Rugby star to sign football contract?

ENGLAND international rugby player Danny Cipriani could be offered a football contract by MK Dons, according to the Daily Mail.

Should the fly-half's proposed move to Australian side Melbourne Rebels fall through, the Dons - who have been allowing the egg-chaser to train with them to keep in shape - will step in and offer him a chance to change disciplines.

Manager Karl Robinson said: 'It has been a great opportunity for our players to compare training methods with a world class athlete and for Danny to vary his own training programme.
'It has been well documented that Danny was a talented footballer when he was younger and he has certainly held his own. His enthusiasm has been terrific."

Paul Gascoigne name Garforth Boss

Paul Gascoigne has been appointed the new manager of non-league club Garforth Town.

The former England midfielder has described his role at the Evo Stik First Division North League club as "a big challenge".

Gascoigne, 43, told the News of the World's official website: "I feel strong right now. For me personally it's a big challenge. It's whether the players want to join me in that challenge.

"I never knew when I'd get back into football. I want to take the club forward and I want the players to develop. I will give commitment to the club.

"Going to a club like this does not bother me one bit. I love this type of football. It is not flash and the players won't be flash.

"I will get the same publicity at Garforth as if I was at a Premier League club and I don't want the players to get carried away with it.

"I am excited. I can't wait to get in and get started - but of course I will be nervous."

The former Newcastle, Tottenham, Lazio and Rangers midfielder believes his appointment with the West Yorkshire side will not be a repeat of his previous management role, at Kettering.

Owner Imraan Ladak sacked Gascoigne after just 39 days, claiming the former England international was drinking too much.

Gascoigne explained: "It went really well there. The chairman tried to blame it on the drink but it was totally untrue. He stopped me coaching and he wanted to become manager."

Garforth owner Simon Clifford said: "This is not a publicity stunt. When we signed Socrates and Careca, that was. Everyone says they love Paul but nobody does anything about it.

"I want him to be an inspiration to someone who might have depression or problems in their lives. He's walked through hell but he has kept on walking."

'Fake' Togo football team at Bahrain match being investigated

Taken from the BBC.

Togo's football authorities are investigating allegations that a fake national team played a match against Bahrain earlier this month.

Bahrain won the friendly match 3-0, but said they were surprised by the poor quality of the Togolese team.

Togo later said it had never sent its national team to play in the game, staged at the national stadium in Riffa on 7 September.

Togo's sports minister said he would ask Fifa to investigate.

But Fifa says it has not yet received any official complaint and so has not launched its own investigation.

The match took place as Bahrain prepares to play in the West Asian Football Championships, which begin on 24 September.

The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) said it had been arranged under all the usual official procedures, and through an agent they had known for several years.

"Everything seemed to be in order until after the game, when we began to hear that some people are wondering about these players and this Togo team. We ourselves were surprised when we heard this," a BFA spokesman told the Gulf Daily News.

He said they had received all the official documentation for the match, including the players' passports.

The spokesman rejected reports that the match was organised by a fake football agent, saying the agent in question had always been "100% alright" and was now co-operating with the investigations.

Togo's Sport Minister Christophe Tchao told the Jeune Afrique magazine nobody in Togo had "ever been informed of such a game".

"We will conduct investigations to uncover all those involved in this case," he said.

Bahrain's head coach, Josef Hickersberger, told the Gulf Daily News the match had been a wasted opportunity for the team to practise before the West Asian championships.

"They were not fit enough to play 90 minutes - the match was very boring," he said.

"Basically it was not good for us because we wanted to get information about the strength of our team, especially playing with many of our professionals."