Villa Defender Tyrone Mings Named on Euro 2028 Board of Directors

Aston Villa's Marcus Rashford, left, and Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings at the start of the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Aston Villa at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Aston Villa's Marcus Rashford, left, and Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings at the start of the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Aston Villa at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
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Villa Defender Tyrone Mings Named on Euro 2028 Board of Directors

Aston Villa's Marcus Rashford, left, and Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings at the start of the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Aston Villa at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Aston Villa's Marcus Rashford, left, and Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings at the start of the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Club Brugge and Aston Villa at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings was named on Thursday on the board of directors for the European Championship in Britain and Ireland in 2028.
The 32-year-old Mings is the only player among the three independent non-executive directors helping to organize the tournament, The Associated Press reported.
Mings has played for Villa since 2019 and has made 18 appearances for England, for which he was part of the squad at the 2021 tournament.
He has missed large chunks of the past two seasons because of injuries and will be 35 when Euro 2028 takes place, likely meaning he won't be involved in the England squad then.
Confirmation of Mings' involvement came in the announcement of the company — officially named “UK & Ireland 2028 Limited” — tasked with delivering Euro 2028. English Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt will also chair the Euro 2028 board.
A tournament anchored in England with modern stadiums generating huge matchday revenues was a safe choice for UEFA eyeing its bottom line after the high-maintenance, low-revenue Euro 2021 that was staged during the pandemic in half-empty venues across 11 countries.
UEFA cash reserves after the pandemic dropped to 360 million euros in its most recent financial report, and Euro 2028 is set to lift the number back above UEFA’s target of 500 million euros.
The men’s Euros, held every four years, is the foundation of UEFA’s finances and funds development payments to its members.
Everton's new waterfront stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is set to open for the start of next season, replacing the club's long-time home of Goodison Park, and was included in the list of venues hosting Euro 2028 matches announced in April 2023. Bramley-Moore Dock is currently staging test events.
Casement Park, a derelict stadium in Belfast, was also on the initial list but has since been dropped, with the British government unable to commit to providing the funding to redevelop it in time. UEFA says it hasn’t yet decided where to reallocate the games that would have been in Belfast.



Verstappen Not Happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull Swap

Max Verstappen tells reporters at Suzuka that it was "not a mistake" that he put a "like" on a social media post criticizing Red Bull's driver switch. Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP
Max Verstappen tells reporters at Suzuka that it was "not a mistake" that he put a "like" on a social media post criticizing Red Bull's driver switch. Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP
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Verstappen Not Happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull Swap

Max Verstappen tells reporters at Suzuka that it was "not a mistake" that he put a "like" on a social media post criticizing Red Bull's driver switch. Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP
Max Verstappen tells reporters at Suzuka that it was "not a mistake" that he put a "like" on a social media post criticizing Red Bull's driver switch. Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP

Max Verstappen confirmed Thursday he was unhappy with Red Bull's ruthless driver swap for the Japanese Grand Prix, saying his endorsement of a social media post criticizing the move "speaks for itself".

The four-time world champion has a new teammate at Suzuka after Yuki Tsunoda replaced the underperforming Liam Lawson two weeks into the Formula One season.

Red Bull have been criticized for not giving Lawson enough time, with former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde saying on social media that the move was "bullying, or a panic move".

Verstappen put a "like" on Van der Garde's post and told reporters that it was "not a mistake".

"I liked the comment, the text, so I guess it speaks for itself, right?" Verstappen said at the Suzuka Circuit,

"Everything has been shared with the team, how I think about everything.

"Sometimes it's not necessary to always share and say everything in public. I think it's better."

Lawson had been promoted from Red Bull's sister team RB at the end of last season and now returns, with Tsunoda going the other way, AFP said.

Lawson's two races for Red Bull, in Melbourne and Shanghai, were at tracks on which he had never raced before.

"I think for rookies, always at the beginning of the season, you have the calendar nowadays, and F1 is very tough," said Verstappen.

"Because most of the tracks, they haven't really driven on, or they maybe have a sprint weekend.

"So all these scenarios, they don't help."

Verstappen is second in the drivers' championship, eight points behind Lando Norris of McLaren, after finishing second in Australia and fourth in China.

McLaren won both GPs and clearly have a performance edge over a Red Bull regarded as tricky to drive, but Verstappen has won the Japanese Grand Prix for the last three years.

"I think our main issue is that our car is not where we want it to be," Verstappen said.

"I think everyone knows that within the team as well, and that's what I focus on, to be honest."