January 2026: The Beckhams, Britain’s most famous family bar the royals, began the year more fragmented and divided than ever before. A feud between the newly knighted Sir David Beckham, his wife Victoria and their firstborn son, Brooklyn, had been gradually escalating. Trouble was in the air.

Brooklyn’s cousins, Libby and Tallulah, were the first to realise something big was coming. The two girls, both in their twenties and the daughters of Victoria’s sister Louise, are finely attuned to the intricacies of social media.

On January 18, they noted that Brooklyn’s American wife, Nicola Peltz, was going ‘scorched earth’ with the Beckham family on her Instagram.

Dozens of posts featuring members of the family – at birthdays, on holiday, or at Christmas – were scrubbed. Post after post, many of them praising the Beckhams for their kindness and saying she loved them, were deleted.

Brooklyn himself had already blocked his parents and brothers online shortly before Christmas.

This, then, was the canary in the coal mine, warning the Beckhams to brace themselves for something worse.

David and Victoria were alarmed, but it wasn’t as if they hadn’t weathered storms before.

Over the years, they’d found themselves embroiled in scandals, and yet had always emerged victorious, building a multi-million-pound empire based on a meticulously constructed family brand.

David and Victoria attend their son’s 2022 wedding in Palm Beach. Posh wore a metallic silver slip dress with lace and a 21-carat diamond pendant, while the former England captain opted for a classic tuxedo

The Beckhams arrive wearing sunglasses at the Peltz family estate ahead of Brooklyn’s big day

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They’d written the playbook on image control and manipulation. Their daughter-in-law’s purge of her Instagram account was unpleasant, but did it really herald catastrophe?

They didn’t have to wait long to find out.

The next day, Brooklyn posted an extraordinary six-page statement, blowing apart the Beckham myth of family unity his parents had spent decades perfecting.

It began: ‘I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private. Unfortunately, my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed. I do not want to reconcile with my family.

‘Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they’ll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.’

The reaction was instantaneous. Within minutes, the statement was being run on news websites around the world. It rapidly became the most-read story even for ‘serious’ outlets, like The Guardian and the BBC.

There was astonishment – and, frankly, ravenous excitement – about how messy and public the Beckham/Peltz feud had become.

After months of rumour and speculation, here was Brooklyn confirming the rift in excruciating detail, exposing a side to the Beckhams that the world may have suspected but had never seen before.

David and Victoria at the former footballer’s 50th birthday party last year, which Brooklyn and Nicola did not attend

Although they had been blocked by Brooklyn, so couldn’t directly see his Instagram post, David and Victoria found out about it almost immediately

‘For my entire life,’ Brooklyn, then aged 26, continued, ‘my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family. The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.’

As the internet went into meltdown, so did the Beckhams themselves.

Although they had been blocked by Brooklyn, so couldn’t directly see the Instagram post, David and Victoria found out about it almost immediately. Brooklyn had not blocked his wider family, including cousins and grandparents, the Spice Girls, members of the Beckham team, or mutual friends, like chef Gordon Ramsay and his wife, Tana. David and Victoria’s phones started pinging with screen shots.

David had to keep his distress in check: he was in Davos, talking sport and business at the World Economic Forum. But Victoria, at home in Holland Park, west London, with her three other children, Romeo, 23, Cruz, about to turn 21, and Harper, just 14, was inconsolable.

In fact, she was in such a bad way that her mother Jackie was alarmed.

Brooklyn, with his wife in Los Angeles, presumably felt relief at having got years of resentment off his chest.

For it had been no secret that there was bad blood between his parents and his wife, which had all played out via increasingly nasty anonymous briefings to the press.

But the House of Beckham was a fortress. They had never expected such a personal and public attack – least of all from one of their own.

David and Victoria at Highgrove last year after he was named in the King’s Birthday Honours list

The Beckham family all together including, from left, Cruz, Romeo, Victoria, Harper, Brooklyn and David

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One friend told me: ‘Victoria was [already] on a war footing. This, though, was a major bomb.’

But a friend of the Peltz Beckhams claims the Beckham parents only had themselves to blame from the dramatic escalation. ‘David and Victoria knew that the statement was coming, because they had pulled the pin out of the grenade.’

He adds: ‘They just didn’t stop. They just kept pushing and pushing it. Brooklyn didn’t want to do this, but in the end he though f*** it, f*** this. The Beckhams kept on gambling that Brooklyn would never dare to speak. They just misplayed it, because, one day, it was going to be time.’

What’s worse, as I’m told the Beckhams now fear, is that this may not be Brooklyn’s final act of clan warfare – but rather his opening shot.

The source adds: ‘The biggest problem for the other side is that there is so much more that Brooklyn can say if he wants to.’

Initially David and Victoria could scarcely believe those painful words had been written by their gentle son.

As the full horror of it began to sink in, they started to wonder whether the angry, long statement was really his work at all. They weren’t entirely wrong.

A friend of Brooklyn’s says: ‘He definitely wrote the first draft, but there was interest and input from other people. It’s silly to think your wife isn’t going to weigh in on this one – he was representing the sentiment of his wife as well. Little bits she wrote. But he was the one to deliver it.’

The Beckhams on a family holiday in Miami in 2019, the same year that Brooklyn met Nicola at a Halloween party in Hollywood

It was his view that nothing short of a complete rupture would get through to his parents.

A friend says of the expectations of his family: ‘It was intolerable for Brooklyn. He tried, but nothing was enough. You have to be an indentured servant. You can’t do 75 per cent of what is asked, you have to be all in.

‘He wanted to speak because it had become completely inauthentic and all for social media. The posts for birthdays when you haven’t spoken in months which say: “mum and dad love you” he found weird and they gave him anxiety.’

Indeed, relations had become so fraught between Brooklyn and his parents – because of tensions with his fiancee Nicola – that I can reveal that they weren’t actually on speaking terms for some three months before the young couple married in Palm Beach, in April 2022.

And yet still the Beckhams smiled for the cameras there, and posted adoring posts on social media after the event.

It has since become common knowledge that it was the myriad problems around Brooklyn and Nicola’s wedding – the row over the bridal gown, the five sets of wedding planners, the apparently ‘inappropriate dancing’ from Victoria – which set what was an already tense relationship on a collision course.

What is not commonly known, however, is the sheer scale of the chaos and in-fighting which characterised the day itself.

Such was her distress that at one point, Nicola, the bride, ran from the marquee in tears, followed by, it seemed, her entire family.

At brunch the day after the ceremony Brooklyn and Nicola were given a baby blue convertible Jaguar XK140 that had been modified by Lunaz, which David is an investor in, to run on electricity

And as one guest remarked of the atmosphere at the ‘day-after’ brunch at the super-opulent Peltz house in Palm Beach: ‘Honestly? It was like someone had died.’

It all makes one unusual pre-wedding request made by the bride’s mother, Claudia, seem highly prescient.

She asked the seamstresses at the Valentino atelier in Rome who were making her daughter’s bridal gown to secretly sew an ‘evil eye’ talisman, in blue thread, to the inside of the dress, ‘for protection’.

Certainly, given the stream of crises that had preceded her big day, Nicola was going to need all the luck she could get.

Brooklyn had met Nicola, an actress, at a Halloween party in Hollywood in 2019. As was his habit, he fell in love, fast. After five months he was ready to propose – but managed to contain himself until July 2020.

Nicola accepted his proposal, and both families – particularly Claudia Peltz – embarked on wedding planning with vigour.

Relations between the Peltzes and Beckhams were then still cordial – and a very different celebration was originally envisaged: one held in the UK, arranged by the unflappable and unimpeachable Peregrine Armstrong-Jones, half-brother of Antony Armstrong-Jones, former husband of Princess Margaret. He had taken care of the Beckhams’ own iconic 1999 nuptials in Ireland.

A source confirms: ‘Initially, the Brooklyn and Nicola wedding was going to be in the UK, in the Cotswolds, and Peregrine was hired.’

David with singer Marc Anthony, who ‘magically appeared’ for a live set at the ceremony as a wedding present from the Beckhams

The young couple looked around all the venues you might expect, like the magnificent Blenheim Palace, which was near to the Beckhams’ country home in Great Tew, Oxfordshire.

The issue, naturally, then, was Covid, and the Covid restrictions. Brooklyn was keen to get on with it and be married, but had to be told, repeatedly: ‘It can’t be done so fast’ and ‘it can’t be done now’.

From July 2020 until around February 2021, Armstrong-Jones was in charge, and trying to make the wedding work.

A well-known dog-lover, one of Nicola’s big ideas for the wedding at this stage was apparently that she wanted to give away dogs as parting gifts to all the guests.

But as the euphoria of the summer engagement was succeeded by a long dreary winter, with the brutal second Christmas lockdown, the bride’s mind about what shape her dream day would take changed.

A source says: ‘Nicola is not an English bride, and ultimately an English wedding did not suit her. English life would not have suited her either; she is an American through and through. She is culturally American, which is why she and Brooklyn will always stay in America.

‘Look, the Americans love Daylesford and Harrods, but Nicola realised that the reality of the UK was too much for her. Basically, the weather was just too cold for her. When Nicola was in the UK, she was always on FaceTime to her mum in Palm Beach, saying: “Oh my God, it’s raining again!” Her mum would have blue sky and beaches behind her.’

Finally, when Covid restrictions lifted and people could travel, it became a family decision, made by the Peltzes, to move the nuptials to Palm Beach. Armstrong-Jones was let go.

Brooklyn and Nicola with his godfather Elton John, who is a close friend of the Beckhams

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This was all done, apparently, in an ‘extremely respectful’ way, and there was, as yet, no overt conflict between the Peltzes and the Beckhams.

A source suggests that an inexperienced American team was hired in February 2021, before being fired in April 2021 and replaced by renowned American celebrity wedding planner Preston Bailey, who had previously organised the wedding of Nelson Peltz’s long-time friend Donald Trump to Melania.

His appointment seemed to indicate that Nicola’s father was taking control – but he left after 11 months – only around six weeks before the big day. Bailey himself claims there was a ‘scheduling clash’.

Nelson then hired party planners Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba, only to fire them by phone after nine days, when Nicola grew ‘tired’ of their mistakes, which included flubs over the RSVP list and flowers that were ‘not white enough’. Peltz later sued them to recover his $159,000 deposit.

For their part, Grijalba and Braghin say they inherited a crime scene rather than a wedding plan.

With just six weeks to go, the guest list was incomplete and out of date. Some guests still hadn’t been invited, and, extraordinarily, some vendors still hadn’t been booked.

The bride and her mother had the additional concern that word of the chaos would leak to the in-laws.

The planners said that Claudia and Nicola ‘insisted that Victoria Beckham could not know about any internal mistakes regarding the ongoing planning of her son’s wedding, including any errors with the guest list’.

David celebrates with a young Brooklyn in 2000 after his club Manchester United won the Premier League

During the legal action in 2023, hundreds of text messages between the couple and the planners were uncovered, showing how tempers had frayed under pressure. In one message, Nicola instructed the planners: ‘Fire Preston’s assistants. Cut them off… I hate them.’

In another, Claudia Peltz asked, somewhat extraordinarily, if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, had been invited. ‘Did Megan get an invite… And Harry,’ she wrote.

Meanwhile, F1 driver Lewis Hamilton was mistakenly invited – leading Nicola to write to the planners: ‘He can’t come so explain why you said he RSVPd yes. I’m tired of catching mistakes on this RSVP list honestly.’

Brooklyn’s input is perhaps best characterised as good-hearted but not helpful. He asked if the Wendy’s burger truck, which he had requested as a nod to his father-in-law’s stake in the fast food outlet, should have a ‘Nicola’ burger with lettuce and no bun.

He also asked if they should get a gun that would shoot a net, to bring down any paparazzo drones.

After Grijalba and Braghin were fired, celebrity planner Michelle Rago stepped in, becoming the fifth wedding planner, with a hair-raisingly narrow time frame of just over four weeks to the wedding itself.

According to Vogue Magazine, who were invited to attend, the wedding was picture-perfect nonetheless.

Around 500 guests came, including tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, actress Eva Longoria, chef Gordon Ramsay and family, and two Spice Girls, Mel B and Emma.

At the wedding, David made a heartfelt speech about Brooklyn which touched on their relationship and his fond memories of his son growing up

The wedding was set up across three huge air-conditioned marquees with ocean views. A floating aisle had been constructed, and the most-anticipated moment was the appearance on it of the bride in her Valentino dress – not made, of course, as is now showbiz folklore, by her fashion designer mother-in-law.

Nicola came down the aisle on her father’s arm, with UK artist Sekou, accompanied by a string orchestra, singing the mournful Fleetwood Mac ballad ‘Songbird’. An odd choice, since it is more commonly heard at funerals.

Brooklyn was so overcome with emotion when he saw Nicola that she needed to use her dainty handmade gloves to dab away his copious tears.

After the fall-out over Victoria not making the bridal gown, there was an assumption by many of the Beckhams’ friends that at least one of the bride’s other outfits would be by Victoria, who is known for her tailored trouser suits. This didn’t happen, and it’s hard to see those decisions as other than a pointed snub to Victoria.

‘Nicola is a big f***ing pain in the ass and she comes across as spoiled and annoying. However, Brooklyn chose to marry her,’ notes a family friend.

In the event, only Victoria and a tiny handful of loyal friends wore Victoria Beckham designs at her son’s wedding. Mrs Beckham wore a metallic silver slip dress with lace and a 21-carat diamond pendant.

You might have called the necklace spectacular, except for the fact that the bride’s mother, Claudia, was wearing the fabled 95-carat Star of the East diamond, a museum quality gem. Posh was entirely outgunned. A brave smile was worn despite everything, however.

As the bride and groom joined hands, the sparkling blue ocean behind them, it seemed like, despite the disastrous run-up, the wedding might actually go to plan.

Brooklyn and Nicola with her father Nelson Peltz, who gave a short, serious speech at the wedding that was mostly about the suffering of Ukraine, which had been invaded by Russia two months previously

That was, until, the rabbi started speaking. The elderly gentleman, not the Peltz’s regular rabbi, twice called Brooklyn ‘David’ during the ceremony.

This awkward error was explained away by the celebrant, saying that he was a ‘soccer fan’. It felt highly embarrassing, though, as it rammed home Brooklyn’s son-of status as the overshadowed child of a globally famous father, and at the very point where he was fully stepping into his adult identity.

After the ceremony, the guests were offered cocktails decorated with white cherry blossoms as a jazz quartet played, and then moved into the wedding tent for a black-tie dinner. Halibut, filet mignon and a vegan osso buco were served.

After dinner came the speeches. Romeo and Cruz, Brooklyn’s best men, gave a joint speech in which they teased their brother about his soppy declarations of love for the bride.

David – who had then not actually been speaking to his eldest child for three months – also spoke, making a long, heartfelt speech all about the groom.

On a day when it is customary to sing the praises of the bride, David did not do so. Instead, he talked for longer than anyone else who spoke, and all about the joys of their father-son relationship growing up, and his fond memories of Brooklyn as a child and teen.

Was he trying to remind his son of the ties between them – almost trying to make up with him at this crucial moment?

One guest said: ‘The speech went on, and on. It was one of the oddest bits of the day. It was as if David was getting married to Brooklyn.’

Brooklyn’s best men were Romeo, left, and Cruz, centre. The pair gave a joint speech at the wedding in which they teased their brother about his soppy declarations of love for Nicola

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Some of the speech was about David’s haircuts down the years. He also jokingly ‘asked for forgiveness’ for dressing Brooklyn in a miniature cowboy hat at his and Victoria’s wedding.

And then David – who, of course, attracted endless headlines for his alleged affair with his then PA Rebecca Loos when Brooklyn was five years old – had the nerve to deliver some advice on how to be a good husband. He said: ‘The most important thing is to make each other happy. And treat your Mrs like gold.’

Nicola’s brother, Brad Peltz, was his sister’s man of honour and, in his speech, gave two pieces of advice: ‘Rule number one: Happy wife, happy life. Rule number two: Don’t f**k up rule number one.’

Everyone laughed approvingly.

The bride’s father, Nelson, then spoke, a short, serious speech, mostly about the suffering of Ukraine, which had been invaded by Russia two months previously.

He spoke about the couple’s donation page to the humanitarian organisation Care, which was funding work in the region. The contrast between the bride’s stoic, moneybags father and the groom’s tearful and emotive dad could scarcely have been better underlined.

The first dance followed. South African singer Lloyiso performed a cover of the Elvis Presley standard ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ as the bride and groom took a turn.

Next it was the turn of Nelson Peltz to dance with his girl, to Bette Midler’s ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’. The dancing continued.

At 11pm, the circular stage revolved 180 degrees and singer Marc Anthony – one of David’s best friends, who has known Brooklyn since he was small – ‘magically appeared’ for a live set. This performance was the Beckhams’ wedding gift to the couple.

Anthony had agreed to perform ‘for free’; however, speaking to sources familiar with the wedding planning, constructing the requisite stage had cost $200,000 – which was added to Nelson’s bill.

The bride’s cost-conscious father was also forking out for Anthony’s experienced, professional live musicians, and the costs of bringing them and their equipment to the venue.

In all, that ‘gift’ made a $250,000 dent in Nelson’s wallet.

According to friends of Nicola, the plan was always that the first dance to Marc Anthony would be her and Brooklyn. She even left the wedding to get changed out of her Valentino wedding dress and into a new Versace ‘party outfit’ specifically for the second first dance, as performed by Anthony.

In the event, of course, as is now legend, Brooklyn danced with his mother, after she was invited on stage by the singer.

Who asked him to call Victoria to the stage? The Peltz camp believe this was down to the Beckhams, and specifically blame Victoria for the hurtful turn of events.

One source says: ‘Victoria thought it was her event. Victoria is so attention starved or attention needy that this was viewed as an opportunity for her to shine and to find herself at the centre. My view is that she is very needy of attention and this was a way to satiate that need.’

He adds: ‘At some level, it was just alpha females fighting it out – but Nicola is the bride and it’s her wedding.’

This other ‘first dance’ – seen only by the 500 guests, who had all surrendered their phones ahead of the party – was, of course, later derided by Brooklyn, who described his mother’s dance moves as ‘inappropriate’.

First things first – Victoria had not been drinking. Because of the very real tensions with Brooklyn and the Peltzes, she hadn’t had even one glass of wine by that point.

One of the few who have seen the footage that was captured on the night by a cameraman describes the ‘close’ dance as ‘honestly, very weird’, and adds: ‘It is uncomfortable to watch.’

Victoria was seen putting her arms around her son’s neck and around his waist, which is what Brooklyn found ‘very inappropriate’. However, two other wedding guests, both friends of the Beckhams, insist they saw nothing untoward.

The dancing went on until the early hours, before the bride and groom and their guests retired to their respective accommodation. The next day, everyone was assembled again for a post-wedding brunch, held in a marquee in the tropical gardens.

Ahead of the bride and groom’s entrance, it resembled a post-mortem as guests gossiped and dissected what had occurred the night before.

The chatter died away with the entrance of Nicola, in a metallic-trimmed ivory minidress, and Brooklyn, casually dressed in khaki trousers and cream sweater. David, in a cream linen suit, and Victoria, in funereal black, arrived in a baby blue vintage convertible Jaguar, modified to run on electric.

It was a gift for the newlyweds from David, who was an investor in Lunaz, the British firm who had made it. The Founder and CEO, David Lorenz, said in a press release about the $500,000 car: ‘In creating this beautiful, electrified Jaguar XK140, we are honoured to bridge the gap between David Beckham’s professional life, where he is an investor in Lunaz, and his family life. This remarkable car is the perfect gift to his son Brooklyn and daughter-in-law, Nicola, on their wedding day. In every respect, this extraordinary electric classic car by Lunaz symbolises a bright, positive future.’

Nicola and Brooklyn duly posed in the car for pictures for Vogue Magazine, although some at the wedding detected a reluctance to be used for commercial gain on this occasion. A source says that, by this point, they were pretty much ‘over’ the whole business with the Beckhams, who seem to have lost their boundaries somewhere along the way.

Later that weekend, Vogue interviewed Nicola as part of their coverage of the wedding. Asked if she and Brooklyn had been inspired by David and Victoria’s own ceremony at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland – with the now notorious thrones and bride and groom’s matching purple satin outfits – she and her new husband laughed.

‘Their wedding was incredible and those pictures are iconic, but the wedding we were most inspired by was Iman and David Bowie’s,’ said Nicola.

It was a most delicate swipe with the finest of knives. And there were plenty more cuts to come.

Part two of Alison Boshoff’s jaw-dropping new book on Sunday 

A passenger aboard a British Airways flight that issued a ‘mayday’ distress call had to be calmed down amid fears they were going to crash.

New details have emerged following the ‘serious incident’ earlier this month, with one traveller describing his fear after the plane suffered an air data systems failure.

The aircraft was reportedly ‘seconds from disaster’ while over Canary Wharf on July 6, as it flew from Düsseldorf to Heathrow.

While at 4,000ft, flight BA919 encountered an issue in the cockpit, leading to two stall warnings and the crew declaring a PAN PAN – an international radio signal for an urgent but not life-threatening emergency.

This was later upgraded to ‘mayday’, indicating imminent danger.

Thankfully, after performing a go-around and descending to 2,200ft before returning to the approach path, the Airbus A320 was able to land safely.

But this certainly didn’t stop passengers from becoming distressed, particularly when the pilot performed an ‘abrupt’ turn to aid recovery.

Speaking to BBC News about what he experienced, Edward Killiwick explained that he was flying back from a friend’s birthday party with his partner, Julie.

He said passengers were told that the landing had been aborted before feeling a ‘very violent manoeuvre’, adding that there was a lack of communication from the cabin crew.

Consequently, Mr Killiwick ‘did think [they] would crash’.

Amid the crisis, he also had to comfort a woman who he says ‘completely lost it’ and started screaming, ‘I don’t want to die.’

‘The violent manoeuvre almost felt like it was avoiding another aircraft. You could feel the engines going at full power,’ he recalled.

‘It was a bit odd going around in a holding pattern with no information. I thought, “If they’re not talking, then they’re not in a good place”.’

Mr Killiwick added that he was ‘definitely scared’, having recognised that there was ‘definitely something very badly wrong’, and ‘everyone’ thought crashing was a ‘possibility’.

‘Then we did land, but still no communication from the flight deck, which I suppose isn’t surprising, as I suppose they had quite a lot to do.’

He noted how ‘relieved’ everyone was to be back on the ground, while a few people ‘clapped’ and his partner ‘shed tears’.

‘Everyone was very, very quiet. There was almost no conversation. That’s the eerie thing.’

An investigation into the situation – which has reportedly been classified as a loss of control in-flight and described as ‘pilot-induced’ – is ongoing with BA’s assistance.

Meanwhile, a source claimed to The Sun that it was the ‘most serious near miss in the UK in years’, with the captain having to intervene to override the first officer’s initial input to try and remedy the first stall.

‘To recover from this position is difficult, especially so low to the ground,’ the source said.

‘It is unheard of for a captain to physically intervene in the cockpit.’

With the captain now understood to be off work on ‘stress leave’, senior figures have said there was almost a ‘hull loss’, a term used to describe an aircraft that is destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

Upon opening its investigation, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said: ‘During the approach phase, an ADR failure triggered a stall warning; the crew flew the aircraft under alternate law and declared a PAN.

‘A further stall warning occurred at 3,000 feet, accompanied by a potentially abrupt recovery manoeuvre, resulting in the PAN being changed to a MAYDAY. The aircraft landed without further incident.’

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK’s aviation regulator, has said it cannot comment on ongoing reviews. British Airways has confirmed its cooperation with the investigation.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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While Uefa members are among the richest on the planet, many other nations rely on Fifa funding for basic infrastructure.

While the AFC opposes Infantino’s plan, unlike Uefa it has not threatened to boycott Fifa competitions. AFC members would not be obliged to vote against the proposals.

Rogers Byamukama, of the Ugandan Football Federation, argued any avenue that could lead to more resources for nations like his should be explored.

“First and foremost, you need to understand that football is a very expensive venture, especially on the African continent where the resources are not easy to come by,” he told Newsday on BBC World Service.

“For instance in Uganda, the number of infrastructure projects that have been funded by Fifa from the resources generated by Fifa, especially at the World Cup, both from ticket sales as well as sponsors.

“On top of that, there are many grassroots programmes that have been funded by Fifa, including schools for football.

“From my perspective, any avenue that brings in more resources is good because those resources would be distributed and given to federations, especially on the African continent and that would inspire growth.”

Byamukama acknowledged Uefa’s right to speak out, but suggested its members were not reliant on Fifa funding like many associations in the rest of the world where Infantino remains popular.

In the first two cycles of the Fifa Forward development programme, through to 2022, $2.8bn (£2.08bn) was made available for investment across the 211 member associations.

Fifa Forward 3.0 – covering the years 2023 through to 2026 – has produced a 30% increase in funding.

Fifa has provided a further $5m (£3.7m) for every member association, with another $60m (£44.48m) paid to each confederation for their own projects.

After expanding the men’s World Cup to 48 teams from 32 for the 2026 edition, Fifa is seeking an independent agency to assess an expansion to 64 teams for the 2030 tournament.

The timeline on documents seen by BBC Sport said Fifa would receive agency proposals by 7 August, with a Fifa decision on 14 August. Delivery of analysis by the agency is then scheduled for 11 September.

The bookmaker has launched a consultation over the closures, which will affect more than a tenth of its UK betting shops

Betfred is preparing to close 132 betting shops and cut more than 600 jobs, as the bookmaker warns that rising taxes and a deteriorating economic climate have made parts of its retail estate unsustainable.

The company has begun a formal consultation on the closures, which will affect more than a tenth of its UK shops and reduce its footprint to around 1,100 sites.

Founded in Warrington in 1967 by brothers Fred and Peter Done, whose combined wealth is estimated at £3.61 billion, Betfred said the fiscal pressures facing the industry had become impossible to absorb.

Jo Whittaker, chief executive of Betfred, said: “We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer national insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice.

“These are well-run shops, staffed by dedicated colleagues, and it is incredibly hard to see any of them close, but the current fiscal and regulatory environment has made it impossible to keep trading all our shops.

“Our priority now is to support the colleagues affected, and to continue serving customers and communities across the rest of our estate.”

Competing gambling firms Paddy Power and William Hill have similarly shuttered dozens of outlets over the last 12 months. Back in January, William Hill and 888 owner Evoke revealed it acted “quickly and decisively” to counter recent budget changes to gambling taxes by implementing shop closures and cost-cutting measures.

Last October, Paddy Power announced intentions to close 57 betting shops throughout the UK and Ireland, placing 250 employees’ jobs in jeopardy. The shutdown proposals follow tax hikes unveiled by the former chancellor.

Measures outlined in last year’s autumn budget saw remote gaming duty rise from 21% to 40%, while a new online sports betting duty of 25% will be introduced, covering all sports excluding horse racing, from 2027.

Betfred also pointed to additional financial strain from other tax rises including the increase in National Insurance contributions and alterations to thresholds.

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Gleeful migrants filmed themselves arriving in the Spanish territory of Ceuta, with one man seen reaching the shore clinging to a bicycle, while another took videos with a selfie stick as he swam across the African coast. 

Thousands of migrants have been pouring into Ceuta over the last two days, some by land and others by sea.

Spain‘s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has condemned the breach of the border with Morocco as ‘a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.’

But as security forces struggle to hold back the influx of migrants, incoming North Africans took to social media to share videos of them celebrating their arrival in Ceuta.

Meanwhile, separate footage captured the bizarre ways in which they managed to cross the sea.

Other clips showed migrant children playing in Spanish parks, while groups of men were seen throwing peace signs and shouting ‘Long live Pedro Sanchez.’

One social media video showed a migrant swimming from Morocco to Ceuta while hauling a bicycle across the water. 

As he reaches the shore, he is seen pushing the bike along the beach. 

One social media video showed a migrant swimming from Morocco to Ceuta while hauling a bicycle across the water

A young woman celebrates as she walks along a beach promenade after arriving in Ceuta 

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In another video that has gone viral, a migrant films himself swimming with a selfie stick as music plays in the background. 

Other scenes show a water-soaked young woman celebrating as she walks along a beach promenade after arriving on the Spanish territory. 

The same woman appears in a separate video walking along the streets of Ceuta with a group of other young people as she brandishes a Fendi phone case in her hand. 

Videos shared by Spanish locals showed scores of unaccompanied migrant children playing in parks. 

Live footage of the Spain-Morocco border showed hundreds of migrants gathered on a hill overlooking Ceuta being dispersed with tear gas by Moroccan forces, while others continued to swim to the Spanish enclave. 

At the same time, large groups of migrants walked back from Ceuta toward Morocco to return home.

Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, called the situation a ‘serious humanitarian crisis,’ saying thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, while others roamed the streets aimlessly.

‘People are still entering. The reinforcements, including Spanish military troops, that have arrived are only helping the injured and other humanitarian efforts,’ he said. ‘It’s chaotic.’

Migrants are seen playing in Ceuta’s parks after their arrival 

Among the 18 who died, many drowned, Sbihi said, but some were also killed in a stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, an urban beach near a border checkpoint with Morocco. 

On Friday morning, the waters near the border fence were littered with buoys, shoes and other belongings left behind.

Moroccan police deployed additional personnel, used water cannons and fired warning shots into the air to prevent migrants from crossing into Ceuta, according to rights groups in Morocco.

Authorities in Ceuta and Madrid have blamed the situation on a recent decision by Spain’s Supreme Court that ruled migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported, unlike those who cross by land or climb the border fence.

Sanchez said migrant smugglers misinterpreted the ruling, but acknowledged that it may have played a role in sowing chaos. 

‘It appears that this interpretation of the Supreme Court’s ruling spread like wildfire over the past few hours through the networks of human trafficking organisations, triggering the kind of mass surge we witnessed yesterday,’ Sanchez said. 

Spain is a main point of arrival into Europe for migrants seeking better economic opportunities or an escape from violence in their home countries.

To reach Ceuta, located on the northern African coast, migrants often swim from the Moroccan town of Fnideq, covering about three miles to reach Spanish territory. Others attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Belyounech, where the distance is shorter.

Football chiefs will consider whether to push for a vote of no confidence on Gianni Infantino following another day of drastic developments surrounding the embattled Fifa president.

But Infantino’s game-breaking Fifa Forward Enterprise plan is described as “not dead yet”, with the Swiss official still pushing on with his controversial plans after the global governing body issued another round of “clarifications” overnight.

Sources have even spoken of Infantino continuing on in the office as normal. Meanwhile, many outside his small circle are highly curious as to what he is “feeling” right now, as a previously invulnerable position has been left so exposed in a matter of days.

Above anything, it’s remarkable to think a Fifa president can continue when the most powerful continent has boycotted the World Cup, in Uefa, and two other confederations have at least prepared the ground to follow.

This all in a week that actually started with Infantino berating the media for criticism. One of his most senior advisors, Carlos Cordeiro, has also now quit, signing off with a damning statement. That’s just another development that would usually be difficult to survive.

Federation chiefs have already started talking about the process of a vote of no confidence, which would first necessitate a meeting of the Fifa Council and then 43 member associations – a quarter of the 211 – to push for an Extraordinary Congress.

Before that, though, everyone is waiting to see how the dust settles. Football chiefs have even felt it’s all been happening too fast to even properly register.

Amid all of that, Cordeiro’s statement was still clear enough to sum up the main problems with this plan. He wrote of how Fifa “sits on billions of dollars in reserves and no debt”, ensuring that “selling a permanent stake in football’s most valuable asset to raise $4.2bn makes little sense”.

“Why this deal? Why now?”

The JP Morgan deck for the plan is indeed said to have been “the final straw” for many member associations, including how it seemed to undervalue something as precious as the World Cup – let alone the principle of selling it off. They also pointed to contradictions in how Fifa is now bleating about consultations, but their very documents say terms have been agreed. As one involved figure said, “who agreed them?”

The exclusion of Cordeiro from the process is one of many elements that has only further baffled football.

While the former US Soccer president has been a divisive figure himself, he is seen as one of “the world’s top bankers” given his decades of work at Goldman Sachs.

It would surely have been obvious for Infantino to include him in formulating an idea like this, not least given their proximity. But he didn’t.

Among another key question being asked – of many – is how and why the arbitrary deadline of 19 September was picked.

Sources were wryly laughing at how Fifa’s “clarification” email complained at how their “planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports” only to then plough ahead with this deadline of 19 September. What would have changed if the consultation process hadn’t been “disrupted” by the media?

Sports industry figures have pointed to how a comparable deal between CVC Capital Partners and the Six Nations took two years to go through. Fifa were instead insisting on seven weeks with 211 countries, and that covering a period when most senior federation people are on holiday after a gruelling World Cup.

It is of a piece with so many major decisions under Infantino’s Fifa being rushed through with minimal opportunity for discussion, with the latest apparently the connected expansion of the World Cup to 64 teams.

If a radical shift like this plan was being taken in normal circumstances, it would come after a strategy department had been suggesting change over a period of time, before going through the board, the finance office and legal.

Except, nothing about this is normal.

The 19 September is otherwise seen by finance figures as a standard attempt to have hard milestones in place before the plan can evolve to formal financial due diligence. It also happens to fit with key Fifa dates, given that there’s an Extraordinary Congress scheduled for 23 November – by which point the presidential nominations are due for the March 2027 election – and the deadline for that agenda is 23 September.

Many figures naturally feel more time is essential, before even considering all the other concerns.

Ultimately, though, there was one major factor putting most voters off.

As a number of sources have said, ‘the association with the Trumps was just never going to fly”.

So much more of the story at least makes sense once it is viewed through the prism of the world around Donald Trump.

Infantino’s long association with a notoriously transactional US president played into a situation where he is suddenly announcing a plan that centrally involves the brother of Trump’s son-in-law – through Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital – after a year-long plan that very few people apparently knew about.

That element is said to have infuriated big hitters in the financial community, too. Here was “the most secure, most revenue-generating, most global asset” coming on the market and firms from Silverlake to CVC were not even at the table. That alone could cause awkward discussions at the next round of investor conversations.

And yet it is apparently going to Thrive Capital, which is seen in that sphere as an internet/software venture capital fund.

So, why Kushner?

Many are also seeing Trump’s long flattery of Infantino with a different perspective. As one source puts it, “he talks about him in a way he doesn’t even talk about Benjamin Netanyahu”.

Infantino has had longer and deeper access to the White House than almost anyone outside politics, and stayed close to Trump longer after the type of timescale where relationships with other comparable figures are burned. Look at Elon Musk, for example.

Was it connected to this plan?

The Trump connection could also dictate where this goes next.

As well as a vote of no confidence, federation chiefs have been weighing up potential challengers to be announced in November – from Concacaf’s Victor Montigliani to Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi – but they do still see a path to survival for Infantino.

If he says he understands the views of the many dissenters and goes in another direction, he could stay.

That direction could even be to still create Fifa Forward Enterprises but without the private equity element, as Uefa have done with Uefa Events SA. The record World Cup profits could then be distributed to member associations at $20m each and everyone moves with a contrite but weakened Infantino.

But will he do that given this connection to the Trumps? What has actually been discussed in the secret negotiations that led to this? Can he unmoor himself from this specific plan in that way, or will he press on and try and get it to a vote?

The next steps could decide more than Infantino’s future.

The Total Eclipse of the Heart Singer died in Portugal earlier this month

A book of condolence for Welsh icon Bonnie Tyler is being opened in Swansea. The Total Eclipse of the Heart Singer, who was born Gaynor Hopkins, died in hospital in Portugal on July 8 at the age of 75.

People can pay a personal tribute to the iconic singer in a book of condolence that’s being opened at Y Storfa in Swansea city centre on August 3. The book, organised by Swansea Council, is available for members of the public to sign during regular opening hours at the community hub in Oxford Street. An online Book of Condolence has also been opened and can be found here.

As a mark of respect, the Welsh flag is being flown at half-mast on the Rotunda at Swansea’s Guildhall, while the Lord Mayor has written to Bonnie Tyler’s family to offer condolences on behalf of the people of the city. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here.

Bonnie’s family have announced details of her funeral through a notice published in the South Wales Evening Post. It said a celebration of her life will be held in Swansea and members of the public were invited to line the streets to pay their respects.

The singer is resting at William Pressdee Funeralcare on Stanley Street in Mumbles before she returns to her home in Fernhill on Saturday, August 15, at 3.30pm. Those who wish to pay their respects are invited to line Newton Road, Mumbles from 3.15pm that day.

The Lord Mayor of Swansea, councillor Penny Matthews, who has signed the book of condolence, said: “I was deeply saddened to hear of Bonnie Tyler’s passing.

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“Bonnie’s journey from south Wales to international stardom inspired generations and brought enormous pride to Swansea and Wales. Her music touched millions of people around the world, but she never lost sight of her roots.

“I have written to Bonnie’s family to express condolences on behalf of the people of Swansea and to let them know how much she meant to so many people here.

“I hope residents who admired her music and achievements will take the opportunity to leave a message and celebrate a truly remarkable life.”

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Council Leader Cllr Rob Stewart, who has also signed the book, said: “Bonnie Tyler was one of Wales’ great musical ambassadors and one of the most recognisable voices in popular music.

“From South Wales clubs to worldwide success, she achieved extraordinary things while remaining a source of pride for communities across our region.

“Her songs became the soundtrack to countless lives and her legacy will continue to inspire future generations.”

Bonnie Tyler rose to worldwide fame with a string of hit records including It’s a Heartache, Total Eclipse of the Heart and Holding Out for a Hero.

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As one of the UK’s most celebrated performers, Bonnie’s death has attracted tributes from musicians and fans across the world.

Where and when you can sign the book of condolence:

• Y Storfa, 277-278 Oxford Street, Swansea, from Monday, August 3, to Friday, August, 21.
• Opening times: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 9am-5.30pm
• Wednesday: 9am-7pm
• Saturday and Sunday: 10am-4pm

The celebration of life service is on Monday, August 17, at St Mary’s Church. It is described as a “public service” which is due to start at 12pm, with the church doors being open from 11am.

Within the church, seating will be prioritised for the family and invited guests but it is anticipated that there will be a limited number of seats available for the general public. For those unable to get into the church, the service will be broadcast outside on television screens.

It will also be shown online at www.bonnietyler.com for fans across the world.

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