CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte felt like a soccer town again on Tuesday night — an occurrence that seems more and more common as the years pass.

There were 62,617 loud, proud fans — almost all of them paying customers who forked out $75 a pop or more — watching Real Madrid and Chelsea FC play at Bank of America Stadium in what was ...Read more

Defending Leagues Cup champion Inter Miami will continue its quest for another title without captain Lionel Messi on Thursday night as the injured star has been ruled out of the Round of 32 home game against Toronto FC.

Messi, who injured his right ankle playing for Argentina in the Copa America final against Colombia July 14, will sit out the ...Read more

MIAMI — Fans should expect a few changes in the Inter Miami starting lineup Saturday for the Leagues Cup game against Mexican club Tigres in Houston.

With both teams already advanced to the Round of 32, and Miami having clinched home field advantage for the next game on Thursday, Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said his team can afford to rest...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — These days, all kinds of international soccer teams come to the United States, but the games don’t always match what you see on TV.

That big-time star fans paid hundreds of dollars for an upper-deck seat to see? He only played a half, if that, on a squad of half-regulars, backups and prospects.

On Wednesday at Lincoln ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Wave FC President Jill Ellis has filed a defamation lawsuit against a former employee whose widely circulated social media posts earlier this month alleged a toxic, discriminatory and abusive work environment at the club.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in San Diego Superior Court, alleges that former team videographer ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A year after his storybook Inter Miami debut in the inaugural Leagues Cup, Lionel Messi was unable to play Saturday night as his teammates began defense of their trophy with a 2-0 home win against Mexican team Puebla in the 2024 tournament opener.

Messi, who injured an ankle ligament while playing for Argentina in the ...Read more

MIAMI — A year after his dramatic Inter Miami debut in the Leagues Cup, Lionel Messi will have to watch the 2024 tournament opener from a stadium suite on Saturday as he recovers from a ligament injury in his right ankle.

Inter Miami coach Tata Martino confirmed on Friday that Messi remains in a protective walking boot and is ruled out of the...Read more

MIAMI — A year ago this week, Lionel Messi made his storybook debut with Inter Miami, coming off the bench to score a stoppage time free kick and secure a 2-1 victory against Mexican team Cruz Azul in the inaugural Leagues Cup, a month-long tournament between all the teams from MLS and Liga MX, the Mexican league.

A sellout crowd, including ...Read more

As expected, Lionel Messi, who is out indefinitely with a ligament injury to his right ankle, will not participate in the MLS All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday. Messi’s Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez also was dropped from the All-Star roster on Monday as he rests his knees after 40 days away for Copa America.

Sergio Busquets and...Read more

MIAMI — There was a time, not too long ago, when news that Lionel Messi would be out indefinitely with an ankle injury would have sparked panic among the Inter Miami fan base.

Not anymore.

Although Messi is the captain, a legend, reigning World Cup and Copa America champion and is tied for the team lead with 12 goals, his teammates figured ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Teen phenom Cavan Sullivan will be on the game day squad again for the Union when they host Nashville SC on Saturday at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

“He deserves to be in the 20 again, so he will be,” manager Jim Curtin said in his news conference Friday, referring to the number of players on game days.

Sullivan, who...Read more

MIAMI — Isabel Quintero purchased two $1,000 tickets for the Copa America final in Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium. Argentina and Colombia were facing off — and she wanted to treat her dad, who lives in Colombia, to a late Father’s Day celebration.

But the festivities ended with her being denied entry — and she was pushed, trampled ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Angel City Football Club is getting stronger financial wings, thanks to one of Los Angeles' most prominent couples: Willow Bay, dean of USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and her husband, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger.

The women's soccer club on Wednesday announced an agreement with Bay and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Most lower-division soccer clubs are run on a shoestring budget. Salaries are normally poor and the infrastructure — locker rooms, playing fields — even poorer.

But when you're a lower-division soccer club owned by two Hollywood heavyweights, what's normal doesn't apply. And that explains how the Wrexham men's team, newly ...Read more

MIAMI — Lionel Messi, who injured his ankle during the Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, will miss at least the next two Inter Miami games, coach Tata Martino confirmed on Tuesday morning.

Inter Miami plays a pair of home games Wednesday against Toronto FC and against Chicago Fire on Saturday.

“Leo’s ankle is ... well, ...Read more