Stefano Pioli has signed a contract extension that will keep him at Milan until the end of the 2024-25 season.

The Rossoneri coach has been in position at San Siro since 2019, having previously taken charge of rivals Inter.

Pioli did not last long with the Nerazzurri, yet he has been a huge success with Milan, last season winning the Scudetto – their first since 2011.

The 57-year-old s deal was due to expire at the end of this campaign, but the club confirmed a two-year extension on Monday.

Having begun this virtuous path, which led to the 2021-22 Serie A title, AC Milan and Stefano shall continue to work on this ambitious project, which reflects the club s history and values, a short statement added.

Sealing the deal

— AC M…

David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic are the headline names in Austria coach Marcel Koller s 24-man provisional squad for Euro 2016.

Versatile Bayern Munich star Alaba and Stoke forward Arnautovic, who netted seven goals between them as Austria went unbeaten in qualifying, have both enjoyed fruitful seasons with their respective club sides.

Alaba helped Bayern Munich to a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title, while Arnautovic looks certain to Stoke s top goalscorer.

And Koller, who must cut the selection of players down to 23 on May 31, believes that having the likes of Alaba, Arnautovic and Christian Fuchs fresh from lifting the Premier League title with Leicester City  available means that Austria have plenty of quality among their ranks.

We can rely on th…

Ben Foster has come out of retirement to join National League leaders Wrexham, the club owned by US actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The former England and Manchester United goalkeeper joins the Robins as they look to clinch a return to the English Football League, sprinkling a little more stardust on the promotion project.

Wrexham, who have eight games remaining, are three points clear of nearest rivals Notts County and have a game in hand over the Magpies.

Foster, 39, has spent most of his career in the Premier League and played for Watford last season as the Hornets suffered relegation from the top flight.

He now resumes his career in the fifth tier with a Wrexham side who have been the subject of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, looking at …

Aaron Ramsey has been appointed Wales captain after Gareth Bale announced his retirement from football in the aftermath of last year s World Cup campaign.

Former Real Madrid forward Bale retired from professional football at the age of 33 in January, having led Wales into their first World Cup campaign since 1958 in Qatar last year.

Having won a record-breaking 111 caps for his country, Bale will be succeeded by the man joint-seventh in their all-time appearance list – former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder Ramsey.

Ramsey moved to France in search of regular minutes following a frustrating loan spell at Rangers last term, and has made 21 league appearances since joining Nice on a free transfer last August.

The 32-year-old already has experience of capta…

European football s governing body UEFA announced Wednesday it has reached an exclusive agreement for broadcasting rights of Euro 2012 matches with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

This deal covers 29 of 36 UEFA member nations for the tournament being co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland.

UEFA is delighted to have reached such a significant agreement with the EBU, said UEFA General Secretary David Taylor.

We are looking forward to working together to offer football fans across Europe an extensive coverage of the competition already during the qualifying phase of the tournament.

The agreement will allow spectators in 29 countries to follow Euro 2012 matches on public channels notably in Russia, Serbia and Turkey.

In these countries a minimum o…

Everton have announced they are to remain at Goodison Park for an extra season as competitive matches will not be played at their new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium until the 2025/26 campaign.

The new waterside ground is still on schedule to be completed by the end of 2024 but a decision has been taken not to move mid-season.

“Firstly, and to be absolutely clear, our decision to not move in mid-season is not because of a construction delay,” said interim chief executive Colin Chong.

We can confirm our Men’s Senior Team will play competitive fixtures at at the start of the 2025/26 season.

The full 2024/25 campaign will be our last at Goodison Park.

— Everton (@Everton)

“It is a club decision driven by a combination of commercial i…

Women’s football could be a billion-pound industry within 10 years if it gets the right investment now, according to the chair of a new independent review.

Former England international Karen Carney’s review panel has called for wide-ranging reform at the elite and grassroots level of domestic football to fully capitalise on the Lionesses’ Euros success last summer.

Among the key calls in the review to grow the women’s game published a week before the start of the Women’s World Cup are:

:: The creation of a fully professional environment in the top two tiers, with a minimum ‘salary floor’ in the Women’s Super League from 2025-26, gold standard physical and mental healthcare provision, a world-leading parental leave package and full union representa…

Manchester City are interested in signing Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that talks between Kimmich and Bayern are not going well, and that Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners City are keen on bringing him to the Etihad Stadium.

Kimmich is one of the best players in the world. The 29-year-old Germany international can operate as a midfielder or as a right-back. He has been on the books of Bayern since 2015 when he joined from RB Leipzig. During his time at the Allianz Arena so far, Kimmich has won the Bundesliga title eight times and the UEFA Champions League once.

Liverpool, though, are not the only club who are keen on Kimmich. La Liga club Barcelona and Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Ger…

Verdict: Barcelona to win over 3.5 goals

Best odds:

Bookmaker:

Barcelona will be looking to secure their top position in Group H with a win against Shakhtar Donetsk. The game will start at 19:45 at Estadio Olimpico. The visitors will need to bring their A-game to have a chance of getting a positive result in this fixture.

Barcelona

Barca is flying high this season both domestically and in Europe. The current champions are 1 point behind rivals Real Madrid in La Liga and are dominating their Champions League group. Xavi has improved Barca s defense pulling out 2 wins without conceding a goal in their opening games. After a long period of struggle and without any major trophies in Europe, Barca looks set to challenge again for the most prestigious trophy…

Nashville SC interim head coach Rumba Munthali believes his team are close to reaching their best level if they can improve the small margins against Portland Timbers.

The Coyotes have lost their last two matches against Inter Miami and Columbus Crew on the back of a three-match unbeaten streak in MLS.

They sit seventh in the Eastern Conference, but Munthali is keen to get back to winning ways quickly to hold off the teams below them in the table.

It was a tough-to-swallow loss against a good team [Columbus] but I thought we showed some good positive steps, Munthali said.

I don t think we re far off, it s just small little details. There are things we still have time to get better at and make sure we finish as close as possible.

I think we need…