• The Canadian Press

    American fund Oaktree takes over Serie A champion Inter after previous owners failed to repay loan

    MILAN (AP) — American fund Oaktree officially became the new owner of Serie A champion Inter Milan on Wednesday, bringing an end to Suning and Steven Zhang’s eight years at the helm. Oaktree took charge after Suning failed to meet Tuesday’s deadline of repaying a debt of nearly 400 million euros ($434 million). That sum stems from a loan — and interest — taken out three years ago, shortly after Inter won its previous league title. “As of May 22, 2024, funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management,

  • The Canadian Press

    Leverkusen's unbeaten season puts the spotlight on an often-overlooked German city

    LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Manchester, Barcelona, Milan, Leverkusen? An often-overlooked, small German city dominated by the pharmaceuticals industry is making an unlikely case to be considered one of Europe's soccer capitals this season because of Bayer Leverkusen’s historic unbeaten streak. Coached by former Champions League and World Cup winner Xabi Alonso, the team finished an entire German Bundesliga season without a single loss, the first ever to do so. The team can finish the season with

  • The Canadian Press

    Human rights experts urge FIFA to scrutinize Saudi Arabia before 2034 World Cup vote

    DUBLIN (AP) — FIFA was urged by international lawyers Wednesday to uphold its own policy and scrutinize Saudi Arabia’s human rights record before picking the kingdom to host the men’s 2034 World Cup. A 22-page document was delivered to FIFA headquarters in Zurich on behalf of Mark Pieth and Stefan Wehrenberg of Switzerland and British barrister Rodney Dixon. They offered to work with FIFA on an action plan and monitoring of Saudi Arabia by independent experts. Their paper calls on FIFA to use it

  • The Canadian Press

    Whitecaps lose 1-0 to Cavalry, but advance to Voyageurs Cup semifinals

    VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps are still alive in their quest for three consecutive Canadian Championships. But Vanni Sartini didn’t pull any punches when assessing his team’s 1-0 loss to Cavalry FC on Tuesday at BC Place. “I think we need to apologize to our fans for our performance,” said the Whitecaps coach. “That was shameful. “When one team tries to win that and the other team is very casual, that's a recipe for the game that happened here.” After taking the first leg of their Canadian