Nigeria’s Super Eagles have started preparations for their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign ahead of Friday’s clash with Madagascar.

Head coach Eric Chelle held his first training session with the team on Tuesday, September 22, at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

Twenty-three players are currently in camp, with Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo, captain Wilfred Ndidi and AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze among the latest arrivals.

Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye is the only player yet to join the squad.

The Nigeria Football Federation named Nwabali, Okonkwo and Okoye as the three goalkeepers for the qualifiers.

Nwabali returns to the Super Eagles after missing Nigeria’s recent international assignments. He was the team’s first-choice goalkeeper at the 2025 AFCON, where he saved two penalties against Egypt as Nigeria finished with the bronze medal.

Okonkwo has also earned his place in the squad after his performances during Nigeria’s Unity Cup campaign. The goalkeeper could make his competitive debut for the Super Eagles against Madagascar or Guinea-Bissau.

Okoye brings recent international experience, having started Nigeria’s two friendly matches against Poland and Portugal in June. He played the full 90 minutes in the 2-2 draw with Poland before featuring in the 2-1 defeat to Portugal.

The Udinese goalkeeper was in club action on Saturday, when his team suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Cagliari in Serie A.

Nigeria will face Madagascar on Friday, September 25, at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, before travelling to Bissau for their second Group L qualifier against Guinea-Bissau on September 29.

Terence Crawford has made it clear who he wants undisputed super-bantamweight king Naoya Inoue to go up against in his next outing.

Inoue captured the undisputed 122lb crown back in 2023 with back-to-back knockout wins over unified champions Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales, and since then ‘The Monster’ has gone on to make a remarkable seven defences of all four of those world titles.

The most recent of those victories was his best to date, as he outpointed countryman and fellow pound-for-pound star Junto Nakatani, stopping ‘Big Bang’ from joining him in the elite club of Japanese four-division world champions; which currently consists of Kazuto Ioka, Kosei Tanaka and himself.

Inoue is now set to be targeting a return to action in spring 2027; against either Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez or a featherweight world champion, and on his X account, Crawford has had his say.

He has urged Inoue to face ‘Bam’, listing the potential undisputed super-bantamweight title showdown as the first fight amongst a host of other possible match-ups that ‘Bud’ is keen to see.

Whilst Inoue has threatened to move on from Rodriguez if he cannot be fit for the spring, it seems as though Rodriguez, who holds the WBA bantamweight world title, will first fight in a 118lb title unification against WBO titleholder Christian Medina before the end of the year. 

Then, a decision will be made as to whether the Texan is happy to venture up to super-bantamweight or if Inoue should finally make his long-awaited move into the featherweight division for his March or April outing.

Star shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor would be gunning for a historic hat-trick of gold while the likes of long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and long distance runner Gulveer Singh aim to better the colour of medal they had won last time when India begins its athletics campaign at the Asian Games on Thursday.

India is one of the athletics powerhouses in Asian Games and the country is expected to preserve that reputation this time also, though without superstar javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who has pulled out due to an injury.

The 75-member Indian athletics team is aiming for 25 to 30 medals. It won 29 medals — 6 gold, 14 silver, 9 bronze — last time in Hangzhou, China.

On Thursday, triple jumper Asha Ilango will be first up in a medal event involving an Indian, followed by Seema in 10,000m. In the 4x400m mixed relay, the other medal event on Thursday, India is a contender for a podium finish. Sprinters Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh will also run their 100m heat races.

If Toor wins a gold, for which he is the favourite, he will enter history books as he will become the first Indian track and field athlete to stand on top of podium in three successive Asian Games in a single event.

Legendary thrower Parduman Singh Brar won two shot put gold medals in 1954 ad 1958 Asian Games, and Toor will go past him if he wins on Thursday. Brar, though, has three gold medals in his name, with another in discus throw in 1954 Games.

The most gold and overall medals by an Indian track and field athlete was won by the legendary PT Usha, who has four gold (all in 1986 Seoul) and seven silver in her name.

Sreeshankar won a silver in the last Asian Games and the 27-year-old would be aiming for a gold this time. He has jumped beyond 8m in all the seven competitions he participated this season. He arrived in Japan early before the other team-mates joined him on September 13 at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo for an acclimatisation camp.

But it will not be easy for him, though he is the season leader among the Asians with 8.38m. He will have to fight with Yuan Chenlong — second in Asian season list with 8.33m — of China and Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anarov (season best 8.29m). China has also fielded Shi Yuhao, who won a bronze in the 2022 Games.

India is also fielding David Solomon (SB: 8.22m), a last minute addition to the team in place of injured Shahnavaz Khan.

Gulveer has been entered in three events — 1500m, 5000m and 10,000 — and he would be looking for at least two medals. He had won a 10,000m bronze in 2022 Asian Games, and holds national records in both 5,000m and 10,000m.

In 5000m, Gulveer (SB: 13:03.93) will have to compete with Ethiopian-born defending champion Birhanu Balew of Bahrain. It will be a tough proposition for Gulveer (second in Asian top list) to beat the Bahrain athlete.

Gulveer will also have his task cut out in the 10,000m race with Japan’s Asian leader Mebuki Suzuki (27:20.11) in the fray. The Indian is ranked second in the Asian season list with his 27:24.18 performance in June. Check Asian Games 2026 latest news here Check Asian Games 2026 medal tally here

Sable to run in 3000m steeplechase and 5,000m Spotlight will also be on Avinash Sable as he attempts to defend his 3000m steeplechase gold he had won in last Asian Games, despite running just one race this season. He had a long injury lay-off after undergoing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery last year. He has also got a last-minute inclusion in 5,000m race, in which he had won a silver in the last edition.

A silver winner at the 2022 Asian Games, long jumper Ancy Sojan would be hoping to upgrade the medal to gold and she is the Asian leader with her 6.88m effort in June.

Despite the absence of Chopra in men’s javelin throw, India can still win a medal through Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh. Rohit (SB: 87.68m) and Glasgow CWG medallist Yashvir (SB: 85.41m) are currently at third and fourth among Asian season leaders.

The hot favourite to win the gold is Sri Lankan Rumesh Pathirage, who has sent his spear beyond 90m mark thrice this season with 92.62m being his best. Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem is also in fray but he has been struggling with a season best of 81.49m.

National record holder decathlete Tejaswin Shankar will have to be ready for a tough competition against Japan’s Yuma Maruyama who leads the Asian season chart with 8321 points in the 10-event discipline. Tejaswin, who had pulled out midway high jump competition at the recent Glasgow Commonwealth Games due a recurring knee problem, has a personal best of 8057 points which he accumulated in May.

Commonwealth Games silver medallist high jumper Sarvesh Kushare is the Asian season leader with his 2.31m effort in June, but he also is carrying a niggle. Moreover, the high jump field in Asian Games will be top class, with multiple Olympic and world medallist Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar in the fray.

Triple jumper Praveen Chithravel and 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji have won a bronze and silver respectively in the last edition of the Asian Games but both had dealt with minor injuries recently.

Among other medal contenders are quarter-miler Vishal TK, 3000m steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary, Harita Bhadra (200m) and Pooja Singh (high jump).

Apr 18, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA; UFC CEO Dana White talks to the media after the fight between Gilbert Burns (red gloves) and Mike Malott (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images

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Will Jacks produces a match-winning performance to help England to a comfortable 89-run victory over Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street in the first one-day international of the three-match series.

READ MORE: Jacks stars as England grind out win over Sri Lanka

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India’s players hold the national flag after winning in the women’s final T20I cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in the ongoing Asian Games 2026, in Nagoya, Japan. (PTI photo)

Nagoya: On the sidelines of the cricket facility at Korogi Athletic Park, a few Sri Lankan men sat watching the India-Sri Lanka women’s final. Not far away, an Australian kept a close eye on the proceedings.They were not casual spectators. They were among the men who helped turn a baseball ground in a public park on the outskirts of Nagoya into a cricket venue capable of hosting the best teams in Asia.Asian Games Full Coverage | Schedule | Medal TallyThe journey began in late September last year, when the decision was taken to include cricket in this edition of the Asian Games. A little over 300 million yen was earmarked to create the infrastructure, including temporary stands with a capacity of 2,500 spectators.Korogi was chosen because of the size of the facility. The Japan Cricket Association (JCA) also had a head start, having signed an MoU with Sri Lanka Cricket in March 2024, paving the way for Sri Lankan curators to be brought in.At the centre of the operation was Jarrad Shearer, an Australian who has lived in Japan for the past 30 years.“When it was decided that cricket would be part of the Asian Games, Alex Miyaji, the CEO of the JCA, approached me for a role because I had played some cricket back home in Perth and knew Japanese,” Shearer, a sports manager in the planning section of the organising committee, told TOI.The transformation was no small job. The existing facility consisted of three baseball diamonds, with lines of trees demarcating the playing areas. The first task was to clear the trees and level the ground.“We did the pitch and the outfield at the same time. While we were digging a hole to build the pitch, we were laying the outfield. So we created one hybrid wicket and four turf wickets,” said Shearer, who is also a Japanese translator by profession.Gamini de Silva, former curator of Bangladesh’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, and Asitha Wijesinghe, curator of Sri Lanka’s Pallekele International Stadium, came on board. They were joined by a few Sri Lankan-origin residents of Japan who had experience as groundsmen.“While the four groundsmen are from here, Gamini and Asitha took turns to be here to oversee the preparations,” Shearer said.Pitch construction, however, presented one of the biggest challenges.“The pitch construction was interesting because we had a Japanese company doing it and they didn’t know anything about turf wickets. So our planning and instructions had to be spot on,” he said.The pitches were built using layers of gravel, washed riverbed soil and 15cm of local Japanese clay.“While we were testing the clay, we were informed that it was very similar to Pakistani clay,” Shearer said.The surface got its first serious test in May during the T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, when six matches were played on the hybrid wicket.The plan was to use the turf wickets for the women’s competition, but heavy rain disrupted the schedule.“The heavy rain a couple of weeks ago upset our plans and we couldn’t get the turf wickets ready in time. But we are confident that the men’s tournament will be held on those wickets,” Shearer said.After October 3, when the men’s final is scheduled to be played, the facility will, in all probability, return to its original identity as a baseball ground for local children.For now, though, the men who transformed it into an Asian Games cricket venue can stand on the sidelines and take pride in what they have created.

It’s not too late for the Packers. But if they want to be relevant in November and beyond, a wake-up call might be a good idea for head coach Matt LaFleur.

Green Bay plays the first of five home games in primetime on Thursday and the NFL placed another one on the tee. Alas, the Packers are only 1-1 because they blew a second-half lead against the Vikings and then followed it up by narrowly escaping New Jersey with a 20-17 overtime win over the Jets last week.

Enter the Falcons, winless and turning the offense over to a quarterback who hasn’t taken a live snap since November 16.

Michael Penix Jr. takes the reins for Atlanta on Thursday night at Lambeau Field where the Packers have everything to gain. The Lions appear to be a Greatest Show on Turf type of offense and a 2025 Cowboys type of defense. The Bears went from a 59-point record-shattering opener to losing to the Vikings with a paltry three points last week.

The North is not running away from the Packers.

Whether they can keep pace regardless is what we’re about to find out.

Atlanta might not be a true layup from the perspective of talent and playmakers. Drake London at wide receiver and Bijan Robinson at running back both present problems for the Packers. Robinson is out of the gates in All-Pro form.

The Packers are inching forward without two of their top players, running back Josh Jacobs and pass rusher Micah Parsons. It’s unclear when Jacobs might be in position to play again because he’s on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for pleading no-contest in a domestic situation. Reports indicate he could miss 4-6 games, but the league had no official word on when they might rule.

Parsons is working his way back from a torn ACL.

When he returns, presuming he’s healthy, Parsons immediately puts the Packers’ defense back in the elite category. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper might not be a household name outside of SEC country — he starred at Texas A&M or Wisconsin — but he’s on pace to put up special production in Jonathan Gannon’s defense. He already has multiple sacks, five tackles for loss and more than 15 tackles, something no Packers’ defender has done in the past 27 years.

And Lukas Van Ness — No. 6 in the NFL in pressure rate — is making his presence felt. The player drafted with the first-round pick the Packers acquired from the Jets for Aaron Rodgers might be a late bloomer, but Green Bay is looking wiser by the week for holding onto the Iowa product. Dani Dennis-Sutton is helping fill in for Parsons and has been even better generating pressure — he’s fourth in the NFL at 29.2 percent.

But a loss Thursday night places LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst in the pressure cooker.

They’ll have 10 days to prep for Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers and then a home game with the Bears. But a 1-2 start would mean fighting uphill for weeks or months, and the Packers already gifted Minnesota a head start in the division. The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are next on the schedule before a short-week visit and another primetime game at Lambeau Field on Oct. 29 against the Panthers.

But the fall equinox is too soon for must-win talk.

Or is it?