IN ENGLAND
The 2025-26 Premier League campaign kicks off on Friday, when Liverpool begin the defence of their title at home against Bournemouth.
Egypt star Mohamed Salah is the reigning player of the season and will be bidding to pick up his fifth golden boot as he forms a new-look front line for the Reds alongside big-money signings Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz.
A number of fellow African stars have secured high-profile transfers of their own, while there are new arrivals from countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Mozambique and Senegal.
Meanwhile, fifty players from the continent could have their Premier League campaigns interrupted by the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from 21st December to 18th January.
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Manchester United is set for the 2025/26 Premier League season with a crunch clash against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The two Premier League giants will yet again reignite their rivalry in what is going to be their 224th meeting across all competitions.
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Liverpool has agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old defender Giovanni Leoni from Parma.
The centre-half has been a key target for Slot and is now set to move to Anfield in a deal worth in the region of twenty-six million pounds.
The Italy Under-nineteen international began his career at Padova and had a short spell at Sampdoria before joining Parma last summer.
Defending champions Liverpool begin their 2025-26 Premier League campaign on Friday’s curtain-raiser against Bournemouth at Anfield.
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Tottenham say they are disgusted by the racial abuse received by forward Mathys Tel following their defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Uefa Super Cup.
The north London club, who lost four-three on penalties after letting slip a two-goal lead, said people who had sent abusive messages to Tel on social media were nothing but cowards.
Tel, came on as a substitute in the 79th minute and was one of two Spurs players who failed to convert from the spot in the penalty shootout.
Posting on social media, Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke called the abuse pathetic.
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Chelsea and their players have agreed to donate some of their Club World Cup prize money to the family of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva.
The Chelsea squad received a bonus pot of eleven points four million pounds to be shared between them from the eighty-seven million pounds winners’ prize money.
A share of that amount will be donated to Jota and Silva’s family and the decision has been made jointly between the club and the squad.
Tributes to Jota and Silva are expected to be made across the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
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Newcastle is close to signing Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey in a deal worth about forty million pounds.
The clubs were in advanced talks over the proposed deal for the 24-year-old.
An agreement in principle has now been reached, with just finer details left to complete.
Aston Villa host Newcastle in their opening Premier League game on Saturday.
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Brentford forward Yoane Wissa will not play in their Premier League opener at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The team’s manager Keith Andrews has made the decision amid doubts about Wissa’s future at the club.
Wissa left the club’s pre-season base in Portugal in July following Newcastle’s offer and threatened not to play for the Bees again if he was not allowed to move to St James’ Park.
He only returned to first-team training earlier this month following talks with Andrews.
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Nottingham Forest has agreed deals worth thirty-seven point five million pounds for Ipswich Town winger Omari Hutchinson and nearly thirty million pounds for Manchester City’s James McAtee.
The deal for 22-year-old McAtee was also expected to include a sell-on and buy-back clause.
Forest had been considering their next move for Hutchinson, after a thirty-five million pounds offer was rejected by the Tractor Boys at the weekend.
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Former England international Wayne Rooney says it is very unfair of NFL great Tom Brady to question his work ethic as head coach at Birmingham City.
Rooney was sacked by Birmingham, where Brady is a part-owner, after eighty-three days in January 2024.
Responding to Brady, the former Everton and Manchester United striker said he was really disappointed with the comment.
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IN NIGERIA
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets has demolished Winsome FC five-nil in a friendly game played at the FIFA Goal Project, MKO Abiola National Stadium.
Manu Garba’s side were two goals better going into the break.
The Golden Eaglets got more clinical in the second half, scoring three more goals to end the game five-nil.
It was the fourth friendly game by the Golden Eaglets, who are in camp preparing for the WAFU-B Under-seventeen Boys Tournament taking place next month.
In earlier games, they had beaten Espora Football Academy of Abuja four-nil, pipped GASA of Ilorin by a lone goal and came from behind to defeat Bandex Football Academy of Kebbi three-two.
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Turkish Super Lig club Samsunspor is set to sign Super Eagles star Kelechi Iheanacho, who plays for Sevilla.
Iheanacho has agreed on personal terms with Samsunspor.
The Nigeria international will earn around one point two million euros per year at the club.
Samsunspor is still in discussion with Sevilla to finalise the deal.
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The President of Nigeria Basketball Federation, Dr. Musa Kida, has urged the D’Tigers to remain focused and humble as they prepare for their second game at the ongoing 2025 FIBA Men’s AfroBasket Championship in Angola.
Following a commanding 77–59 victory over Madagascar in their opening Group B fixture, Kida reminded the team that each game presents a fresh challenge and a renewed opportunity to uphold the values of Nigerian basketball.
Their next opponent, Tunisia, presents a formidable test.
Friday’s encounter at the Pavilhao Multiusos de Luanda is pivotal for both sides as they aim to secure top spots in Group B.
The winner will take a significant step toward direct qualification to the quarterfinals, while the loser risks entering the qualification round.
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Nigeria’s D’Tigress has climbed to eighth position in the latest FIBA Women’s world ranking.
The West Africans were previously ranked in 11th position.
Rena Wakama’s side won a fifth consecutive AfroBasket Women’s title in Cote d’Ivoire last month.
D’Tigress is also the highest ranked African team, with Mali sitting in 18th position.
The United States of America maintained top position on the ranking with Australia in second position.
France, China, and Belgium are among the top five countries in the world.
Nigeria’s senior men’s team, D’Tigers, will continue their mission to win a second continental title when they file out against the defending champions and three-time winners, Tunisia, in their second round-robin fixture on Friday (today) at the 2025 FIBA Men’s AfroBasket championship in Angola.
The 2015 champions, who are seeking to end a 10-year trophy drought, had begun their AfroBasket campaign with a convincing 77-59 victory over Madagascar.
Pivotal during that clash was Caleb Agada, who scored a game-high 22 points to lead Nigeria to a resounding win, while veteran Stan Okoye also chipped in with a double – figure points haul.
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No fewer than 130 golfers have arrived in Akure, Ondo, for the 10th Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria LGAN Western Zone Golf Championship.
The four-day tournament, holding at the Crosscreek Golf Club, Ilado, features 60 female and 70 male golfers from across the country.
Vice President of LGAN Western Zone, Evelyn Balogun, told newsmen in Akure on Thursday that the tournament aimed to encourage more women to play golf.
The Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, has suspended the Nigeria Boxing Federation elections to ensure due process and allow proper participation of all stakeholders in the electoral process.
Olopade made the swift response in addressing the perceived anomalies leading to the now postponed NBF elections.
The suspension followed widespread disbelief amongst boxing stakeholders after a timetable was released for the polls with less than a 48-hour window for aspirants to complete their nomination forms and screening processes.
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Anthony Joshua is exploring the possibility of staging his first professional fight in Africa, with Ghana emerging as a leading candidate.
The Nigeria-British heavyweight’s representatives travelled to Accra this week to inspect venues, including the 40,000-capacity Accra Sports Stadium, and to hold talks about hosting a bout there, according to the Daily Star.
While a fight in Ghana is only one of several options under consideration, the Daily Star reports Joshua is also in discussions over a potential showdown with social media personality Jake Paul.
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau, has said the body will send a project report to the world’s football governing body, FIFA, on the progress of the NFF-FIFA players’ hostel and new training pitches in Abuja.
Named the NFF-FIFA Players’ Hostel, the 68-room facility is located at the heart of Package B of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
The construction, which is projected to last 24 months, is funded through the FIFA Forward 3.0 programme.
The President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, Engineer Olobatoke Aka, has expressed confidence that Team Nigeria will dominate proceedings at the second edition of the Africa Youth Scrabble Championship.
Aka assured that Nigeria would be dictating the pace at the ongoing event at Brighton International School in Syokimau, Machakos County.
The NSF president emphasised that the federation had specially selected some of the very best young Scrabble players to represent the country at the biennial continental competition organised by the Pan African Scrabble Association.
OTHER LEAGUES
Roma has made a twenty million pounds offer to sign England winger Jadon Sancho from Manchester United, where he remains excluded from training with the first-team squad.
The 25-year-old, who has been told to find a new club before the transfer window closes on 1st September, joined United for seventy-three million pounds, four years ago.
Juventus, who unlike Roma have qualified for this season’s Champions League, are also known to be interested in Sancho.
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Super agent Pini Zahavi has disclosed that Robert Lewandowski turned down a mouthwatering deal from the Saudi League to remain with Barcelona.
Zahavi confirmed that the striker turned down a one hundred million euros per-season offer from Saudi Arabia last year, choosing instead to compete for La Liga and the Champions League with Barcelona.
He stressed that the Polish striker feels at home in Barcelona, describing it as his place on earth and the environment where he feels most comfortable.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Tennis, World number two Coco Gauff beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 6-4 to book her place in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
The two players had progressed to the last sixteen in contrasting ways, with Gauff having won her only match in straight sets before a walkover against Dayana Yastremska in the last round.
Bronzetti, on the other hand, had come through in three sets in her previous three rounds and the world number 61 quickly found herself 3-0 down.
The second set was a more competitive affair but Bronzetti double-faulted twice when serving to stay in the match and Gauff went on to break and secure victory.
Two-time US Open singles champion Venus Williams has received a wildcard entry into this year’s tournament, organisers said, as the 45-year-old American continues her age-defying return to the court.
Williams became the oldest player to win a WTA singles match since 2004 when she beat Peyton Stearns at last month’s Washington Open after a 16-month absence from competitive tennis.
She last played in the US Open singles main draw in 2023, losing in the first round to Belgian Greet Minnen.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner is also playing in the tournament’s new-look mixed doubles tournament with compatriot Reilly Opelka.
In Cricket, Defending women’s champions London Spirit’s winning streak came to an end as they suffered a 33-run defeat by Trent Rockets in The Hundred at Lord’s.
Set a target of one hundred and fifty to win, Spirit slumped to one hundred and sixteen all out as spinner Kirstie Gordon starred with 4-19 for the visitors, who picked up their first win this year.
Earlier, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt set up the Rockets’ challenging 149-6, scoring an unbeaten 51 from 29 balls, after Bryony Smith bludgeoned 42 from 23 at the top of the order.
The win keeps Southern Brave at the top of the table as Rockets break their duck, leaving Welsh Fire as the only winless side in the women’s tournament.
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In Athletics, Georgia Hunter Bell says sharing the podium with the team-mate Keely Hodgkinson would be the coolest thing ever as she weighs up an eight hundred metres bid.
The pair will go head-to-head over eight hundred metres at next week’s Lausanne Diamond League, after which Hunter Bell will make her decision.
Before then, the 31-year-old contests a one thousand and five hundred metres in Silesia on Saturday, where, in the eight hundred metres, Hodgkinson will race for the first time since being crowned Olympic champion in that event twelve months ago following an injury-disrupted year.
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In Cycling, Britain’s Matt Richardson and Will Bjergfelt set track cycling world records as Charlie Tanfield fell short in his bid to break the hour record in Konya, Turkey.
Richardson, became the first cyclist to clock under nine seconds in the two hundred metres flying start doing so in an event set up with British Cycling backing to aim for a number of world records.
His time of 8.941 seconds lowered the time of 9.088 secs, set by Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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SOCCER ACTION RESUME THIS WEEKEND IN THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
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ON SATURDAY
Aston Villa vs Newcastle United
Brighton vs Fulham
Sunderland vs West Ham United
Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley
Wolves vs Manchester City
ON SUNDAY
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
Manchester United vs Arsenal
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IN SPANISH LA LIGA
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ON SATURDAY
Mallorca vs Barcelona
Alavés vs Levante
Valencia vs Real Sociedad
ON SUNDAY
Celta Vigo vs Getafe
Athletic Club vs Sevilla
Espanyol vs Atlético de Madrid
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
Hard days are the best because that is when champions are made….words from Gabby Douglas.
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