IN ENGLAND
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Leeds United has booked their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup as wasteful Nottingham Forest showed why they need to strengthen their attack before the transfer deadline.
Dan James set Leeds, one-nil winners at Forest on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, on their way to a second win in four days at the City Ground with a composed 50th-minute finish after Sean Longstaff’s pass.
It was deserved reward for the Wales winger who was a real menace all game as he netted his first club goal since April 2025 in a Championship win at Middlesbrough.
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Former England striker, Callum Wilson has scored his first goal for Brentford and Nathan Collins netted two headers as the Bees thrashed Birmingham City six-one in round two of the Carabao Cup.
Wilson joined Brentford in the summer on a free transfer after his West Ham contract ended and needed only six minutes to make an impact in his first competitive start for the Bees.
Yehor Yarmoliuk won possession 30 yards out and Wilson hit a first-time strike on the turn from the edge of the penalty area, with the ball taking a deflection off Dael Fry before going into the net.
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Coventry City star, Ephron Mason-Clark came off the bench to score and Victor Torp fired home a penalty as Coventry City rallied late to hold off plucky Plymouth Argyle.
Sky Blues forward Mason-Clark netted just five minutes after coming off the bench to put his side back in front after they had surrendered a two-goal advantage against their League One hosts.
Torp then scored from the spot in the 78th minute to put the Premier League side into the Carabao Cup third round draw.
Coventry were ahead inside three minutes at Home Park when Liam Kitching played the ball forward and a cute flick from Caleb Yirenkyi sent Taiwo Awoniyi through and he finished calmly.
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Ipswich Town star, Marcelino Nunez scored twice including a superb effort from forty-five yards as Premier League Ipswich Town moved into the third round of the Carabao Cup with victory over League One side Leicester City.
The goal of the night came in the first minute of second-half injury time at Portman Road when Nunez, in the centre circle just inside the Foxes half, saw away goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk off his line and fired a shot, which went in off the underside of the crossbar.
That goal sealed a hard-earned win for Ipswich after Leicester had been the better team for large parts of the match.
Ipswich restored their advantage in the 71st minute thanks to Nunez’s strike from outside the penalty area after more good work from Akpom.
Will Alves curled an effort wide for the visitors, before Nunez’s stunning second sealed the result with Ipswich booking their place in Wednesday’s third-round draw.
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw have won the Professional Footballers’ Associations men’s and women’s player of the year awards.
Both were previously named the Football Writers’ Association men’s and women’s footballers of the year for the 2025-26 season.
Fernandes, who last season broke the record for the most assists in a single Premier League campaign with twenty-one, is the first United player to win the award since Wayne Rooney in 2010.
It is a second win in three seasons for Shaw, who secured her third consecutive Women’s Super League golden boot with twenty-one goals as Man City were crowned champions.
City defender Nico O’Reilly succeeds Morgan Rogers as men’s young player of the year, with the versatile 21-year-old cementing his place in the starting eleven.
Arsenal’s Olivia Smith retained her crown as the women’s young player of the year, becoming only the second player after England international Lauren Hemp, to win the award on multiple occasions.
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Manchester United has signed Cameroon midfielder Carlos Baleba from Brighton in a seventy million pounds deal.
The Old Trafford club have paid an initial sixty-five million pounds, plus a potential five million pounds in add-ons, for the 22-year-old, while Brighton have negotiated a sell-on clause.
United targeted Baleba after deciding to strengthen their midfield further following the summer arrivals of Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa.
Baleba signed a five year-contract at Old Trafford, with the option to extend for a further year.
Baleba’s move follows United’s shock two-nil defeat by Hull City in Saturday’s Premier League opener, where Santos and Tielemans made their midfield debuts.
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Nottingham Forest have agreed a club-record fee worth around fifty million pounds to sign Chelsea striker Liam Delap.
The 23-year-old is expected to undergo a medical and sign a long-term contract at the City Ground this week.
Delap’s move comes a year after he joined Chelsea from Ipswich Town for thirty million pounds amid competition from Manchester United and Everton.
Forest already signed defender Ousmane Diomande from Sporting for thirty-four million pounds, alongside free agents, Austrian midfielder Xaver Schlager and goalkeeper Steve Benda.
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Former Chelsea and Arsenal defender, Ashley Cole has left his role as an England Under-21 coach after five years in the position.
Cole was part of Lee Carsley’s coaching team which guided the side to back-to-back European Under-21 titles.
Carsley said the 45-year-old Cole, who retired from playing in 2019 before going into coaching, had a positive, inspirational impact on his players.
After completing his coaching badges at Derby County under Frank Lampard, Cole worked in Chelsea’s academy before further spells assisting managers at Everton, Birmingham City under Wayne Rooney and then England during Carsley’s brief spell as interim boss of the senior side in 2024.
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Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney have won the Professional Footballers’ Association’s merit awards for 2026.
The awards honour individuals who have made a lasting contribution to football.
The PFA Awards ceremony will be held in Manchester, where the men’s and women’s players’ player of the year winners will be announced.
Dalglish enjoyed a prolific career as both player and manager, becoming Scotland’s most-capped men’s international with one hundred and two appearances and matching Denis Law’s national team record of 30 goals.
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Women’s Super League academy sides will play in tier three from the 2027-28 season after the divisive proposal was approved by the Football Association.
Four professional game academy sides will be given the opportunity to compete without eligibility for promotion as part of reforms to the Women’s National League which are designed to strengthen the women’s football pyramid, raise standards across the league, and improve the development pathway for young players.
Fifty-two of the seventy-two league clubs signed a letter to the FA opposing the proposal to introduce top-tier academy teams in their system in June 2026, describing it as morally wrong and claiming board representatives did not consult their clubs.
The FA has gone ahead with the plan following an extensive consultation process with clubs and stakeholders, with the reform addressing the lack of competitive minutes young English players receive compared with their counterparts across Europe.
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Leeds and Rangers co-owner Jed York have been jailed in Ohio after being arrested for soliciting prostitution.
The 45-year-old, who is also the owner of the San Francisco 49ers, was convicted of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools after pleading no contest to two charges.
In the Ohio legal system, a no contest plea means a defendant accepts a conviction without formally admitting guilt.
York was sentenced to one day in jail on each offence, to be served concurrently, and was given credit for time already served.
York was fined one hundred and fifty dollars for disorderly conduct and one thousand dollars for possessing criminal tools.
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IN NIGERIA
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Nigeria will face either Mauritania or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the second round of the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Under-twenty-three Cup of Nations.
The draw for the qualifying competition was held in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday.
Nigeria’s Under-twenty-three Eagles are among the fourteen teams that received byes into the second round based on their performances in the last three editions of the competition.
Should Nigeria progress from the second round, they will face the winner of Burkina Faso versus Sierra Leone/Zambia for a place at the Under-twenty-three AFCON.
The qualifying series will begin in September, with the first-round fixtures to be decided over two legs, while the first legs are scheduled for Monday, 28th September, while the return matches will take place on Tuesday, 6th October 2026.
Nigeria will join the qualifiers in the second round, with the first-leg matches slated for Monday, 9th November and the return fixtures fixed for Tuesday, 17th November 2026.
The winners of the second-round ties will advance to the third and final round of the qualifying campaign.
The competition will also serve as Africa’s qualifying tournament for the men’s football event at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
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Nigeria’s Super Sand Eagles have been drawn against Ghana in the second round of the 2026 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
This was confirmed on the Nigeria Football Federation official X handle on Tuesday.
The first of the qualifiers will take place from 9th to 11th October 2026, while the second legs are billed for 16th to 18th October 2026.
Senegal will host the 2026 Beach Soccer AFCON, and it will be the second time they will stage the competition having previously a hosted it in 2021.
The competition will also double as the African qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, with qualification granted to both finalists.
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Head Coach of Falconets, Moses Aduku, has urged the team to remain focused and maintain a strong winning mentality as they depart for the 2026 FIFA Under-twenty Women’s World Cup in Poland.
Aduku gave the charge as the Falconets concluded their final camping and preparations in Abuja.
He said the players had been adequately prepared physically and mentally and were ready to compete at the highest level.
The coach stated that the players are ready to compete at the highest level.
The team’s captain Joy Igbokwe assured Nigerians of the team’s determination to make the country proud.
The Falconets will compete in Group F alongside Spain, China PR and New Caledonia at the tournament.
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Rangers will host Katsina United in the opening fixture of the 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, season at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta.
The defending champions have chosen the Abeokuta venue as their temporary home ground due to ongoing renovation work at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu.
The Flying Antelopes will also stage their CAF Champions League home matches at the same venue.
Rangers are expected to return to Enugu once renovation work at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium is completed.
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Lagos State Government says it is ready to host the maiden National Inter-Mediate Games, between ten thousand and fifteen thousand young athletes expected from across the country.
The maiden National Inter-Mediate Games, scheduled for October first to fifteenth, will feature athletes aged between fifteen and eighteen competing in twenty-eight sporting disciplines at various venues across Lagos.
The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Sam Egube, stated this at a media conference in Alausa, Ikeja describing the games as a platform for youth development, national unity and grassroots sports.
Egube, who is the Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the competition would provide a pathway for discovering and nurturing young talents for the National Sports Festival, continental competitions and the global sporting stage.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said the state was committed to delivering an excellent first edition of the games.
He said the initiative was designed to bridge the gap between young sporting talents and professional athletes, providing opportunities to identify and nurture future stars.
The Director-General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lanre Fatodu, described Lagos as a serial trailblazer, assuring that the state would deploy its experience in hosting major sporting events to deliver a successful competition.
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Super Eagles star, Calvin Bassey has reflected on Fulham’s disappointing defeat to Chelsea.
The Cottagers began the new season with a three-two loss to the Blues at Craven Cottage.
Bassey, who captained Fulham on the night, expressed disappointment with the result but praised his teammates for the fighting spirit they showed throughout the contest.
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Trabzonspor head coach, Fatih Tekke has expressed confidence that Nigeria international Paul Onuachu will soon rediscover his best form for the club.
Onuachu is yet to find the back of the net for the Black Sea Storm this season after enjoying a prolific campaign last term.
The Nigeria international was one of Trabzonspor’s standout performers last season, scoring twenty-six goals across all competitions.
Despite the striker’s slow start to the new campaign, Tekke has urged supporters to remain patient and give him time to regain his scoring touch.
The Trabzonspor boss stressed that Onuachu’s impressive contribution last season should not be overlooked, insisting the forward still has an important role to play for the team.
The Trabzonspor coach is confident Onuachu will soon rediscover his goalscoring form.
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Former England manager Fabio Capello has described Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze as a complete different player after new AC Milan manager Ruben Amorim transformed the Nigerian winger into a dynamic right wing-back.
Capello stated that Chukwueze looked unrecognizable and vastly improved compared to his performances in previous seasons.
He noted that Amorim’s tactical clarity was already shining through, with Chukwueze serving as the prime example of the coach’s ability to revitalize squad members.
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Bristol City has announced the signing of Nigerian forward Elijah Adebayo.
Adebayo joins the Robins on a free transfer after agreeing a two-year contract with the Championship club.
The 28-year-old becomes Bristol City’s 10th signing of the summer as the club continue to strengthen their squad ahead of the new season.
The experienced striker will now be hoping to make an immediate impact at Ashton Gate and add more firepower to the Robins’ attack.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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The Irish Football Association says it is time for change at Fifa and they will not be voting for president Gianni Infantino’s re-election next year.
The association, the governing body for football in Northern Ireland, had previously backed Uefa’s stance without formally withdrawing their support, but have now said Infantino’s plan raised fundamental questions of the president.
The Football Associations of England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have previously publicly withdrawn support for Infantino, who is scheduled to stand for a fourth term as president in March.
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Ethiopia has submitted an official bid to host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations.
The country’s football federation said its government-backed proposal affirms the nation’s full readiness to host Africa’s biggest footballing event.
Ethiopia has staged Afcon three times, in 1962, 1968 and 1976, but its footballing infrastructure lags well behind others on the continent.
The nation had just one stadium approved for use by the Confederation of African Football last season but is in the process of inaugurating a new international stadium and sports complex in Addis Ababa.
Meanwhile, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – three countries led by military governments – have expressed interest in co-hosting in 2032.
The 2027 Afcon is scheduled to take place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 19 June to 17 July next year, with the competition returning to East Africa for the first time since it was held in Ethiopia in 1976.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Tennis, Stan Wawrinka says his US Open triumph will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life after missing out on a wildcard for a farewell appearance in New York.
The 41-year-old will retire at the end of year and was given a wildcard for this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon, while reaching the French Open main-draw on ranking.
He reached the third round in Melbourne and lost a pair of entertaining first-round matches in Paris and Wimbledon respectively.
The US Open has received some criticism for its decision not to award a wildcard to 2016 champion Wawrinka, who did not enter qualifying despite being inside the cut-off.
The United States Tennis Association said it does not comment on wildcard decisions.
Despite not receiving a wildcard, Wawrinka thanked the US Open and the city of New York in a social media post.
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Also, Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, against her four-year ban for refusing an anti-doping test.
The 27-year-old was handed the ban in June after the International Tennis Integrity Agency charged her with denying a doping control officer entry to her home to conduct an out-of-competition test in December 2025.
Her suspension is due to end on 21st June 2030.
Vondrousova, who in 2023 became the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title, said in April that when she refused the test she was at breaking point after months of physical and mental stress.
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In Cricket, England captain Joe Root says he is hacked off and disappointed at the incident involving fast bowler Brydon Carse at a Derby nightclub.
Carse, was dropped from the squad for the second Test starting against Pakistan this week.
Images that appeared on social media showed Carse in handcuffs outside a bar in Derby and he was briefly arrested and subsequently de-arrested.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has referred the incident to the Cricket Regulator and Carse was replaced in the squad by Sonny Baker, with the Test starting at Lord’s on Thursday.
Root also said he had spoken to his England team-mate about the incident, and expressed his frustration at the stupid mistakes that are continually being made.
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In Rugby, Former England and Leicester Tigers fly-half Freddie Burns has returned to the Prem club as kicking coach.
The 36-year-old landed one of the most famous kicks in the club’s history when he slotted a last-minute drop-goal against Saracens to seal Tigers’ 2022 Premiership title victory at Twickenham.
Burns’ move into coaching with his former club comes just three weeks after he announced his retirement as a professional player.
The playmaker, who was capped five times for England between 2012 and 2014, had two spells with Tigers in an eclectic career in which he also featured for Gloucester and Bath, as well as sides in New Zealand and Japan before seeing out his career as a player-coach in Romania with Dinamo Bucuresti.
He replaces Alex Davies, who left the club to join Wales’ coaching team, and will work under head coach and former Tigers team-mate Geoff Parling.
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In Golf, Sir Nick Faldo says LIV golfers seeking a return to the DP World Tour may have to eat a bit of humble pie before regaining eligibility for the European-based circuit.
LIV’s 2026 season ended last Sunday in Indianapolis after this week’s cancellation of the breakaway tour’s Team Championship in Michigan.
Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin and Adrian Meronk are competing instead at the Husqvarna British Masters starting on Thursday.
Six-time major champion Faldo is promoting the Belfry tournament while LIV’s boss Scott O’Neil continues his quest to replace Saudi Arabian funding.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
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IN ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP – SECOND ROUND
Bradford City vs Burnley
Newcastle United vs West Bromwich Albion
Tottenham Hotspur vs Charlton Athletic
Preston North End vs Everton
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman….words from Margaret Thatcher.
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