Will the Manchester derby be season-defining for Carrick and Maresca? The Manchester derby always seems to arrive at a crucial moment in the season, always with something dramatic on the line for at least one of these two great rivals. Despite it being only the fourth matchweek of the season, this one is no different. Manchester United’s wobbly start could look a lot worse if they were to lose this game, especially given that form at Old Trafford has been the foundation of Mi

Varsity Football log leaders UJ have made their intentions clear as they continued their unbeaten run with a 2-0 victory over UWC at UJ Soweto Stadium. Wits also showed strong character, securing a 2-0 win over TUT at Wits Stadium, while defending champions UFS continued their title defence chase with a convincing 3-0 victory over DUT. UP-Tuks also claimed an important three points, edging UL 3-0 at Tuks Stadium, as the battle for the semi-final places heats up. UJ retained t

Football icons (Left to right): Mutiu Adepoju, Garba Lawal, Daniel Amokachi, Victor Ikpeba, Finidi George, Ben Iroha and Alloy Agu, pictured during the announcement of the Legends Football Match to be held as part of CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria. African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com), through its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, and TopTier Sports Management, What Media Group, today announced plans for a landmark Legends Football Match as

Five Premier League players have been shortlisted for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with the league in contention for a total of 13 awards. Arsenal, last season’s Premier League champions, have received six nominations across the ceremony, including three players on the main 30-man shortlist – more than any other club. The Ballon D’Or are one of the game’s most prestigious awards, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, rewarding players, coaches, teams and others for th

The league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League kicks off on Tuesday with a number of intriguing encounters set for Matchday 1. Here we take a look at the key facts and stats from every fixture as another season of club football's elite competition gets under way. All matches kick off at 9pm CET unless stated. Tuesday 8 September Club Brugge v Aston Villa (6.45pm) This is the fourth meeting between the sides. Club Brugge won 1-0 at home on Matchday 4 of the 2024/25 Cham

Log leaders UJ were held to a 1-1 draw by defending champions UFS at UJ Soweto Stadium but remain at the summit of the Varsity Football standings. UL also secured a valuable point after playing to a 1-1 draw against UWC at UWC Stadium. TUT bounced back from last week’s defeat with a 3-2 victory over DUT, while Wits claimed a 2-1 win over their neighbours, UP-Tuks, to strengthen their position in the race for the semi-finals. TUT secured a dramatic victory over DUT at Harry Gw

Can Alonso’s Chelsea prove they are ready to challenge for the title? Victories in their first two Premier League games under Xabi Alonso have only increased the whispers that Chelsea have a chance to do something special this season. Alonso is the only Premier League manager other than Mikel Arteta who has won one of the "Big Five" leagues, with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, plus Chelsea do not have midweek European football, allowing them to prepare fully for weekend games.

The match balls for the league phase of the 2026/27 competitions have been unveiled, drawing on inspiration from the unseen work that defines champions. adidas have unveiled the official match balls for the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women’s Champions League, introducing two distinctive designs that celebrate the dedication, ambition and collective effort behind success at the highest level of European football. Inspired by the belief that cham

UJ remain top of the log with four wins in four games, no goals conceded and secure a semi-final spot after claiming the Joburg derby bragging rights by beating Wits 2-0 away. Defending champions UFS completed a comeback victory over UL, winning 2-1 at Oscar Mpetha Stadium to register their first Varsity Football win of the season in Round 4. At Harry Gwala Stadium, UP-Tuks secured all three points with a convincing 3-0 victory over DUT, while UWC finally claimed their first

Can Crystal Palace capitalise upon Man City's new midfield? A quartet of players - Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders - together occupied 76% of the three midfield starting spots in Manchester City’s 2025/26 Premier League campaign. All four players have departed this summer, with Elliot Anderson and 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi signed to help create an entirely fresh central midfield for new Man City manager Enzo Maresca. That is quite the overhaul, and

The five Premier League teams competing in this season’s UEFA Champions League discovered their eight league-phase opponents when the draw for the 36 participating clubs took place in Monaco on Thursday. Aston Villa and Manchester City will both host back-to-back Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain during the league phase. Both clubs will also travel to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona, where City will be reunited with Rodri following his move to the Spanish giants thi

UJ remained top of the Varsity Football standings after defeating a struggling UL 2-0 in Soweto making three wins in three for the Orange Army. In Bloemfontein, Mxolisi Mthiya powered Wits to a crucial victory over defending champions UFS, condemning the Free State side to its third consecutive defeat. In the Tshwane derby, TUT and Tuks shared the spoils after playing to a 1-1 draw at Tuks Stadium, while UWC and DUT played out a goalless draw at UWC Stadium. Wits have recorde

Will Arsenal lay down a title marker or could Coventry cause an upset? Friday’s Premier League curtain-raiser promises to be an electric occasion at Emirates Stadium. Coventry City’s first appearance in the competition in a quarter of a century is a moment to savour for fans who have seen it all since the club's relegation from the Premier League back in 2001. The club dropped down to League Two, lost their home ground, the Ricoh Arena - which they have since returned to and

Driven on by the thunderous chants of a passionate home crowd at the UJ Soweto Stadium, UJ put on a masterclass in attacking football, dismantling UP-Tuks 5-0 to claim the 2026 Varsity Football Women crown on Wednesday night. From the opening whistle, the Orange Army seized complete control of the match, orchestrating a relentless offensive storm that overwhelmed the visitors in a heavily one-sided opening half. The breakthrough came in the 12th minute when star striker Mpho

Following last week’s unveiling of the Aircrafted Arsenal Crest, Emirates (www.Emirates.com) is taking viewers behind the scenes to showcase the engineering expertise, craftsmanship and precision that went into the creation of the 2.4-meter illuminated sculpture. Designed and built entirely in-house by Emirates Engineering teams, the Crest was brought to life by a team of 15 experts in just 34 days. Watch how the team clean, cut, curve, machine, rivet, assemble and paint avia

The Premier League has been home to some of football's greatest talents, but at one point there could have been even more iconic names. Below we have selected 15 of the biggest Premier League transfers that almost happened and we want your vote for the deal you wish had gone through. Roy Keane to Blackburn Rovers (1993) Roy Keane is a Manchester United legend, winning seven Premier League titles with the Red Devils and four of them as captain. The Irishman moved to Old Traffo

Can experience and Pep’s departure help Arteta become the fourth coach to retain the title? Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho: in the 34-year history of the competition only three managers have won back-to-back Premier League titles. Retaining the crown is one of the hardest things to do in the modern Premier League, such is the depth of competition but Mikel Arteta may believe fortune has offered him a rare opportunity. The theme of 2026/27 is change, with five

Arsenal convincingly claimed the 2026 FA Community Shield with a dominant 3-0 victory against Manchester City at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday. Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz and Player of the Match Martin Ødegaard scored for the Premier League champions, who have won the FA Community Shield for the second time in three years. Calafiori stunned City after just 24 seconds as he met Myles Lewis-Skelly’s ball on the edge of the penalty area and slotted into the

TUT opened their 2026 Varsity Football campaign with a crucial 1-0 victory over defending champions UFS in Bloemfontein on Friday, securing their first three points of the season while the Kovsies suffer their second straight loss at home. UWC bounced back in style from last week’s draw, defeating UP-Tuks 1-0 away, while Wits also claimed their first three points after edging UL to hand the Limpopo side a second defeat of the campaign. UJ completed the round’s victories, walk

The stage is set for a Varsity Football Women's final for the ages, as the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the University of Pretoria (UP-Tuks) prepare to face off on Wednesday at UJ Soweto Stadium (7pm kick-off). Both sides have fought hard for their place in the showpiece, and with the trophy on the line, neither is willing to leave anything to chance. UJ head coach Nthabeleng “Dunga” Modiko remains resolute yet grounded heading into the clash, despite her side's semi-f