Former Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino will be the first head coach of Atlanta United FC, the MLS expansion team announced yesterday.

Argentine Martino, 53, was in charge of the legendary Spanish club for the 2013-14 season, and subsequently spent two years as manager of the Argentina national team, before resigning in July.

Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC will join MLS for the 2017 season, expanding the league to 22 teams.

In keeping with the North American sports business model, MLS does not have a promotion-relegation system.

Qatar set to build desert camp for fans

Qatar is to construct a special Bedouin-style desert camp to house thousands of fans during the 2022 World Cup as the Gulf state looks to broaden accommodation for the tournament beyond the limited number of apartments and hotels.

A fan village among the sand dunes close to the Saudi border will house up to 2,000 visitors in Arabian tents, allowing them to experience the desert from close quarters, Qatar’s World Cup organising committee said in a statement yesterday.

Qatar’s World Cup bid in 2010 said it would create more than 55,000 rooms for fans but authorities said in January that only 46,000 would be ready.

Coquelin injury is short-term – Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has allayed fears that Francis Coquelin could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Coquelin was forced off in the first half of Arsenal’s 3-0 league win over Chelsea on Saturday.

The 25-year-old Frenchman missed around two months of last season with a knee injury, but Wenger played down fears of a recurrence ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League match against Basel today.

“Francis Coquelin is out for the game – it should be a short-term injury. The scan was quite positive,” Wenger said.

Schubert signs Gladbach extension

Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Andre Schubert yesterday signed a two-year contract extension that runs to 2019, a day before his team play Barcelona in the Champions League.

Schubert, who took over early last season after a five-game losing start under Lucien Favre, led Gladbach to a fourth-place Bundesliga finish and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

“Andre Schubert is doing great work,” Gladbach sports director Max Eberl said.

“He led the team to the Champions League and in 34 league games under his guidance we got 65 points... that is outstanding work.”

Harry Kane’s ankle scans ‘positive’

The results of scans on Harry Kane’s injured ankle were better than expected but there is no time-frame on the Tottenham Hotspur striker’s return to action, manager Mauricio Pochettino said.

There was speculation on England international Kane (picture), last season’s Premier League top scorer, that he could face two months on the sidelines.

“I always try to be honest with you. Just half an hour ago we received the report about the scan and it’s much, much better than we expected,” Pochettino told reporters yesterday.

“Maybe we can reduce the time out but we are happy, the scan was very positive, we are very happy about this news.”

Expensive tickets

Premier League champions Leicester City and Arsenal are among the five clubs charging most for Champions League tickets this season, according to spread-betting firm Spreadex.

Arsenal set prices starting at £37 for a ticket, while watching Champions League football at Leicester costs at least £35.

Juventus are the most expensive team to watch at home with tickets starting at almost £39, ahead of La Liga champions Barcelona (£38).

Scotland’s Celtic (£33) charge more than reigning champions Real Madrid (£30), Bundesliga side Bayern Munich (£26) and Manchester City (£25).

Asian elections for FIFA postponed

Asia’s top officials delivered a major snub to FIFA yesterday, forcing the postponement of an election for three spots on the world body’s new governing Council in a row over the disqualification of a Qatari candidate.

With FIFA president Gianni Infantino watching on, delegates to an Asian Football Confederation congress, which had been called to conduct the election, voted down the agenda.

Forty-two of the 44 members raised a “No” card when AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa called for the agenda to be passed.

FIFA banned Qatari Saoud Al-Mohannadi from the election on Sunday because of an ongoing ethics investigation.

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