IN WOMEN’S AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS
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Super Falcons Coach, Justin Madugu has apologised to Nigerians following the team’s one-nil loss to Cameroon in the quarter-final of the Women’s African Cup of Nations on Sunday.
Madugu, while fielding questions from journalists after the match, said he takes full responsibility for the loss.
He also blamed his side’s poor finishing for their defeat to the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon.
Despite the disappointment, Madugu praised Cameroon for weathering Nigeria’s relentless pressure and making their early advantage count.
Following the defeat, the 10-time WAFCON winners failed to pick up an automatic qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The Super Falcons still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup, as they will now face South Africa in play-in semi-final tie on Thursday, 13th August.
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Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Sports, Philip Shaibu, has urged the Super Falcons not to give up on their World Cup qualification hopes after their exit from the WAFCON 2026 in Morocco.
Shaibu charged the team to shift their attention to the upcoming World Cup qualification playoff against Banyana Banyana of South Africa.
He called on Nigerians to continue to support the girls and not lose hope in them.
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Cameroon midfielder, Naomi Eto has described the Indomitable Lionesses’ one-nil victory over Nigeria’s Super Falcons in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations as an ugly win.
Eto admitted that Cameroon had to withstand sustained pressure from the Super Falcons but praised her teammates for their defensive resilience.
The midfielder also expressed her delight at helping Cameroon secure a return to the Women’s World Cup.
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South Africa head coach, Desiree Ellis has stressed the importance of her team being fully prepared for their crucial clash against Nigeria’s Super Falcons.
Ellis acknowledged the importance of the encounter against Nigeria, insisting that Banyana Banyana must take full advantage of the opportunity to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
South Africa will now face the Super Falcons in a play-in clash at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca on Thursday.
The winner of the encounter will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs, where they will join nine other teams battling for places at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Three teams from the inter-confederation play-offs, scheduled to take place in November and December 2026, will secure qualification for the global showpiece.
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Mariam Bolaji has won the Women’s Singles SL3 title at the 2026 Peru Para Badminton International after a dominant campaign in Lima.
The remarkable feat was announced by the National Sports Commission in a statement on their X handle.
The Paralympic bronze medallist defeated Brazil’s Kauana Beckenkamp 21-12, 21-12 in the final to complete the tournament without dropping a single game.
Bolaji won all four of her matches in straight sets, conceding just 47 points across the competition.
The victory adds another international title to an impressive 2026 season that has also seen the Nigerian claim gold in Egypt, silver at the World Championships in Bahrain and silver at the British & Irish Para-Badminton International.
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Oghenegaren Esiovwa-Thompson has made history as the first Nigerian fencer to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships.
The 16-year-old achieved the feat in the men’s U-23 epee competition at Rugby School Nigeria in Atlantic City, Lagos, overcoming India’s Asian champion Lokesh Vemani 15-5 in Sunday’s final.
Esiovwa-Thompson’s triumph represents a landmark moment for Nigerian fencing, making him the first athlete from the country to win a medal at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships and the first Nigerian to secure gold at an international fencing competition.
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IN ENGLAND
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Chelsea will host Jack Wilshere’s Luton Town in the Carabao Cup second round, while Tottenham Hotspur host Charlton Athletic in a London derby.
Former Arsenal midfielder Wilshere will take his League One outfit to Stamford Bridge, as the eleven Premier League sides not involved in European competition this season joined the winners of the first-round ties in the hat.
Among the other tasty ties are League One AFC Wimbledon visiting Alvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham at Craven Cottage, while Keith Andrews’ Brentford face a potentially tricky tie against Birmingham at St Andrew’s.
Plymouth who won the Devon derby with Exeter, will get Premier League side Coventry City at home, while West Ham face an all-Championship tie away to Southampton.
In the north draw, Newcastle have been given Championship side West Brom at home, while Leeds were given an all-Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest.
David Moyes’ Everton go to second tier club Preston as the Toffees boss reunites with the club where he began his managerial career.
Like the first round, the second round draw was also regionalised and split into Southern and Northern section ties.
The second-round matches will be played in the week commencing August 24th.
The remaining Premier League teams will join in the third round, which will be split over the week commencing September 7th and the week commencing September 14th.
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Former Manchester United defender, Phil Bardsley has disclosed that he would love to see Chelsea star Cole Palmer move to Old Trafford.
Commenting on Palmer’s recent form and body language at Stamford Bridge, Bardsley noted that the playmaker has looked unsettled, prompting talk that United should monitor his situation.
Bardsley stated that he believes Palmer has not looked entirely happy at Chelsea, calling him vital to their setup but suggesting a move to Manchester United would be an exciting prospect.
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Liverpool has signed Uruguay centre-back Ronald Araujo on a season-long loan from Barcelona.
The deal for the 27-year-old, who joined Barca from Uruguayan club Boston River in 2018 and can also play right-back, includes an option to buy.
Liverpool have been looking to strengthen their defence this summer after France international Ibrahima Konate left the club to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.
Araujo is under contract at the Nou Camp until 2031 but he only made eleven league starts last season as Barca were crowned Spanish champions for the 29th time.
Liverpool start their Premier League campaign away at Newcastle United on Sunday, 23rd August.
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Aston Villa is in talks over a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha.
The Portugal international, became a target for Villa after Amadou Onana suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee while playing for Belgium at the World Cup.
Sources close to Palhinha say he is yet to make a decision but is open to a move to Villa Park, which is regarded as among his best options.
Bayern are willing to let him leave two years after signing him for forty-seven point four million pounds from Fulham.
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Everton and Crystal Palace have agreed a swap deal that will involve Toffees winger Dwight McNeil joining the Eagles and Wales international Brennan Johnson moving in the opposite direction.
Both attackers are expected to undergo medicals on Monday before completing their respective moves.
It is understood the wingers will sign initial four-year contracts with their new clubs.
The transfer fell through as the required paperwork could not be completed in time, even though McNeil had already passed a medical.
The two sides meet at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, 22nd August, on the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign.
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Crystal Palace is closing in on the signing of Anan Khalaili from Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise.
The 21-year-old is expected to complete his move to the Eagles in the coming week with the fee is in the region of twenty-one million pounds.
Khalaili, who operates on the right of midfield, made fifty-two appearances in all competitions for Union SG last season, scoring six goals and registering six assists.
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Former Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi has praised Manchester United’s thirty-five million pounds signing of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, calling it the best midfield transfer of the summer and an absolute steal.
Mikel pointed out his goalscoring threat, set-piece danger, and tactical versatility across multiple midfield positions.
He also stated that while Tielemans may lack elite raw pace, he reads the game brilliantly, protects the ball, and rarely gives possession away.
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Jordan Nobbs has seventy-one caps for England and won twelve major trophies during an illustrious career with Arsenal.
The midfielder said if she were to help Newcastle United gain promotion to the Women’s Super League for the first time, it would be job done in her career.
The 33-year-old was their marquee signing last year and made a solid start to life in the second tier as Newcastle finished sixth.
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A consortium including billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has advanced its talks to buy about a thirty percent stake in Liverpool.
The group is led by British-Indian millionaire businessman Amit Bhatia and also includes Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
Owners Fenway Sports Group confirmed last month that the group had expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in Liverpool Football Club.
Bhatia is the son-in-law of Indian billionaire businessman Lakshmi Mittal and had been a director and co-owner of Queens Park Rangers for eighteen years before relinquishing his stake in the club last month.
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Fifa and its president Gianni Infantino have been accused of breaking trust through deception” in an open letter issued by Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation.
The letter, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three regional governing bodies, said recent controversy over the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal was fundamentally about the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it.
It comes after Fifa issued a statement which strongly criticised a concerted and ongoing effort to undermine the organisation and Infantino.
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Newly promoted Ipswich Town have quietly been the Premier League’s fourth-biggest net spenders so far this summer, behind only Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal.
Ten players joined for a combined one hundred and six point six million pounds, but what is most notable about the Tractor Boys’ approach under new manager Gary O’Neil is the sea change in recruitment strategy, shaped by lessons learned from their chastening single season in the top flight in 2024-25.
Under O’Neil’s popular predecessor Kieran McKenna, who stepped down on 10th June after overseeing three promotions in four full seasons, the Blues targeted players familiar with English football.
McKenna’s success was built mainly on players from the UK and Republic of Ireland, supplemented by a handful of overseas additions already accustomed to the language and culture through spells at other English clubs.
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Teenager Erica Meg Parkinson has withdrawn from England’s training camp before the Under-twenty Women’s World Cup in Poland next month.
The North Carolina Courage midfielder, was named in Lydia Bedford’s 24-player squad for the warm-weather camp in Portugal, but has decided to stay with her club instead.
Club-mate Lauryn Thompson has also withdrawn, with the pair now expected to remain involved with Courage, who are sixth and in contention for a National Women’s Soccer League play-off spot.
Manchester United’s Jessica Anderson and West Ham’s Sienna Wareing have been called up as their replacements for the camp, after which Bedford will name her 21-player World Cup squad on 20th August.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh expects three to five more signings before the transfer window closes and admits results are not where he would like them to be.
The Ibrox club have already added nine new faces this summer but have only one point after two Scottish Premiership games under new manager Derek McInnes.
They also trail Polish outfit Jagiellonia Bialystok two-one after the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie last week.
Cavenagh told shareholders that business so far has been clunky but they are working hard to bring success.
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Brazilian footballer Defender, Jacy Maranhao says he got carried away after he was injured jumping over advertising boards to celebrate a goal only to fall down a hole on the other side.
Maranhao, headed in for Coritiba against Chapecoense in the Brazilian top flight with his side one-nil up in the 41st minute.
He celebrated by running towards fans, vaulting the hoarding, before disappearing down a tunnel that went to the away team’s dressing room.
Maranhao was able to gingerly clamber out but suffered an ankle injury.
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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced significant progress in stabilising its competitions calendar, providing clearer timelines for Member Associations, commercial partners, broadcasters and supporters across the continent.
CAF said the increasingly stable calendar reflects its commitment to strengthening existing competitions while developing new properties that will create additional opportunities at senior and youth levels.
The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda 2027 is scheduled to take place from 19th June to 17th July, 2027, with qualification set to begin in September 2026.
CAF also confirmed that South Africa will host the TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup on Sunday, 8th November, 2026, with Champions League winners Mamelodi Sundowns facing Confederation Cup holders USM Alger in Tshwane.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Athletics; Kenya has submitted an official bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships as it seeks to become the first African nation to stage the sport’s flagship event.
Nairobi faces rival bids from London, Rome and Munich, with a decision by World Athletics expected next month.
Athletics Kenya said its robust bid is backed by the country’s government and presents a compelling case to bring the championships to the continent.
It said government has committed its full support to the bid, ensuring the necessary organisational framework, security measures and modern infrastructure required to host a world-class global showpiece.
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In Cricket, Trent Rockets face a nervous wait to see if they will qualify automatically for the final of The Hundred after a six-wicket defeat by Southern Brave.
The Rockets were unable to defend their total of 158-7 as Tristan Stubbs’ unbeaten half-century helped already-eliminated Brave seal a tense victory with three balls to spare.
Sunrisers Leeds could pip the Rockets, who they currently trail by four points, to top spot if they beat Manchester Super Giants at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
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In Rugby, Bath’s last two home games of the season will be played away from The Rec as part of an accelerated construction plan for the club’s new stadium.
The new timeline, which is aimed at completing the revamped stadium for Bath in time for the start of the 2028/9 season, will see the games against Harlequins on the weekend of May 15th and Saracens on June 5th moved.
Should Bath secure a home semi-final, as they have done for the past three seasons, this will also have to be taken on the road.
Bath’s Prem fixture against Newcastle Red Bulls on the weekend of April 17th will be the club’s final home game of the regular season.
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In Basketball; Don Nelson, who won the second-most games of any coach in NBA history and five NBA titles as a player with the Boston Celtics, died on Sunday.
His family announced. He was 86.
Nelson was a member of NBA championship teams with Boston from 1966 to 1976 and the Celtics retired his jersey number 19.
As a coach, Nelson finished with a record of 1,335-1,063 — what had been an NBA record until Gregg Popovich passed him in 2022 — in stints with Golden State, Milwaukee, New York and Dallas from 1976 to 2010.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward… words from Vernon Sanders Law.
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