Vodacom, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs have announced Season 2 of the most exclusive fan experience in the history of South African football – the 2026 Vodacom Tsamaya Pre-Season Tour, where a select group of fans will travel with the teams on their pre-season tours to Europe. After the overwhelming success of the 2025 Vodacom Tsamaya Pre-Season Tour, Vodacom, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs are about to take this annual fan experience to even greater heights when a VIP

Will set-pieces help Arsenal breathe easier? An emphatic victory over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, defined by the fluency of their attacking football, was exactly what Arsenal needed to reset following the 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Now, after enjoying a rare midweek break, Mikel Arteta’s side will be hoping they can put some difficult results behind them. But it’s not that straightforward. Arsenal have won just four of their nine Premier League matches in 2026

Tactical issues and fatigue reveal extent of Tudor’s task Although Arsenal’s emphatic victory eased some of the tension for the league leaders and restored their five-point lead over Manchester City, arguably the bigger story was Tottenham Hotspur's inability to raise their performance levels on Igor Tudor’s debut. Spurs are now just four points above the relegation zone and, after a tactically difficult first half followed by an exhausted second, the new head coach will appr

Will Tudor’s aggressive approach pounce on Arsenal nerves? Tottenham Hotspur have turned to Igor Tudor, the “ferryman” renowned for taking clubs in choppy water safely to shore. Tudor always hits the ground running, winning at least six of his opening 10 games in each of his last three jobs, doing so through a combination of aggressive hard-pressing football and a hard-line approach to player management. In other words: through sheer discipline on the pitch and off it. The no

The first-ever Uefa Women's Champions League knockout phase play-offs conclude on Wednesday and Thursday. Eight teams are competing to join Barcelona, Bayern München, Chelsea and OL Lyonnes in the quarter-finals, for which the draw is already made with the knockout phase bracket set to the final. On Wednesday, Real Madrid and Arsenal defend leads at home to Paris FC and OH Leuven respectively, then, the following night, Juventus welcome Wolfsburg with the score at 2-2 and Atl

Old feeling of invincibility may return for Man City For Manchester City what matters even more than the result is the swaggering ease of the performance; is the way they simply swept Fulham aside in the first half and cantered to victory in the second. This was Man City the well-oiled machine, the ruthless Pep Guardiola team. As they look to apply pressure to Arsenal and look to build on the morale-boosting late win at Liverpool, it is precisely what they needed. A lot has b

Can Man City play with renewed focus and pile pressure on Arsenal? Manchester City’s extraordinary comeback victory at Anfield was one of the craziest games in Premier League history – and it could just be the catalyst they need to become energised and laser-focused, for the title battle ahead. It wasn’t just the result, nor even Erling Haaland's stoppage-time winner. There was something about the frantic emotional energy of Pep Guardiola – flying like Gianluigi Donnarumma af

Arsenal's lead in the Premier League title race stands at six points after 25 matches. Arsenal and their closest challengers, second-placed Manchester City, both won in Matchweek 25. Arsenal beat Sunderland 3-0 on Saturday to go nine points above Man City, who then reduced the gap to six points with a late, 2-1 turnaround victory at Liverpool on Sunday. Aston Villa are in third place but are now nine points behind Arsenal. Villa dropped points in Matchweek 25 with a 1-1 draw

Extraordinary comeback could be the spark Man City needed to light the fire Pep Guardiola’s antics on the touchlines, from the anxious pacing like a “demon” (in the words of Gary Neville) to the slightly manic impersonation of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s glorious injury-time save, was arguably the most animated we have seen him for some time. It hints at something significant. For a while now, as Manchester City stutter through unexpected draws, Guardiola has been a little quieter

Can Arsenal seize chance to go nine points clear of Man City? The very first fears about Arsenal’s staying power in 2025/26 began when Brian Brobbey’s stoppage-time goal gave Sunderland a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light back in November. The reverse fixture on Saturday is a chance for the Gunners to dispel any remaining doubts over their credentials. Should Arsenal beat the Black Cats and Aston Villa fail to beat AFC Bournemouth, the league leaders would be guaranteed to end

With the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) now firmly on the horizon, preparations for Dakar 2026 are translating into visible momentum across Senegal, according to the latest progress report presented to the 145th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session Access Multimedia Content Dakar 2026 has entered the delivery phase, with venue works and operational readiness advancing as the Games year begins. Preparations are supported by strong national coordination, growing public enga

Emphatic away win casts aside suggestions Arsenal’s title challenge is fragile A perfect weekend for Arsenal has flipped the narrative once again. Those hand-wringing suggestions that Mikel Arteta's side will hesitate under pressure look almost laughably unfair now as they accelerate away from the chasing pack. There is plenty of time for the title race to change again but the emphatic nature of Arsenal’s victory in what was supposed to be a nervy game, followed by dropped po

Can Spurs build on UCL success to get a season-saving victory over City? It will not be lost on Tottenham Hotspur supporters revelling in their top-eight finish in the League Phase of the Uefa Champions League that Manchester City historically struggle on this ground. Pep Guardiola has lost more league games against Spurs than any other opponent in his managerial career (8). Spurs are winless in five Premier League matches but the 2-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt could and

The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 has broken new ground with a record 6-billion digital views across social media platforms during the Competition and is now the most viewed football continental competition, generating an extraordinary 5.2-billion video views. These numbers underline the tournament’s growing global influence and the unmatched passion of African football fans. One of the biggest areas of growth for CAF and the TotalEnergies CAF A

Arsenal could start to get jittery after a stuttering couple of weeks Michael Carrick masterminded another superb tactical victory on Sunday afternoon but Arsenal’s performance has more long-term significance. Things are getting jittery again. In their first home Premier League defeat of the season, Arsenal conceded three goals for the first time since December 2023, while Martin Zubimendi's glaring mistake to let Manchester United back into the game was the Gunners' second e

Fifteen teams have already sealed progress, with Arsenal and Bayern München the only sides guaranteed a place in the Round of 16 ahead of the final round of league phase games. With four teams eliminated, that leaves 17 clubs scrambling for the final places in the knockout phase on Matchday 8. Here we take a look at the key facts and stats from every fixture as the league phase draws to a dramatic conclusion. All matches kick off at 9pm CET (8pm GMT, 10 pm SAST) on Wednesday.

Can Carrick’s Sir Alex-inspired tactics blow the title race open? Manchester United’s brilliant performance in victory over Manchester City last weekend put a spanner in the works - but Arsenal will be fully aware of how quickly the narrative can change again. After drawing 0-0 at Nottingham Forest anything less than a victory on Sunday would let Pep Guardiola’s side back in and leave pundits questioning the Gunners’ staying power. It could happen. Arteta has lost to Michael

The CAF Technical Study Group (TSG) has unveiled the Team of the Tournament for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025, featuring standout performers such as Yassine Bounou, Idrissa Gueye and Sadio Mané. Tournament winners Senegal and finalists Morocco dominate the selection, with four players each named in the Best XI, as chosen by CAF’s TSG. The Team of the Tournament was selected following an in-depth technical analysis conducted by the CAF TSG, w

As the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 unfolded, TECNO (www.TECNO-Mobile.com) - Official Global Partner of the tournament, was actively extending the matchday experience beyond stadiums and screens through a series of Technology Carnival activations and offline watching parties that took place across multiple African countries. Launched alongside the tournament and running throughout the AFCON competition period until 18 January, these activations

Carrick’s tactical masterclass brings Man Utd DNA back to Old Trafford The only way Michael Carrick’s second debut in the Old Trafford dugout could have been more perfect was if his players had really twisted the knife. It is no exaggeration to say 5-0 against Manchester City would have been a fair reflection of a tactical masterclass from the interim head coach that proved the "United Way" is not lost to history. Restoring a 4-2-3-1 formation was clearly a good place to star