As the FA of Ireland investigation continues into First Division side Athlone Town's recent defeat by Longford Town and two other games, believed to be the defeats by UCD and Cobh Ramblers earlier in the season, "a supporters group has called for the club’s board to resign." Meanwhile, Romanian sports newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor suggested that Athlone Town is "just one of half a dozen across Europe and beyond" in which Chinese agent Xiadong "Eric" Mao has invested. The Athlone Town Consortium, a group of supporters which "previously sought to take over the club," suggested in a statement that "recent events involving the club have made the current board’s position untenable" (IRISH TIMES, 5/8).
From next season, San Diego will be the host of a permanent branch of Barcelona's FCBEscola, the first on the West Coast and the sixth in the U.S. The U.S. has the most FCBEscolas of any country. The FCBEscola San Diego will have a charitable component thanks to an agreement the school made with San Diego Unified Public Schools (Barcelona).
Chelsea agreed to a deal to sign 15-year-old Billy Gilmour from Scottish Premiership side Rangers. The Scottish club "had been desperate to cling on" to the Scotland U17 int'l, but "admitted defeat after Gilmour made it clear he wanted to move to the academy set-up at Stamford Bridge." A fee worth a reported £500,000 ($646,6000) has been "agreed between the clubs" and Gilmour will make his move this summer (LONDON TIMES, 5/9).
National Rugby League side New Zealand Warriors player Kieran Folan confirmed he is leaving the club. His "long-term future has been up in the air almost since the day he joined the club" on a one-year contract in September. As expected, he is about to finalize terms with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (STUFF, 5/9).
Relegated Serie A side Pescara President Daniele Sebastiani "has refused to step down" after once again being targeted by angry fans. Two of Sebastiani's cars "were set on fire while parked on the driveway of his home in February, and on Sunday night a cherry bomb was thrown into the garden of his residence" (ESPN.com, 5/9).
Ligue 1 side Monaco announced it officially acquired Belgian second division side Cercle Bruges. The Cercle Bruges general assembly voted unanimously to approve the project. Monaco will use the Belgian club as part of its youth development strategy (Monaco).
