IN ENGLAND
Crystal Palace star, Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored the team’s first European goal as they began their Conference League campaign with victory against Fredrikstad.
The French forward’s effort epitomised a game which comprised equal parts dominance and frustration for Palace, with Mateta heading inside the far post after Will Hughes sent a deflected strike back into the box.
Palace were without Eberechi Eze, their FA Cup final match-winner, who is expected to join Arsenal in the coming days.
Oliver Glasner’s Premier League side therefore take a narrow advantage to Norway for the second leg next Thursday, when victory on aggregate would seal their place in the Conference League group stage.
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Manchester United has blocked any chance of Harry Maguire leaving the club this summer, but the defender feels it would be silly to want to quit now anyway.
United triggered an option on Maguire’s contract in January, keeping him at Old Trafford for a further year, at a point when head coach Ruben Amorim said his squad was starved of leaders.
There have been instances in the past of extensions being granted purely to ensure United could still get a fee for a player if they were sold.
Maguire said there was interest in him this summer, while United’s hierarchy made it clear he was not leaving.
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Liverpool right-back, Jeremie Frimpong has been ruled out of action until after the international break with a hamstring injury.
Frimpong was substituted on his Premier League debut as the Reds beat Bournemouth four-two in their opening top-flight game last week.
He will miss league games against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Monday and against Arsenal at Anfield a week on Sunday.
The first international break of the season is from 1st to 9th September, with the Premier League returning on the weekend of 13th to 14th September when Liverpool face Burnley at Turf Moor on the Sunday.
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Bournemouth has signed winger Amine Adli from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee that could rise to twenty-five point one million pounds.
The 25-year-old is the Cherries’ seventh signing of the summer and has joined on a five-year contract.
The Morocco international primarily plays off the left but has also featured as a number ten and on the right flank.
Adli played one hundred and forty-three matches for Leverkusen, scoring ten goals and providing twelve assists in forty-two games in 2023-24 as they won the Bundesliga and German Cup double under former manager Xabi Alonso.
Bournemouth has now spent nearly three hundred and fifty million pounds on signings under the ownership of American billionaire Bill Foley, who took over the club just before the January 2023 window.
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Leeds United has signed AC Milan striker Noah Okafor for eighteen million pounds to take spending by Premier League clubs this summer to a record two point thirty-seven billion pounds.
The Switzerland striker has joined the Premier League club on a four-year deal.
The 25-year-old becomes Leeds’ ninth summer signing since winning the Championship to secure their return to the top flight.
Okafor’s arrival means Premier League clubs have now spent more than the previous record in a single transfer window, the two point thirty-six billion pounds total in the summer of 2023.
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Former Manchester United star, Wayne Rooney says Yoane Wissa removing everything associated with Brentford from his Instagram account is very disrespectful.
Newcastle has had a forty million pounds bid rejected for Wissa, while the Magpies are also in the midst of drama surrounding their striker Alexander Isak’s future.
Rooney was speaking before Isak, who remains determined to join Liverpool, wrote that promises were broken and trust is lost in a statement.
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Liverpool’s Conor Bradley has been named in Northern Ireland’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Germany next month.
Bradley has not played for his club yet this season because of a hamstring injury, but Reds boss Arne Slot confirmed he returned to training on Thursday ahead of Monday’s Premier League game away to Newcastle.
The 22-year-old defender, who scored four international goals in twenty-five caps, has been included in Michael O’Neill’s panel for away games against Luxembourg on 4th September and Germany in Cologne three days later.
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England women captain Leah Williamson is set to miss the start of the Women’s Super League season because of a knee injury she suffered in the Euro 2025 final.
The 28-year-old Arsenal centre-back missed the Gunners’ pre-season training camp in Germany this month after reporting back to the club with swelling in her right knee.
She has had a small clean-up operation, which was a success, and has started her rehabilitation, but she is expected to be out for several weeks.
Arsenal, who won the Champions League last season, begin their WSL campaign against London City Lionesses on 6th September.
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IN NIGERIA
Home-based Super Eagles goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt is full of excitement after making a maiden appearance for the team.
Harcourt was named in the starting line-up in Nigeria’s 2024 African Nations Championship Group D encounter against Congo.
The shot stopper kept a clean sheet in the encounter with Eric Chelle’s side prevailing two-nil.
The 15-year-old made history as the youngest player to feature for the Super Eagles.
Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle claims he didn’t accept the Nigeria national team job because of the money, as he earned much more in his previous job.
Chelle was appointed as the Super Eagles coach in January, and he terminated a two-year contract at Algerian club, MC Oran, to take the Nigerian job.
The Franco-Malian is reportedly on a salary worth $50,000 per month as the Super Eagles coach.
Bafana Bafana of South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has announced his preliminary squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with Lesotho and the Super Eagles.
Broos’ side will take on Lesotho and the Super Eagles on 5th and 9th September in their attempt to make a first World Cup appearance since 2010.
There are familiar faces in the preliminary squad, including that of Sipho Mbule, Mohau Nkota who recently moved to Saudi Arabia.
Orlando Pirates youngsters Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Relebohile Mofokeng have also been included.
Broos is expected to trim the squad down to twenty-three closer to the dates of these two crucial fixtures.
Bafana Bafana top the Group C standings with 13 points from six matches followed by Rwanda who are on eight points.
The Super Eagles are fourth on seven points after six matches played.
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Former Real Madrid manager, Fabio Capello believes Ademola Lookman can still maintain his status as an important player for Atalanta.
Lookman submitted a transfer request and shunned training earlier in the month in a bid to force a move to Inter Milan.
The Nigeria international returned to training this week after Inter pulled out of the move.
Capello insisted that Lookman would be a key player and he remained at the Bergamo club beyond this summer.
The tricky winger was earlier linked to a number of top European clubs including Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Athletico Madrid earlier in the summer.
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Napoli president Aurelien De Laurentiis has disclosed that he rejected Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen from joining Paris Saint-Germain because the Paris club offered two hundred million euros for him and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Recall that Kvaratskhelia joined PSG in January 2025, while Osimhen moved to Turkish giant Galatasaray in the summer of 2024.
De Laurentiis stated that he regretted not accepting the offer from PSG for the duo of Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia.
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Super Eagles winger Nathan Tella has rated Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane as the best striker in the Bundesliga, ahead of Victor Boniface, Patrick Schick, and Serhou Guirassy.
The Bayer Leverkusen star described the England international as the best striker in the German league.
The 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League begins on Friday, with the winners and runner-up in the previous campaign facing off at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta.
Champions Remo Stars, who won their first-ever NPFL title last season, welcome 2022 champions Rivers United, who finished second last season.
The Sky Blue Stars have adopted the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta as their temporary home ground, pending the completion of renovation works at their stadium in Ikenne.
Now they hope to turn the ground into a fortress as they begin their title defence in the capital city of Ogun State.
Today’s meeting will be the 12th between both teams, and Rivers United hold the bragging rights in terms of head-to-head.
The Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, has reaffirmed the state’s readiness to host the 10th edition of the National Youth Games in 2026.
Lagos State submitted its bid to host the games earlier this year, and as part of the bidding process, top management staff of the Lagos State Sports Commission, alongside National Sports Commission delegates, embarked on a two-day inspection tour of sports facilities across the state.
The tour began at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere and continued to the National Stadium.
Other inspected venues included the newly refurbished Elegbata Sports Complex, the iconic Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Onikan, the Cricket Oval at Tafawa Balewa Square, Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre at Rowe Park in Yaba, the University of Lagos Sports Complex, CMS Grammar School in Bariga, and Agege Stadium.
Speaking during the facility inspection, Fatodu emphasised Lagos State’s experience in hosting major tournaments and expressed confidence in delivering a landmark event.
The camp of the Nigerian senior women’s cricket team, the Female Yellow Greens, is soaked in high anticipation, as the head coach, Leke Oyede, is set to name the final 15-player squad for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup qualifiers.
Nigerian players are intensifying their preparations at a closed camp in Lagos, ahead of the Africa Qualifiers, which will take place in Namibia from 28th August to 7thSeptember.
The final squad is expected to be out by Monday.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Brazilian forward Lucas Costa has terminated his contract with Mamelodi Sundowns as he aims to become the first footballer to benefit from Lassana Diarra’s legal victory against Fifa.
Ribeiro, whose goal against Borussia Dortmund in June was voted best of the Fifa Club World Cup, has also referred his case to world football’s governing body.
The 26-year-old is being represented by Belgian lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont, who won the landmark 1995 case involving Jean-Marc Bosman and is also representing Diarra.
The former France midfielder has had a long-running legal battle with Fifa and in October the Court of Justice of the European Union found that some of Fifa’s transfer rules break European Union laws.
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A Copa Sudamericana match in Buenos Aires was abandoned after violent clashes between fans, with some being stripped and beaten and one in a life-threatening condition after falling from the top tier of a stand.
Universidad de Chile said nineteen of their fans are in hospital after Wednesday’s last-16 second leg at Argentine side Independiente.
The club added that ninety-seven Chileans have been arrested, although local media have reported that the figure is more than three hundred.
Two fans were stabbed while one was having surgery after their fall from a height at the Estadio Libertadores de America, in the Avellaneda area of the Argentine capital.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Tennis, British men’s number one Jack Draper has been handed a US Open first-round match against a still-to-be-determined qualifier as he looks to eclipse last year’s breakout Grand Slam run in New York.
Draper lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals and the fifth seed may have to face the Italian world number one again in this year’s quarter-finals.
Emma Raducanu, who is Britain’s leading women’s player, will also begin against a qualifier as she returns once again to the scene of her unforgettable title triumph in 2021.
Raducanu could come up against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who she recently played doubles with in Washington, in the third round.
Four other Britons have earned direct entry to the singles draws through their ranking.
The singles of the US Open, which is played on a hard court in New York, begin on Sunday after being moved forward from its traditional Monday start.
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Also, Francesca Jones moved to within one win of reaching the US Open main draw with a gutsy 6-1, 7-6 victory over Georgia’s Ekaterine Gorgodze, but three other British hopefuls dropped out.
British number four Jones – looking to reach the US Open main draw for the first time in her career – broke serve early and found herself 3-0 up after just 11 minutes at a windy Stadium 17.
The 24-year-old had to battle to save seven break points before the end of the set as Gorgodze fought back from a poor start.
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In Cricket, Spectacular fifties from Jordan Cox and Sam Curran fired Oval Invincibles to a thrilling six-wicket victory over Trent Rockets in a table-topping clash in The Hundred.
Cox hammered an unbeaten 58 from 32 balls and Curran struck 54 from 24, as the Invincibles hit a remarkable 103 runs from 28 deliveries to drive to victory with 11 balls to spare.
Opener Joe Root struck a season-best 76 as Rockets reached 171-7 and the visitors looked well-placed in their reply when they had their opponents 70-2 after 60 balls.
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In Rugby, Scotland Head coach Bryan Easson has pushed aside the off-field issues that have blighted their Women’s Rugby World Cup build-up as they prepare to face Wales in their tournament opener on Saturday.
The announcement of Easson’s impending departure after the tournament, coupled with acrimonious contract negotiations between the players and Scottish Rugby, have caused friction in the weeks leading into the tournament.
The departing coach said those issues have not distracted his team from the task in hand.
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In Golf, English Ryder Cup hopeful Matt Fitzpatrick carded a five-under 67 to sit one shot behind joint leaders Thomas Aiken, Matthias Schwab, Li Haotong and Marcel Siem after the opening round of the British Masters.
There was also a strong start from another Englishman in Matt Wallace, who opened with four birdies in the first five holes and finished alongside Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson in a group of five players on four under.
Despite making what he described as a bit of a ropey start, Fitzpatrick, who is hoping to earn a call-up for next month’s Ryder Cup, said he ultimately played really solid.
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TODAY’S FIXTURE
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IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
West Ham vs Chelsea
IN SPANISH LA LIGA
Real Betis vs Alavés
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SOCCER ACTION RESUME THIS WEEKEND
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IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur
AFC Bournemouth vs Wolves
Brentford vs Aston Villa
Burnley vs Sunderland
Arsenal vs Leeds United
ON SUNDAY
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest
Everton vs Brighton
Fulham vs Manchester United.
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IN SPANISH LA LIGA
ON SATURDAY
Mallorca vs Celta Vigo
Atlético de Madrid vs Elche
Levante vs Barcelona
ON SUNDAY
Osasuna vs Valencia
Real Sociedad vs Espanyol
Villarreal vs Girona
Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid
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IN ITALIAN SERIE A
ON SATURDAY
Genoa vs Lecce
Sassuolo vs Napoli
AC Milan vs Cremonese
Roma vs. Bologna
ON SUNDAY
Cagliari vs Fiorentina
Como vs Lazio
Atalanta vs Pisa
Juventus vs Parma
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful…words from John Wooden.
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