Teenage substitute Mezian Soares gave Lens a 1-0 win over Nantes in Ligue 1 on Friday to give his side direct qualification for next season's Champions League while relegating Nantes to the second tier.

The result also keeps the Ligue 1 title race alive with Lens the only team who can still pip Paris Saint-Germain to the title.

After a frantic and eventful first 79 minutes, the 16-year-old Soares picked up a loose ball in the box and fired home to break the deadlock.

Lens are now guranteed a top-two finish in Ligue 1: they are seven points clear of third-placed Lyon with both teams having two games left.

Third place also earns a place in the Champions League but in the play-off third round.

Lens, whose budget is not even a 10th of Champions League finalists PSG, are still to play the Parisians who lead them by three points and have a game in hand.

Nantes held a marauding Lens at bay largely thanks to 'keeper Anthony Lopes, who produced a string of saves as Lens had three goals ruled out for off-side or handball.

French champions in 2001 Nantes are now guaranteed to finish in the bottom two and will be relegated from Ligue 1 for the third time since their title win.

PSG play Brest at home on Sunday.

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Borussia Dortmund came from a goal down to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 at home on Friday, putting further pressure on visiting coach Albert Riera. 

Frankfurt starlet Can Uzun scored after just two minutes but Dortmund hit back with two goals in five minutes through Serhou Guirassy and Nico Schlotterbeck to take the lead at half-time. 

Dortmund's 18-year-old forward Samuele Inacio added a third, his first Bundesliga goal, midway through the second-half to wrap up victory for the hosts, before Jonathan Burkardt grabbed a late consolation for the visitors. 

Former Liverpool and Spain winger Riera, who took over as coach in February, has won one of his past seven games and arrived in Dortmund reportedly fighting to keep his job. 

Frankfurt qualified for the Champions League last season but now sit eighth, a point behind Europa League finalists Freiburg who are in the Europa Conference League spot and have a game in hand. 

The win also guaranteed Dortmund would finish second behind Bayern Munich this season. Dortmund have now finished second eight times in 14 seasons since they last won the Bundesliga in 2011-12, all behind Bayern. 

Former Dortmund midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud set up Uzun's superb curling opener just two minutes in. 

The hosts struck back with two goals before the break however. With 42 minutes gone, Guirassy converted a Julian Ryerson pass, the Norwegian's 14th assist of the season. 

Jobe Bellingham held up the ball in the first minute of stoppage time, finding Maximilian Beier who crossed for Schlotterbeck to score. 

Bellingham helped create Dortmund's third, once again finding Beier in traffic who chipped back for Inacio to hammer home. 

Germany forward Burkardt pulled one back for Frankfurt with three minutes remaining but Dortmund held on for victory. 

In the dying moments, Dortmund brought on former Germany centre-back Niklas Suele, who will retire at the end of the season.

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Real Madrid have fined Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde €500,000 (£432,000) each after a training ground bust-up that left the latter in hospital.

Valverde was treated for a cut to his head after the incident on Thursday, with the Uruguayan later denying that the pair had “come to blows” having been ruled out of the rest of the season.

Reports suggest that the altercation had stemmed from a prior clash in training on Wednesday amid a seemingly unsettled dressing room in the Spanish capital. Alvaro Arbeloa’s side take on rivals Barcelona in El Clasico on Sunday.

Tchouameni and Valverde appeared in front of a disciplinary investigator at the club on Friday, with a stiff, and equal, financial sanction levied upon each individual.

“During the appearance, the players expressed their deep regret for what happened and apologised to each other,” a statement from Real Madrid said.

“They have also apologised to the club, their teammates, the coaching staff and the fans, and both have made themselves available to Real Madrid to accept whatever sanction the club deems appropriate.

“Given these circumstances, Real Madrid has decided to impose a financial penalty of €500,000 on each player, thus concluding the corresponding internal procedures.”

In a separate incident, Antonio Rudiger and teammate Alvaro Carreras were said to have been involved in a heated argument in training, with Rudiger apologising and Carreras confirming on social media that a “one-off incident of no significance” had been “resolved”.

The Athletichave also reported that Kylian Mbappe clashed with a member of head coach Arbeloa’s staff during training before the 1-1 draw at Real Betis last month.

Barcelona will be crowned champions of La Liga if they avoid defeat at Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday.

Tottenham have given their survival chances a huge boost as they bid to avoid the unthinkable: relegation from the Premier League.

Demotion to the second tier for a Spurs side that won the Europa League last season, reached the Champions League knockout stage this term and has spent just one season outside the top flight since 1950 would go down as one of the biggest shocks in Premier League history. Roberto De Zerbi is now the man tasked with engineering an escape, and three points against Aston Villa last weekend lifted them into 17th.

West Ham’s defeat to Brentford had opened the door as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side slip back into the bottom three and now with their fate out of their hands. Leeds pulled clear after an impressive recent run, while Nottingham Forest won back-to-back games at Sunderland and Chelsea to bolster their hopes.

Wolves have long been destined for the drop and had their demotion confirmed last Monday. They have now been joined by Burnley after the Clarets fell to a 1-0 loss at home to Manchester City to confirm their return to the Championship.

With Wolves and Burnley both relegated, here’s how the rest of the crucial relegation run-in is shaping up.

Nottingham Forest

Position: 16th | Played: 35 | Points: 42 | GD: -2

Remaining fixtures:

• 9 May - Newcastle (H)
• 17 May - Manchester United (A)
• 24 May - Bournemouth (H)

Where to pick up points? After four wins in five games, a home game against a struggling Newcastle side who have nothing to play could confirm Forest’s Premier League status.

Tricky contests? Ideally, they’d like to get it done before visiting Manchester United and then hosting a Bournemouth side who may be pushing for Champions League qualification on the final day of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur

Position: 17th | Played: 35 | Points: 37 | GD: -9

Remaining fixtures:

• 9 May - Leeds (H)
• 17 May - Chelsea (A)
• 24 May - Everton (H)

Where to pick up points? A potentially pivotal clash with Leeds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night three matches from the end of the campaign will be a golden opportunity for Tottenham after escaping the bottom three.

West Ham United

Position: 18th | Played: 34 | Points: 36 | GD: -19

Remaining fixtures:

• 9 May - Arsenal (H)
• 17 May - Newcastle (A)
• 24 May - Leeds (H)

Tricky contests? A heavy defeat to Brentford may not have been totally deserved for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, yet is nonetheless ill-timed and highly-damaging. Now the visit of title-chasing Arsenal is unwelcome, too.

Final straight? If West Ham can get something from the Arsenal game then a trip against Newcastle and a home clash with Leeds to finish the season might just be the ticket to get them clear of the drop zone.

Verdict?

This could genuinely go in any direction and you’d have to be a brave person to predict the outcome with any confidence. It could still all come down to the final day when West Ham host Leeds, Spurs play Everton and Nottingham Forest host Bournemouth.

Forest’s recent results have been massive, given that they could have been adversely affected by their Europa League run and probably need to have survival wrapped up going into the final couple of games.

Spurs have their survival hopes in their hands, if they can build on victories at Wolves and Aston Villa and win a Premier League game at home for the first time since December. But every team is showing fight - and it could all change quickly.

When Illinois installed a new video board at Gies Memorial Stadium in January, it became the largest scoreboard in college football. 

The 16 million-pixel display stands 69 feet high by 250 feet wide, and it—along with 15 other new LED screens installed at Gies—cost the school $20,938,463, according to documents obtained by Front Office Sports. The expense was funded by a $100 million donation from alum Larry Gies Jr. Illinois did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

In a press release announcing the installation at Illinois, Daktronics—the South Dakota-based company that built it—stood the screen up against comparable displays at professional stadiums: It “would be the fifth-largest display in professional football. It is roughly the same size as the main outfield display at Citi Field in New York and 3.4 times the size of the main display at Soldier Field in Chicago.”

At the company’s investor day in April, Daktronics board chair Andrew Siegel told the audience “When you look up, we want you to see Daktronics.” 

Beyond sports, the company builds and services signage at airports, gas stations, on the side of buildings such as in Times Square, and pretty much everywhere else you might find an LED digital display. 

Those screens, while intended to engage, are not necessarily built to be a main attraction. But at sporting events, the screens are meant to draw you in—and they just keep growing.

“I think today, when you go to a sporting event, people want to see replay. It’s also a revenue-generating opportunity,” Jay Parker, Daktronics’ VP of live events and spectaculars, the category that includes college and pro sports, said during an investor day Q&A. The larger the screens, the more room for advertisers to gain visibility in front of thousands of fans at one time. 

At the University of Oregon, where Daktronics installed a 46-by-180-foot display in 2020, the school’s board of trustees approved up to $12 million for video board and sound system upgrades at Autzen Stadium. Daktronics completed the work for $11,554,370, according to documents obtained by FOS. At the time, it was the largest display in college football. 

“The video board was designed with the priority of what worked best for Autzen Stadium, including pairing it with a state-of-the-art sound system,” said Jimmy Stanton, Oregon’s senior associate athletics director for communications. Regarding future updates to audio and video equipment at athletics facilities, Stanton added, “We’re always looking for ways we can enhance the student-athlete and fan experience.”

Daktronics is responsible for eight of the 10 largest displays in college football. Of the top 10, seven were installed in the last six years. 

Illinois’s massive scoreboard unseated Auburn’s—also installed by Daktronics, in 2025—as the largest. It’s a sign of things to come as college stadium and arena renovations increasingly look like those of professional venues. 

That’s for good reason; Daktronics counts 154 professional sports teams, 1,316 college athletic programs (including 69% of D-I programs), and 400 minor league facilities in its client list.

The company touts itself as a lifetime partner for its clients, meaning Daktronics’s work doesn’t end when installations are complete. Its audio and video systems are powered by proprietary software, and tech support is provided over the full lifespan of its products, which Daktronics estimates to typically be about 10 years. 

As more schools look to upgrade their stadium experiences, fans can expect to see new schools join the ranks. Oklahoma, currently the eighth-largest college football screen, is undergoing a $450 million stadium renovation. The scoreboard at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was installed in 2016—it may be time for an upgrade.

The post What Illinois’s $20M Jumbotron Says About the Future of CFB Stadiums appeared first on Front Office Sports.

Bournemouth are investigating posts circulating on social media allegedly involving their right-back Alex Jimenez.

Jimenez, 21, has been dropped from Bournemouth’s squad to face Fulham this weekend as a result of the investigation.

The Premier League club said they were aware of the posts, which they described as being of a serious nature.

“The club understand the seriousness of the matter and it is currently being investigated,” a Bournemouth statement said.

“As a result, Alex will not be included in the squad for tomorrow’s Premier League game against Fulham and the club will be making no further comment at this time.”

Jimenez has made 32 appearances for Bournemouth this season after an initial loan from AC Milan. He joined the club permanently in January.

It’s funny how momentum in football can work, how swiftly the feeling at clubs can change. You only have to look at Arsenal. There’s been that shift in mood over the remarkable last few weeks, but also a shift in focus over the last few days.

On Tuesday, on the day of a Champions League semi-final, most people - including in the dressing room - were barely talking about it. They were almost exclusively discussing Manchester City’s 3-3 slip at Everton and especially what it meant.

By Wednesday, after that victory over Atletico Madrid, there was none of that. It was all about the giddiness of qualifying for the Champions League final.

Mikel Arteta has obviously been conscious of that, so is aware he has to let his players enjoy the moment and feel what it means… but that they also need to be fully focused for Sunday.

It’s all that West Ham have been thinking about, after all. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have had no distractions like the Champions League. Everything builds up to this. And in so many ways.

Arsenal’s visit to West Ham on Sunday has the potential to be the most decisive Premier League game of the season, and maybe in the competition’s history, as regards the direct consequences. It could go some way to deciding the title, but also relegation.

Consider the cascading stakes. If Arsenal win, they would be able to see the trophy. It would leave fixtures against a relegated Burnley and a Crystal Palace preparing for a Europa Conference final three days later. There’s also the possibility of City being affected by the sense of the title drifting away.

On the other side, a West Ham defeat would mathematically secure Leeds United’s survival, the day before Daniel Farke’s side have an away game at Tottenham Hotspur. It’s impossible not to think Leeds' intensity would be affected, and Spurs could secure another crucial win. That could be fatal for West Ham. It only ratchets up that pressure.

Conversely, if Arsenal fail to win, the immediate consequences aren’t as pronounced but there is the potential of that doom and gloom returning to the club as West Ham enjoy a new life. There'd be yet another swing; a twist.

One of the most remarkable things about all of this, given the richness of Premier League history, is how rarely there's been a fixture like it. The comparable examples are few.

In 1994-95, a badly stuttering Blackburn Rovers beat Crystal Palace 2-1 four games from an end which saw Rovers win the title by a point and Palace go down by three. In 1998-99, Blackburn were on the other end of that as a 0-0 draw at Ewood Park relegated them but was also just enough for Manchester United to win the title by a point. In 2002-03, Bolton Wanderers’ shock 2-2 comeback against Arsenal gave them a point crucial to staying up over West Ham United, while just affording Manchester United crucial distance to Arsenal with three games left.

In 2011-12 – in maybe the closest parallel to this Sunday but with more games to – Wigan Athletic beat United 2-0 to recharge their own survival surge while starting a stunning fall by Sir Alex Ferguson’s side. There was similar in 2013-14 when Sunderland surprisingly beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to turn the tide at both ends.

Important as these and a handful of other games were, none of them involved direct consequences that are quite as acute as what Sunday might allow. The stakes may even have an overt effect on the very game state.

In normal circumstances, you would think that West Ham’s best possibility of a result would be to sit tight and to frustrate Arsenal. It’s worked well for Nuno so many times this season. It’s been proven to work well in some key games against Arsenal.

And that would be fine if West Ham had enough fixtures left for a draw to feel really valuable. But they don’t. They need wins, especially with Spurs resurgent.

At some point, West Ham have to go for it.

And that’s against an Arsenal who look more willing to go for it than at any point over the past four months. How couldn’t they when you consider the boosts that Arteta's side have enjoyed over the past week alone? There was first the revitalising nature of the sweeping 3-0 win over Fulham. There was then City’s draw at Everton. And then there was qualification for the greatest game in club football, and all the euphoria from that.

That is a lot of good feeling in the space of five days, after weeks of angst. Arsenal will surely be on a wave.

It helps that Myles Lewis-Skelly has restored a badly-needed positive energy, in what might be an inspired return. The teenager only adds to Arsenal’s multiple options, with so many injured players returning. There’s even the psychological security of how they incredibly have club football’s greatest prize – the Champions League – as a “bonus”.

It all looks so good for them. But that can also be precisely the moment when it goes bad, where teams get too settled.

That wave can break. If West Ham do dig in, can the old frustration quickly return? Can Nuno exploit that? Can the very meaning of the title take over again?

There’s so much at play here, because there’s so much on the line. Even the Premier League has seen little like it.

Training ground bust-ups, allegations of fights in the dressing room, and a player in hospital requiring stitches for a cut to the head.

It’s never quiet at Real Madrid, but even by their standards the Spanish giants and their multitude of stars are in a full-blown crisis just days before the Clasico.

A growing sense of inharmony exploded into chaos on Thursday night, following reports of a fight between team-mates Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde.

Real Madrid confirmed the nature of Valverde’s head injury, before the club said disciplinary proceedings have been opened against both players.

An emergency meeting with president Florentino Perez was called at the club’s training ground. And now the eyes of the football world wait to see what comes next.

What happened between Valverde and Tchouameni?

On Wednesday, reports emerged from Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training round of a dispute between Tchouameni, the France midfielder, and Valverde, the Uruguay international and Madrid vice-captain. It was said to have carried on into the dressing room.

The following day, Valverde reportedly approached Tchouameni and accused him of leaking the argument to the press. Tchouameni denied it, but they refused to shake hands, according to AS. With tensions high, there were heavy challenges between Valverde and Tchouameni during training.

The report from AS claims Valverde continued to accuse Tchouameni of leaking the story. Tchouameni is then said to have hit Valverde, causing him to fall and hit his head. He was then taken to hospital for treatment on a cut that required stitches.

What did Valverde say afterwards?

In a lengthy post on Instagram, Valverde confirmed that he had been involved in a disagreement with a team-mate but denied “coming to blows”. He said he “accidentally hit a table, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital”.

"At no point did my team-mate hit me, nor did I hit him, although I understand it may be easier for people to believe that we got into a fist-fight or that it was intentional, but that did not happen,” Valvarde said, adding that the “fatigue of competition and frustration make everything seem bigger than it is”.

But what had Real Madrid said?

The club confirmed that it had opened “disciplinary proceedings” against Valverde and Tchouameni following the incidents in training on Thursday morning. “The club will announce the outcomes of both cases in due course, once the relevant internal procedures have been completed,” Madrid added.

It also issued an update confirming Valverde’s injury and ruling him out of Sunday’s Clasico against Barcelona. They said he had been diagnosed with "cranioencephalic trauma”, or a head trauma. “Valverde is at home and in good condition; he will need to rest for between 10 and 14 days, in line with medical protocols for this diagnosis.”

What else is happening at Real Madrid?

This was not the first time reports have surfaced on training ground tensions in recent weeks. Antonio Rudiger and team-mate Alvaro Carreras were said to have been involved in a heated argument in training, with Rudiger apologising and Carreras confirming on social media that a "a one-off incident of no significance” had been “resolved”.

The Athleticreported that star striker Kylian Mbappe also clashed with a member of head coach Alvaro Arbeloa’s coaching staff during training before the 1-1 draw at Real Betis last month, with Mbappe reacting angrily to being called offside by the coach, who was acting as an assistant referee during an exercise.

Further tensions over Kylian Mbappe

Mbappe has been sidelined since injuring his hamstring in the 1-1 draw at Real Betis and the France forward sparked controversy after going on holiday to Sardinia with his girlfriend during his recovery period, with photos of Mbappe on a yaught surfacing last weekend while Real Madrid were playing against Espanyol.

Meanwhile, an online “Mbappe Out” petition was started by this week, and it has received millions of signatures already. Some Real Madrid fans are angry by suggestions that Mbappe is protecting himself for this summer’s World Cup, although there is a chance he returns to Sunday’s Clasico at Barcelona.

In the wake of the criticism, Mbappe’s representatives released a statement this week insisting he remains fully committed to his recovery. The statement said the criticism did not reflect “the reality of Kylian’s commitment and the work he puts in every day for the team”.

The story of Real Madrid’s season

Real Madrid are heading for their second trophyless season in a row. Barcelona are 11 points clear of them in LaLiga and will be crowned champions with a draw against Real Madrid in the Clasico on Sunday. And, in the 97 years of LaLiga, the title has never been won in this fixture.

This has been a troubled season for Madrid, who sacked former midfielder Xabi Alonso in January after just a few months in charge amid reports that Madrid’s star players did not want to engage with Alonso’s strict tactical instructions. Not for the first time, club president Florentino Perez sided with the dressing room.

Meanwhile, Madrid have still not found a way to successfully accommodate Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham in the same team, leading to further reports of tension between the team’s three biggest stars.

Alvaro Arbeloa was instilled as interim head coach until the end of the season, but the environment around Madrid means they will head in another direction at the end of the season. Jose Mourinho is adored by Perez, and has been linked with a sensational Bernabeu return.

World Cup ticket prices could see a significant reduction in the lead-up to the tournament, as resale tickets are currently cheaper than those offered directly by FIFA. The pricing is similar across numerous fixtures, including the United States’ opening match against Paraguay.

Following the opening of a new sales window by FIFA on Thursday, a Category 1 ticket for the co-hosts’ inaugural game in Los Angeles was listed at 2,735 US dollars (£2,013) on Friday morning. In stark contrast, Category 1 tickets on FIFA’s official resale platform were available from 1,300 USD (£957) – less than half the price of a first-hand purchase.

When questioned by the New York Post about the four-figure sums for the opening match, Donald Trump remarked: "I wouldn’t pay that either."

FIFA has implemented a controversial dynamic pricing strategy for its primary ticket sales. Should resale prices continue to undercut direct sales, it could exert downward pressure on the cost of those primary tickets.

As of Friday morning, tickets for ten matches were unavailable on the primary ticketing site. These include the final, the group stage clash between Portugal and Colombia, a potential last-32 fixture involving Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Miami, and a possible last-16 encounter between England and Mexico in Mexico City.

FIFA did not confirm on Friday morning whether that meant all tickets for those matches were now sold out or whether more might still be made available.

The cheapest Category 4 resale ticket available for the final on Friday morning was listed at 9,373 USD (£6,892), with the most expensive Category 1 tickets priced at 345,000 USD – over £250,000.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino told his organisation’s Congress last week there had been 500 million ticket requests.

“We sold 100 per cent of the inventory that we put on the market, which is more or less 90 per cent of the global inventory so far,” he added.

“And, of course, we are always putting tickets on the market. There are expensive tickets, yes, but there are also affordable tickets.”

He went further in defending the prices at a conference in Beverly Hills earlier this week, claiming they compared favourably even with tickets to attend US college sports events.

Despite President Trump’s comments on pricing, the head of his World Cup task force, Andrew Giuliani, told the Financial Times: “We don’t really believe in price controls.”

He added that sales were on a “pretty good pathway” with over five million tickets sold.

In Kenyan influencer Nana Owiti's wardrobe, dozens of Arsenal jerseys tell the story of her passion for the club. 

It's an unbreakable bond that goes back 20 years to the days when the London team's largely black squad made them hugely popular in Africa. 

"(Thierry) Henry actually made me fall in love with Arsenal first off because he was a cutie," said Owiti, who has millions of social media followers for her Gunners-obsessed social media feeds.

Her first and most treasured jersey was Henry's number 14. 

"And then I look again and I see Sol Campbell -- his massive body," she added with a giggle. "And all of a sudden, Kolo Toure... so many players of African descent." 

In September 2002, Arsenal became the first club to name nine black players in a Premier League starting XI as they beat Leeds 4-1.

"(They) looked like me... that was why I chose Arsenal," said Owiti.

"Arsenal is responsible for most of my happiness and sadness."

It's mostly happiness these days, with the club on the verge of winning the Premier League and securing a place in the Champions League final this week. 

There were ecstatic scenes at a bar in Nairobi on Wednesday when Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 to reach the Champions League final for only the second time.

Dozens of gleeful Kenyans blasted vuvuzelas when tearful Spanish fans appeared on screen, and one fan even lit a flare inside the bar, adding a Gunner-red hue to the jubilation. 

Zimbabwean Leslie, who only gave his first name, shared a similar story to Owiti. 

"I was 12 years old. Arsenal sometimes had nine black players out of 11. I could identify with them," he said, reeling off the club's all-time best XI with the likes of Henry, Campbell, Ashley Cole, and Patrick Vieira. 

But he was also in awe of the club's long-time manager Arsene Wenger, who was in charge from 1996 to 2018. "He was a revolutionary, a visionary!" 

- 'Made them great' -

Wenger was a key factor in Arsenal's appeal, agreed Emeka Cyriacus Onyenuforo, founder and president of the Arsenal supporters club in Nigeria, which grew significantly after local star Nwkankwo Kanu joined the Gunners.

Wenger made it "a unified football club, by not looking at the skin of the player, going beyond that to get... fantastic players that he got from nowhere and made them great," Onyenuforo told AFP.

In Ethiopia, too, there was a feeling that Wenger gave "priority to African players," said Akalework Amde, head of the country's supporters club. 

It didn't hurt that Arsenal were racking up victories in that period: three Premier League titles (1998, 2002, 2004) and a 49-match unbeaten run in 2003-2004 that earned their players the nickname "The Invincibles". 

It was a time when the Premier League was transforming into an international brand, and beaming into African homes via the South African satellite channel Supersport. 

"If you go way back to the 80s, every Kenyan would watch football made in Germany, because that's all that used to appear," said Carol Radull, who runs hugely popular social media feeds devoted to Arsenal. 

The subsequent decades of drought, without any major titles, has not dampened the enthusiasm. 

Raila Odinga, a dominant political leader in Kenya for decades up to his death last year, was a passionate Arsenal fan. 

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, whose country sponsors Arsenal through the "Visit Rwanda" campaign, posts about the club on X. 

While Africa initially developed a passion for the Gunners because of their black players, "now people love the team for the team," said Robbie Lyle, founder of Arsenal Fan TV, who has travelled to all five continents to meet the club's supporters. 

"The following has been insane," he said. "In Africa, everywhere you go, you see an Arsenal shirt."

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Hundreds of South Koreans will cheer for a North Korean women's football team when it makes a rare trip across the border for a continental semi-final this month, civic groups told AFP on Friday.

North Korea's Naegohyang Women's FC will play the South's Suwon FC Women on May 20 in the Asian Champions League.

It will be the first time that a North Korean sports team has played in the South since 2018.

The countries technically remain at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

South Korean civic organisations are rallying groups of volunteers to roar on Naegohyang, with one predicting that more than 1,000 may end up backing the North Koreans at the match in Suwon city.

The groups support reconciliation between North and South Korea and often organise activities to promote their cause. 

There will be no away fans because North Koreans cannot enter the South.

The Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC) told AFP that it had already enlisted about 300 people.

"At a time when inter-Korean relations are severe, news of Naegohyang's visit brings us hope that it will serve as an opportunity to rekindle the fading flame of peace," the KCRC said.

The Korean Sharing Movement said it recruited 100 within an hour of posting an announcement on Wednesday, while the Hankyoreh Foundation for Reunification and Culture claimed around 60.

However, South Korean laws and political sensitivities make it uncertain how exactly the fans should hail their adopted heroes.

Under South Korean national security laws, it is illegal to own or brandish the North Korean flag or play its national anthem in public spaces.

The use of the Korean unification flag -- a blue outline of the entire peninsula on a white background -- may also be restricted under Asian Football Confederation rules banning political expression in stadiums.

An official at South Korea's unification ministry told reporters this month that club flags, not national ones, would be displayed during the match, and national anthems would not be played.

The winner of the semi-final will advance to the final of Asia's top women's club competition in Suwon on May 23, against either Australia's Melbourne City or Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza.

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In the aftermath of the 2011 London riots, when groups of young men looted shops and set fire to cars and buildings around the capital, two aspiring football coaches were jolted into action by the sight of smoke billowing into the night sky.

Home secretary Theresa May called the offenders “thugs” and justice secretary Ken Clarke blamed a “feral underclass”. Much of the media rhetoric urged authorities to lock them up and throw away the key. But to James Fotheringham and Harry Hudson – who is now a familiar sight in the Chelsea dugout – the fires burning on their doorstep in Croydon were a community’s distress signal.

Hudson had studied sport’s role in social inclusion at university in Southampton, and when he returned to London that summer to witness the riots unfold, he and Fotheringham decided to set up their own outreach programme, putting on free coaching for young people who couldn’t afford to pay. The sessions were deliberately timed in the early evening during the most common hours for anti-social behaviour.

What started as a local scheme has grown into one of the most impactful sporting charities in the country. Approaching its 15th anniversary, Kinetic Academy now has 400 boys and girls enrolled across the city, aged 16-18, and each place at Kinetic comes with a spot at a local school to continue their studies. It is a unique blend of football academy, youth charity and education programme.

“It started at a time with a group of kids that were being labelled in the media as ‘bad kids’, but the truth was that they didn’t have the opportunity, the equipment, the facilities to express themselves,” says Fotheringham. “Smashing shops up and thefts and everything that was in the media, it just wasn’t the true narrative of the kids that were out on the street. But what it did do was point a lens at what we can do as a society to give these kids more of an opportunity.”

Among Kinetic’s first group of 23 young people, three signed contracts with professional football teams, a ludicrously high bar which the academy strives to reach each year. Scouts from around the country visit Kinetic’s talent showcases and see them play against club academies. So far, 83 Kinetic graduates have progressed into professional football, including Leicester midfielder Joe Aribo and Watford winger Kwadwo Baah.

The Independent visits on a day when Kinetic’s Tottenham team are playing a London Cup semi-final. Their slight right winger, 18-year-old Tito Somuyiwa, possesses bags of skill and pace. He joined Kinetic after being released by Watford at 15, having already experienced a painful rejection by Tottenham at 13.

“It was tough because it was the second time,” he says. “After I got released, my confidence was really low. I saw all the clubs [Kinetic] played against, so I thought that would be good to keep at the same level I was before, without actually being at a club. It’s literally the same [environment as a professional academy].

“When I played a lot of games, my confidence obviously got better. The coaches are always pushing you to try and develop your game, to work my hardest to reach my dream.”

Beyond the on-field talent, what has caught the eye among some football fans in recent months is just how many coaches progress into the professional ranks. Hudson, co-founder alongside Fotheringham, is now head coach of Chelsea Under-21s, and he is currently helping with the senior team after Chelsea sacked manager Liam Rosenior. Interim manager Calum McFarlane also coached at Kinetic, as did Chelsea’s Under-18s head coach Dan Hogan.

Their relationships with each other and Chelsea’s head of recruitment Joe Shields have sparked scrutiny on social media and accusations of nepotism, especially since some interim promotions. Perhaps it says something about Chelsea and the state of football more widely that who you know and who you trust counts for a lot – there are even more Brighton alumni at the club.

But the idea that the charity is somehow involved in a conspiracy to feed inexperienced coaches into Chelsea’s academy appears far-fetched. McFarlane already had a career in the professional game before a brief spell at Kinetic, which came about when he returned home from his job at Norwegian club Tromso due to a family health issue. Hudson had his own experience, from non-league to Wycombe, Crystal Palace and Brentford. Far more Kinetic coaches have not joined Chelsea, like Jake Littlejohn, who moved to Norwich City and the Bermuda national team, which sounds like the best gig of all.

That has not stopped a small but vociferous section of Chelsea fans hurling abuse at Kinetic online, with calls for the charity to shut down among the more polite messages.

Fotheringham thinks Kinetic didn’t so much help Hudson as hold him back from a professional career. “To be honest, I was the one probably stopping him and it meant that he didn’t go into that world sooner. We built something pretty cool at Kinetic that he wanted to stay a part of. But he always said to me he would never be able to lie on his deathbed and say, ‘I never gave it a shot’.

“I think the truth is that the hard yards that have gone into it through a variety of different experiences are what mould them as coaches and individuals to succeed. We’re super proud. I truly believe that they’re there on merit and hard work, and the truth is that they have put a lot of hours and been on some horrendous journeys to get to where they are now.”

The coaches who’ve risen to the professional game act as inspiration for Kinetic’s current crop of coaches, many of whom came through the academy as players. Adam Flemming is Kinetic’s head coach of the north London area, and he is managing Somuyiwa’s Tottenham team.

“My dream is to get all the badges and coach as high as possible,” Flemming says, in between little flurries of instruction and encouragement. “We have access to a very, very good calibre of player, first of all. And when we go and play against pro sides, we compete. There's nothing they do in a pro club that we don’t necessarily do ourselves, bar small bits like having a strength and conditioning coach. We’ve obviously got to prioritise education as well.”

And this points the foundation’s raison d’etre, to encourage social mobility by opening avenues to football and beyond. The majority of the young people who enrol are from marginalised ethnic backgrounds, and in the school holidays, Kinetic hosts coaching for children from low-income households. The foundation has links in the corporate world so students can earn mentoring and internships; a group recently visited Adidas headquarters for a workshop on entrepreneurship.

Because for all Kinetic’s success stories in football, the reality is that most don’t make it. Like a lot of talented footballers his age, Somuyiwa has come to the realisation that good fortune plays a part and a professional contract may never come. Through Kinetic’s partnership with Harris Academy schools, and his own hard work, Somuyiwa now has offers lined up at universities in Exeter and Leicester. “If it doesn’t work out, then I want to go into property and real estate,” he says.

This is ultimately the goal of the Kinetic Foundation, to send their young people into professional football, a job, training or higher education – they don’t really mind which, so long as their graduates have a brighter future when they leave than when they arrived.

With less than five weeks to go until the FIFA World Cup kicks off in North America, football fans are counting down the days to the announcement of squads for the 48 participating nations.

Whether it’s supporters of national teams or neutral football enthusiasts, they will be eager to find out which of their favourite players, the biggest international stars or surprise additions will make the final cut.

The expanded 48-team tournament is being cohosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, who open the tournament against South Africa at Estadio Azteca on June 11.

What are the key dates for squad announcements before the World Cup?

May 11: Preliminary squad list

National teams must submit a preliminary list by May 11, with a minimum of 35 players and no more than 55 players, including four goalkeepers.

A maximum of 75 team officials, including the coach, team doctor and team manager, can be named in the provisional release list as well.

The longlist serves as the official pool of eligible players for the tournament, and FIFA requires that any replacement due to injury before the tournament must come from this list.

Injury has already ruled out several players from the tournament, such as Brazil’s Rodrygo and Eder Militao. Others, like Egyptian forward Mo Salah and Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal, are undergoing rehabilitation for recent hamstring injuries but are expected to be in shape for the World Cup.

The provisional release list is intended for internal use only and will not be published by FIFA.

Changes may be made to the provisional release list in exceptional cases and up until the submission of the final release list, according to the global governing body.

May 25: Clubs to release players

Clubs are required to make their players available for national duty by May 25, whereby the “rest, mandatory release and preparation period” for the World Cup begins following the last official club match on May 24.

An exception is applicable to clubs whose players will be in the finals of the UEFA Champions League (May 30), UEFA Conference League (May 28), and the CONCACAF Champions Cup (May 30), subject to FIFA approval.

June 1: Final day of team submission

National teams have from May 25 to June 1 to submit their final lists of 23–26 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers.

FIFA states that a player or goalkeeper may only be replaced by a player from the provisional squad “in the event of a serious injury or illness no later than 24 hours before the team’s first match”.

The expanded roster, up from 23 players, has been in place since the Qatar 2022 World Cup to improve squad flexibility due to injuries and fatigue.

June 2: Squad announcement by FIFA

FIFA says it will announce the final lists for the 48 competing squads on June 2.

“National teams are permitted to announce their squads at any time; however, they are not considered official until confirmed by FIFA on June 2,” FIFA said.

What are the conditions for player replacement and squad changes?

Players named in the final squad submitted to FIFA can be replaced with a player from the provisional release list only in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the kickoff of their team’s first match in the tournament.

Exceptions will not be allowed without approval from FIFA, based on the acceptance of the injured player’s medical assessment by FIFA’s medical team lead.

A goalkeeper in the final squad may be replaced by another goalkeeper from the provisional squad in the event of a serious injury or illness at any time during the tournament.

When will all World Cup teams arrive in the US, Canada and Mexico?

According to FIFA’s regulations for the World Cup, teams must arrive in their respective host country no later than five days before their first group match.

How many players will be on the World Cup roster?

Each nation can name 26 players in its squad list, making the total number of footballers entering the tournament a whopping 1,248.

What are the key tournament dates for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

The tournament will consist of one group-stage round and four knockout rounds before the final.

Unlike previous editions, the knockouts will begin with the round of 32, followed by the round of 16, the four quarterfinals and two semifinals.

The stage-wise breakdown of the tournament’s schedule is:

Group stage: June 11 June 27

Round of 32: June 28 to July 3

Round of 16: July 4–7

Quarterfinals: July 9-11

Semifinals: July 14-15

Bronze medal match: July 18

Final: July 19

As the days tick down to the start of the World Cup, senior Fifa figures under Gianni Infantino are understood to be “very nervous” about other numbers. Ticket sales are nowhere near expectations, despite bombastic talk of 500 million requests.

There’s an obvious reason, that anyone could have told Fifa. If they are “nervous”, loyal fans are agonising over life-changing money. Bodies like the Football Supporters Association [FSA] and US-based executives like the former Liverpool CEO Peter Moore estimate that it will cost between $10,000 and $35,000 to follow your team right through.

Even the home supporters - including Donald Trump - feel it is far too costly, as indicated by the low sales reported by The Athletic for the USA’s opening game in Los Angeles.

“Fifa overplayed their hand,” one involved source says, “and got the pricing wrong”.

“I wouldn’t pay it, either,” Trump even said on Thursday, as he added he would be “disappointed” if his voters couldn’t go. That must have been especially embarrassing for Infantino.

So much for the supposedly universal US “culture” of being willing to pay high prices for any major “entertainment event”, that Fifa apparently had to abide by.

Such arguments play into another schism, which points to how this World Cup may drastically influence football’s future. That’s the philosophical tension between the idea of football as a cultural good - most visible in the European model of sport and UK football governance bill - and US consumerism where it’s just another commodity.

Fifa, officially a non-profit charity notionally safeguarding the game, have overwhelmingly come down on one side.

The ticket pricing - headlined by some final tickets listed on Fifa’s resale site for over $1m - is all the worse because of the awareness that everything else is going to cost so much. Even qualified teams are still concerned they could lose money due to expenses.

Fifa couldn’t have but been aware of this yet have loaded cost up anyway.

And while this might normally have been accepted as the price of a World Cup in an expensive country, many extra costs are direct consequences of Fifa deals.

A line by one insider speaks volumes. “It’s a lesson in how to suck the joy out of it.”

Welcome to the great World Cup rip-off.

Tickets frame everything about this World Cup’s expense, but how did Fifa actually come to this model… and why?

It is a huge departure from every previous tournament, with so many jaw-dropping numbers.

For the eventual finalists, most fans will pay a minimum of £5,200 for tickets alone. The initial controversy about such figures may now lead to the absurdity of family members sitting beside each other but paying thousands of pounds more due to one being fortunate enough to qualify for the token number of $60 Category 4 tickets created after that outcry.

“And we still don’t know where final seated categories will be,” says the FSA’s Thomas Concannon, amid further criticism for how some tickets have had their positions moved. Football Supporters Europe quip that it’s “dynamic categorisation”.

Some of those cheaper tickets for England-Croatia have still appeared on Fifa’s official resale site for $2,300.

The issue of this “secondary market” - and how “touting” is legal in the US - has admittedly created a unique challenge for this World Cup, but some of the responses are still baffling.

As well as cashing in on huge potential mark-ups, Fifa takes a 15 per cent “resale facilitation fee” and another 15 per cent from the seller.

The governing body’s persistent line is that all revenue is ultimately redistributed around the game, primarily through the Fifa Forward programme.

Even if that were singularly true, and Fifa didn’t also have a duty to make the game accessible, one source has an obvious response.

“Let’s see some transparency”; show where the money actually goes.

A greater frustration is that Fifa, who are understood to have reserves of over $2.5bn, were going to make huge money anyway. Tickets were calculated at less than 50 per cent of total revenue, which was estimated to be a record $11bn - $4bn more than Qatar - from the original prices promised in the bid book back in 2018.

“You could easily chop $5bn off and everyone, including Fifa, benefits,” says Moore, now the founding owner of US club Santa Barbara Sky in California.

Weighing over all of this, however, is that Fifa’s redistribution model has also served as a long-criticised vote-returning mechanism. Infantino spreads the money around, and grateful associations elect him back in. And more money was the core part of his manifesto back in 2016. The last few weeks have already brought calls for the president’s re-election from Conmebol and CAF, despite questions over term limits.

A similar lack of transparency surrounds how ticket pricing was decided upon. Some of the most senior Fifa figures have no clue. They maintain they were simply presented with plans from the president’s office, which is how every major decision now works.

Sources with knowledge of the dynamics around Infantino say he is primarily surrounded by US-based advisers working “to fully optimise revenue using all tools available”.

There appears to be minimal interrogation of the actual merit of this.

That alone marks another significant departure for Fifa, especially from the last World Cup in the US.

Before 1994, tournament architect Alan Rothenberg had multiple ideas about tickets, that he details in ‘The Big Bounce’.

Rothenberg wanted “a really high-priced ticket” due to the associated prestige, as well as having every seat at the final priced at $1,000. In some echoes to now, too, he argued that “the street value would be at least that” so touts shouldn’t get the benefit.

“Fifa said no.”

Why?

“Overly concerned about average fans’ reaction.”

The difference to now is galling. And this was Joao Havelange’s Fifa, notorious for creating a model of governance corruption that the modern Fifa now crow as having left behind.

“The simple question,” Moore ponders, “is who this World Cup is supposed to be for.”

“These are once-in-lifetime chances for fans,” Concannon adds.

Fifa barely appear to have even acknowledged that, other than to consider what price can be put on it.

The US’s “secondary market” might still have put an even greater price on it, of course, but it’s like Fifa didn’t even want to consider obvious workarounds. They could have apportioned more to qualified associations to distribute according to loyalty schemes, in the way fan culture generally works.

Rather than appreciating a ticket as something with that cultural value, though, Fifa has instead repositioned them as an appreciable asset.

“It’s like marking up tickets for big concerts to sell,” Moore says. “But that’s not soccer.”

One justification has been that the dynamic pricing model used for some categories will allow supporters cheap tickets closer to the game, but that doesn’t help a fan who decided not to travel from Bogota or Berlin.

A further curiosity has been the contribution of another strand of “fanatic”. Any report on prices is met with bullish defences of “the market” on social media, with even USA 94’s Alexi Lalas contributing.

Academics put this down to how hardwired a capitalist/consumerist ideology is - what Michael Sandel describes as the “marketisation” and “skyboxification” of everything in American life.

“Even professional sport in America first developed as an entertainment business product,” explains Sean Hamil, an academic on sports governance at Birkbeck.

Jan Zglinski of the London School of Economics adds how “sport is primarily there to generate money”.

“In Europe, sport is thought of as a public good, intended to foster social cohesion.”

In other words, the European model of sport, as recognised in EU law.

Fifa essentially grew out of this thinking, which makes this shift all the more questionable.

For all Infantino’s talk of having to adapt to US culture, Fifa didn’t do that for any recent World Cup. Sources say that Qatar, despite all other justified criticisms, actually resisted Fifa’s attempts to apply similar pricing in 2022.

They obviously didn’t do it for South Africa, or else more locals might have been able to actually attend.

But it is also a matter of law.

Fifa is legally registered as a not-for-profit charity in Switzerland.

“None of its statutes say to maximise profit for the benefit of shareholders,” Hamil says. “They’re to promote football.

“The main problem is that it is not behaving like a not-for-profit.”

It has also fed into a host of other problems for supporters.

The ticket prices are all the more egregious because of Fifa’s apparent lack of concern at how costly a US World Cup is. Even service charges are frequently mandatory at 30 per cent, and that is one of the minor expenses. Hotels have of course been hiked up, although that amid the irony that the huge overall cost has dampened demand so prices have already dropped by 18 per cent. How couldn’t they when just getting there is worse, especially with the refusal to properly cluster games?

England, as one example, have their group games as far apart as Dallas and Boston.

Many internal flights are almost as expensive as transatlantic journeys. And for one of the rare journeys where a train is possible, like New York-Philadelphia day trips, the cost is over $300.

There’s then the headline issue of local transport. Getting to Foxboro’s Gillette Stadium from Boston will cost $80 on a train, or $95 on a bus, with a round-trip ticket from New York Pennsylvania Station to Metlife up from $13 to $105 - and the latter only after sponsorship money brought the price back down from $150.

It was the latter mark-up that Fifa’s chief operating officer for this World Cup, Heimo Schirgi, said would “have a chilling effect”.

That must be one of the most brazen ever comments in sports administration. You only have to look at any revenue stream Fifa has control over, for one.

More pertinently, such prices are a direct consequence of an astonishing deal they have struck with the host cities.

Fifa takes almost all the revenue, right up to the parking money. The cities meanwhile pick up almost all of the costs, from security to additional infrastructure.

This is the price for the privilege of hosting: a collective hole of at least $250m.

The Independent has been told Fifa did realise that US cities didn’t have access to the same funds as previous hosts, but didn’t actually adapt. They instead devised the sop of the “city supporter programme” - individual city sponsorship deals.

A problem, as reported by The Independent, is that none of those deals could cut across Fifa’s own partnerships. Huge cities were consequently left looking to local businesses.

Fifa’s other line is that the World Cup will bring tourism, but most of their decisions have put people off. Involved sources say all current indications are that travel from abroad is going to be “weak”.

The train hike-ups, meanwhile, are described by insiders as “100 per cent a consequence of this deal”.

Fifa have responded stridently to any suggestion they should pick up the cost, saying they are “not aware of any other major event previously held at NYNJ Stadium… where organisers were required to pay for fan transportation”.

But tournaments have routinely ensured ticket holders do not have to pay, mostly through deals with governments - including for Fifa’s own 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The agreements for this World Cup were changed so a previous requirement for free transport instead read “at cost”. The fans now pick up a greater cost.

Despite that, Fifa have shown no inclination to follow what Uefa did at Euro 2024 in Germany, and part-subsidise travel.

Veteran officials feel this also stems from another first for a World Cup. Fifa did away with Local Organising Committees, to take complete control.

“Nobody is there to tell them the local nuances,” one source says.

Much has similarly been made of how US Soccer have been excluded, given they would have offered views more attuned to long-term legacy.

As it is, Fifa are dropping in, occupying every space right up to the car parks and pushing everything out along with the prices, to then make off with the revenue.

While Fifa have evidently changed, so has Infantino. Old Uefa colleagues say he used to be “classic European model of sport guy”.

The Independent has written extensively about how the very position of Fifa president changes its incumbents but Infantino’s own interpretation has taken that further. His will for Fifa to be the game’s major player, rather than a regulator, has transformed outlooks.

It’s why his Club World Cup might be hugely influential. Since 2018, and initial negotiations to expand the competition with Softbank, Infantino has been in regular dialogue with the billionaire ownership class that run clubs.

They have a lot of their own ideas about ticket prices - and many actively want to “skybox” football.

This is who Infantino is listening to. It makes his own word at the recent Fifa Congress all the more conspicuous, as he enthused about how the US’s commercialisation of sport is “reaching different levels”.

“We can go to 500 billion global football GDP, half a trillion.”

Many sources add that the way he has used football to launch himself into a geopolitical class, flying on Qatari private jets, has made him “completely detached”.

Few CEOs of non-profits are on his salary, after all.

As is always the case with such tensions, it may involve the irony of harming the “product”.

Aside from the indications that fewer fans will travel, Concannon points to how the cheapest Category 4 tickets are not pitch-side - another first.

“It means the hardcore fans are up in higher tiers, so you’re not going to have the same spectacle.”

If they go. Argentina have been the great fan story of the last three World Cups, and there are already multiple stories of how they won’t travel in anything like the same numbers. The stadiums won’t have as many people who deeply care about the teams.

As one executive puts it, “the true World Cup atmosphere will die because people literally cannot afford it”.

Moore laments the likely contrast to the festival of Germany 2006. “It’s a completely different business model and a completely different set of objectives.”

And they may yet have a profound impact on football.

Fifa, notionally the ultimate safeguard, have instead led the way on commercial pursuits that many of the most corrosive influences have been striving to introduce for years. Infantino has opened the door.

Moore describes it as “the early stage of something quite profound”.

“It’s the World Cup shifting from mass-access global football toward a high-value limited-access mega event.”

Sporta’s Andrew Smith, who works on the financialisation of sport, believes Fifa have not properly considered long-term effects.

“We’ve seen this in other sports. If you price out those actually passionate about it, they lose interest in that pinnacle. There’s a fracturing. The people who create the value in the first place are turned off and the value is gradually lessened.

“The World Cup becomes two-tier. That’s very dangerous for football. It doesn’t have the guardrails for this.”

Fifa, of course, are supposed to be that guardrail.

Instead, everything seems to be going one way.

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Ex-Colorado Buffaloes football coach almost had Jordan Seaton commit to downtrodden SEC school over Miami, LSU, and Oregon originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

One of the biggest transfer portal upsets of the entire offseason would’ve been left tackle Jordan Seaton committing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs over the biggest brands and deepest-pocketed universities across the country. That almost happened because of Seaton’s relationship with former Colorado Buffaloes OL coach Phil Loadholt.

As CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer points out, Seaton’s first visit was to Starkville, Mississippi, over the Oregon Ducks, whom he never visited, the Miami Hurricanes, which have a recruiting pipeline from Seaton’s alma mater, IMG Academy, and the LSU Tigers, who eventually landed his commitment.

“While LSU and Miami were two program sources highlighted when Seaton entered the transfer portal, he actually took his first visit to Mississippi State,” Hummer wrote. “The Bulldogs' offensive line coach, Phil Loadholt, served as Seaton's O-line coach in Boulder during his true freshman season. The pair remain close, and that gave Mississippi State early momentum.

“Miami got the next visit with Seaton as the Hurricanes sold Seaton on Mario Cristobal's offensive line development and style of football. From there, Seaton headed to Baton Rouge. LSU desperately needed impact offensive linemen as Lane Kiffin had to overhaul almost that entire room, and Seaton was the last impact offensive tackle on the open market.

“Oregon was also involved in the process. Seaton was scheduled to visit Eugene at one point, but that never materialized. Instead, Oregon coach Dan Lanning flew to see Seaton in Atlanta.”

Phil Loadholt was a recruiting loss for Colorado. The OL got better in 2025 after he left, though.

Loadholt was undoubtedly a loss for the Buffs’ recruiting. Seaton checked out towards the end of last season after Colorado fell apart amid having no identity. Still, the stats show that the offensive line got better overall.

After poorly-performing protection in 2023 and 2024, the unit improved, helping the running game amass 150 yards per game. Loadholt left in December 2024, right before the season. His new employer, Mississippi State, gave up over 40 sacks and averaged under four yards per carry.

Is there a correlation here? More evidence is needed, but maybe.

Arsenal are firmly back in control of the Premier League title race and a win at struggling West Ham on Sunday could all but seal the Gunners' first English title in 22 years.

Manchester City stormed back into contention last month but a costly 3-3 draw at Everton earlier this week might ultimately prove fatal to their chances.

Tottenham host Leeds knowing a win, combined with dropped points for West Ham, would move them to within touching distance of safety after a tumultuous season.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of the action:

Arsenal belief

A major wobble from Arsenal allowed Manchester City back into the title race but consecutive league wins have lifted the mood at the north London club.

Tuesday's 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at a pulsating Emirates, which secured a place in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, added to the feelgood factor.

Arsenal are five points clear of City, who have a game in hand, with matches to come against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

The relegation-threatened Hammers have not beaten their London rivals at home in the league since 2019 but they are now fighting for their lives.

Arsenal great Thierry Henry, a key member of the club's last title-winning side in 2004, fears the game at the London Stadium could be a potential banana skin.

"I always thought that City might drop points against Everton and my worry was West Ham away," he told Sky Sports.

"So I'm going to stay in my lane and not celebrate too early because nothing is done, but I could see that happening."

Have Spurs turned a corner?

Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi has warned his team are not yet safe from relegation -- but seven points from three games suggest they may have turned a corner.

The Italian, who took charge at the end of March following Igor Tudor's woeful interim spell at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, played down the importance of last week's 2-1 victory at Aston Villa, saying nothing is decided yet.

"We can't forget what was the situation before Wolverhampton (a 1-0 win last month)," De Zerbi told TNT Sports. "Before Wolverhampton it was a very sad situation and these memories have to stay in our head every day."

After the Leeds game Spurs, currently 17th in the Premier League table, one point above West Ham, face Chelsea and Everton, who both still have European ambitions.

Victory for Leeds on Monday would guarantee their top-flight status, though they could already be safe if other results go their way.

Can Chelsea stop the rot?

Chelsea's Premier League season has imploded, with six straight defeats all but ending their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

The Blues, under interim boss Calum McFarlane, still have a chance to end the season on a high if they beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final but their league form is an embarrassment.

Ninth-placed Chelsea have not won in the Premier League since early March and have scored just one goal in their past six top-flight matches -- in Monday's 3-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest.

The west London side face a tough assignment this weekend as they take on Liverpool, with Arne Slot's men close to securing qualification for next season's Champions League.

Fixtures (all times GMT)

Saturday (1400 unless stated)

Liverpool v Chelsea (1130), Brighton v Wolves, Fulham v Bournemouth, Sunderland v Manchester United, Manchester City v Brentford (1630)

Sunday (1300 unless stated)

Burnley v Aston Villa, Crystal Palace v Everton, Nottingham Forest v Newcastle, West Ham v Arsenal (1530)

Monday

Tottenham v Leeds (1900)

jw/jdg/dmc

Real Madrid said they would punish midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni after a clash on Thursday at the club's training ground which left the former needing hospital treatment.

"Following the incidents that occurred this morning during the first team's training session, (the club) has decided to open disciplinary proceedings against our players Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni," said Los Blancos in a statement.

Uruguay international Valverde was accompanied to the hospital facility near the club's Valdebebas training complex by Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa, according to Spanish reports, which said the player needed stitches to treat a facial wound.

Madrid said Valverde had suffered a head injury but was in "good condition" and needed to rest for up to a fortnight.

The 27-year-old will miss Sunday's Clasico clash with rivals Barcelona in La Liga, when the Catalans can claim the Spanish title.

Valverde sought to downplay the severity of the altercation with Tchouameni.

"The strain of the competition and frustration caused the situation to escalate," he wrote on social media, expressing regret at the media coverage of the incident.

"I accidentally hit a table during the argument, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital," he said.

"At no point did my team-mate hit me, and I didn't hit him either."

According to reports the two players rowed on Wednesday in training and their argument continued on Thursday during and after the session.

Spanish newspaper Marca, who first reported the story, said Valverde's cut was caused unintentionally and not directly by a punch from France midfielder Tchouameni.

Real Madrid and the agents of the two players did not comment when contacted about the incident by AFP.

Spanish media reported Valverde refused to shake Tchouameni's hand and later fouled him in Thursday's training session, with the pair scrapping afterwards in the dressing room when the injury occurred.

Tensions are running high at Real Madrid with the club on the verge of a second consecutive season without a major trophy.

Los Blancos trail Barca by 11 points at the top of La Liga, with Hansi Flick's side able to clinch back-to-back league titles this weekend if they do not lose.

rbs/mw/pb

President Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday that he would not pay the $1,000-plus ticket price for the United States' first World Cup match, piling pressure on FIFA over its sky-high costs.

"I did not know that number," the billionaire Trump told the New York Post, adding "I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you."

US lawmakers and international fan groups have slammed FIFA over its pricing structure for the tournament that kicks off in June, with Football Supporters Europe branding it a "monumental betrayal."

Trump appeared concerned that lower-income Americans -- a key voting bloc for him -- would be priced out of attending the World Cup.

"If people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can't go, I would be disappointed, but, you know, at the same time, it’s an amazing success."

"I would like to be able to have the people that voted for me to be able to go," added Trump, who takes credit for securing the World Cup for the United States during his first term as president.

Trump is close to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who on Tuesday insisted the governing body was obliged to take advantage of US laws that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.

He said that FIFA received over 500 million ticket requests for 2026, compared with fewer than 50 million combined for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The FIFA leader added that 25 percent of tickets for the group phase were priced at under $300.

Fan groups have contrasted the tickets for this summer with the Qatar World Cup in 2022. 

The most expensive ticket for the final in 2022 was around $1,600 at face value, while in 2026 it is about $11,000. 

bjt/bgs

Sir Dave Brailsford is no longer a director at Manchester United, a filing by the Premier League club has confirmed.

The 62-year-old played a key role before and after Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his minority takeover of the club in February 2024, a period which saw him step down as team principal of the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team.

It emerged last June, however, that Brailsford’s role at the club would be scaled back as part of a reshuffle, leading to his return as director of sport for the wider Ineos group.

The break from United was formalised on April 30, a document on Companies House published on Thursday confirmed, with Brailsford’s role as director of the club terminated.

He was appointed as a director on February 19, 2024 and United finished 15th, losing the Europa League final, in his only full season with the club.

United currently sit third in the Premier League standings having secured Champions League qualification with three matches to spare.

Liverpool have announced they will scrap a controversial plans to increase ticket prices over the next three seasons following protests from fans at Anfield.

In March, Liverpool said ticket prices would increase by three per cent next season, followed by further increases in line with the annual inflation rate over the next two campaigns.

The nature of the three-year policy was criticised by the Liverpool Supporters Board, and fans staged protests during the Premier League home games against Fulham and Crystal Palace.

The club have now confirmed an “inflationary increase of three per cent to general admission tickets” for next season, followed by a price freeze for the following campaign.

In a statement, Liverpool said: “The club and Supporters Board will use the certainty of these seasons to seek longer-term alternative solutions across the game and explore commercial ideas with the Supporters Board in an attempt to avoid future ticket price increases and address issues around affordability and accessibility for future generations.

“LFC believes that, without wider progress on alternative solutions, future inflationary increases may still be required, including season 2028-29, and will continue to engage with its supporters.

“Both the club and the Supporters Board are committed to exploring a longer-term solution that works in the interests of all.

“The club also remains committed to managing its cost challenges responsibly, giving advance notice to supporters and certainty to its own financial planning to remain competitive at the highest levels of football.”

The Supporters Board welcomed the U-turn on the three-year policy. “Following supporter protests at a locked-in multi-year deal and conversations over the past days, the club has pledged a new proposal that will allow us to examine thoroughly long-term solutions surrounding fan affordability and access.

“We have asked Liverpool that it now works with us to explore alternative ways to generate new revenue rather than an ticket price rises during this time, to which it has publicly committed to further dialogue and to helping us seek new approaches.

“We understand that disappointment at next season's increase in ticket prices will remain for some, but we want to assure fans we will continue talks with the club and do our best to find other ways in the future. We might not have halted immediate increases, but we have stopped three consecutive increases.

“We would like to thank those at Liverpool FC who have listened to us and engaged with us - not all club hierarchies would have done the same. And we look forward to working with them to find future paths that benefit all.”

Arsenal, if you listen to some at the club, may now have their chance at “revenge”. They felt they were actually better than Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s semi-final, which may still baffle many people who’ve watched the Qatari project since.

The rest of Europe might just want a better crescendo than the semi-final ultimately offered, and perhaps that the Champions League final has been due for some time. There hasn’t been a great final in years, arguably since 2005, despite claims from 2008, 2012 and 2017.

That has meant the semi-finals have often represented the absolute peak of club football, even if this year’s didn’t reach the heights that had been anticipated.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the expectation after the Bayern Munich-PSG first leg was that we would all be sitting here on Thursday morning trying to make sense of another sensation.

That didn’t really happen. PSG were just too good. This time, Bayern just couldn’t get close enough when it mattered.

That poses another question, relevant to Arsenal’s lingering frustration from last season, relevant to where European football goes next.

If PSG put in a very modern display of excellence in the first leg, the second leg was a more classically continental display.

They shut Bayern out, where they had previously opened them. There were no concerns about defending here.

It further fosters the sense of a truly complete team, arguably the best that Europe has seen since Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona when performing at their top level.

There are of course caveats. PSG benefit from all of the advantages of being a Qatari sportswashing project, at the same time that power has trampled Ligue 1.

The new darlings of the competition do bring darker discussions.

PSG would not just become the first side since Real Madrid in 2018 to retain the trophy, and just the second in the Champions League era.

They would ensure a state-owned club has won the competition for the third time in four years, a development that would be all the more conspicuous when the conflict in Iran has raised questions about future strategies from such Gulf autocracies. There’s an extra layer to this given that Viktor Orban - characterised as “a competitive authoritarian” - is no longer the premier of Hungary, having been voted out weeks before this prestige fixture in Budapest he had long desired.

Such concerns, as has been said before, reflect a lot about football in 2026.

Arsenal, themselves owned by a classic US billionaire capitalist, find both of these state-owned clubs - PSG and Manchester City - standing in their way in the season’s two major trophies.

If Mikel Arteta’s side were to win the league, it would make this final the first meeting between domestic champions since 2020.

That prospect does speak to something else about this final. It might end up a rare final that is definitively between the best teams in Europe. That arguably hasn’t been seen since 2020 either, and before that you probably have to go back to 2014 or 2009.

There’s even the symmetry of how Arsenal were undeniably the best team of the first half of the season, given how they finished top of the group stage, and PSG again the best team of the second half and the knock-outs.

The most pertinent question, however, is whether Arsenal can really be as good as PSG for the final - or whether they even need to be.

The football both sides play also plays into many other contrasts.

While PSG are self-assuredly looking to perpetuate their dominance and win a second Champions League, Arsenal are striving to finally claim their first, and properly begin their own era.

Duly, Luis Enrique’s side constantly look like they are expanding the pitch, while Arsenal play within the margins.

That contrast from the two semi-finals is set to become even more acute.

Stellar attack against collective structure; imagination against order.

The reality of it is unlikely to be quite so simple, as Enrique would himself warn.

After the entire European season seemed to be going the same way as a coruscating Kvicha Kvaratshkelia run - surely a contender for Ballon d’Or - how susceptible are PSG to one Gabriel Magalhaes set-piece header settling it?

Or, after a season when Arteta’s side constantly played on the line, will PSG blow them off it.

Or is this already a new Arsenal, elevated to the Champions League final and consequently having had a weight lifted?

The temptation will be to cast this as some kind of battle for the soul of football given the contrasting styles but the wider context makes it a lot more complicated than that.

In the most immediate and simple sense, it is an enticing match between arguably Europe’s two best sides.

The hope is it leads to the final the competition has long been due.

Manchester City manager Andree Jeglertz said he had a feeling at the start of the season that they could win the Women’s Super League title and that the club's hunger for silverware was the reason he joined.

City were crowned Women’s Super League champions on Wednesday for the first time since 2016 after Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at Brighton. City will now turn their attention ‌to their ​FA Cup semi-final against ‌holders Chelsea on ​Sunday.

Jeglertz, who joined City ahead of the season, is only the second manager in WSL history to win the title in his debut campaign, following Chelsea’s Sonia Bompastor in 2025. "I knew the ambition from ‌the club, what they put ‌into the women's programme, the quality of players and also the hunger to win," the Swede ⁠told the BBC.

"Definitely, I had a feeling already from the beginning that it was possible. I'm here because that was one of the many things they wanted us to aim for. "I definitely believed in it, ‌but it went fast. We got ​pretty good, quite early. The more ‌you believe in ⁠it, then everything is possible with ⁠quality of this group."

A recent 3-2 reverse to Brighton could not derail them as City surged to a title victory that finally brought an end to Chelsea's dominant run of six titles in a row.

"This wouldn’t ​have been possible without the incredible effort, belief, passion and dedication of ‌my colleagues, the players and the fans. ⁠They’ve all been a credit to the club as well as themselves ⁠and deserve to celebrate this amazing moment," Jeglertz said.

“But this isn’t the end of the road – we still ‌have plenty to fight for ​this season and in the coming years. ‌I’m excited by what the future holds ​for this amazing group of players and this fantastic club.”

Third-placed Arsenal were eager to bounce back from Saturday’s Champions League exit to Lyon and keep the title race alive in the first of three matches in hand on City.

Arsenal and boss Renee Slegers were well aware only victory at Brighton would be enough and despite Frida Maanum’s 62nd-minute strike being able to cancel out Fuka Tsunoda’s first-half opener for Brighton, the visitors could not find a winner and it ensured City were able to celebrate silverware in their first season under boss Andree Jeglertz.

Arsenal started slowly under the watchful eye of Dame Kelly Holmes, who was part of a bumper Broadfield Stadium crowd.

After Caitlin Foord and Alesso Russo squandered first-half chances, Brighton stunned the visitors in the 43rd-minute when (Fuka) Tsunoda beat Victoria Pelova to the ball and drilled beyond Daphne van Domselaar via a deflection.

Pelova was withdrawn at half-time and Arsenal returned with better intent with Russo only able to scuff wide before Foord forced Chiamaka Nnadozie to tip over. Maanum had penalty appeals waved away soon after before the leveller arrived with 62 minutes played.

Russo brilliantly spun away and played into Maanum, who composed herself and slotted into the bottom corner, but Slegers still produced a triple substitution Katie McCabe, Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius sent on.

A final roll of the dice was the introduction of Chloe Kelly with seven minutes left, but the former Manchester City winger was unable to produce any late magic to deny her old side.

It meant Arsenal had to settle for a 1-1 draw which signalled the end of their title challenge and Chelsea’s run of six consecutive league championships on a special night for champions City.

For a season of so many zeniths and dreams, it has been quite the week of doom and gloom for Aston Villa and their manager Unai Emery. Three defeats on the spin, including a wretched home defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, is glaring in its pecularity when you consider their position in the table (fifth, on course for Champions League qualification) and their impressive run in Europe.

Yet the contrast to tonight’s visitors, Nottingham Forest, is stark. Vitor Pereira – Forest’s fourth manager this season – is riding high on a five-game winning streak, the last of which came on Monday as a second-string side dismantled Chelsea in west London, to put them a step closer to Premier League safety. Forest are unbeaten in 10, dating back to mid-March. The Portuguese coach has made quite the impact.

And yet, for both sides, a place in the Europa League final could come down to a story of two 10s. And two Morgans at that.

“It’s a big question… I really don’t know,” came Pereira’s answer on Wednesday, when asked about the health of his star playmaker, Morgan Gibbs-White. Arguably English football’s most in-form player, the 26-year-old suffered a ghastly cut to his forehead at Stamford Bridge. With no concussion protocols at play, simply a matter of whether the wound will heal in time, Gibbs-White could wear a face mask on Thursday night to take part in Forest’s biggest continental match in 46 years.

“[He is in] pain for sure,” Pereira added. “We will see until tomorrow if he is able [to play] or not. It’s a decision between the player, the medical department and myself, but we haven’t had the last meeting to decide.”

Gibbs-White’s influence on Forest’s late-season renaissance cannot be understated. Five goals and two assists in the last five matches depict a player at the peak of his powers, so much so that an inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad almost looks like a formality with each game that passes. Thursday’s seismic occasion will be all the poorer if he is unable to take to the field.

Clamours for him to start this summer, such is his fantastic run of form, ride in the face of Tuchel’s preference in the highly competitive No 10 role so far. Not Jude Bellingham. Not Cole Palmer. Not Phil Foden. Rather, Morgan Rogers.

While Gibbs-White’s performances have spiked at just the right time, Rogers’s extraordinary early-season output has, perhaps understandably, plateaued: just two goals and two assists in his last 15 in all competitions.

To all intents and purposes, the midfielder looks knackered. And last week, as a bizarre Lucas Digne handball in the box gifted Forest a one-goal advantage heading into tonight’s tie, one of the more masterful moments came when Elliot Anderson left Rogers trailing in his wake with a gorgeous nutmeg. As Ally McCoist said on commentary for TNT Sports: “I’ve got a feeling that might get a mention at the next England camp!”

Yet it is foolish to dismiss the recent noise around Villa as social media tittle-tattle. Much was made of Emery’s seven changes on Sunday and, it should be noted, his unusual timidity on the touchline. But despite his clear prioritisation and target, namely to reach the Istanbul showpiece on 20 May, the Spaniard looked to play down his team’s chances of a first major trophy in 30 years – and what would be his fifth Europa League title in the process.

“It’s not a defeat if we do not achieve a trophy,” he said on Wednesday. This from a man who has won this trophy four times, three with Sevilla and one with Villarreal. “When I spoke before the first leg, we had a 25 per cent possibility to win a trophy. Now it’s maybe less because we started losing.

“We have 50 per cent or maybe less to play the final. This is football, and you must respect every competition, and in Europe you must respect each team.”

On what should be a raucous occasion at Villa Park, this fourth meeting in four months between these two represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for both sets of supporters. Villa have not been in a continental final since their 1982 European Cup victory, while for Forest, the same can be said for 1980 and Brian Clough’s glorious second European Cup.

What’s more, both Villa and Forest will massively fancy their chances against either Braga (who hold a 2-1 lead) or Freiburg in the final. All in all, throwing in the inevitable passion and intensity of an all-English semi-final second leg, with everything at stake, it should make for an unforgettable night under the lights. And if the two star Englishmen who share a name can conjure some spells of their own, a magical May is within touching distance for the victorious club.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest face off in the second leg of their all-English Europa League semi-final, with tonight’s visitors carrying a slim lead into the tie.

A moment of madness from Lucas Digne in the opening leg, flinging his arm up as he duelled with Omari Hutchinson for a ball at the byline, proved crucial as Forest were awarded a penalty for handball.

There was a lengthy VAR check but Chris Wood kept his cool to smash home a glorious spot-kick, and Forest maintained their 1-0 advantage despite a late Villa barrage.

The two teams are in contrasting form - a second-string Forest side, with the A-listers rested for this leg, dispatched Chelsea 3-1 last time out while a much-changed Villa toiled to defeat against relegation-threatened Tottenham - and Unai Emery’s men must rediscover the form that previously made them Europa League favourites if they are to reach the final.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When is Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest?

Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on Thursday 7 May in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final, with kick-off at 8pm.

How can I watch it?

Viewers in the UK can watch the game live on TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max.

Team news

Emery is bound to make significant changes after several of his star players were rested against Spurs. Captain John McGinn missed that defeat with a minor muscle issue but should be fit to return, although Amadou Onana is more of a doubt with a calf issue. Ross Barkley is ineligible while the injured Boubacar Kamara will definitely miss out.

Taiwo Awoniyi - who scored twice against Chelsea - is not in the visitors’ European squad, while Ola Aina, Ibrahim Sangare and Murillo, who all missed the win at Stamford Bridge, are doubts.

The main worry for Forest boss Vitor Pereira is the fitness of Morgan Gibbs-White, who clashed heads with Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez and was whisked off the pitch for several stitches on a deep-looking gash. Pereira said on Wednesday that they would have a “last meeting” involving the medical team to decide whether he would play.

Predicted line-ups

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Bogarde, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins

Nottingham Forest XI: Ortega, Abbott, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Hutchinson, Dominguez, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Jesus, Wood

The Oklahoma Sooners nailed their 2026 recruiting class, and one true freshman offensive lineman is standing out well above the rest.

The Oklahoma Sooners pretty much know what they're getting on their starting offensive line for 2026. The starting unit is likely going to be Michael Fasusi (LT), Eddy Pierre-Louis (LG), Jake Maikkula (C), Ryan Fodje (RG), and E'Marion Harris (transfer portal addition RT).

The Sooners are also set to have some very good depth at center, with Caleb Nitta, a transfer portal addition, and the other addition, Peyton Joseph. They are also bringing in a few offensive linemen in the 2026 high school recruiting class, in Noah Best and Deacon Schmitt. Those two have extremely high potential and could find themselves in games where the Sooners are blowing out non-conference teams.

In fact, Best is a guy that the Sooners seem to already love a ton. According to George Stoia of Sooner Scoop, Brent Venables at the Sooner Caravan in OKC said Best was the true freshman who has stood out the most so far. Stoia said that Best was the first name mentioned, but then went on to mention Jahsiear Rogers, DeZephen Walker, Jonathan Hatton, Tank Carrington, and Derrick Johnson.

But, it feels like, because of the way the roster is constructed, that we could really, really see a guy like Best be forced into some good playing time that would help his development.

Noah Best can be a very good offensive lineman for the Sooners

Coming in, Best was only a three-star recruit. However, he had pretty good size before getting on campus at 6'4, 300 pounds. Best was the No. 533 national recruit,
No. 48 IOL, and the No. 72 recruit in Texas.

However, like we have seen so many times with Venables and his teams, the three-star ratings mean nothing. Courtland Guillory started as a three-star true freshman last season. Edge rusher Taylor Wein was a three-star recruit. There are so many other examples of OU producing elite players from low-level recruits and ratings. Who knows, Best could be next.

The best game from Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond’s college career thus far came in a top 20 matchup at Utah last September.

The then-redshirt freshman entered the game after the Red Raiders’ starting QB, Behren Morton, was sidelined by a hard hit from Utah linebacker Johnathan Hall on the team’s first drive of the second half.

It took a few possessions for Hammond to get rolling, but once he did, he led No. 17 Texas Tech to the 34-10 win over the No. 16 Utes.

Hammond earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors after completing 13 of 16 passes for 169 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, while also running the ball eight times for 61 yards.

“I thought he did a great job, and we’ve got some big playmakers. They were going to give us some 1-on-1 shots, and we’re able to take them and win enough to really stretch the lead and win the game,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said of Hammond after the victory.

When he gets healthy, Hammond may be called on again to help the Red Raiders in 2026, like he did on that autumn day last fall.

Why there’s uncertainty at QB for Texas Tech

The Red Raiders brought in Cincinnati transfer Brendan Sorsby this offseason to take over for the graduating Morton.

It was a significant addition — Sorsby was rated the No. 2 overall transfer in this offseason’s transfer portal by 247 Sports after throwing for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdown with five interceptions for the Bearcats last season.

Sorsby’s future and potentially his NCAA status came into question a week and a half ago, though, when the school announced that Sorsby, a redshirt senior, was taking an “immediate indefinite leave of absence” from the Red Raiders program and entering a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction.

“We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help,” McGuire said in a statement. “Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health.”

The NCAA is investigating Sorsby for reportedly making “thousands of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app,” according to ESPN, and there are no clear answers at this point whether Sorsby will be able to play in the 2026 season, or if the NCAA will deem him ineligible.

It’s the most high-profile NCAA gambling scandal since the widespread legalization of sports betting, which came with the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that a federal ban on sports gambling was unconstitutional.

The NCAA has a strict no-gambling rule for student-athletes, and it can result in “permanent loss of remaining academic eligibility,” per NCAA guidelines.

Sorsby was expected to be a Heisman Trophy contender while leading Texas Tech, which won the Big 12 last season and played in the College Football Playoff.

Instead, Sorsby is waiting for answers about his future. He has retained noted sports labor lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, according to The Athletic, in preparation for a potential eligibility battle with the NCAA if he loses his eligibility amid the gambling allegations.

Sorsby has one season of eligibility remaining.

Who does Texas Tech have at QB to potentially replace Brendan Sorsby?

The question of who could step up if Sorsby is deemed ineligible isn’t exactly clear for Texas Tech at the moment.

While Hammond was the team’s backup last season and still has three years of eligibility remaining, he suffered a torn ACL in a game in late October 2025 and there’s uncertainty when he’ll be ready to return.

According to several reports, Hammond has been throwing since March, though not with full movement, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

On Sunday, Hammond’s QB trainer, Jeff Christensen, gave On3 an update on his recovery, stressing that it’s important to be careful in the recovery process — and look at it as a work in progress — until the knee is 100% healthy.

He also gave a positive prognosis at this point.

“Things are really, really good,” Christensen told On3. “Threw it really well today. The knee is getting better at a rapid pace; it’s going really well.”

If the NCAA rules against Sorsby, until Hammond is available the most likely candidates to play quarterback for Texas Tech to start the year are redshirt junior Kirk Francis or redshirt freshman Lloyd Jones III.

Texas Tech opens its 2026 season Sept. 5 against Abilene Christian, then will play its first Big 12 game at home against Houston in Week 3 on Sept. 18.

Francis is a transfer from Tulsa who threw for 3,045 yards, 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions over three seasons with the Golden Hurricane. Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal said that based on limited observations of spring camp, Francis was “pretty clearly the second choice to Sorsby.”

Jones was rated the No. 60 recruit from Texas in the 2025 recruiting class by 247 Sports, though he redshirted last year because of his own injury issues. He was recovering from a knee injury suffered in high school during the first half of the 2025 season.

Jones played in one game, completing 4 of 5 passes for 80 yards while adding three carries for 15 yards in a blowout win over West Virginia.

Before his season-ending injury, Hammond played in eight games during the 2025 season and showcased some of the skills that potentially could make him a multi-year starter for Texas Tech.

He completed 63.3% of his passes for 680 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions, headlined by the win over Utah, and rushed for 299 yards and five touchdowns.

Hammond ended up starting two games in relief of Morton, going 1-1.

Whether it’s Sorsby, Hammond or one of the other two quarterbacks leading the Red Raiders this season, they are expected to again be Big 12 favorites, thanks to another stellar transfer class that is rated No. 10 this offseason by 247 Sports.

BYU and Utah are also among the programs projected as Big 12 contenders this year, though neither plays Texas Tech in the regular season.

The 6-foot-2 Hammond, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said he had 30-35 family members on hand when the Red Raiders faced Utah in Salt Lake City last year.

“All my aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, they all live here in the state of Utah,” Hammond said following the win last September. “My oldest brother’s wife, they’re having a baby in December, so they’re having a baby shower. It was just a perfect opportunity ... everyone came out. I’m excited to go spend that time with them.”

While there are plenty of uncertainties surrounding the QB position for Texas Tech right now, the mantle could land on Hammond to lead the Red Raiders and try to keep teams like BYU and Utah from knocking them off as defending Big 12 champions.

“In the event of a Sorsby suspension, this is Will Hammond’s team as soon as Hammond is medically cleared to play in games coming back from his season-ending knee-ligament tear in October,” Williams wrote this week. “ We’re sticking with what McGuire has consistently said, most recently: that, in the best-case scenario, Hammond will be back in week three.”

Legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick had a tough go of things at the collegiate level last season, his first on the sidelines as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels football team. North Carolina went 4-8, with several of the losses coming in blowout fashion.

There were concerns heading into the season that Belchick’s “no nonsense” attitude and approach toward coaching would make relating with college students difficult. Now, one of his former players, quarterback Gio Lopez, who transferred to Wake Forest, is corroborating those concerns.

“Back at the other school, it felt like there’s no air,” Lopez said, via Sports Illustrated’s Logan Lazarczyk. “Here, it’s fun again. They’re moving us in the right direction, energized, and guys are enjoying football. It’s like fresh air. I’d never had to respond to tough situations like that on that loud of a scale.”

“It was more like work,” Lopez explained. “After that first game, it felt like getting through the day. You don’t want to live like that, where you’re up at night thinking about the next day.”

Had to be Bill’s way

Lopez’s dad also dished on his son’s experience in Chapel Hill.

“You were ridiculed if you didn’t do it exactly the way he was told,” Lopez’s dad, Barney, said. “You could be at the dang line, see the play is about to be blown up, but if you try to call it off or audible, you were ridiculed.”

For Gio, transferring was about a fresh start, not just money.

“It’s about more than money,” Lopez said. “You’ve got to see the plan. You have to follow how you really feel. Do you feel like you really should be there or are you going for one reason? If you feel like it’s all about external gains, maybe you shouldn’t be there.”

It’ll be interesting to see how Belichick’s second season goes with the Tar Heels after overhauling his staff in the offseason.

The post Former UNC quarterback shares experience under Belichick: ‘It felt like there’s no air’ appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.

Tim Brando has been saying college football’s regular season is overrated since before it was useful for Fox Sports to say so.

“I’ve been saying this since I worked at ESPN and CBS Sports,” Brando posted on X Tuesday. “This greatest regular season crap has been a myth for years!”

Damned straight they are on the right track and all the bitching,moaning and gnashing of teeth won’t stop it from becoming reality. What do we know tho @ClayTravis we’re both “house boys” from @FOXSports in the minds of the propagandists on this platform. I’ve been saying this… https://t.co/n4a0KrttVh

— Tim Brando (@TimBrando) May 6, 2026

The post came in response to news that the American Football Coaches Association voted last week to support a 24-team playoff format that would eliminate conference championship games. Brando also called himself and Clay Travis “house boys” for Fox Sports in the minds of critics — an acknowledgment, however sardonic, that the network’s fingerprints are all over this push.

The fingerprints are not hard to find.

Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks publicly endorsed the 24-team format in April during a Sports Business Journal conference. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has been floating the idea of expanding to 24 or 28 teams since last summer. Fox’s lead analyst, Joel Klatt, has spent the better part of this playoff cycle criticizing ESPN’s exclusive CFP deal, calling it bad for the sport, and has said he would “do anything” to call a playoff game.

The financial stakes explain a lot. ESPN’s current deal gives it exclusive broadcast rights to every CFP game, in any format, for up to 14 teams. Every team added beyond that threshold means new inventory that has to go to market, and Fox would seemingly be among the first in line to bid on it. A 24-team bracket adds roughly 12 additional games to a network that currently has no college football footprint after conference championship weekend.

On the other side, ESPN executives have privately dismissed the 24-team format, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, aligning with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who has been firm in his preference for 16 teams and has no interest in eliminating conference championship games, which generate around $80 million annually for the SEC alone. The ACC and Big 12 have recently come around to supporting 24 teams, leaving the SEC as the lone holdout among the power four conferences.

The “greatest regular season” argument — the one Brando is swinging at — is the SEC and ESPN’s primary line of defense. It is the idea that college football’s regular season derives its value from scarcity, that every game matters because only a handful of teams make the playoff, and that expanding the field dilutes that. It is an argument ESPN’s Kevin Clark made forcefully on The Paul Finebaum Show this week, calling a 24-team playoff a “disgrace” and accusing CFP leadership of not actually liking the sport they are running.

“College football has the best regular season in sports,” Clark said. “And every decision, every idea I’ve seen about playoff expansion seems like it’s come from people who don’t like college football.”

“I think that college football should be run by people who like college football. And every decision, every idea I’ve seen about playoff expansion seems like it’s come from people who don’t like college football, don’t know why we like it… A 24-team playoff would be a… pic.twitter.com/maMkRmFl6I

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 4, 2026

Brando’s counter is that the regular-season mythology has always been overstated, that the old system produced its own meaningless games, its own foregone conclusions, and a postseason so small and so political that it drove more resentment than reverence. He is not alone in that view, given that Klatt himself made a version of it when defending the 12-team expansion last season, pointing out that the old four-team model had “reduced the definition of success to only four teams” and was “awful for the sport.”

The argument, in other words, is not just Brando’s. It’s the coordinated position of many prominent voices at Fox Sports — from Shanks in the executive suite to Klatt in the booth — and Brando is simply one of the few willing to say out loud what the network’s financial interests make obvious.

Whether any of it moves the needle depends almost entirely on whether the SEC holds. If enough SEC coaches begin pressuring Sankey — and the AFCA’s board includes SEC members like Oklahoma’s Brent Venables and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea — that calculus may very well shift. For now, the CFP is expected to remain at 12 teams for the 2026-27 season. The fight over what comes next is very much alive, and Fox is making sure everyone knows where it stands.

The post Tim Brando lobbies for CFP expansion: ‘This greatest regular season crap has been a myth’ appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Replacing a legend is never easy. And for the Indiana Hoosiers football, replacing Fernando Mendoza might be close to impossible. Mendoza didn’t just have a great year; he delivered the greatest college football season in program history. He threw for 3,535 yards, accounted for 48 total touchdowns, won the Heisman Trophy, led Indiana to a 16–0 record, and captured a National Championship. That’s not just success. That’s legacy. And now, someone else has to step into that role.

MORE: 2026 College Football preseason All-American lists

Curt Cignetti Finds His Next QB

Head coach Curt Cignetti didn’t wait around. He went straight to the transfer portal and landed his new QB1: Josh Hoover from TCU. On paper, Hoover brings serious credentials:

• 9,629 career passing yards
• 79 total touchdowns
• One of the most productive returning quarterbacks in college football entering 2026

This isn’t a developmental project. This is a proven player stepping into a massive opportunity.

Early Comparisons to Mendoza

The comparisons have already started. And they’re coming from inside the program. Cignetti noted after the spring game that Hoover is right where Mendoza was at this same point last year—a statement that should immediately grab attention. To be clear, it’s not a direct comparison in terms of production or legacy. But it is a signal.

Hoover is already being mentioned as a potential Heisman contender, and it’s not hard to see why. He brings experience, production, physical tools, and confidence. And now, he’s stepping into a system that just produced a Heisman winner. That combination is going to generate buzz.

The Reality of the Situation

But let’s be honest. Matching what Mendoza did? That’s a different level. Going undefeated. Winning a national title. Putting up elite numbers across the board. That’s not something you just replicate.

Josh Hoover doesn’t need to be Fernando Mendoza. He just needs to be himself. But if he’s truly on the same trajectory Mendoza was at this point? Indiana might not be going anywhere anytime soon. And that should have the rest of college football paying attention.

— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead —

The growth of girls flag football under the NFL initiative, has seen now up to 21 states officially sanctioning the sport as a state championship one. Now another state might be seeing themselves with girls flag football as an official sport in the near future as they begin making strong moves.

The Green Bay Packers announced that they are distributing $100,000 to 20 Wisconsin high schools to assist with installing girls flag football intramurals and club teams throughout the state.

“Seeing the growth of girls flag football in Wisconsin over the last several years has been so rewarding,” Green Bay Packers football outreach manager Ryan Fencl said in a press release. “We’re proud to highlight girls flag as a sport in a variety of ways through our outreach efforts, creating opportunities for girls to explore their athletic abilities through flag football. We look forward to continuing to build momentum for girls flag in Wisconsin and contribute to the ultimate goal of establishing girls flag as a sanctioned high school sport in our state.”

The following Wisconsin high schools are receiving $5,000 grant from the Packers to help jumpstart their girls flag football programs:

• Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn
• Beloit Memorial in Beloit
• Burlington High School in Burlington
• Cedarburg High School in Cedarburg
• Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay
• Freedom High School in Freedom
• Green Bay East in Green Bay
• Kimberly High School in Kimberly
• Little Chute High School in Little Chute
• Madison East in Madison
• Madison La Follette in Madison
• Madison West in Madison
• Milwaukee School of Arts in Milwaukee
• Neenah High School in Neenah
• Racine Case in Racine
• Racine Park in Racine
• Riverside University High School in Milwaukee
• Southern Door High School in Brussels
• Vel Phillips Memorial in Madison
• Verona Area High School in Verona

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) earlier this week voted to approve girls flag football as a state sanctioned sport on the high school level, joining 20 other states from around the country. 

With the addition of New Jersey, below is the full updated list of the now 21 states around the United States that officially sanction girls flag football as a high school state championship sport:

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Kansas
Maryland
Mississippi
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Washington

By the time the Arsenal players eventually got back to their dressing room, unable to stop embracing each other and thumping the air in delight, Mikel Arteta barely said a thing. He knew he didn’t need to, but he also knew he probably wouldn’t have been able to get a word in if he tried. There was too much joy, too many people jumping around. It was all about the “feeling”, as Arteta put it.

The same was true of the 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid itself. Arsenal were obviously tactically drilled and primed but they were also well aware that the key to this match was a willingness to fight. The feeling.

Diego Simeone’s side may not have the most potent attack – some among Arteta’s staff were actually surprised that Julian Alvarez even played, given the first-leg injury and how he limped – but they can drag anyone into a battle and make you go deep.

“The way they compete,” Arteta purred afterwards. “The answer they immediately have to everything that you try to do to them. It’s incredible.”

The Basque’s enthusiasm for that may further inform the ongoing discussion about styles, Bayern Munich-Paris Saint-Germain and what the contrast between the eventual finalists will say about the wider game. By then, though, Arsenal might look very different, like something comparable to the more complete side that beat Bayern Munich 3-1 back in November.

They already feel different. They feel like Champions League finalists.

That is no small thing given it’s the stage every player wants to be on, to even have the chance of glory. By the time they get there, they may even be English champions, for the first time in 22 years.

And this win may help. It is the other effect of an achievement like this, immense as it is on its own terms. A season filled with “angst” – to repeat a word so commonly used about this campaign – now has a sense of assurance.

There’s an end destination. Arsenal know they’re going somewhere, in this case to Budapest. The meaning of that could be seen in Riccardo Calafiori jumping into the air at the final whistle and Gabriel sinking to his knees.

The mood from two weeks ago, and especially just before the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, is completely transformed. A wave of positivity is now rushing through the club. To think the supporters were suffering just two and a half weeks ago, when they lost in this same stadium against Bournemouth.

“You look to the supporters now and they are just immensely proud and happy,” Arteta said. “That’s when our job makes sense because many other times it’s difficult to find the right reason why we do what we do, but when these things happen, then everything that we do obviously is worth it.”

They still have to go and actually win something, but it currently doesn’t feel like there’s the same sense of toil about that. “Everybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything,” Arteta said. That’s not just psychological.

One of the most striking things about the victory over Atletico, and arguably one of the main reasons for it, was Arsenal’s strength in depth. After months of injury problems, they now have almost everyone back fully fit. One insider pointed to how crucial Kai Havertz is to Arteta’s pressing, to the point he’s been viewed as almost indispensable over the past few weeks. And yet here he couldn’t even get on, because Arsenal had too many options.

That could end up being the difference in everything. Diego Simeone was conscious of it, not least in trying to plan for the various stages of the game. The Argentine typically tried to ratchet up all tension beforehand to turn the game into a fight, but Arsenal were appreciative of how magnanimous he was once hostilities ceased. It’s all part of the game.

Even Simeone did reference that his team “did compete at an incredible level against a team with much stronger financial power than us”. The difference was witnessed in the benches. While Atletico struggled to create once Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann went off, Arsenal just had more options. It’s the difference between the super clubs and the rest, the key difference in the modern game.

Arsenal of course know it from the other side, having had to go toe to toe against Manchester City. They have kept persevering, though, as personified by two key players on the night.

Arteta made sure to praise Viktor Gyokeres. He rose to the moment, after a season where he’s often been criticised. The manager then talked at length about Myles Lewis-Skelly, who may well end up being seen as a real difference at an absolutely crucial period.

His sudden return to midfield has restored an energy to Arsenal when they needed it most; when he needed it most. The teenager was used so infrequently this season that talk rose over whether this boyhood Arsenal fan may have to leave the club. He can now suddenly be hopeful of a World Cup place.

Arteta again put the shift down to “a feeling”. “And I’ve been tough on him. I talked and he has been very persistent and consistent in his behaviours and in the manner that he’s been knocking on the door constantly to have the right to play. And I think he deserves it and that’s why he plays.”

Now, Arsenal actually have to go and play West Ham United on Sunday. They’ve had a great week so far. Fulham were dispatched with ease, in an expansive manner that sparked a resurgence. Manchester City unexpectedly dropped two points at Everton, to cede the initiative in the title race at this crucial stage of the season. Arsenal then got back to the European stage they’ve long dreamt of.

It can still go wrong. They still have to actually go and win something. The sense is rising that the entire title may well come down to Sunday, given the remaining fixtures.

Duly, once he’d requested that the huge speakers in the dressing room put on “that TikTok song”, as has become disparaged, Arteta did have one final word. “Let’s go and win on Sunday.”

Football Australia called Wednesday for a ban on public watch parties for the 2026 World Cup in Melbourne's Federation Square to be reversed.

The governing body said it was "extremely disappointed" with the decision by Melbourne Arts Precinct, which cited previous "dangerous" fan behaviour in the square.

"The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world and unites Australia's multicultural communities, while reinforcing our national identity," said Football Australia chief executive Martin Kugeler.

"Live sites create iconic moments for Australian sports fans," he added.

"Melbourne is one of Australia's sporting and multicultural capitals, and this decision goes against this tradition."

Katrina Sedgwick, chief executive of the Melbourne Arts Precinct, which manages the square, said the behaviour of some fans led to its decision not to host World Cup watch parties.

"This issue is really with a very small group of fans who, unfortunately, behave in a way that is just antisocial and frankly, dangerous," she told public broadcaster ABC.

"The challenge is when you have a crowded square with lots and lots of people and people are smuggling in flares," she said.

Some people were injured by flares in previous World Cup screenings, Sedgwick said.

"I think on the final night of the last Socceroos game we screened, we counted over 100 flares and fireworks that had been let off in the square."

The Socceroos begin their World Cup against Turkey in Vancouver on June 13, followed by games against co-hosts the United States in Seattle six days later and Paraguay in California on June 25.

Former Socceroo Craig Foster criticised the ban on Federation Square watch parties, posting on social media: "All stakeholders should be working to overturn this absurd decision." 

djw/ami/cms

Arsenal supporters booking hotel rooms for the Champions League final in Hungary are facing fees more than 18 times higher than normal.

Thousands of the north London club’s supporters will descend on Budapest for the match on May 30, following the team’s semi-final victory on Tuesday.

Most hotels in Budapest are already fully booked and those with availability are charging high prices.

Analysis found a twin or double room for two people at the Expo Tower Hotel on the night of the match costs 1,458 euros (£1,259).

This is more than 18 times the price of 73 euros (£63) for arriving a day later.

At Bohem Art Hotel, the cost is 1,618 euros (£1,396) for staying on May 30, and 113 euros (£98) the following day.

Hotel President is charging £886 on May 30, and £104 on May 31.

Accommodation website Booking.com is warning consumers searching for a hotel room in Budapest on May 30 that “99% of places to stay are unavailable for your dates on our site”.

Akhil Vyas of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust said: “You’re talking a lot of money.”

Asked if he thought the price of hotel rooms was fair, he replied: “I wouldn’t say so. It’s cheeky.

“I get it, it’s business, (but) how great is it for Budapest to have a Champions League final there, with all the tourism?

“It might put people off.”

Mr Vyas called for company bosses to be “a bit more sensible” about pricing, but said: “There’s no regulation or anything like that, so people can ultimately do what they want.”

He predicted that prices may fall slightly after rooms are cancelled by supporters of whichever team loses the second semi-final on Wednesday night between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

Arsenal supporters booking flights to Budapest are also facing high prices.

The cheapest easyJet flight from Gatwick to the city costs £519 on the day of the match, compared with £58 on May 31.

Wizz Air has a flight from Luton to Budapest costing from £462, whereas flying a day later is possible for £46.

Supporters wanting to fly with British Airways and arrive in time to get to the match must travel two days early, on May 28.

A flight on that day costs from £740, compared with £96 on May 31.

Mr Vyas said: “It’s the Champions League final at the end of the day so people will do it, including me.”

Fans can save money by booking indirect flights, flying to other locations and completing the journey to Budapest by train, or even travelling by coach.

Coach operator Coach Innovations is offering return trips from London to Budapest for £339, leaving on the evening of May 28 and arriving by 10am on May 30.

This involves a cross-Channel ferry sailing from Dover to Calais, and travelling through France, Belgium, Germany and Austria.

The Coach Innovations website suggests passengers will “sleep for a week” after the return journey.

Arsenal said they have received an allocation of 16,824 general admission tickets for the match at the Puskas Arena, which has a capacity of more than 67,000.

Tickets will be made available based on supporters’ previous attendance at matches, costing from 70 euros (£60).

Reselling website ticombo is offering tickets for the match from £5,177.

Other English football supporters also face high bills for European finals in the current weeks.

Thousands of fans of Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest – whichever team wins their semi-final clash – will travel to Istanbul, Turkey for the Europa League final on May 20.

Many Crystal Palace supporters will travel to Leipzig, Germany for the Conference League final on May 27 if the team makes it through their semi-final.

Diego Simeone was targeted by Arsenal fans after being seen to step on the club’s badge following the Champions League semi-final second leg.

Bukayo Saka’s goal was enough to split the teams on the night with a 1-0 win sending Mikel Arteta’s side into the final in Budapest 2-1 on aggregate.

But after raging at Ben White for stepping on Atletico’s badge in the Metropolitano Stadium last week during the first leg, Simeone was targeted in defeat in London, with the home crowd able to influence the contest, according to Arteta.

Video surfaced after the game of Simeone stepping on the Arsenal crest, which greets the players and coaching staff between the pitch and changing rooms.

And the footage suggested a contradiction in the Argentine coach’s approach after his visible anger last week towards White.

Simeone could be seen looking down at the ground before stepping on the Arsenal badge and disappearing into the tunnel towards the dressing rooms.

While most Atletico players could be seen walking around the Arsenal badge, though José María Giménez also opted to walk straight over it and was then targeted by some Gunners fans observing from above.

Diego Simeone walked OVER the Arsenal badge right in front of the Gunners fans at full-time... 😳

Just one week after confronting Ben White for walking over the Atletico Madrid badge, was Simeone being 'disrespectful' himself? 👀 pic.twitter.com/CdVKm6wINS

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) May 6, 2026

Arteta hailed the impact of the lively Emirates crowd and the difference they made in the tie.

“That box is ticked now, now we have to maintain it,” Arteta said. “Now we go to the level that I think a top club that wants to be fighting consistently for the highest trophies, that's a must. We've got it now, now we have to maintain it.

“The high is not too high, the low is not too low, my job is to be quite stable. I really will enjoy it, everyone is enjoying this moment now. Tomorrow we have to start to prepare for Sunday, we have an incredible game now to play against West Ham, a really tough one and we're going to have four days to do that. It's great, let's enjoy the moment.

“It's great, everybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything. Let's use it in the right way, understanding the margins and the difficulty of what we are trying to achieve. It's huge but we have the ability and the conviction to do that for sure.”

Arsenal now face four games with a historic Premier League and Champions League double at stake.

The Gunners travel to London rivals West Ham on Sunday with the Hammers desperate for points to beat the drop, before hosting Burnley and a final day trip away to Crystal Palace before preparations begin to take on Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on 30 May.

Ian Wright urged Arsenal fans to celebrate reaching the Champions League final in full, despite criticism from pundit Wayne Rooney.

Mikel Arteta’s side booked their place in the showpiece in Budapest on 30 May with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Atletico Madrid.

Bukayo Saka’s first-half tap-in in Tuesday’s semi-final second leg was enough to propel the Gunners to the final after a 1-1 stalemate in the first leg, putting them a step closer to a first Champions League title – as well as in the driving seat in the Premier League title race.

Saka’s goal at the Emirates Stadium sparked wild celebrations and fans flooded the pitch at full-time to celebrate with the players, leading to criticism from Rooney.

He said on Amazon Prime: “They deserve to be in this position, but they haven’t won it yet. I think the celebrations are a little bit too much. Celebrate when you win.”

Former Arsenal star Wright was quick to respond, posting a video to social media in which he said: “Arsenal fans, let me tell you something: enjoy this. The celebration police will be out in force, do not get nicked!

“Enjoy yourselves, football’s about moments and this is a big moment. Enjoy it and let’s hope that in the final and after the final we have another massive moment. It’s a great day!”

pic.twitter.com/ZPRoU5D1f0

— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) May 5, 2026

Midfielder Declan Rice was also quick to encourage celebrations, telling Amazon Prime after the win: “I don’t think you can underestimate what we have done in this competition up to this point.

“We have every right to celebrate that moment. The most prestigious competition in club football. We are just trying to soak it all in.

“We knew coming into the game what was at stake. If you can’t get up for that, then you can’t get up for any game of football.

“When we went 1-0 up, I knew we were going to win. I could feel something special building.”

The atmosphere at the Emirates has occasionally come under criticism in recent seasons for failing to replicate the kind of vocal support enjoyed at other teams’ home grounds.

But a superb atmosphere was created from before kick-off on Tuesday night as supporters greeted the team bus with flares and chants, the first time that has happened, and Arteta paid tribute to that warm reception afterwards.

He said: “It was an incredible night. We made history again together and I cannot be happier and prouder for everybody that’s involved in this football club.

“The manner that we [were] received outside the stadium was special and unique. The atmosphere, our support has created the energy, the way they managed every ball with us... I never felt that in the stadium [before].

“We knew how much it meant to everybody... the boys did an incredible job and after 20 years and a second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.”

After admirably digging in, Arsenal now rise to the greatest stage. A season that has been characterised by such angst and toil may yet finish with jubilation and ascension – twice over.

You could see from the final whistle this meant everything, as players punched the air in joy. The Premier League trophy and European Cup are both now within touching distance.

Even a long-awaited return to a Champions League final – just the second in their history, and first since 2006 – represents an immense achievement. Few expected this when Mikel Arteta took over a basketcase club in December 2019, or even a few seasons into his tenure. He has restored a seriousness to the club and returned them to the elite.

This is what they dreamed of. Budapest now offers the opportunity for the Basque to become the first manager to bring the Champions League back to Arsenal. And what might the joy of this do for their title challenge? Remarkably, this was a night to forget about that. It was all about what happened here.

Duly, this semi-final win over Atletico Madrid – 1-0 on the night, 2-1 on aggregate – was almost characteristic of the entire season so far. Arsenal had to fight. It was painfully tense, with the lead so exactingly narrow.

And yet they persevered. They kept going, despite the usual doubts.

They had a lot of luck, especially with two penalty decisions, sure, but Arteta would say they deserved some; that it was just that same luck coming back around.

Almost fittingly for the occasion, the key players were all those who have endured adversity this season. Bukayo Saka, injured for so long that Arsenal’s attack lost spark and debate grew over whether he would ever evolve into the player that consistently delivers at this level, got the goal that mattered. Viktor Gyokeres, so often maligned as a signing they shouldn’t have made, set that goal up. Teenage prodigy Myles Lewis-Skelly, discarded for long period to the point of talk over whether he would be sold, offered the energy they had also been missing for long periods.

And they really did need it against a side that battles like Atletico.

As ugly as this game often was – almost typified by Gabriel headers – it was hard not to feel some of the emotion and romance from it all.

On the other side, Diego Simeone doesn’t get that Champions League moment this season. The great Antoine Griezmann will never get it, this defeat being his last match in the competition. As supreme as he is in individual moments, you could see why. He couldn’t sustain it. Neither could Atletico. Once he was taken off, they had little. One snatched Alexander Sorloth chance wasn’t enough.

But that shouldn’t be confused with a lack of tension, a lack of suspense.

This was a heavy match, requiring muscle.

Gyokeres provided it. The striker has often received warranted criticism for his struggles in holding the ball up, but here he was hunting for it, whole holding Atletico defenders off. Gyokeres made himself a nuisance.

Arsenal’s breakthrough came from that persistence. Gyokeres had chased what seemed a lost cause to get free down the right and suddenly open up a lot of space in the Atletico area. From limited options, he picked the right one – arching the ball over to Leandro Trossard, whose angled strike was well saved by Jan Oblak.

Saka, however, had already made his move. Since his return, the winger has rightly attracted a lot of praise for the extra dimension he gives Arsenal through cutting in from the right, making it all the more remarkable that Atletico didn’t seem to notice.

So, there he was, in between two defenders to just tap in.

It can’t quite be Gyokeres 2025/26 without some caveat; he should really have made the game safe on 65 minutes, when substitute Piero Hincapie swept over the most inviting cross on the counter.

Instead, with no one else around him and only Oblak to beat, Gyokeres got the bounce wrong and sent it over. That would have been too easy, after all. It wouldn’t have fit this match.

It has been said before that, in contrast to the expansiveness of Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern Munich, this was going to be a semi-final played in the margins. And not just in the margins, but right into each other.

There was one moment when Griezmann and Robin Le Normand vigorously celebrated the award of a goal kick, rather than a corner.

It was obviously always going to be that kind of game, ensuring that many of the key moments came down to interpretations of contact.

Arsenal could add to their list of grievances from the first leg, as Trossard seemed to be bundled by Griezmann.

This one didn’t feel as strong as some of Atletico’s claims, mind.

The biggest was when Giuliano Simeone appeared set to capitalise on a Declan Rice error, only to be denied by Gabriel. Or was it Gabriel? The replays didn’t seem to show the defender actually making contact with the ball as he jostled with Simeone until both lost their balance. A corner was given, but it felt like it should have been a penalty.

Minutes later, in the midst of Atletico’s best spell of pressure, Griezmann went down under a challenge from Riccardo Calafiori only for the referee to immediately signal a free-kick the other way for a Marc Pubill foul.

Simeone was livid. Arsenal responded with the same energy. They won the fight. They won the game. They now have a chance of winning everything that matters.

After a manic, mad and magnificent first leg, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain do it all over again as they battle for a place in the Champions League final.

The two European heavyweights shared nine goals a week ago in a captivating affair, with PSG edging ahead at the end of their home half of the tie.

Could a similarly hectic encounter again be in store? Or will the stakes necessitate a cagier battle between the six-time winners and defending champions?

The winner will take on Arsenal in the Champions League final in Budapest on 30 May.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When is Bayern Munich vs PSG?

The second leg of the Champions League semi-final is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Wednesday 6 May at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

How can I watch it?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage on the channel from 7pm BST. A live stream will be available via HBO Max.

Team news

Serge Gnaby remains sidelined for Bayern Munich, but both Lennart Karl and Raphael Guerreiro trained on match eve and could feature.

Achraf Hakimi will miss out for Paris Saint-Germain after suffering an injury in the first leg. Warren Zaire-Emery should deputise at right-back.

Predicted line-ups

Bayern Munich XI: Neuer; Stanisic, Upamecano, Tah, Davies; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Diaz; Kane.

PSG XI: Safonov; Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia.

Strasbourg could this week reach the first European final in their history, at the end of a turbulent season for the club which belongs to the same BlueCo consortium that owns Chelsea.

The team coached by Englishman Gary O'Neil host Rayo Vallecano at their Stade de la Meinau on Thursday in the second leg of their Conference League semi-final, looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first meeting.

Neither team has made it to the last four of a European competition before, and the winner will progress to the final in the German city of Leipzig on May 27 against Crystal Palace or Shakhtar Donetsk.

Not so long ago, the prospect of lifting a European trophy would have felt like a pipe dream for Strasbourg fans.

The club from a city which sits on France's border with Germany and is the seat of the European Parliament, have been French champions just once, in 1979.

Before this campaign, their best run in Europe came in 1980, when they lost to Ajax in the European Cup quarter-finals, although there was a memorable win against Liverpool in the UEFA Cup in 1997.

But the involvement of BlueCo in all of this is a point of tension for Strasbourg's supporters.

"We needed someone to accompany us to get to this step," the club's president Marc Keller, an ex-Strasbourg player, told RMC radio after the team beat German side Mainz in the last round.

He pointed out that Strasbourg were languishing in the regional, amateur fourth and fifth tiers of French football 15 years ago, after running into financial difficulties and going into liquidation.

They returned to Ligue 1 in 2017 after almost a decade away, and had managed to establish themselves again in the top flight.

However, Strasbourg hardly looked like becoming competitors in Europe before BlueCo took over in June 2023, a year after buying Chelsea.

"We were conscious that we had gone as far as we could with our existing model," insisted Keller.

- Silent protests -

Significant money has since been invested in new players, and Strasbourg qualified for this edition of the Conference League after an exciting last campaign under English coach Liam Rosenior.

Some talented players have come to Strasbourg from Chelsea, albeit mostly on loan, but what fans have noticed above all is something else: if a player or coach does really well in Alsace, the chances are they will soon be off to Stamford Bridge.

In September, Dutch striker Emmanuel Emegha, Strasbourg's captain, announced he would join Chelsea next season, upsetting many fans.

In January, Chelsea decided to poach Rosenior, whose own comments did little to calm the anger among supporters.

"I hope the fans are proud in a way that somebody who's worked here has been identified to be the manager of a Champions League-winning club and current club world champions," he suggested.

He was replaced by O'Neil, under whom Strasbourg have already lost in the French Cup semi-finals.

"Thursday's game is the biggest in the club's history. We will need the same support and energy that we got against Mainz," said O'Neil.

The problem is that the club's most vociferous supporters have, since last season, chosen to express their displeasure at the ownership by staging a silent protest in the first 15 minutes of matches.

What is happening at Strasbourg is "what the future could look like for the vast majority of clubs," said Ultra Boys 90, a leading supporters group, in an open letter earlier this year.

"They will be relegated to the role of feeder teams, without their own resources, with no soul and no link to where they come from."

The silent protest is expected to take place as usual on Thursday, even if Ultra Boys 90 are calling on fans to gather ahead of kick-off to welcome the team bus to the ground.

The stadium has been recently renovated, with a huge new main stand having taken capacity to around 32,000.

It is almost always sold out now, but many of the fans who fill it are unhappy, or at least conflicted, about the direction in which the club is heading.

Even if they might be heading for a European final, with the chance of lifting a trophy won last season by none other than Chelsea.

as/bc

The Oklahoma Sooners made the right decision to go after 2027 edge rusher Krew Jones, as he looks like he could play right now.

Landing four-star 2027 defensive end Krew Jones from Millville, Utah, significantly boosted the Sooners’ class this cycle. His only barrier to five-star status is the level of competition faced in high school, as his opponents lacked elite talent.

Jones has impressed at camps, where every player is evaluated by colleges, proving he's highly skilled. He ranks as the 20th-best edge in his class and the second-best player in Utah for 2027. The Sooners also secured 2026 edge rusher Dane Bathurst, who has prototypical senior size. As a junior, Jones is even larger, demonstrating the physical traits and athleticism he brings to OU.

He showed that in his most recent video, where he looks to be at a camp, just absolutely destroying offensive linemen. This isn’t new for Jones; he's shown these kinds of videos before. Last time, he was throwing offensive linemen around left and right, and in one play in particular, he threw a lineman onto his backside, almost as if he was the one doing the pancaking.

Krew Jones has all the tools necessary to be a great SEC edge rusher

Standing 6'4 and weighing 225 pounds, Jones has the ideal SEC edge rusher frame, complemented by long arms. Like many high school prospects, SEC weight training will help him fill out further. Recently, Jones excelled at an All-Star camp against top players, performing well beside his future teammates and current Sooners edge rusher Jake Kreul.

In the UA All-American game, Kreul was the standout, causing havoc, but Jones contributed with key plays. He recorded a sack by tracking the quarterback in the backfield as he tried to escape the pocket.

Jones is stronger, faster, and undeniably bigger. Both players put on a showcase for the country, demonstrating readiness for SEC competition. Jones made it clear: he'll be SEC-ready when he arrives on campus. This time, Jones was a standout. He showed that he can be scary as a pass rusher.

May 5—Dax Hill has moved around the Cincinnati Bengals' secondary three times already in his first four NFL seasons and still is willing to do "whatever is best for the team."

But, in his mind, he is at his best on the outside, and that is where Hill would like to stay.

Cincinnati Bengals: Linebackers out to prove they'll be better in 2026

Hill began as a free safety before moving to nickel in 2024, when eventually injuries at outside corner forced him into another shift. He was showing promise in that role before his own ACL tear sidelined him for the final 12 games of 2024, and Hill proved himself last year as one of the most consistent outside corners.

Now, with the Bengals drafting lengthy cornerback Tacario Davis in the third round, Hill's position comes back into question.

"I want to be outside," Hill said Tuesday as the team continued offseason workouts. "I feel like staying at one spot is ideal for development — and my mental health."

Hill drew a laugh from the crowd of media interviewing him Tuesday when he added that last part following a pause. He's been through the carousel of positions and answering the same questions about his position now for three straight offseasons since it was clear after 2023 that it wasn't working out at safety.

The organization re-signed Jalen Davis and brought in Ja'Sir Taylor in free agency, but if Davis proves ready to start this season, the Bengals' best bet to get all three of the top corners on the field together would be moving Hill back inside.

Asked about how challenging that has been, Hill said it was at first, but now he's "kind of used to it."

"I feel like now, I kind of know what I want, and I want to do what's best for the team," Hill said.

Hill said he hasn't had any conversations with the coaching staff yet about his position.

"It's what, three weeks into it now?" Hill said. "So, we'll wait and see what that looks like."

Cincinnati also needs to think about the long term. It seems unlikely the Bengals will extend both Hill and DJ Turner, who are both heading into the final season of their contracts. Hill, who is playing on a fifth-year option this season, confirmed his agent has talked about the future, but said there isn't "too much" conversation going on about an extension.

As someone who has been willing to sacrifice for the team in the past, Hill feels more confident about being able to tell his coaches what he wants, but he did not say if he plans to have that conversation.

"I've had small conversations with my (position) coach throughout the year about, you know, certain things I was doing, you know, if I wanted to have like a blitz or something for a certain game, something like that," Hill said. "I think it was to that point where I could speak up. My first two years, I didn't really have that stripe. I didn't have those stripes earned. So now I feel like I've been here, been one of the guys that's been here, so I feel like I can't speak up and it holds weight now."

Hill credited defensive backs coach Charles Burks for his support over his career.

Burks helped him through his transitions at cornerback, and Hill believes he is capable of playing either spot because of that. However, outside corner just ended up being where he's felt most comfortable and he feels like he's spent too much time switching positions as it is.

"I mean, how well I transitioned to that spot, I feel like, once you feel like you're growing and producing, I feel like that's the sky's the limit," Hill said. "And you want to reach your potential whenever you're young. I mean, it's going on Year 5, and I don't want to, you know, waste a whole lot of time. Just doing some introspection, like, I mean, time has already flown by, so I want to make the most out of it, because it's not a whole lot of time left."

Dax Hill has moved around the Cincinnati Bengals’ secondary three times already in his first four NFL seasons and still is willing to do “whatever is best for the team.”

But, in his mind, he is at his best on the outside, and that is where Hill would like to stay.

Cincinnati Bengals: Linebackers out to prove they'll be better in 2026

Hill began as a free safety before moving to nickel in 2024, when eventually injuries at outside corner forced him into another shift. He was showing promise in that role before his own ACL tear sidelined him for the final 12 games of 2024, and Hill proved himself last year as one of the most consistent outside corners.

Now, with the Bengals drafting lengthy cornerback Tacario Davis in the third round, Hill’s position comes back into question.

“I want to be outside,” Hill said Tuesday as the team continued offseason workouts. “I feel like staying at one spot is ideal for development – and my mental health.”

Hill drew a laugh from the crowd of media interviewing him Tuesday when he added that last part following a pause. He’s been through the carousel of positions and answering the same questions about his position now for three straight offseasons since it was clear after 2023 that it wasn’t working out at safety.

The organization re-signed Jalen Davis and brought in Ja’Sir Taylor in free agency, but if Davis proves ready to start this season, the Bengals’ best bet to get all three of the top corners on the field together would be moving Hill back inside.

Asked about how challenging that has been, Hill said it was at first, but now he’s “kind of used to it.”

“I feel like now, I kind of know what I want, and I want to do what's best for the team,” Hill said.

Hill said he hasn’t had any conversations with the coaching staff yet about his position.

“It's what, three weeks into it now?” Hill said. “So, we'll wait and see what that looks like.”

Cincinnati also needs to think about the long term. It seems unlikely the Bengals will extend both Hill and DJ Turner, who are both heading into the final season of their contracts. Hill, who is playing on a fifth-year option this season, confirmed his agent has talked about the future, but said there isn’t “too much” conversation going on about an extension.

As someone who has been willing to sacrifice for the team in the past, Hill feels more confident about being able to tell his coaches what he wants, but he did not say if he plans to have that conversation.

“I've had small conversations with my (position) coach throughout the year about, you know, certain things I was doing, you know, if I wanted to have like a blitz or something for a certain game, something like that,” Hill said. “I think it was to that point where I could speak up. My first two years, I didn't really have that stripe. I didn't have those stripes earned. So now I feel like I've been here, been one of the guys that's been here, so I feel like I can't speak up and it holds weight now.”

Hill credited defensive backs coach Charles Burks for his support over his career.

Burks helped him through his transitions at cornerback, and Hill believes he is capable of playing either spot because of that. However, outside corner just ended up being where he’s felt most comfortable and he feels like he’s spent too much time switching positions as it is.

“I mean, how well I transitioned to that spot, I feel like, once you feel like you're growing and producing, I feel like that's the sky's the limit,” Hill said. “And you want to reach your potential whenever you're young. I mean, it's going on Year 5, and I don't want to, you know, waste a whole lot of time. Just doing some introspection, like, I mean, time has already flown by, so I want to make the most out of it, because it's not a whole lot of time left.”

Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to use the "energy and belief" generated by reaching the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years as fuel to complete an historic double.

Even by his frenetic standards, Arteta was a blur of energy as the Gunners boss embarked on a jubilant lap of honour with his players after Tuesday's 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium.

Bukayo Saka's close-range finish in the first half sealed a 2-1 aggregate victory that sent Arsenal back into the Champions League final for the first time since their only previous appearance ended in defeat against Barcelona in 2006.

The north London club are now four games from immortality, with three wins from their remaining Premier League matches against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace guaranteeing a first English title since 2004.

After the title fight with Manchester City is decided, Arteta's side will travel to Budapest to face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich on May 30 as they chase a maiden Champions League crown.

Holders PSG, who beat Arsenal in the semi-finals last year, head into Wednesday's second leg in Munich with a 5-4 lead.

Whoever they face in Hungary will encounter an Arsenal team riding a tidal wave of emotion after the outpouring of joy from Arteta, his players and 60,000 fans on Tuesday.

From the moment, thousands of Arsenal fans massed outside the stadium to greet the team bus with red flares, flags and defiant roars of encouragement, it was clear this was a day unlike any other for the Gunners.

Arteta was ecstatic during the wild post-match celebrations and, on the cusp of history, he challenged his players to use the feeling to carry them to the finish line in both competitions.

"It's great. Everybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything," he said.

"Let's use it in the right way and understand that the margins and the difficulty of what we are trying to achieve are huge, but that we have the ability and the conviction to do it.

"I'm really going to enjoy it tonight, everybody is enjoying this moment now. But the high is not too high and the low is not too low. My job is to be quite stable.

"We have an incredible game against West Ham, a really tough one, and we're going to have four days to do that."

- 'An incredible night' -

Over two decades have passed since Arsene Wenger's 'Invincibles' reigned supreme with their unbeaten title-winning campaign in 2004.

Wenger gradually lost his way after losing to Barca in the Champions League final, but Arteta finally appears to have recaptured the spirit of that iconic team.

The Spaniard has laboured for over six years to create the perfect alchemy between players and fans, a bond that has come dangerously close to breaking during a trophy drought dating back to the 2020 FA Cup victory.

Arteta has hit on the perfect ingredients this season, leaving Arsenal on the brink of erasing the pain of three successive runners-up finishes in the Premier League.

"It was an incredible night. We made history again together and I cannot be happier and prouder for everybody that's involved in this football club," Arteta said.

"The supporters were with us for every ball. They made it special and unique, and I have never felt it like that in this stadium.

"We knew how much it meant to everybody, we put everything on the line, the boys did an incredible job."

Winning the Champions League and Premier League in a single season would be greatest campaign in the club's 140-year history.

Arteta is happy to give the credit to his players, admitting he could never have imagined being so close to such glory when he arrived to start his first managerial job in 2019.

"They are the ones that have to make these kind of performances. I didn't really imagine it because we weren't in Europe at the beginning. This is a big achievement," he said. 

"We have been building little by little. We believed in what we wanted to do. Now we have to maintain it."

smg/rcw

College football is in the middle of a transformative offseason. The NCAA has introduced rule changes, gambling scandals continue to surface, and now the sport faces major shifts in its postseason structure.

On Tuesday, college football coaches weighed in, setting the stage for sweeping changes to the College Football Playoff. Reports indicate that the AFCA board approved several measures that will shape the future of the postseason.

MORE: Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t believe Arch Manning will be top NFL Draft pick

In addition, conference championships appear to be nearing their end. So what exactly did the board approve, and how will these decisions impact the game?

The Big 24?

Speculation has steadily grown around College Football Playoff expansion, and that expansion now appears likely—with a significant caveat.

The AFCA board approved an increase in playoff teams but also set a cap on participation. Reports suggest that the number will land at 24 teams.

The playoff system began with four teams in 2014 and recently expanded to 12. Expanding to 24 would introduce logistical challenges, such as managing bye weeks, but it would also open the door for teams like the 2025 Notre Dame squad, which would have qualified under this format.

MORE: NFL teams shouldn’t reward Brendan Sorsby after severe gambling allegations

Still, questions remain: Is 24 too many, or will officials settle on a more moderate expansion to 14 or 16 teams?

When It’s All Over

The AFCA also approved a measure requiring the College Football Playoff to conclude by the second week of January. This year’s Indiana–Miami (FL) national title game took place in the third week of January.

This adjustment moves the schedule up by a week and establishes a clearer timeline for the postseason. It also gives the NCAA greater flexibility when planning future schedules.

MORE: Best college football quarterbacks since 2000

This decision may ultimately prove the most impactful, as it paved the way for the sport’s biggest change.

The End of Conference Championships

Coaches have decided to eliminate conference championship games altogether. They viewed this move as necessary to accommodate both playoff expansion and the new January deadline.

One of college football’s most storied traditions will now fade away. The decision has already sparked debate among coaches, media members, and fans.

Some argue that conference championships have lost their significance. Others believe their removal marks the end of true conference supremacy.

Historic matchups like Alabama vs. Georgia in 2018 and 2012, or Texas A&M vs. Kansas State in 1998, will no longer have a stage.

Did coaches make the right call, or have they changed college football for the worse?

Florida Gators HC Jon Sumrall’s incredible energy has launched the program into a new stratosphere with recruiting.

Tuesday was a phenomenal day in recruiting for the Florida Gators.

Head coach Jon Sumrall landed not one, but two impressive recruits in four-star and top 100 offensive tackle Elijah Hutcheson and four-star safety Kailib Dillard. That raises the Gators’ recruiting class to sixth overall, and third in the SEC, according to Rivals.

Head coach Jon Sumrall has been on absolute fire in terms of recruiting with a lot of blue-chip talent.

Florida Gators are turning heads nationally

The vibes in Gainesville haven’t been this good in years, and Sumrall is crushing it with recruiting. After the second commitment of the day in Dillard, Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman couldn’t say enough good things about the job Sumrall is doing.

One thing we didn’t talk about enough in the Billy Napier era was how recruits viewed the program in terms of first impressions. It’s all anyone can talk about with Sumrall and his staff. The energy has been consistent ever since he arrived on campus.

That aspect isn’t just going to be huge for the Gators landing players before official visits happen. Imagine how impactful it’ll be once official visit season begins at the end of the month.

The Holiday Bowl and the newly returned Poinsettia Bowl, jointly operated by Sports San Diego, are both looking for a media partner, and The CW might just answer the call.

Late last month, college football insider Brett McMurphy of On3 reported that Fox Sports, which has televised the Holiday Bowl since 2017, would not bid on this year’s game. McMurphy also noted that ESPN, which broadcasts most college football bowl games and was the home of the Holiday Bowl from 1986 to 2016, is not interested.

According to Austin Karp at Sports Business Journal, The CW has emerged as a potential suitor for both games, and Fox hasn’t completely shut the door on the Holiday Bowl either.

“We have not had one group say they were not willing to take the call,” Excelsior Sports and Entertainment’s Tag Garson, who is assisting Sports San Diego in its media search for both bowl games, told SBJ. “When Fox passed on our final offer, it allowed us to go into the marketplace, and we have been talking to everyone. … We’re not leaving any stone unturned. … We’ve only been in the marketplace for a couple of weeks, so this is very new.”

The CW currently has the rights to the Arizona Bowl as well as ACC, Mountain West, and Pac-12 regular-season games.

“Based on the success of the bowl season last year and the Arizona Bowl, we’re taking a look to add to those to potentially add to our college landscape,” CW SVP/Sports Mike Perman told Front Office Sports last March.

Karp says that sources told him there is no animosity between Fox and the bowl games, and Fox could end up submitting a bid for the Holiday Bowl “under the right financial circumstances.”

The post The CW eying Holiday Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl rights but Fox remains in the mix appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid bidding to reach their first men’s Champions League final in 20 years at the Emirates.

The first leg of the semi-final finished all square in Madrid last week following a tense 1-1 draw, where Arsenal were aggrieved to have been denied a late penalty at the Metropolitano.

• Arsenal v Atletico Madrid LIVE: Team news and line-ups from Champions League

But the Gunners will be flying after their 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday was followed by Manchester City dropping points against Everton in the Premier League title race last night.

Suddenly, Arsenal’s title hopes are in their hands and Mikel Arteta’s side can start to dream of a memorable Premier League-Champions League double this season.

Diego Simeone’s side will offer fierce competition, though, with the visitors set to arrive at the Emirates with a gameplan to get into Arsenal’s heads and spoil the party.

Here’s everything you need to know

When is Arsenal v Atletico Madrid?

Kick-off at the Emirates is 8pm BST on Tuesday May 5.

How can I watch it?

It will be shown on Amazon Prime Video. New customers to Amazon can take out a free Prime subscription for 30 days; after that, it is £8.99 per month. You can also sign up for just Prime Video for £5.99 per month.

What is the Arsenal team news?

Arteta will be boosted by the availability of captain Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz, who has missed the past two games with a knee injury. Bukayo Saka was removed at half-time against Fulham so is fully rested, while Viktor Gyokeres was also taken off before full-time and appears to be in contention to lead the line.

What is the Atletico Madrid team news?

Diego Simeone was able to make 11 changes for last weekend’s win at Valencia in LaLiga. Former Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, who scored from the penalty spot and impressed last week, could not complete the first leg but looks set to overcome injury to start for Atleti.

Possible Arsenal v Atletico line-ups

Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Eze; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli

Atletico Madrid XI: Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Le Normand, Ruggeri; Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Lookman; Alvarez, Griezmann

What have the managers said?

Mikel Arteta: “We will take to the pitch as beasts tomorrow and enjoy the moment and go for it. I can’t wait. I feel the energy among the team and our supporters. This is the moment that we want to live together. We have worked hard as a club and as a team after 20 years to be in this position again. And we are so hungry to get through to that final.“It is a feeling of huge excitement. It’s difficult to express the desire to live that moment, especially with our people in front of us.“They’ve been waiting for so long to have this kind of night. So let’s push hard tomorrow, because something amazing is going to happen.”

Diego Simeone: “As coaches, we have to think about what could happen but it is down to the players. We have to manage our emotions and play as well as possible. The game changes as soon as it kicks off. Over time, you do become patient. It is not about being passive, but calm, and that is what we need in this type of game.”

Mark Cuban had one of the biggest assists in Indiana’s run to the national championship.

In Dec. 2024, Cuban, one of the Hoosier’s wealthiest alumni, was at IU’s first-round College Football Playoff game against Notre Dame, which the Fighting Irish won 27-17 . In the middle of the game, the former Mavericks majority owner found himself talking to athletic director Scott Dolson, a fellow IU alum, and university president, Pam Whitten.

The conversation would lead to Cuban opening his wallet for the most important player in program history: Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza

“The first thing I said to Scott was, ‘Well, at least this year you’re not having to look for another football coach,’” Cuban told FOS in a forthcoming episode of Portfolio Players. “Because that was kind of a time-honored tradition in Indiana, always looking for a football coach. And so he’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s the positive.’” 

Until then, Cuban, who is worth $6 billion, according to Forbes, had never donated to IU athletics. His charity strictly focused on academics. That’s when Dolson made his pitch to Cuban to change that.

“[Dolson]’s like, we’ve got this quarterback that we really, really like that we think would be great in Cig’s system, we just need a litttttle bit more,” Cuban recalled. “I’m like, ‘How much is a little bit?’ And so he told me, and I’m like, ‘OK, you know, we’re on a roll, I’ll put up the money to get this quarterback.’”

It didn’t hurt that both Cuban and IU coach Curt Cignetti both hail from Pittsburgh and are just three years apart. Cuban was also familiar with Mendoza’s family, as Fernando’s younger brother, Alberto, used to interact with Cuban at Heat games when they were facing the Mavericks.

“I knew [Alberto] who was already on the team, was a Heat fan and he would sit behind the Miami bench, and when I would come to go to Mavs-Heat games, he was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m go to IU and da da da,’” Cuban said. “So we met. And so I’m like, OK, I’ll put up the money, and we can go get Fernando, and the rest is history.”

Cuban has never disclosed how much he’s given to Indiana for NIL, other than saying he increased his amount this past season amid IU’s 16–0 season that ended with a victory over Miami for the program’s first national championship. 

“Let’s just say they are happier this year than last year,” Cuban wrote in a January email to FOS. 

Mendoza was reportedly making $1.6 million in his final season at California in 2024, before netting $2.6 million to transfer to IU, according to Yahoo Sports. In addition to winning the Heisman Trophy, he led the Hoosiers to the national championship in his lone season in Bloomington. Last month, the Raiders selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Cuban reiterated that he doesn’t donate with specifications and instead lets Dolson decide where it’s best used. 

“I just give Scott money and it’s up to him,” Cuban said. “We talk a lot, we talk about approach, understanding how to put together a team. Because I did it for 20-something years. So it’s not like I have to direct him to something specific. I understand how they’re approaching things.”

The post Mark Cuban Says He Paid for Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza Deal appeared first on Front Office Sports.

On Tuesday morning, Rockford (IL) Auburn High School announced who will be their new head football coach for the 2026 season.

[ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ]

Per the announcement via social media on X, formerly known as Twitter, the has tabbed Hosea Harris as the program’s next head coach. Harris has already served in many capacities at the school already like as the offensive coordinator, head baseball coach and as an assistant on the boys basketball team.

With over 25 years of experience in RPS205, Coach Harris brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to our Football Program. He has served as Head Football Coach at both Middle and High school levels. Coach Harris has had a hand in growing many of Auburn’s athletic programs including previous roles as Varsity Baseball Head Coach and Varsity Football Offensive Coordinator at Auburn. He currently serves as a Student Mentor, Athletic Coordinator, and Varsity Boys Basketball Assistant Coach at Auburn.

The Knights have gone through eight straight seasons finishing at or below the .500 mark, with the last time the program had a winning record was 2017 when Auburn finished with a 8-2 mark. Now Harris will be tasked with aiming to lead the squad to a winning season this upcoming fall after only winning a game a year ago.

Auburn finished with a 1-8 record and as the No. 265 in the state, according to the final 2025 Illinois High School Football Massey Rankings.

More about Auburn High School

Auburn High School in Rockford, Illinois, is a public, coeducational high school serving around 1,800 students. Part of Rockford Public Schools, the school provides a comprehensive academic and extracurricular program, emphasizing diversity, college readiness, and community involvement. Auburn is known for its strong athletics program, with teams competing as the “Knights” in red and black, and has achieved success in sports like basketball, football, and soccer. The school also offers a rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) program, promoting a global education perspective.

How to Follow Illinois High School Football

For Illinois high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the Prairie State, ensuring you never miss a moment. The Rivals High School Scoreboard serves as your primary source for tracking all the high school football excitement throughout Illinois, from thrilling finishes to outstanding performances.

We’re smack dab in the middle of spring high school football in the states that participate around the country, but this is a critical time for many programs when it comes to preparation for the upcoming 2026 campaign. The most important position on the field, quarterback, is often the most heavily scrutinized and always under the microscope of those who cover high school football. Rivals begins taking a look state-by-state at each state’s top 5 returning signal callers and we start with Florida high school football as we work our way around the country. Take a look at our top 5 and let us know what you think and who we may have missed.

[ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ]

Davin Davidson, Sarasota (FL) Cardinal Mooney

Scouting Summary: “Davin Davidson is another physically-talented 2027 passer who has seen his profile rise coming out of his junior season, as he helped Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney to a state title. Davidson pairs immense size at around 6-foot-6, 215 pounds with a very live arm. He’s more of a fastball thrower right now and will need to continue adding nuance as a passer. The size, arm, and movement skills are very projectable and his physical upside has created a considerable buzz.” – Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings, Charles Power

Jayden Wade, Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy

Scouting Summary: “Physically-gifted quarterback prospect with a high-end combination of arm strength and athleticism. Measured in at around 6-foot-3.5, 195 pounds with 10-inch hands prior to his junior season, having added good mass to his frame over the past year. A combine standout who has been timed in the 4.4-second range in the 40-yard dash. Started at quarterback at power IMG Academy as a sophomore after serving as a backup as a freshman. Has a tight, quick throwing motion and shows the ability to throw with palpable velocity. Primarily worked as a distributor for IMG’s talented receiving corps, throwing a high percentage of RPO’s as a sophomore. Completed 73 of 119 passes for 1,376 yards and 20 touchdowns against two interceptions as a sophomore. Shows flashes of his immense physical ability but needs more quality in-game reps as a passer, as he’s relatively less experienced than most of his highly-ranked peers at this stage. Older for the cycle and will turn 18 years-old in October of his junior season.” – Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings, Charles Power

Champ Monds, Vero Beach (FL)

Scouting Summary: “Rivals’ top quarterback early on in the 2028 cycle, after turning in a strong freshman season. Has a physically-developed build, checking in at 6-foot-2.5, 220 pounds with massive 10.5-inch hands. Flashed a live arm and the ability to make high-level throws while passing for 2,234 yards and 23 touchdowns against five interceptions as a freshman. A true dual threat with good combine speed that translates to Friday nights. Is already load to tackle and rushed for 502 yards and nine touchdowns as a freshman. Despite being the most physically developed 2028 quarterback, he is also one of the youngest and few who were not held back.” – Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings, Charles Power

Neimann Lawrence, Plantation (FL) American Heritage

The Skinny: The 2028 four-star phenom quarterback move to 2025 FHSAA Class 4A state champion American Heritage from Miami Northwestern really shook up South Florida and sets the Patriots up for a chance to three-peat as state champions this fall. Lawrence in his first couple of years has been as good as anyone in the Sunshine State and his transfer to American Heritage keeps them in contention for another state title this 2026 campaign. Lawrence last Florida high school football season completed 131 of 185 passes for 1,971 yards, 32 touchdowns and just one interception, making him easily one of the most efficient at the position from the Sunshine State.

Brady Quinn, Hollywood (FL) Chaminade-Madonna

The Skinny: Another 2028 signal caller that transferred schools this off-season was Quinn, who left Naples Lely for 9-time state champion Chaminade-Madonna Prep. Quinn was very effective playing out of Southwest Florida, but should see his statistics the next couple of years soar with the playmakers he’ll have around him with the Lions. This past 2025 campaign at Naples Lely, Quinn finished the Florida high school football season completing 198 of 328 passes for 2,960 yards and 37 touchdowns. There’s little doubt whatsoever that Quinn should be able to surpass those numbers as he will have receivers like 2027 four-star Ah’Mari Stevens and 2028 four-star Tromon Isaac to throw to, respectively.

How to Follow Florida High School Football

For Florida high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the Sunshine State, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the Florida high school football excitement across the state.

The 2026 Fifa World Cup will be the biggest World Cup ever in terms of size and scale, with this year’s edition set to be the single most bet-on football event in the world.

The tournament will be hosted across the USA, Canada and Mexico from June 2026, and is the first World Cup to feature 48 teams and 104 matches.

Football bookmakers are preparing themselves for one of the biggest betting events of all time, so we’ve put together a list of the best World Cup betting sites on the UK market.

These sites will offer a range of pre-match and in-play markets, live streaming availability and ongoing promotions running before and throughout the six-week tournament.

Bookies will also prepare a raft of welcome offers, with updated UKGC guidelines now imposing a ban on mixed sportsbook and casino bonuses.

Read on to find our recommendations for the best sites for World Cup betting.

The best World Cup betting sites and offers for 2026

We consider a range of criteria when evaluating the best World Cup betting sites on the market.

Factors we look at include market depth for tournament betting, quality of World Cup-specific promotions, the competitiveness of the betting sign up offers and the overall mobile experience.

The table below provides a brief look at our recommendations for the best World Cup betting sites on the market:

Bet365 - best for in-play and live betting

Bet365 is our pick as the best option for in-play and live betting thanks to an unmatched range of in-play markets and live streaming of international football, including many World Cup warm-up matches and friendlies.

The brand offers great World Cup odds on a huge breadth of pre-match football markets including outright winner, top goalscorer, group winners, team to qualify, match result, both teams to score and player-specific markets.

As for other live betting features, the cash out option is particularly valuable during knockout rounds, allowing customers to lock in profit or cut losses before a match ends.

In terms of the Bet365 welcome offer, the promo is around the industry standard for value, offering £30 in free bet credits when users deposit and wager £10.

Betfred - best World Cup welcome offer value

Betfred is one of the most established bookmakers on the UK market, with a long history of World Cup coverage and customer service during major sporting events.

Betfred's Bet £10 Get £50 welcome offer is the highest value standard welcome offer among the bookmakers featured here, making it an obvious starting point for new customers signing up ahead of the tournament.

In addition to the welcome offer, Betfred run various ongoing football promotions, which extend well beyond the sign-up offer and run throughout major international tournaments, making it a great choice for World Cup betting.

The bookie also provides a wide range of World Cup markets, including group stage betting, team to qualify, golden boot, and match betting across all fixtures.

Sky Bet - best for World Cup bet builders

The first thing that makes Sky Bet catch the eye is their market-leading qualifying bet requirement, allowing users to bet as little as £0.05 to trigger the ‘Bet £0.05 Get £30 welcome offer’.

This is the most accessible threshold of any offer featured here, with users receiving 3x£10 free bets that can be used on World Cup betting across multiple group stage fixtures.

While the potential value on the offer stands out, Sky Bet is our World Cup betting site pick for bet builders thanks to the BuildABet feature, which allows customers to combine multiple selections within a single World Cup match (e.g. first goalscorer, number of cards, match result) into one bet with a combined return.

In addition to good availability on bet builders, it is likely that Sky Bet will offer World Cup price boosts on major matches throughout the tournament, making it a solid overall choice for anyone looking to bet on the World Cup.

talkSPORT BET - best for World Cup coverage

TalkSPORT BET has a unique position as the betting brand of the talkSPORT radio network. As the UK's biggest commercial sports radio station, they will carry extensive World Cup 2026 coverage throughout the tournament.

As an extension of the talkSPORT network, the World Cup betting site is a good choice for football fans already engaged with talkSPORT's media content around the sport.

The brand’s welcome offer allows new users to bet up to £40 and get up to £40 in free bets, with a minimum £20 stake and football bets placed only via the app.

While talkSPORT BET will provide a solid range of markets and competitive World Cup betting odds, the bookie also stands out for a range of football-focused ongoing promotions tied to talkSPORT's live World Cup commentary and coverage.

Coral - best for World Cup prediction games

Coral's low £5 qualifying bet makes the Bet £5 Get £30 welcome offer one of the most accessible for new customers during the tournament.

Once signed up, users will find that Coral is a great bookie for free-to-play football prediction games with cash prizes and free bets up for grabs.

Their long-running Football Super Series prediction game will likley be rebranded and repackaged for the World Cup, with rewards given for accurate predictions.

Coral will also have wide market coverage across all 104 World Cup fixtures, with competitive World Cup odds across the group and knockout stages.

And for fans of in-person betting, Coral Connect links the customer's online account to in-shop betting, which is useful for anyone who wants to follow World Cup matches in any of their high-street betting shops.

Ladbrokes - best for World Cup free bet flexibility

Ladbrokes is one of the UK's most established and recognisable bookmakers, with a reliable mobile app well-suited to live match betting.

The brand’s welcome offer offers great value as a ‘Bet £5 Get £30’ promo, and the rewards are structured as 6x £5 free bets.

This is the most granular split of any offer featured here, giving new customers maximum flexibility to spread bets across multiple World Cup group stage fixtures rather than committing to fewer, larger stakes.

In addition, Ladbrokes offer excellent international football coverage – with extensive pre-match and in-play markets across all 104 World Cup matches – as well as a great range of ongoing football promotions running throughout the tournament.

How to claim a World Cup free bet

Below, we’ve provided a step-by-step guide on how to sign up for your typical World Cup betting site:

• Step 1: Choose a bookmaker from our recommended list and click through to their website.
• Step 2: Complete the online registration form, including name, date of birth, address, email address and payment details.
• Step 3: Opt in to the welcome offer if prompted during registration, or find it in the promotions section of your account once registered.
• Step 4: Make a qualifying deposit at the minimum required amount. This varies by bookmaker, so check the T&Cs for your chosen site.
• Step 5: Place a qualifying bet on World Cup markets at the minimum required odds (typically evens (1/1) or greater, though requirements vary).
• Step 6: Once your qualifying bet has settled, free bets or bet credits will be credited to your account, usually within 24 hours.
• Step 7: Use your free bets on World Cup match betting, outright markets, or specials of your choice before the expiry date.

How we rank and review World Cup betting sites

Here are some of the key elements we look for when updating our rankings and reviews of the best World Cup betting sites:

Regulation

All the best World Cup betting sites on our list are regulated and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

Responsible gambling

Safe betting operators which follow responsible gambling practices and offer several responsible gambling tools.

Customer experience

We look into the customer experience across various platforms, judging football bookies for their layout, usability, loading speed and customer service.

Payment options

Football punters require a diverse range of payment options beyond debit cards and those bookies that feature on the list of Apple Pay bookmakers among others, are given preference.

Promotions

A valuable sign up offer is one thing but we want to see operators that take care of existing customers with free bets, price boosts, money back promotions and free to play games.

Responsible gambling

When having a bet on World Cup markets, it’s vital to practice responsible gambling.

Gambling can be addictive and it’s important to stay in control of your football World Cup betting.

Never treat betting as a way to make money, never wager more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop.

Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help them stay in control.

But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don’t hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.

• NHS Help
• GambleAware
• Gamblers Anonymous

FAQs on World Cup betting sites

What are the best World Cup betting odds for 2026?

All bookmakers listed in this piece carry competitive markets across all 104 fixtures. World Cup odds vary by bookmaker and will fluctuate throughout the tournament in response to team news, group draw results, and match outcomes. Outright winner markets are the most popular starting point for bettors, but punters should use odds comparison tools to find the best value on World Cup betting odds.

Can I bet on World Cup 2026 warm-up friendlies?

Most UK-licensed bookmakers offer betting on World Cup warm-up matches. Market depth is strongest for games involving major nations, and coverage of smaller nations will vary by bookmaker. All bookmakers listed here carry international friendly markets, though again the markets on games between smaller nations may be more limited.

What World Cup betting specials are available?

World Cup specials typically include top goalscorer (or golden boot winner), number of goals in the tournament, first nation eliminated, team to win each group and player-of-the-tournament markets. The range of specials expands significantly as the tournament progresses into knockout rounds.

Do World Cup free bets have wagering requirements?

Free bets from UK-licensed bookmakers do not typically require the original stake to be wagered. Only winnings from World Cup free bets are withdrawable. Under UKGC rules updated in January 2026, any wagering requirements on bonuses are capped at 10x maximum. Remember to always check individual T&Cs before claiming offers.

Is World Cup betting legal in the UK?

World Cup betting is fully legal in the UK for adults aged 18 and over using operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. All bookmakers recommended in this article are UKGC-licensed. When betting on any event, remember to gamble responsibly and visit BeGambleAware.org if you need additional information or support.

What are the top World Cup betting markets?

This is subjective, but generally the most popular betting markets on the World Cup are top scorer, outright winner and accumulators picking the group winners.

What are the odds for England to win the World Cup 2026?

England's World Cup winner odds are currently 13/2 second favourites behind Spain (5/1). Check the current ante-post prices directly with any of the bookmakers listed on this page, as they change regularly. All of the operators recommended here offer World Cup outright markets.

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

The 2026 Fifa World Cup takes place across the USA, Canada and Mexico this summer, with a record 48 countries fighting for the biggest prize in football in June and July.

And UK betting sites are already competing hard for new customers with sign-up offers, enhanced odds, tournament-specific promotions and World Cup 2026 free bets.

This page covers the best World Cup free bet offers on the UK market, with a focus on evaluating value, flexibility and accessibility to make sure users can benefit from generous free bet amounts, flexibility across World Cup markets and straightforward T&Cs.

Only UKGC-licensed bookmakers are included in our recommendations, and the guide below provides more detail on each betting site, their respective welcome offers and any World Cup free bets.

What are World Cup free bets?

World Cup free bets are sign-up bonuses offered by UK bookmakers to new customers registering ahead of or during the tournament.

These World Cup sign up offers are triggered by depositing and placing a qualifying bet of a set minimum amount. Once it settles, free bet tokens are credited to use on World Cup markets or across the wider sportsbook.

Free bet stakes are not returned if the bet wins. For example, a £10 free bet at 3/1 pays £30 profit, not £40. This is standard industry practice.

Therefore, comparing value relative to qualifying stake is what matters, not just the main free bet figure.

Types of World Cup free bet offers

• Bet & Get: The most common type – deposit and bet a minimum amount, meet the T&Cs and receive free bet tokens. Most bookmakers' standard welcome offers fall into this category.
• Enhanced World Cup odds: Bookmakers offer significantly inflated prices on popular markets ahead of major matches, e.g. England to score first at 10/1 rather than the standard price. Winnings are typically paid as free bets.
• Prediction games: Several bookmakers run free-to-play World Cup prediction games (for e.g. Sky Bet's Super 6, BetMGM's Golden Goals) with cash prizes. No stake required.
• Acca boosts: Profit boosts on World Cup accumulators, rewarding punters who build multi-match combination bets across the group stage and knockout rounds.
• Money-back specials: If a specific event occurs - such as a match ending 0-0 or a team losing only on penalties - your stake is refunded as a free bet.

Choose your favourite World Cup free bet offer

Best World Cup betting offers

Below, we have provided all the detail you need on the best World Cup betting promos on the UK market, including information on each offer’s qualifying terms, free bet tokens and additional promos for existing users.

Betfred – Best overall World Cup free bet offer

The Betfred World Cup free bet offer is one of the most valuable World Cup sign up offers. New customers can bet £10 to unlock £50 in free bets, which is the highest-value standard welcome offer available for the World Cup.

Free bets are split across the general sportsbook and accumulator-only bets, with 2x £10 acca tokens and 3x £10 tokens for any sports market. This makes the offer ideal for multi-match tournament bets.

In terms of offers for existing customers, Betfred typically has 20 promotions available at any given time, which is more than most rivals.

As an example, Double Delight and Hat-Trick Heaven promos mean that if your first goalscorer nets twice or three times in a World Cup match, winnings are doubled or trebled.

Overall, Betfred is a great option for betting on the World Cup too, with strong market depth expected across all tournament fixtures this summer.

Coral – Lowest qualifying stake for a World Cup free bet

The Coral promo is among the best World Cup betting offers on the market as it combines a low qualifying threshold with easy terms and an accessible site to make it one of the easiest World Cup free bet to claim.

New users can place just a £5 qualifying bet to unlock £30 in free bets, which makes it one of the lowest qualifying threshold of any major UK bookmaker. There is just a £5 deposit required to unlock the offer with no promo code needed.

World Cup free bets are credited as 6 x £5 tokens, five of which are valid on football betting markets with the remaining £5 free bet reserved for horse racing.

In terms of promos for existing users, Coral usually runs plenty of boosts and specials during tournaments, while the Football Super Series prediction game is free to enter and offers up to £100 accurate guesses on football outcomes – a perfect companion for the World Cup.

Bet365 – Best for in-play World Cup betting

Bet365 is the world's most used bookmaker with 80 million+ customers, and their World Cup free bet offer allows customers to bet £10 to get £30 in bet credits.

Once user qualify, they can use their £30 in bet credits as they please – from 10p accumulators to £1 in-play bets or a lump sum £30 bet, the choice is all yours.

Once signed up, users will also find a site and app that provides the best in-play World Cup betting experience, with 100+ live in-play markets expected on major fixtures and odds updating in real time.

In addition, Bet365 has an excellent bet builder, including Bet Builder+ for combining markets across different games.

This all ties in to the app’s 4.7/5 rating on the App Stores, making it the best online betting app for following the tournament on the move and betting in-play.

Paddy Power – Best for World Cup novelty offers

Paddy Power is the best betting site for novelty offers during the World Cup, with special promos including ‘Justice Payouts’ – which refunds bets affected by controversial VAR decisions or poor refereeing calls – and a Multi-Match Bet Builder that lets users combine selections from different World Cup fixtures into a single bet.

The brand’s Request-A-Bet service allows punters to propose custom World Cup markets via social media, while Paddy's Rewards Club provides ongoing free bets and odds boosts to keep the value coming throughout the tournament.

In terms of the welcome offer, the Paddy Power welcome offer lets users land £30 in free bets with just £5 as an initial stake, making it one of the lowest qualifying stakes on the UK market.

BetMGM – Best for World Cup acca free bets

BetMGM is the best choice for punters who want to put acca bets on during the World Cup, with the popular betting site providing competitive football odds that regularly match or beat rivals across Premier League and international markets.

Football Profit Boosts are applied to major tournament matches throughout the competition, and these can also be applied to accas in some cases, while the 2UP Early Payout feature means bets are settled as a winner if your team goes two goals ahead in a World Cup match.

For new users, BetMGM’s World Cup free bets offer lets users bet £10 to unlock £40 in free bets, which come in the form of 2x £10 general sportsbook tokens and 2x £10 Bet Builder tokens (for bet builders with minimum odds of 3/1).

Once signed up, customers will find a range of promos for existing users too, including the Golden Goals free-to-play game, which lets users predict six correct scores to win up to £1,000,000.

How to claim World Cup 2026 free bets

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to claim free World Cup bets:

Step 1: Choose a bookmaker from the list above and click through to their sign-up page.

Step 2: Complete the registration form with your personal details.

Step 3: Make a qualifying deposit using an accepted payment method (debit card recommended – e-wallets are often excluded from welcome offers).

Step 4: Place your qualifying bet on any eligible market at the minimum required odds.

Step 5: Wait for the bet to settle – free bet tokens are typically credited within minutes of settlement.

Step 6: Navigate to your bonus balance or bet slip and select the free bet option when placing your next bet.

Step 7: Use your free bet on any eligible World Cup market – check T&Cs for market restrictions before placing.

What to look for in World Cup 2026 betting offers

There are several factors to consider when evaluating whether to claim World Cup betting offers. Before signing up, consider the following:

Qualifying stake and odds: The lower the better. Sky Bet's £0.05 threshold is exceptional compared to most bookmakers' £5-10 minimum.

Free bet expiry: The World Cup runs for approximately five weeks. A 7-day expiry is tight – look for offers with 30-day windows or use tokens promptly after qualifying.

Market restrictions: Some free bets are limited to accumulators or bet builders. Confirm the free bet can be used on standard World Cup match odds if that is your preference.

Stake not returned: Free bet stakes are never included in winnings. Factor this in when assessing the true value of any offer,

Ongoing promotions: The welcome offer is just the start. Consider what each bookmaker offers existing customers during the tournament – prediction games, enhanced odds and acca boosts all add significant value over five weeks of football.

UK gambling rules for World Cup betting offers

New betting regulations were introduced on 19 January 2026, and now wagering requirements on betting promotions are capped at 10x, though they remain rare on standard sportsbook free bets.

Mixed sportsbook and casino bonuses are now banned too. Punters will not see offers such as "Bet £10, Get £30 + £10 Casino Bonus" on any of the bookmakers listed above, or indeed on any licensed UK bookie.

These regulations were introduced to improve transparency in promotional offers and to better protect consumers, though bettors should always remember to check full T&Cs before betting.

How we review best World Cup betting offers

When evaluating free bet offers, our writers will only recommend UKGC-licensed operators.

We test offers first-hand, assessing them based on factors including value, the fairness of their terms, qualifying accessibility, usability and the overall user experience on the site or app.

Additionally, our writers enjoy full editorial independence when reviewing any offers, keeping our reviews fair and balanced and ensuring that we only recommend the best offers.

World Cup betting odds

Most World Cup betting sites have already released their outright markets for the 2026 World Cup, with Spain, France and England heading up the winners’ market.

Below, you’ll find the latest odds on who will win the World Cup, but if you’re interested in the sub-markets - such as top scorer, golden ball, group winners - you may want to visit our dedicated World Cup odds page.

World Cup 2026 free bet tips

1. Read the T&Cs of every free bet offer to avoid getting duped by unfavourable terms.
2. Don’t waste your free bet on a short-priced bet, remember your free bet stake will not be returned with the winnings.
3. Check the potential winnings of your stake vs any maximum cap on free bet winnings - don’t make the bet if you can’t win the full amount.

Why trust us?

Chris Wilson is a betting content producer and sports reporter who has been working at The Independent since 2023.

He writes betting tips across a range of sporting events as well as reviewing dozens of new betting sites and new casino sites across the UK.

Chris has extensively tested and reviewed offers from established operators and new bookies to find the best free bet offers for readers of The Independent.

Responsible gambling is always at the forefront of his research, ensuring customers have a fair and secure experience claiming and using World Cup betting offers online.

Please gamble responsibly

If you’re having a bet on the World Cup, it’s vital to practice responsible gambling, as even the best world cup betting offers still involve real financial risk.

The excitement of a major international tournament can increase gambling urges, and betting can be addictive, so it’s important to stay in control of your gambling whether you’re using online bookmakers, casino sites, slot sites, bingo sites or any other gambling platform.

Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop.

If possible, try and set deposit limits and time-outs before the tournament even begins.

Gambling sites offer punters tools like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help you stay in control.

Try not to get carried away by World Cup betting offers or casino bonuses, which are widely available on gambling apps.

But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don’t hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.

• NHS Help
• GamCare
• Gamblers Anonymous
• GAMSTOP

World Cup free bets FAQs

Can I use a World Cup free bet on any match?

This depends on the bookmaker. Many standard welcome offer free bets can be used on any sportsbook market, including all World Cup fixtures. However, some offers restrict free bets to specific bet types such as accumulators or bet builders. Always check the T&Cs of your specific offer before placing your qualifying stake.

Which bookmaker has the best World Cup free bet offer?

Betfred's Bet £10 Get £50 offer represents the best headline value, while Sky Bet's Bet £0.05 Get £30 is the most accessible thanks to its minimal qualifying stake. Bet365 is the strongest all-round option for punters who want to combine a solid welcome offer with the best in-play betting experience on World Cup matches.

Do World Cup free bets expire?

Yes. Most free bets expire between seven and 30 days after being credited to your account. Sky Bet's free bets last 30 days, giving the most flexibility to use them across the full tournament. Always check when your free bets were credited so that you do not accidentally let them expire.

What happens if a World Cup match is abandoned?

If a match is abandoned before a result is determined, bets are typically voided and stakes returned. Free bets used on abandoned matches may also be returned to your account, though this varies by bookmaker, so check the relevant T&Cs.

Can I claim more than one World Cup free bet?

Yes. Each sign-up offer is available once per customer per bookmaker, but there is nothing to prevent you opening accounts with multiple UKGC-licensed operators to claim several free bets World Cup offers simultaneously. This is a perfectly legitimate way to maximise value during the tournament.

What are the odds for England to win the World Cup 2026?

England's World Cup odds will fluctuate as the tournament progresses, but they are currently 13/2 second favourites behind Spain (5/1). Check the current ante-post prices directly with any of the bookmakers listed above, as they update in real time. All of the operators featured above offer World Cup outright markets.

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Marc Guehi looked glum as he headed for the Manchester City bus outside Hill Dickinson Stadium. Understandably, too. His ability to pick the right pass had helped him settle smoothly into the City defence. Until he picked the wrong pass, supplied Thierno Barry with a goal and a 3-3 draw altered the title race.

This had seemed a sequel to 2014 and 2023, a night when City chalked up crucial wins at Everton in the run-in. Instead, there were flashbacks to a couple of other games which, indirectly, led to City becoming champions. City conceded three times in 12 minutes on Monday; in 2014, in “Crystanbul”, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool let in three in the last 11 minutes away at Crystal Palace. That also finished 3-3. Go back to 2012, and City’s first league title since 1968 was aided by David Moyes’ Everton, mounting an extraordinary comeback to draw 4-4 with Manchester United. In each case, two points were dropped in dramatic fashion.

It may be of scant consolation to Guehi now but, if Arsenal hold on to their advantage at the Premier League summit, his uncharacteristic error will be far from the only reason. In the last couple of years, there has been the temptation to deem this team the City of old: the relentless, remorseless winning machine. They are not, though. City have finished a league season with 14 straight wins before. They needed to be perfect in this run-in, to win their last eight: but this is an imperfect side.

They have spent the season playing catch-up after losing twice in August. City have reeled in Arsenal before, but it is not a failsafe formula. Especially when Guardiola’s City, who used to be frontrunners in title races, have had issues when in front in games. City are far above Arsenal in one table: for points lost from winning positions. Lost leads could be decisive. Their second defeat of the season, at Brighton, came when they led for half an hour.

They have drawn eight times. There was a stalemate at Sunderland. In each of the other seven, City have lost a lead. Perhaps the most damaging was also the most forgivable: amid considerable pressure, Guardiola’s injury-hit side almost held out for victory at Arsenal in September before Gabriel Martinelli’s injury-time lob.

It made for a three-point swing. Yet City should have more regrets about allowing managerless Chelsea an added-time leveller at the Etihad in January. Or failing to beat relegation-threatened West Ham and Nottingham Forest in back-to-back games in March. Or letting Thomas Frank take his last point as Tottenham manager after City went 2-0 up.

Collectively, it points to a lack of ruthlessness. It also suggests that, defensively, City are not quite good enough. That is in spite of some spectacular saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma. Briefly on Monday night, it felt like a block from Iliman Ndiaye could be bracketed alongside a magnificent stop from Alexis Mac Allister at Anfield as a transformative moment in the season.

City’s lost leads came with a host of different defences and centre-back partnerships. A mitigating factor in the draw with Chelsea was the loss of the injured Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol during the second half; when they were held by Brighton three days later, it was with the rookie Max Alleyne starting.

Guehi and Abdukodir Khusanov had shown promise as a partnership but, even before Barry’s first goal on Monday, it was notable how isolated they looked. Guardiola’s latest revamp has given his team running machines as full-backs, but Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly’s forward momentum is not always allied with defensive solidity.

For the second successive season, City have had a reminder of the importance of Rodri in his absence. Their best form of the campaign, in the trio of wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in three different competitions, came with the Ballon d’Or winner partnered with Bernardo Silva in the middle of midfield. Maybe Rodri would have given them the calm and authority they lost at Everton.

There were warning signs in a couple of other games he sat out, even if City ultimately emerged victorious. They lost control in the second half at home to Leeds and away at Fulham, eventually prevailing 3-2 and 5-4 respectively. The latter, in particular, is not a typical Guardiola scoreline.

Neither is 3-3. It was Guardiola’s 376th Premier League game and just a second to end with an equal split of six goals. Everton finished with the third highest open play expected goals of any team against Guardiola’s City in the English top flight. Moyes nonetheless described City as the best team in the division. But, five months ago, his former midfielder Mikel Arteta brought Arsenal to the banks of the Mersey, ground out a forgettable 1-0 win and allowed his old club an xG of just 0.24 and one shot on target.

There has long been a theory Arsenal’s defence could win them the league. And perhaps the difference between the top two will be City’s struggles to hold on to leads.

High school football schedules for the 2026 season are rolling out rapidly across the country, and Colorado continues to stand out as a premier pipeline for college recruits. This upcoming fall is no different, with numerous programs nationwide now finalizing and releasing their complete 2026 schedules.

[ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ]

Coming off a season where the Aurora (CO) Regis Jesuit Raiders were one of the top teams in the state of Colorado and now head into 2026 with one of the tougher schedules around. The Raiders return Class of 2028 four-star quarterback Luke Rubley, who last season threw for 2,084 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The full Regis Jesuit 2026 football schedule can be seen below, with official game times to be announced at a later date.

Regis Jesuit Football 2026 Schedule

Aug. 28 – Aurora (CO) Eaglecrest
Sep. 4 – at Spokane (WA) Gonzaga Prep School
Sep. 11 – Denver (CO) Mullen
Sep. 17 – at Parker (CO) Legend
Sep. 25 – Littleton (CO) Heritage
Oct. 1 – at Colorado Springs (CO) Pine Creek
Oct. 9 – Castle Rock (CO) Castle View
Oct. 22 – at Aurora (CO) Grandview
Oct. 30 – Littleton (CO) Valor Christian

In 2025, Regis Jesuit posted a 4-7 record and ranked as the No. 16 program in the state, according to the final Colorado High School Football Massey Rankings. 

More about Regis Jesuit High School

Regis Jesuit High School, located in Aurora, Colorado, is a premier Catholic college preparatory institution serving young men and women through single-gender education on the same campus. Rooted in Jesuit values, the school emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to others. RJHS offers a rigorous curriculum, a strong athletic program, and a vibrant student life dedicated to forming men and women with and for others.

How to Follow Colorado High School Football

For Colorado high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the Centennial State, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the Colorado high school football excitement across the state.

Xavi Hernandez is under consideration by Chelsea to be their next manager, as they lean towards a coaching ideology already set down by the four years of the ownership so far.

The London club are undergoing what is described as a “period of self-reflection” after the debacle of the Liam Roseniorappointment and a generally disappointing season outside the FA Cup, but have naturally had to consider what next as they want everything fully in place for pre-season.

The feeling is that the club have made significant progress in instilling a football identity that is now visible in the academy right down through the age groups, and that one of the values of Enzo Maresca was that his teams typified this approach.

Chelsea consequently want to persevere with a coach of similar principles, which is how Xavi has come into a conversation that also includes Xabi Alonso, Porto's Franceso Farioli and Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas, however, is not expected to leave Como this summer.

Andoni Iraola is also greatly admired by the football hierarchy but he is seen as of a separate school to the other contenders. Chelsea would have to weigh up whether to commit to a deviation of approach for the first time were they to push for the Basque, although they do have considerable competition for his signature.

Hence, Xavi has become a name more prominently mentioned. He has been out of work since leaving Barcelona in 2024, a three-year period that brought one league title.

While the manner in which that spell ended has brought more debate about his potential and career, there is a belief that Xavi himself has sought to learn from the period, and that part of the issues were because of his emotional attachment to his boyhood club.

The Catalan now wants a “project” that would allow more space than Spanish football usually allows.

Former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic will take charge of Athletic Bilbao next season, the club announced on Tuesday, following the departure of Ernesto Valverde this summer.

Terzic will arrive on a two-year deal to replace Valverde, who said in March he would step down from his role at the end of the season.

The 43-year-old Terzic has been without a club since leaving Dortmund at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, which ended with a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League final. 

Terzic won the German Cup in 2021 in his first spell at Dortmund. He returned for a second stint as coach a year later, narrowly missing out on the Bundesliga title on the final day of the 2022-23 season.

He was also a former assistant to Slaven Bilic at West Ham and Besiktas.

The departing Valverde, who has had three tenures as Bilbao coach, ended their 40-year trophy drought when his side won the Copa del Rey in 2024.

Bilbao are currently eighth in La Liga and three points off the European places with four games left.

gr/mw/ea

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has promised to stick with his high-octane, high-risk approach in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against holders Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG hold a one-goal advantage from last week's incredible 5-4 first leg in Paris, where some of the game's leading attackers were given free rein to go for the jugular.

Despite the match in the French capital being lauded as one of the best games of the modern era, Kompany and his side have faced criticism for being too vulnerable at the back.

But the former central defender has repeatedly promised not to change a thing and even doubled down as six-time European Cup winners Bayern look to blast their way to the final in Budapest.

- 'Can't lose what makes us strong' -

Already Bundesliga champions, Bayern have scored 116 goals in 32 games -- a record in the league and among the best anywhere in Europe.

This approach does leave them vulnerable, however.

The Bavarians have conceded 16 goals in their past six games, with just one clean sheet.

And while Bayern's squad has been heavily rotated in some of those matches, the 21 goals they scored in that six-game run also shows the potency of their playing style.

Suspended for the opening leg, Kompany watched the match from the stands.

The Belgian, who is coaching just his second season in the Champions League, said he saw room for improvement.

"I'm not the kind of person who sees things in black or white. For me, what happened in Paris is perfectly logical," Kompany said on Friday.

"I also would be glad to keep a clean sheet, but what we absolutely cannot do is lose what made us strong."

The strategy has paid clear dividends in the competition so far.

Against Real Madrid in the quarter-final second leg, a Manuel Neuer blunder gifted Arda Guler an opener after just 36 seconds.

Real took the lead three times on the night but Bayern fought back each time before delivering the knockout blow with two goals in the final five minutes.

Against PSG, the hosts looked to have taken the game away from Bayern with two goals in three second-half minutes.

But Kompany's team pushed upfield and scored two of their own in a four-minute spell to force their way back into the tie.

As someone many of the Bayern dressing room will have looked up to during his playing days, Kompany has built a strong relationship with his squad, who clearly back the supercharged strategy.

After Bayern came from 2-0 and 3-2 down to draw 3-3 with Heidenheim on Saturday with a Michael Olise goal in the 10th minute of stoppage time, Joshua Kimmich promised more of the same against PSG.

"We're not going to change our style of play in three days and just sit back and defend," Kimmich said.

"We have to win, regardless of whether it's another 5-4, a 3-2, or a 1-0 victory."

- 'PSG won't change' -

The Parisians return to Munich, where they won the title last year, and are expected to play as openly than their hosts.

Luis Enrique said his side would need "at least three goals" in Munich, despite already holding a one-goal advantage.

Kompany also cited PSG's swashbuckling run to the crown last season as an example of success following a courageous approach.

"PSG were never going to change the style that won them the Champions League last year," Kompany said.

"We come into the match as the team that has won the most games and scored the most goals in Europe.

"Is anyone going to take a backward step? Nobody will accept that."

Having served his suspension, Kompany will once again be on the touchline on Wednesday.

"Every team uses the tools at their disposal," he said on Saturday.

"We'll use ours. There's things we can improve on, but it's about winning, we won't forget that."

dwi/iwd/lp

Luis Enrique will join a select group of coaching greats if he leads Paris Saint-Germain to Champions League glory again this season, and it is his remarkable management that has the French club tantalisingly close to reaching the final once again.

PSG head to Munich for the second leg of their semi-final against Bayern on Wednesday defending a 5-4 lead from an incredible first meeting which was one of the greatest matches in the competition's history.

"It was the best game I have been fortunate enough to be involved in as a coach," Luis Enrique said after that encounter at the Parc des Princes.

He nevertheless believes his side will need to score another three goals at the Allianz Arena in order to see off the German champions and secure a place in the May 30 final in Budapest.

But he and his side need not look too far back for inspiration –- their last visit to Munich ended in PSG hammering Inter Milan 5-0 in last season's final as they won the Champions League for the first time in their history.

Maybe, after all he has achieved in his career, Luis Enrique could have simply walked away following that triumph, his job done. But his motivation has remained intact this season.

"Last season we achieved the objective that everyone around us had been dreaming of. But we want to continue making history and that now means winning two Champions Leagues in a row," said the Spaniard on the eve of this campaign.

He has now taken PSG to the Champions League semi-finals for the third time in as many seasons since being appointed in 2023.

Thanks to him, PSG have moved on in spectacular fashion from the era of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar, and of regular European disappointments.

To put their consistency under Luis Enrique into more context: before his arrival, PSG had reached the Champions League semi-finals three times in their history.

His success seems to come down to that motivation, and an intensity of personality which comes across in the way his team plays -– high energy, incessant pressing, terrifying pace.

"He is the most positive person I have met in my life. He is always motivated and always in a good mood. We all learn from him and his way of seeing things," said PSG's Qatari president Nasser al-Khelaifi.

- Intensity -

His side also stand on the verge of another Ligue 1 title –- albeit their financial advantage over the rest of France's clubs makes that far less remarkable.

Luis Enrique turns 56 on Friday but that intensity also comes across in how he lives his life.

This is a man who has competed in triathlons and run several marathons –- once going under the three-hour mark in Florence. Sometimes seen walking around the training ground barefoot, in September he fractured a collarbone after falling off his bike.

He was quickly over that injury and fully focused on PSG. So much so that the man who played in three World Cups and coached Spain in Qatar in 2022, is apparently not remotely interested in the approaching tournament in North America.

"I am the coach of PSG. I don't care about anything else. I'm not interested," he said recently in response to one World Cup-related question.

The former Real Madrid and Barcelona midfielder really made his name as a coach when he led the Catalans, featuring Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, to a treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey in 2015.

This season his squad management has been remarkable, albeit undoubtedly helped by that margin PSG have in Ligue 1.

Captain Marquinhos, for example, has started more games in Europe than in Ligue 1. Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele has started just nine times in Ligue 1, as many as in the Champions League.

Meanwhile, the devastating Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been arguably the best player in this season's Champions League.

Up to now it has been a triumph of management, but the biggest test awaits in Munich on Wednesday.

If PSG can see off a brilliant Bayern team, Luis Enrique will be a step closer to becoming just the fifth coach to win three European Cups or Champions Leagues, after Carlo Ancelotti, Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola.

as/jc

Jeremy Doku's stoppage-time strike salvaged Manchester City a 3-3 draw at Everton, but a second half collapse handed the destiny of the Premier League title back to Arsenal on Monday.

The Gunners now just need to win their final three games to end a 22-year wait to become the champions of England.

City remain five points adrift of Mikel Arteta's team, with a game in hand, and will struggle to recover from the manner of their implosion at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Pep Guardiola's side appeared to be cruising to victory when Doku opened the scoring at the end of a dominant first half.

However, an error-strewn second period was punished as Thierno Barry scored twice for the Toffees, either side of Jake O'Brien's header.

Erling Haaland and then a sensational effort from Doku in the 97th minute did however rescue a point which could ultimately keep City in the race.

"It's better than losing, It shows what type of team they are," said Guardiola on City's fightback.

"It's not in our hands. Before it was, now it's not. We have games left. We will see what happens."

Arsenal visit relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday before hosting Burnley and visiting Crystal Palace on the final day of the campaign.

- Keane escapes red -

Two Arsenal victories since City last played in the league had ramped up the pressure on Guardiola's side.

City's first team had gone the best part of two weeks without a proper outing after Guardiola heavily rotated for last weekend's FA Cup semi-final win over Southampton.

The visitors looked fresh rather than rusty as Everton were penned back inside their own box for practically the entire first half.

City's pressure finally found its reward two minutes before half-time when Rayan Cherki found Doku, who curled a shot into Jordan Pickford's top right-hand corner.

Things could have been even worse for the Toffees before the break as Michael Keane escaped with just a yellow card for a wild lunge on Doku.

That decision proved to be vital as City paid a heavy price for a serious of basic defensive errors.

Twice Guardiola's men did not heed a warning that an Everton equaliser was coming.

Gianluigi Donnarumma parried Iliman Ndiaye's effort back into the danger area but Merlin Rohl was not alive to the rebound.

Ndiaye then had a glorious chance after an error from Matheus Nunes but again could not beat the giant Italian in the City goal.

When the equaliser finally arrived, City were again architects of their own downfall.

Marc Guehi's underhit passback handed Barry the simple task of slotting past the stranded Donnarumma.

Another casual City mistake moments later led to Everton's second.

This time Abdukodir Khusanov was caught in possession by Ndiaye and bailed out by a last-ditch challenge from Guehi.

But from the resulting corner, O'Brien rose highest to power home a header.

Barry prodded home a third for Everton from Rohl's deflected cross with City all at sea from a rapid counter-attack.

Within seconds they had a lifeline, though, as straight from kick-off Mateo Kovacic played in Haaland to halve the arrears.

Doku delivered a dagger to Everton's hopes of European football next season right at the death.

But it may have come too little, too late to rescue City's chances of a seventh title in nine years.

kca/lp

Inside UCLA footballs 2027 top 10 recruiting class originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It’s been over 13 years since the 2013 college football season, but UCLA has climbed into a top-10 recruiting class once again, with its 2027 class being loaded with talent thanks to new head coach Bob Chesney and his staff.

As the class currently sits, the Bruins have the No. 4 2027 recruiting class on 247 Sports with a total of 16 commits, and seven of them are 4-Stars. Six of their total commitments have come in the first few days of May. Their recruiting class to this point is made up of:

• 4-Star DL, George Toia
• 4-Star ATH, JuJu Johnson
• 4-Star Safety, Jerry Outhouse Jr. (Flipped from Georgia)
• 4-Star IOL, Jackson Ropper
• 4-Star S, Khalil Terry
• 4-Star S, Pole Moala
• 4-Star LB, Colton McKibben
• 3-Star RB, Jayshon Gibson
• 3-Star DL, Montana Toilolo
• 3-Star RB, Duece Jones-Drew
• 3-Star WR, Rob Larson
• 3-Star TE, Zac Fares
• 3-Star WR, Michael Farinas
• 3-Star LB, Cain Brackney
• 3-Star LB, Mike Davis Jr.
• 3-Star OT, Jackson Hill

Similarities with another proven champion

The positive situation unfolding for UCLA looks awfully similar to the path that Indiana took that gained their success. Indiana hired Kurt Cignetti out of JMU and took several coaches and players from the program with him to Bloomington. Ultimately, that led to two CFP appearances, a National Championship, and a Heisman winner.

We're seeing the same thing, if not more with UCLA happening in real time. Bob Chesney brings over:

Chris Smith (run game)
Eddie Whitley Jr. (CBs coach)
Anthony DiMichele (Safties coach)
Sam Daniels (DL coach)
Drew Canan (TE/ST coach)

And already gaining a top-10 2027…

— Sammy Profeta (@profeta_sammy) May 4, 2026

Now looking at UCLA, the Bruins bring in Bob Chesney, also from JMU, who brought a handful of supporting coaches with him, along with 10 players from their 2025 roster that made the College Football Playoff.

The major differences between the two in favor of UCLA are the market size and its top-10 recruiting class. Indiana saw their success coming from a much smaller market and brand name, as well as two straight 55+ ranked recruiting classes when all was said and done.

More: 2027 4-Star QB Wonderful ‘Champ’ Monds makes college commitment

UCLA remains a hot name for several high school prospects, including 4-Star wide receiver, Ty Johnson out of Irvine, California, who is down to his top-3.

More college football news: 

• Diego Pavia has a chance to make history after going undrafted
• Florida Gators make school history following 2026 NFL Draft
• Florida Gators continue to add to 2027 recruiting class
• NFL issues final punishment decision for YouTuber prank at the draft
• Georgia Bulldogs land commitment from no. 2 TE in 2027 class

Chelsea’s dismal second half to the season sunk to new lows as they lost six league matches in a row for the first time in over three decades.

Their 3-1 home defeat to a second-string Nottingham Forest side - who have embarked on a brilliant winning run under Vitor Pereira to take them to the brink of safety - was their sixth in succession, marking the first time they have lost six league games in a row since November 1993.

They were already on the club’s worst run since 1912 - but they at least avoided going six games without scoring for the first time in the club’s history, thanks to Joao Pedro’s stoppage-time goal.

Taiwo Awoniyi opened the scoring inside the first two minutes before Igor Jesus scored a penalty after a thoughtless shirt-pull in the box by Malo Gusto on Awoniyi.

The Nigerian added a third in the 52nd minute after Gibbs-White fired in a low cross, and although Pedro thought he had pulled one back for the hosts, VAR deemed him offside by the width of a few toes.

Cole Palmer also had a penalty saved by Forest keeper Matz Sels at the end of the first half after Zach Abbott was penalised for a foul on Jesse Derry, who was taken off on a stretcher and transported to hospital following their nasty collision.

Pedro did however redeem himself with a superb injury-time goal, chesting the ball down with his back to goal from a Marc Cucurella cross before a superb bicycle kick into the back of the net, ending a nine-and-a-half hour run of play for Chelsea without scoring.

The managerless Blues, currently overseen by interim manager Calum McFarlane after the sacking of Liam Rosenior, haven’t won in the Premier League since January.

To make matters worse those losses have been emphatic: until Pedro’s late consolation this was on course to be their fourth 3-0 defeat in the Premier League in the space of five games, although they managed to avoid that unwanted statistic.

The result leaves Chelsea in ninth, 10 points away from the Champions League places, and in danger of dropping into the lower half of the table.

All of Fulham, Everton, Sunderland and Newcastle are below them but within three points, while Forest are on a seven-game unbeaten streak and six points clear of the relegation zone.

Chelsea’s interim head coach Calum McFarlane says the signs are “positive” for Blues youngster Jesse Derry after he was taken off the field at Stamford Bridge on a stretcher and hospitalised following a sickening collision with Nottingham Forest’s Zach Abbott.

The 18-year-old was making his first senior start for the club in Monday’s game and had been one of their brightest sparks, trying to get the team back into the game after going 2-0 down in the first half.

But his top-flight debut came to a horrible end as he clashed heads with Abbott in the box as both leapt for the ball 44 minutes in, with Derry getting there marginally quicker and winning a penalty.

The welfare of both players - both academy players earning a rare first-team appearance - was the immediate concern however as both went to ground, with Derry taken to hospital after receiving medical attention on the pitch.

The club released a statement later on Monday saying: “Jesse is conscious, talking and undergoing precautionary checks. We wish him a speedy recovery and thank the medical staff for their swift response.”

McFarlane told BBC Match of the Day later: “All signs positive at the moment so we're hopeful he's in a good condition and from what we've heard it's positive.

“Gutted for Jesse, I thought he did well in the game. He gave us a threat - a massive moment for him that has ended sadly.”

Derry’s teammates swiftly signalled the need for the substitution to be made, while referee Anthony Taylor immediately called for medical staff to attend to the pair.

Abbott appeared shaken but was able to stand unassisted and walk off the pitch, with Forest using a concussion substitute and replacing the 19-year-old defender with Neco Williams.

Derry remained on the ground for eight-and-a-half minutes surrounded by medical staff, where he was given oxygen. Stamford Bridge gave him a standing ovation as he was taken off on the stretcher and taken to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for precautionary checks.

Jesse Derry has been taken to hospital as a precaution following his first-half substitution during today’s #PL game against Nottingham Forest.

Jesse is conscious, talking and undergoing precautionary checks. We wish him a speedy recovery and thank the medical staff for their… pic.twitter.com/qVesMIVMd1

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 4, 2026

He was replaced by Liam Delap and play resumed with the penalty Derry had won, with Matz Sels making a fingertip save from Cole Palmer from the spot, leaving the hosts still 2-0 down going into half-time.

There was further concern early in the second half as Forest substitute Morgan Gibbs-White, who came on after half-time, clashed heads with Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez competing for a 50-50 ball in the Blues’ box.

Gibbs-White came off worse in the incident but fortunately for both sides the pair were able to walk off the pitch unaided after both had their heads heavily bandaged.

Sanchez was replaced between the sticks by Filip Jorgensen, with Chris Wood coming on for Gibbs-White, whose substitution makes him a doubt for the second leg of Forest’s Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa on Thursday night.

Taiwo Awoniyi opened the scoring inside the first two minutes before Igor Jesus scored a penalty after a shirt-pull in the box by Malo Gusto on Awoniyi. The Nigerian added a third in the 52nd minute after Gibbs-White fired in a low cross, with Joao Pedro scoring a consolation goal with an acrobatic overhead kick in stoppage time.