to play and fans ­everywhere dream of visiting, they are part of who we are — cultural icons at the heart of our communities, monuments to the game we love.
      READ MORE ON EURO 2028
      Again and again in recent years, those stadia have hosted some of the biggest games in world football.
       We have hosted Champions League finals, Euro 2020 matches — including almost all of England’s epic run  to the final — and the record-breaking 2022 Women’s Euros.
      We have got world-class sporting infrastructure and a  brilliant track record.
      So it would be fantastic to bring a full, international men’s tournament back to these shores.
      Most read in Football
       That’s why today the UK and Ireland are launching a historic joint bid to host the Uefa European Championships in 2028.
      By bringing the whole of the UK together, along with Ireland, we will showcase our shared love of the beautiful game.
      It will be the most ambitious sporting event our islands have jointly staged — five Football Associations with Uefa united in delivering one of the best tournaments Europe has ever seen.
       The captains of each of the host nations — Harry Kane, Séamus Coleman, Steven Davis, Andy Robertson and Aaron Ramsey — may be rivals on the pitch, but they are all on the same side in cheering on this effort.
      Imagine it — the best teams in Europe battling it out at the Etihad in Manchester, Hampden Park in Glasgow, the Principality in Cardiff, Casement Park in Belfast, the Aviva in Dublin, and of course, Wembley Stadium.
      Not to mention Villa Park, St James’ Park, Everton’s new ­Stadium and the Tottenham ­Hotspur Stadium.
      And imagine, just for a second, our boys following in the Lionesses’ footsteps and lifting that trophy five years from now. What a summer that would be.
      All about the future
      This year marks the 160th anniversary of the laws of the game — 160 years since they were first adopted and ­published, here in the UK.
       We are rightly proud of that unique legacy. There is so much to celebrate and savour — from Jackie Milburn to Jack Charlton, from 1966 to Euro ’96.
      Aaron Ramsey is on the same side as his rival in cheering on this effortCredit: Getty
      The Republic of Ireland’s Séamus Coleman is hoping to bring the tournament to the UK and IrelandCredit: Sportsfile
       But this tournament will be all about the future.
       On a rainy day last month we held a kickabout at No 10 with the Lionesses. As Beth Mead, Jill Scott and Ellen White showed a group of excited school kids their skills and rattled some of the historic furnishings, you could see the inspirational impact of their Euro triumph last summer.
      So Euro 2028 is about inspiring even more boys and girls not just to cheer on their team but to lace up their boots and get out there themselves.
      It’s about supporting the game at the local level and lifting up our communities — together the bid partners have already committed more than £500million to improve grassroots football.
      It’s about delivering new investment to upgrade facilities — including the regeneration of Casement Park in Northern Ireland.
       It’s about harnessing the power of the tournament to drive long-term benefits through volunteering, tourism and new business opportunities.
       It’s about pubs, front rooms and fan parks filling up across these islands — friends and family coming together, in victory or defeat.
      We estimate the bid could generate benefits of up to £2.6billion for our nations.
       It’s the ultimate win-win — a festival of football to cheer the nation and benefit us all.
      Read More on The Sun
      Let’s bring people from across Europe and beyond to our host cities, to see the best football on the best stage anyone can offer.
      Let’s create new memories for a new generation. Let’s back our bid. More