Serie A club Atalanta: Returning to play in a coronavirus hotspot

With the Metropolitan Police investigating racist abuse directed at three of England's black football players after the team's loss last Sunday in the Euro 2020 finals against Italy, AFP takes a look at racism in football and what can be done to tackle the abuse off the pitch.

In the wake of the floods in Germany, help has been arriving. In addition to the emergency services, local aid organizations and other volunteers, football fans have been using their organizational abilities to help out.

Olympic fans queue in Sendai (north-east Japan) to hop on buses that will take them to Miyagi Stadium. Female football teams from the Netherlands and Brazil will be among the happy few to have spectators as the Miyagi prefecture decided not to ban them.

Senegalese children dream of being famous football players

The French Ligue 1 game between Nice and Marseille was abandoned when fans of the home side invaded the pitch and angrily confronted opposing player Dimitri Payet, who had thrown a bottle lobbed at him back into the crowd, before an ugly brawl broke out involving players and spectators. Marseille eventually refused to restart the match with club officials claiming their players' safety could not be guaranteed.

Timelapse footage shows the conversion of Tokyo's Aomi Urban Sports Park, the venue for 3x3 basketball and sport climbing during the Olympic Games, into a football 5-a-side venue for the Paralympic Games. The work started on 6 August after the sport climbing competition ended, and was completed on 23 August.

The 36-year-old left Juventus for his old club in the hope of recapturing the form that made him a superstar a decade ago. Manchester United have welcomed him with open arms.

Captain Hugo Lloris admits France must "regain confidence" as they prepare for the first of three World Cup qualifiers, after a humiliating early exit at this summer's Euros. "We've had very little time to prepare for this match, but we're enthusiastic, we're motivated," says the French goalkeeper.

Venezuelan football fans in Caracas are excited for the unique opportunity to see Lionel Messi play against their national team, which is his first game for his country since moving to Paris Saint-Germain. Argentina won 3-1 in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Messi's Argentina returns to Buenos Aires after their World Cup qualifying clash against Brazil in Sao Paulo was sensationally abandoned shortly after kick-off on Sunday as controversy over Covid-19 protocols erupted.

Argentina football fans share their excitement over watching their national team and star Lionel Messi play against Bolivia in the World Cup qualifiers. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to overtake Pele as the top international goalscorer in South American football history on Thursday as Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Bolivia in their 2022 World Cup qualifier.

Fans of European giants Real Madrid and Inter Milan will see their teams face unusual competition this autumn: a club from a tiny separatist region in one of Europe's least known countries, Moldova. After a couple of failed attempts, Sheriff FC is making its debut in the group stage of Europe's top football competition this year, becoming the first team ever from the ex-Soviet country to reach the Champions League itself. Sheriff FC hails from Transnistria, a Russian-speaking region which broke away from Moldova after a brief civil war following the collapse of the Soviet Union.