Bundesliga side Hanover 96 are preparing for next season with Mame Diouf, after receiving no offers for the Senegal striker.

Barcelona's club doctor Ricard Pruna said on Wednesday that he was hopeful that Carles Puyol will be fit to start pre-season training after the defender had a cyst removed from his knee.

Italian Franco Baldini has joined Tottenham Hotspur as technical director, the English Premier League side said on Wednesday.

Champions Manchester United will begin their title defence with a trip to League Cup winners Swansea, the English Premier League said on Wednesday as it announced the 2013/14 fixtures.

Brazil deployed special federal police Wednesday to protect Confederations Cup venues, as mass "Tropical Spring" protests against government spending for the 2014 World Cup turn violent.