IN ENGLAND
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Former Manchester United midfielder, Nicky Butt has disclosed that the club must move on from Old Trafford because it has fallen behind modern grounds in the country.

He noted that fans might miss the nostalgia, but the club needs to follow the lead of other top sides with modern facilities.

Old Trafford has faced issues with leaking roofs and worn-out seating, leading to ongoing discussions about building a new 100,000-capacity stadium or carrying out massive redevelopments.
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Manchester City star, Enzo Fernandez says his dream was always to play for a club as big as Manchester City.

Fernandez completed his move from Chelsea on deadline day, signing a contract that will keep him at City until the summer of 2031.

He is now keen to get started and take his opportunity on the pitch and he says he is excited to be playing at a club as big as City.

Fernández said he had no hesitation at taking the opportunity to join up with former boss Enzo Maresca at City with our history of success.

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Brighton has completed the signing of Nigeria international Femi Azeez from Millwall for an undisclosed fee.

Azeez signed a four-year contract with the Seagulls after completing his move from the Sky Bet Championship club.

Brighton sporting director Mike Cave expressed his delight at securing the services of the highly-rated winger.
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Former England star, Rio Ferdinand believes that Arsenal have made the signing of the summer with their thirty-four million pounds deal for Christos Tzolis.

Having won their first Premier League title in twenty-two years, the Gunners did not rest on their laurels over the summer transfer window, spending almost £200m on five new signings.

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Tottenham star, Richarlison has agreed terms on a lucrative deal to join Trabzonspor ahead of the Turkish transfer window closing.

The Turkish club want to sign the Brazilian and unite him with former Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.

They have had two offers turned down so far by Tottenham Hotspur.

The first bid was fifteen million pounds and the second was twenty million pounds.

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England international, Keira Walsh has scored the only goal as Chelsea women completed a six-two aggregate win over Real Sociedad to seal their place in the league phase of this season’s Women’s Champions League.

The Blues midfielder found the back of the net nine minutes into the second half of the second-leg play-off match at Estadio Zubieta to book her side’s place in Friday’s draw.

Chelsea, who have never won the competition, will be drawn against six opponents in the league phase.

The victory means Chelsea will join Women’s Super League champions Manchester City in Friday’s league-phase draw in Nyon.

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Burnley’s winless start to the season continued as they came from behind to earn a point against Middlesbrough.

Aidan Morris’ lovely finish from just outside the box sailed past Clarets goalkeeper Max Weiss to give Middlesbrough the lead in the first half.

The hosts hit back in style after the break when Ugo Raghouber struck home from outside the box with a stunning finish.

Neither side could find a decisive goal in the latter stages however, with Burnley still without a win in ninety minutes in all competitions this season.

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IN NIGERIA
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FIFA President, Gianni Infantino says the meeting he had with the Nigeria delegation was a successful one.

Infantino said this in a release by the Director Information and Public Relations, National Sports Commission, Dr. Keninde Amati,

A Nigerian delegation led by the Commission chairman Shehu Dikko met with Infantino in Zurich, Switzerland.

In a reflection of FIFA’s commitment to engage constructively with Nigeria’s reform process, Infantino described the discussions as an opportunity to align on a shared vision for the future of Nigerian football.

He said the discussions went beyond immediate football competitions, and also focused on the institutional foundations required to create a stronger and more sustainable football ecosystem.

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Former Super Eagles player and 1996 Olympic gold medallist, Daniel Amokachi, says Governor Uba Sani has fulfilled a thirty year old promise made to the Atlanta Olympic champions.

Amokachi made the disclosure after inspecting the ongoing reconstruction of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

He recalled that after Nigeria’s historic Olympic gold medal victory in 1996, the Federal and state governments made several promises to the victorious team.

According to him, many of the promises remained unfulfilled for three decades until the present administration in Kaduna State took action.

Amokachi said Sani had allocated plots of land to him, Garba Lawal and Emmanuel Babayaro, while also directing that streets be named after other veterans.

Similarly, Garba Lawal, another 1996 Olympic gold medallist, described the ongoing Ahmadu Bello Stadium project as world class and capable of meeting FIFA standards, while Emmanuel Babayaro, said Sani had united Kaduna’s football family and restored the sport to its former glory.

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Falconets head coach, Moses Aduku says his team is fully prepared for their opening match against Spain at the 2026 FIFA Under-twenty Women’s World Cup.

Nigeria will face Spain in their Group F opener in Sosnowiec on Monday, 7th September.

The Falconets rounded off their preparations for the tournament with a one-all draw against Korea Republic in a friendly on Tuesday afternoon.

Aduku expressed satisfaction with his players’ performances in both friendly matches, insisting the team was in good shape ahead of the World Cup.

Reflecting on the draw against Korea Republic, the coach admitted his side could have won the game but praised the quality of their opponents.

Aduku added that the Falconets are now fully focused on their clash with Spain and would approach the competition one game at a time.

The Falconets will be hoping to make a positive start to their campaign when they take on the Spaniards in their opening Group F fixture.

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Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will know their group-stage opponents for the 2026 WAFU B Under-seventeen Championship when the draw takes place on Thursday.

The draw ceremony is scheduled for the Stade du 04 Août in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The draw for the second edition of the WAFU B Under-seventeen Girls’ Cup will also be conducted at the same venue on Thursday.

Nigeria are among the seven countries that will compete in the girls’ tournament alongside Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, hosts Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Niger Republic.

Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets are intensifying preparations for the WAFU B Under-seventeen Championship in Abuja.

Burkina Faso will host the competition from 4th to 17th October, 2026.

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French side Stade de Reims have completed the signing of Nigerian youngster Abdoulaye Agbejoye from Grassrunners FC Academy.

The 18-year-old striker joined the French club’s academy setup, where he will continue his development with the aim of progressing to the first team.

Agbejoye was a member of Nigeria’s Flying Eagles squad that featured at the 2026 WAFU B Under-twenty Championship in Cote d’Ivoire.

Agbejoye becomes the latest Nigerian youngster from Grassrunners FC Academy to secure a move to Stade de Reims.

The French club also recently signed his compatriot Godwin Itotomi from the same academy.

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Nigeria’s Junior Female YellowGreens have defeated hosts Tanzania by 57 runs to complete a perfect Group A campaign at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in Tanzania.

The victory saw Nigeria finish top of Group A with a maximum six points, after winning all three of their matches at the ongoing tournament.

A statement by the Media Manager, Nigeria Cricket Federation, Zeal Ibe, said Nigeria won the toss and elected to bat at the NTS, TCA Cricket Arena, posting 133 runs for seven wickets in 20 overs.

He said Nigeria’s disciplined bowling restricted Tanzania to 76 runs for eight wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Ibe said the victory was significant, as it came against the hosts, who were supported by a passionate home crowd.

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OTHER LEAGUES
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Rangers has made it back-to-back wins in the Scottish Premiership as Lawrence Shankland’s superb double downed wasteful Falkirk.

The Scotland striker scored either side of Kosta Nedeljkovic’s own goal to alleviate pressure on Derek McInnes who watched from the stands amid his touchline ban – and build some much-needed momentum for the Ibrox outfit.

After scoring the winner at Pittodrie, Shankland fired Rangers in front on eight minutes with a fine touch and strike after being teed up by Djeidi Gassama.

Falkirk remain without a league win and are only above pointless Kilmarnock, while Rangers are fifth on seven points from their four matches.
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Celtic star, Camilo Duran has made it six goals in eight games for Celtic as Martin O’Neill’s side continued their unbeaten start to their domestic campaign with a comfortable Scottish Premiership victory at home to Aberdeen.

After a nervy end to proceedings against Falkirk at the weekend, Celtic’s three first half goals ensured they were well on their way to three points after 45 minutes against their abject visitors.

Duran got Celtic up and running with a wonderful strike from the edge of the box which cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net.

Celtic remain top of the table with four wins from four while Aberdeen remain in the lower reaches of the division.

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Rangers midfielder, Thelo Aasgaard has completed a one million pounds loan move to Anderlecht, while the Scottish Premiership club have rejected a loan bid from Besiktas for Belgium international Nicolas Raskin.

Aasgaard scored one goal in five appearances this season but will spent the rest of this season in Belgium, with Anderlecht having the option to sign the Norway international for five million pounds next summer.

Meanwhile, Raskin has been consistently linked with a move away from Glasgow after impressing during the World Cup, but Besiktas’ offer was rejected.

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Northern Ireland manager, Michael O’Neill says he was certainly hopeful that the Irish Football Association, IFA can move forward with plans to have a national training centre open by 2028.

The IFA announced in February 2025 their plans for the state-of-the-art facility which will be located next to the Galgorm Resort just outside of Ballymena and will have world-class pitches and cutting-edge training facilities.

The association reiterated their desire to proceed with the proposal last month, but did say they hope to “mitigate concerns where possible” after objections from local residents.

O’Neill, who grew up in Ballymena, believes having the facility at Galgorm will have a positive impact on the town.

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Trabzonspor has accepted the emotional resignation of head coach Fatih Tekke after the Turkish side initially rejected his request to step down.

Tekke, who led Trabzonspor to a third‑place finish in the league last season, tendered his resignation after his side were knocked out of the Europa League play‑off round five-nil on aggregate by Hungarian club Ferencvaros.

After rejecting his request on Friday and suggesting the 48‑year‑old made the decision under the intense emotional impact of the Europa League exit, the Super Lig club have now agreed to part ways with their head coach.

Trabzonspor said it reached a mutual understanding with Tekke and decided to part ways in line with Trabzonspor’s interests and long‑term objectives.

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Celtic has completed loan deals for former England goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and teenage Chelsea duo Shumaira Mheuka and Landon Emenalo.

Johnstone, arrives from Wolverhampton Wanderers and will provide competition for Finland international Viljami Sinisalo.

Striker Mheuka, extended his contract at Chelsea until 2031, having made nine outings for the London club.

Emenalo, also joins on loan from the London club and will offer cover for Kieran Tierney at left-back.
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The Ghana Football Association has announced the re-appointment of Carlos Queiroz as the new head coach of the Black Stars.

The association confirmed the reappointment in a statement on Wednesday.

Following discussions with the association and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, it was agreed that Queiroz would embark on a new coaching mandate, commencing with the upcoming international window.

The association believes Queiroz’s extensive international experience, technical expertise and knowledge of the Black Stars position him strongly to lead the team into this next chapter.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Formula one, World champion Lando Norris says he is putting his own money into setting up a driver development programme and his own team, so he can put something back into motorsport.

Norris’ team, to be known as LN4 Fusion, launched near Monza before the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

It will run teams across multiple feeder categories, starting from next year.

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In Cricket, England have omitted Brydon Carse from their squad for the third and final Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston.

The 31-year-old Durham seamer was dropped for the second Test at Lord’s after he was briefly arrested following an incident outside a Derby nightclub on 22 August.

Derbyshire police are continuing to investigate an allegation of assault in connection with that incident.

Carse’s replacement, 23-year-old Sonny Baker, has retained his place in England’s 15-man party.

Surrey’s Matthew Fisher has been dropped from an otherwise unchanged England squad as they seek to complete a series clean-sweep over Pakistan.

The third Test in Birmingham starts on Wednesday, 9th September

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In Rugby, England captain Maro Itoje says he was initially shocked when head coach Steve Borthwick raised the possibility of him taking the summer off.

Itoje missed England’s matches against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina in July, holidaying in Mauritius and Nigeria as he took a first proper summer break from professional rugby in more than a decade.

The 31-year-old, whose mother died in the weeks before he led England through a deflating Six Nations campaign that featured just one win, says he is now feeling the benefits of his time away.

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In Cycling, Britain’s Matthew Brennan has sprinted to his third win at the 2026 Vuelta a Espana as he powered to victory on stage 11.

The 21-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider easily held off Frenchman Bryan Coquard and Belgium’s Jordi Meeus at the climax of the 153.8km route from Cartagena to Lorca.

Overall leader Enric Mas of Spain retained the red jersey and has a one minute and 18-second lead over Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic in the general classification, with Britain’s Oscar Onley just over a further minute back in fourth.

Thursday’s 12th stage sees riders travel one hundred and sixty-six point six kilometres in the mountains from Vera, facing five categorised climbs, including the double climb of Velefique and the Calar Alto summit finish.
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In Golf, Tiger Woods has agreed not to contest a reckless driving charge as part of a deal with prosecutors, reducing the original charge of driving under the influence from a rollover crash in Florida.

The golfer accepted a five-year suspension of his driving licence and a seven hundred and forty-two pounds fine, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in Martin County, Florida.

Woods was arrested after the March crash, and had passed a breathalyser test but declined further testing for other drugs.

He pleaded not guilty the same month to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and refusal to submit to testing.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

The only place where your dreams become impossible is in your own thinking..words from Robert Schuller.