Category: International Sports

Former England midfielder Joey Barton has defended Jamie Carragher amid backlash over his AFCON remarks, insisting no African defender has surpassed the former Liverpool star.

Carragher recently faced criticism from African football legends after downplaying AFCON’s significance, claiming it is not a major tournament.

Speaking on the Common Sense Podcast, Barton backed Carragher, arguing that no African defender has been better.

“Africa has never produced a better defender than Jamie Carragher. Can anybody name a better African defender than Jamie Carragher? Kolo Touré was never better than Carragher.

“It’s a great continent that has produced phenomenal talent and deserves to be taken seriously as a major tournament, but you can’t name me one defender who was better than Carragher,” he said.

Following the controversy, Carragher has since clarified his comments, admitting his choice of words was clumsy.

The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup final in the United States will break with tradition and have a Super Bowl-style halftime show, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said.

MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which will be known as New York New Jersey Stadium during the tournament, was announced in February 2024 as the venue that will stage the World Cup final on July 19, 2026.

And despite a half-time break in football lasting for just 15 minutes, Infantino has said that a “list of artists” will perform during the half-time show at the World Cup final next year.

“I can confirm the first ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final in New York New Jersey,” Infantino posted on Instagram.

“This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.”

Rap artist Kendrick Lamar headlined this year’s Super Bowl halftime show during the clash between Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans.

Usher, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd have also topped the bill during previous Super Bowl half-time shows, which last up to 30 minutes due to the need to build and dismantle the stage on the pitch.

No details have been given by FIFA or Infantino about whether the Word Cup final will have an extended half-time interval to accommodate the show. Infantino said that Coldplay will help advise FIFA to produce the show and also a so-called Times Square takeover during the final weekend.

“We also spoke about how FIFA will takeover Times Square for the final weekend of the FIFA World Cup in 2026, during both the bronze final match and final,” Infantino said.

“These will be two incredible matches, featuring some of the best players in the world, and what better way to celebrate them than in the historic Times Square in New York City.

“I also want to thank Chris Martin and Phil Harvey of Coldplay, who will be working with us at FIFA to finalize the list of artists who will perform during the halftime show, as well as at Times Square.”

Ruben Amorim says “winning the Europa League can change everything” for Manchester United.

But as his struggling side travel to Real Sociedad for Thursday’s last-16 first-leg tie at the Reale Arena, he insists it is “not a crucial thing for the future of the club”.

United boss Amorim, whose side are 14th in the Premier League, said: “That is my view. I am here for three months and I think that is clear but I understand.

“It’s a massive difference in our season, especially because we are out of the cups, in the bad position in the league.

“That could change a lot of things, even the way they see the coach, so I know it is a massive pressure. But I will say it again, Manchester United can call all of the best players even without Champions League in the future.

“I think that [winning the Europa League] is not a crucial thing for the future of the club.

“We have to change a lot of things and we are trying to do that. I understand that winning the Europa League can change everything for us in the next season.”

Harry Maguire and Manuel Ugarte will miss the match after both players were absent from training at Carrington on Wednesday morning and did not travel to Spain.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday evening, Amorim added: “They are small things, so we are being careful with them because in this moment we cannot allow us to lose more players for a long time.”

Maguire was substituted in the 90th minute when United exited the FA Cup against Fulham at the weekend while Ugarte was withdrawn with 53 minutes played. Both players sustained minor injuries.

Amorim is already without several key players for the trip to San Sebastian with Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez among those sidelined.

Striker Chido Obi, 17, has not been registered for the Europa League.

However, left-back Patrick Dorgu, who is currently serving a domestic suspension, is available, while midfielder Toby Collyer, who has missed four games with a muscle injury, has returned to training and flew with the squad to Spain.

Thursday’s match against the La Liga side kicks off at 17:45 GMT.

Fifa will introduce a Women’s Club World Cup competition that will run every four years starting from 2028.

The governing body is also launching a Women’s Champions Cup which will be the first global competition in women’s football, starting in 2026.

The Champions Cup will run annually, except in years involving the Club World Cup, and will include six teams.

Plans to launch a 16-team Club World Cup – which was originally due to begin in 2026 – were officially agreed by the Fifa Council on Wednesday afternoon.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: “Women’s football has reached new heights at national-team level, and now it’s time for global competitions that showcase the best clubs from around the world.

“The Fifa Women’s Club World Cup will be a defining moment in the growth of women’s club football.”

How will Fifa Women’s Club World Cup look?

The Club World Cup will include 16 teams from all six confederations – Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Oceania.

Thirteen clubs – including five from Europe – will earn direct passage into the competition and an additional three places are up for grabs via a “play-in” route, which will see the winners of one-legged knockout matches qualify.

Once in the competition, there will be a group-stage round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final to contest. All matches will be held at neutral venues.

Dates for the competition and the appointment of a host is still to be determined, while Fifa will also discuss prize money and the potential for special amendments in transfer windows to be made if it coincides with the Club World Cup.

There is also likely to be an introduction of minimum standards for clubs hoping to participate in the competition. Fifa’s aim is to support the growth of women’s club football and they hope this will create more competitive matches globally.

Sources at Fifa claim the delay in its launch was to allow more time to discuss the match calendar amid ongoing concerns for player welfare.

In May last year, FIFA rejected claims that Fifpro and the World Leagues Association were not consulted over plans to host the 32-team Men’s Club World Cup.

What is FIFA Women’s Champions Cup?

In an attempt to help clubs maximise commercial opportunities, Fifa are introducing an annual global competition that will run either side of the Club World Cup.

The Champions Cup will involve six teams – the winners of each confederation – and will include seedings for the first two editions.

Champions from Asia and Oceania will meet in round one of the preliminary stage, with the winner meeting the African champions – who will host round two.

The Women’s Champions League winners will enter in the semi-finals and face the winner of round two, which will be played on Wednesday, 28 January.

The Concacaf and Copa Libertadores Femenina champions will play each other in the other semi-final.

Europe, North America or South America will host the latter stages of the competition, with a decision on who to be made in June.

The final and a third-place playoff will take place on Sunday, 1 February.

The next two editions of the Champions Cup will happen in 2027 and 2029, with the Club World Cup starting in between.

Seedings for the second year of the Champions Cup will be based on performance in the 2026 edition.

When are the global tournaments?

July 2025: Uefa Women’s European Championship

January 2026: Fifa Women’s Champions Cup

January 2027: Fifa Women’s Champions Cup

June 2027: Fifa Women’s World Cup

July 2028: Olympic Games

2028: Fifa Club World Cup

January 2029: FIFA Women’s Champions Cup

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 112-107 on Wednesday night to become the first side to book a place in the NBA play-offs.

The Heat opened up a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter but the Cavaliers mounted a late comeback to seal their 12th-straight victory.

The win means the Cavaliers, who have lost just 10 of their 62 games this season, have assured their place in the post season despite still having 20 games left to play in the regular season.

“It took a collective effort as a group but we’ve got to be better,” said Donovan Mitchell, who top scored for the Cavaliers with 26 points.

“It’s always good to learn through a win though.”

The Cavaliers, seeking a second NBA Championship to add to their 2016 triumph, are on course to win this year’s Eastern Conference which would give them a top-seed spot in the play-offs.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder is on course to become the first team in the western conference to seal a play-off spot after beating the Memphis Grizzlies 120-103, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander starring with 41 points.

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho says he is the “opposite” of racist following the racism allegations made against him by Galatasaray.

Galatasaray said they would “initiate criminal proceedings” against Mourinho after claiming he made “racist statements” following the teams’ 0-0 draw on 24 February.

“They [Galatasaray] were not clever in the way they attacked me, because they didn’t know my past,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.

“They didn’t know my connections with Africa, with African people and African players and African charities.

“So instead of going against me, I think it boomeranged and went against them.”

Following the Istanbul derby, Mourinho said the home bench had been “jumping like monkeys” during the game, with Fenerbahce subsequently saying Mourinho’s comments had been taken “completely taken out of context”.

Mourinho, 64, has also filed a lawsuit against Galatasaray seeking damages worth 1,907,000 Turkish Lira (£41,000).

“Everyone knows who I am as a person. Everybody knows my bad qualities, but that is not one of my bad qualities. Exactly the opposite!” he added.

“The most important thing is I know who I am, and the attack accusing racism was a bad choice.”

Former Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and ex-Ghana midfielder Michael Essien, who both played under Mourinho at Chelsea, came out in defence of the former Manchester United coach in the aftermath of Galatasaray’s allegations.

“I thank the people who didn’t have a problem to speak [out], especially my boys, my former players. They were a very important voice,” said Mourinho, speaking before Thursday’s Europa League last-16 match against Rangers.

In addition to his comments about the Galatasary coaching staff after the Istanbul derby, Mourinho also repeated his criticism of Turkish referees, saying it would have been a “disaster” to use an official from the country.

The match was refereed by Slovenian Slavko Vincic after both clubs requested a foreign official take charge of the fixture.

Mourinho was handed a four-match ban – which was later reduced to two matches – by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).

Mourinho was penalised for making “derogatory and offensive statements towards the Turkish referee [fourth official]” and because he “accused Turkish football of chaos and disorder with insulting and offensive statements towards both the Turkish football community and all Turkish referees”.

Galatasaray are top of the Turkish Super Lig, four points above Fenerbahce.

LeBron James is well on his way to rewriting every previous definition of basketball longevity, and the 40-year-old star is now racking up numbers the NBA has never seen before.

James became the first player to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and postseason on Tuesday night, surpassing the mark with a 3-pointer early in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 136-115 win over New Orleans.

James finished with 34 points against the Pelicans after toppling another milestone in his unprecedented career.

“I mean, that’s a lot of points,” James said afterward, rubbing his beard in wonder. “Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is where I’m from.”

“Picking up the game when I was a little kid and having a love for the sport, and hoping that someday I’d be able to play at the highest level. I’ve been able to do that and really enjoy my career. So it’s definitely an honor. It’s pretty cool to see that.” James already is the top scorer in NBA history in both the regular season and the playoffs. Maintaining a spectacular level of play midway through his record-tying 22nd season, he is pulling away from the other greats of the game: Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 20 seasons, is a now-distant second with 44,149 combined points.