Arsenal, Liverpool, ManU, Man City, Tottenham and Newcastle "rejected the chance" to play U21 teams in the English Football League Trophy.
Sixteen Category One academies "were invited to play against League One and League Two clubs as part of a one-season, 64-team competition trial." Leicester and Chelsea "are joined by Southampton, West Ham United, Stoke City, Everton, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland and Middlesbrough in accepting the initial invitation to join the competition" (BBC, 7/27).
TRAVEL TROUBLE: FIFA’s "increasingly difficult diplomatic attempts to mediate in the ongoing spat between Israel and Palestine over free movement of Palestinian footballers and equipment have been highlighted yet again with reports that Israel intervened to hinder the Palestine Cup, one of the region’s most anticipated competitions." According to Palestinian websites, Israel "blocked seven Ahly al-Khalil players, all of whom are Palestinian citizens or residents of Israel, from crossing from the occupied West Bank into Gaza for the opening match against Shabab Khan Younis." The match "went ahead anyway and saw Ahly al-Khalil win 1-0 despite missing more than half of its squad" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 7/27).
EURO DRAW: The Women's Euro 2017 final tournament draw will be held at Rotterdam's Luxor Theatre on Nov. 8 and streamed live on UEFA.com. For the first time, 16 teams will be involved in the finals, which will be held from July 16-Aug. 6 next year in the Netherlands. The hosts have already been joined by holders Germany, England, France, Norway, Spain and Switzerland, with nine other teams to qualify in September and October (UEFA).