FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he will resign at the culmination of his next term at the helm, should he be re-elected in June.

The 75-year-old Swiss administrator is being challenged for world football s presidency by Mohamed bin Hamman, but should he be chosen to stay in the job for another four years when the FIFA delegates vote in Zurich later this year, Blatter has confirmed it would be his final stint in charge. You know very well that I will aspire to another four years, those will be the last four years I aspire to, Blatter said.Blatter is in his 13th year in charge at FIFA, and has worked at the football institution since 1975.Blatter s presidency came under scrutiny earlier this year when he made inappropriate jokes about homosexuality after FIFA awarded the 2022 Wo…

So that s it. But before I take a break and at least try to realise what happened over the last 17 years, I don t want to miss the opportunity to say thank you to everyone for accepting me as how and who I am, Kroos wrote on social media.

Thanks to all my fans around the world for your unconditional support. Thanks to all my clubs and coaches for believing in me. Thanks to all my team-mates for making me feel welcome anytime.

Thanks to my friends for always being honest with me no matter how successful I became. Thanks to my agents who became friends. Thanks to my parents for the best possible preparation to realise my dream.

Thanks to my brother for always being my number one fan. Thanks to my kids for being my biggest motivation to bring the best out of me…

Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette will miss Sunday s visit to Paris Saint-Germain after being ruled out for the rest of 2015.

The France international sustained a hamstring injury while scoring Lyon s second goal in their 2-0 Champions League win at Valencia on Wednesday.

Lacazette scored 31 goals in all competitions for Lyon last season and is their top scorer again this campaign, finding the net eight times.

But coach Hubert Fournier confirmed on Friday Lyon will be without their talisman for this weekend s trip to the capital to take on defending champions and league leaders PSG.

He will also be unavailable for next Wednesday s Coupe de la Ligue match with Tours, which will serve as their last game at the Gerland before Lyon move to the newly-built�…

As we approach the end of the year it is worth putting together a team of 2008. It is a very subjective choice and I would be surprised if any of us totally agreed on the best eleven players to put in the SoccerNews representative side, but I’ll have a go at making the selection and you can all shoot me down in flames and tell me why I have got it so horribly wrong!

In goal

In goal, there are a few decent candidates. Chelsea’s Petr Cech was really good but won nothing and made a mistake that cost his country dearly at Euro 2008. Without him, we need to look at keepers that won things.

Pepe Reine won the Golden Gloves award, but remained as second choice behind Casillas for Spain. Van Der Sar wan the Premier League and the Champi…

It’s been nothing but coal in the stocking for the Cleveland Browns. After losing on Monday with a ridiculously depleted roster mostly comprised of practice-squad players, they now travel to Lambeau (on a short week) to face the Green Bay Packers on Christmas Day.

The Packers, who have the league’s best record at 11-3, are unsurprisingly NFL betting favorites at home, laying a touchdown against a 7-7 Cleveland team that is clinging to fleeting playoff hopes.

Here are our best free NFL picks and predictions for Browns vs. Packers on Saturday, December 25.

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Thanksgiving is a pile of leftovers in the fridge, which means we’re hitting the home stretch of the NFL schedule. 

With the calendar flipping to December in NFL Week 13, the pressure is mounting. Not just on teams pushing for the postseason but also on NFL bettors. Beating the bookie gets harder every week, but as long as you’re getting the best of the number to back up your wagers, you’ve got a fighting chance.

We help you do just that, highlighting the best NFL Week 13 spreads and totals to bet right now and which one you may want to wait for adjustments to bet later.

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Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos came down to Earth last weekend when they took a 42-17 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Lions. But the Broncos can still keep themselves in range of a playoff berth if they can emerge victorious on Sunday in a very winnable home game against the New England Patriots.

Denver is a heavy favorite in the Week 16 odds, as it faces a 3-11 Patriots team that lacks any sort of offensive punch. New England has won just one of its last seven games, scoring seven points or less in three of those outings. However, the Patriots can play a little defense, which could make life tricky for Russell Wilson bettors.

Keep reading to see which bets I like as we take a deeper look at the Russell Wilson odds in my free NFL picks for Patriots…

Thursday Night Football features a pair of Super Bowl favorites going head-to-head at Arrowhead Stadium to start the 2024 NFL season, and we’ve got you covered with our top NFL props for Patrick Mahomes odds against the visiting Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.

Despite winning it all and earning his third Super Bowl MVP, Mahomes didn’t have his flashiest regular season for the Chiefs last year. Still, our best NFL picks for Thursday’s season opener are calling for the KC QB to air it out to his improved receiving corps against a revamped Baltimore defense.

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Ireland are heading home from Euro 2012 after a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Spain in a Group C encounter in Gdansk on Thursday night.

Fernando Torres, omitted from the starting line-up in the first match, scored a brace and David Silva and Cesc Fabregas each bagged a goal in a match that saw total Spanish domination from start to finish.

Each side had made just one change from their previous Group C match, with Torres and Simon Cox being introduced to the action in place of Fabregas and Kevin Doyle, and it was the two strikers who made an immediate impression at the start of the match.

Cox tested the gloves of Iker Casillas in the first minute of the game with a well-struck shot from the edge of the area that was competently saved by the Spain captain.

T…

FIFA has confirmed it will utilise semi-automated VAR offside technology at the Qatar 2022 World Cup later this year, says head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina.

The move to introduce further advancements in the VAR process for this year s showpiece tournament has been ongoing over the past few months.

Following trials at the Arab Cup and Club World Cup, the fresh processes – which can cut VAR decision-making from 70 seconds to 25 seconds – is set to be implemented in the Gulf State in November.

Collina, a former World Cup final referee when he took charge of Brazil s win over Germany at Korea/Japan 2002, says the time is now to bring in semi-automated technology, which will further enhance decision-making.

We are very positive. It is ready,  he…