India has 3,41,862 registered football players, 16,295 coaches and 3,347 referees, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has told the Central Information Commission (CIC).

The figures were furnished by the football federation in response to an RTI application seeking the number of registered players, coaches and referees in India for the 2015-25 period.

The application also sought details of the club-wise number of injuries reported by Indian Super League (ISL) clubs during FIFA international windows in 2024 and 2025.

It sought information on the achieved and unachieved goals under the AIFF Lakshya 2022 document, Target 2026 and AIFF Strategic Target 2019-22, along with reasons for failure to achieve the objectives and steps taken to meet the unachieved targets.

The application also sought details of initiatives taken by the federation for the development of youth and women’s football, plans for the senior women’s national team ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, and the priority accorded to the 2027 tournament.

In its response, the federation said the information relating to ISL clubs could not be produced under the RTI Act, which does not require a public information officer to create information or deduce conclusions from material.

The federation, however, provided the registration figures, saying, “The total number of registered Players in India is 3,41,862. The total number of registered Coaches in India is 16,295. The total number of registered Referees in India is 3347.” 
The applicant later approached the CIC, alleging that the response was incomplete, false and misleading. The federation maintained that point-wise replies had been provided.

In its order, Information Commissioner P R Ramesh held that the queries had been appropriately answered and that permissible information had been supplied.

Not to everyone’s delight, Elversberg are active in the transfer market ahead of their first-ever top-flight season. The smallest town to be represented in Bundesliga is backed by investor Frank Holzer, who is the head of pharmaceutical company Ursapharm, which didn’t go well with the traditional ethos of German football.

How was their 2025/26?

After missing out on a promotion the previous season with a narrow defeat to Heidenheim in the playoff, Elversberg faced a similar scare in the final month of the 2. Bundesliga campaign. A defeat to eventually relegated Fortuna Düsseldorf made them wait until the final matchday of the season to write history.

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The club from a town of 13,000 inhabitants has only made the jump to the second division in 2023. Despite the promising 2024/25 campaign, few predicted them to be around the top once again since their long-serving coach Horst Steffen was poached by Werder Bremen, while top scorers Fisnik Asllani and Muhammed Damar returned to their parent club Hoffenheim.

And, in the middle of the season, 12-goal hero Younes Ebnoutalib joined Eintracht Frankfurt. To their credit, Vincent Wagner’s side maintained their momentum after the departure of the Moroccan attacker with David Mokwa proving to be the perfect replacement.

Their form at the Ursapharm-Arena an der Kaiserlinde was a big factor as Hertha and Schalke were the only teams to return home with three points. In the end, Elversberg followed the latter to win automatic promotion to Bundesliga.

The Coach

A goal-scoring center-back in his playing career, Vincent Wagner wasn’t able to go beyond Regionalliga. However, he has now become a Bundesliga head coach at the young age of 40.

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After Asllani and Damar’s memorable loan spells, Elversberg glanced at Hoffenheim once again to replace Steffen. Including three years in Sinsheim, Wagner worked with youth teams in four different clubs.

The Nordhausen native has managed back-to-back promotions, leading Hoffenheim II to 3. Liga before joining Elversberg. His repertoire of working with youth teams perfectly suits Elversberg’s policy in the transfer market.

Transfers

Christian Weber, who signed Christos Tzolis during his time at Fortuna Düsseldorf, is preparing a Bundesliga squad for the first time. Weber and co. are tasked with finding promising youngsters so that debutants Elversberg could emulate Heidenheim’s success instead of an immediate relegation like Holstein Kiel.

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Bambasé Conté and Jarzinho Malanga returned to their parent clubs after playing their part in the promotion season, while Die Elv hope to reach an agreement with HSV for the permanent transfer of Immanuel Pherai as they did for fellow midfielder Lukasz Poreba.

With Cole Campbell (Dortmund) and Maurice Krattenmacher (Bayern), Elversberg signed prospects from Germany’s big clubs. The club shattered its transfer record for the US youth international as they parted ways with €6 million to sign the winger who only played 90 minutes of Bundesliga football for BVB and Hoffenheim last term.

According to Transfermarkt, they also spent €2.5 million to secure loan deals for Noel Futkeu (Frankfurt), Francis Onyeka (Leverkusen) and Noah Darvich (Stuttgart). The former finished as top scorer in 2. Bundesliga last season despite his club Greuther Fürth needing a playoff tie to stay in the division.

Onyeka also had a successful campaign in 2. Bundesliga with Bochum before captaining Germany U19 in their way of reaching the final of the European Championship. Darvich previously led Germany U17 to continental and World Cup triumphs, and he’ll hope to make his breakthrough in first-team football after scoring 10 3. Liga goals for Stuttgart II last season.

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The lack of Bundesliga experience in the squad isn’t addressed in the market. Michel-Ange Balikwisha is linked with a move after his poor debut season at Celtic as 27-year-old center-back Luca Sirch, who played 60 2. Bundesliga games for Kaiserslautern in the past couple of seasons, is so far the oldest new signing.

Pre-season preparations

Wagner’s side had a positive pre-season with marquee wins over NEC Nijmegen and Strasbourg. Darvich, Campbell and Onyeka were in excellent form as they ended their preparations with a 4-1 victory against Lorient.

In the opening competitive game of the season, 3. Liga leaders Duisburg gave them a bigger test until Onyeka’s late brace sealed Elversberg’s place in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.

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Predicted starting lineup

In the absence of the suspended skipper Lukas Pinckert, Luca Schnellbacher captained the side in Duisburg. The 32-year-old striker continued his fine pre-season form by scoring Elversberg’s first goal of the season, but Futkeu and Mokwa are expected to have more playing time ahead of him.

In midfield, Darvich and Onyeka could compete for the number 10 role, although there is a possibility for a lineup featuring all three youngsters (including Campbell) at the same time. Krattenmacher rarely featured during pre-season, but he’ll also be in contention for a starting berth.

Nicolas Kristof, who joined the club when they were in Regionalliga, will be the undisputed number one after helping them to three promotions over the years.

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Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kristof; Günther, Pinckert ©, Rohr, Keidel; Poreba, Darvich; Campbell, Onyeka, Krattenmacher; Futkeu

Fixture list

Elversberg’s first-ever Bundesliga game will be at home against the 2023/24 champions Bayer Leverkusen. The mighty FC Bayern will be the next team visiting Spiesen-Elversberg a week after the newcomers face Borussia Mönchengladbach away from home.

The last two matchdays of the league season will see them face Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen. With their closest southwest rivals Kaiserslautern in 2. Bundesliga, there will be no derbies for Wagner’s men this term.

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Expectations & Prediction

Alongside Paderborn, Elversberg are tipped for an immediate return to 2. Bundesliga. Before Holstein Kiel’s relegation in 2024/25, the last four Bundesliga debutants avoided that fate. Elversberg’s trust in prospects – they are also linked with 17-year-old Frankfurt defensive midfielder Eba Bekir Is – is admirable, but the lack of Bundesliga experience in the squad could be their downfall in the battle against the drop.

Defiantly has earned an automatic entry into the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) for 2026, following a commanding victory in the Group 2 Prix Kergorlay (3000m) at Deauville on Sunday. This triumph provides trainer Joseph O’Brien with another serious contender for the iconic Flemington race, where he has a distinguished record.

The Prix Kergorlay this year carried a Melbourne Cup Golden Ticket for the first time, guaranteeing the winner a place in the November 3rd Melbourne Cup field. Defiantly capitalised on this opportunity emphatically, following a path with a strong historical precedent.

Americain won the Kergorlay before going on to claim the Melbourne Cup in 2010, and Protectionist achieved the same double four years later. Protectionist’s subsequent purchase by a partnership including Australia Bloodstock after his Deauville win imbues Defiantly’s success with particular historical resonance for his owners.

Joseph O’Brien’s personal success in the Melbourne Cup is also noteworthy. Rekindling delivered his first Melbourne Cup victory in 2017, followed by Twilight Payment in 2020. The stable also saw Goodie Two Shoes finish second last year.

The four-year-old colt had spent the summer competing in staying handicaps. He was narrowly beaten a head by Kizlyar in the Class 2 Ascot Stakes over two miles and four furlongs at Royal Ascot, prior to defeating Berkshire Sundance by three lengths in the Class 2 Coral Goodwood Handicap over two miles and four-and-a-half furlongs at Goodwood.

His first venture into Group company saw a marked improvement. Dylan Browne McMonagle positioned Defiantly at the front, establishing an even tempo in the initial stages. The pace gradually increased significantly from a long way out, stretching the field before the home turn, with the leader maintaining composure as his rivals began to labour.

When asked to increase his speed in the straight, Defiantly responded strongly, pulling away to defeat Santorini Star by five and a half lengths. Double Major finished a further five lengths behind in third.

“He’s a solid horse and has improved with every run,” McMonagle told Sky Sports Racing. “He’s a strong stayer, he doesn’t do too much and he’s always behind the bridle which helps over this trip. Every question you ask him, he responds good. There doesn’t seem to be a bottom to him, he continues to stay. He’s a solid candidate for the Melbourne Cup and handles the fast ground. He’s got all the right qualities for it.”

There is also an Australian connection within the pedigree. Defiantly is a half-brother to Group 1 Underwood Stakes winner Buckaroo and to Middle Earth, who finished third in the 2025 Group 1 Melbourne Cup.

Consider the Australian betting sites for wagers on the upcoming Melbourne Cup.

Gratz Vella, a trainer based in Canberra, has had his career’s most significant thrill courtesy of the three-year-old gelding Music Time.

During his debut preparation, the son of All Too Hard captured the Group 3 Black Opal Stakes (1200m), Canberra’s premier juvenile event, and subsequently achieved a strong third place in the nation’s foremost two-year-old race, the Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m).

Now, Vella has his sights set on Sydney’s premier three-year-old races, with Music Time slated to make his seasonal reappearance in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens this coming Saturday.

Music Time received a beneficial conditioning run when he finished second in his only trial over 1040m on August 14th, and Vella is confident this outing has prepared him sufficiently for Saturday’s challenge.

“I said to Tommy Berry before his trial ‘he hasn’t had too much, a couple of nice gallops and one jump out, just go easy with him today and it’s only going to benefit him,” Vella shared.

“And he come back in and said ‘Gratz, this horse is a lot more forward that what you think he is.’”

“He’s come on very well from his two-year-old season, especially since that barrier trial. He had a good gallop Tuesday morning with one of my senior horses and matched strides with him, the jockey came in and said how good he was.”

Having initially considered targeting The Kosciuszko (1200m), a race exclusively for country-trained horses, a consultation with the Racing New South Wales Handicapper has led Vella to aim for more prestigious targets, setting Music Time on a path toward the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m).

“I rang up the handicapper and I asked him about the Kosciuszko and for a three-year-old, he’d be carrying 60 kilos,” Vella explained.

“So I think that’s out of our picture. But I think if he goes well this weekend, by all means, we’ll just keep heading for the three-year-old races.”

“Who’s to say he can’t make it in a Golden Rose, because the horse’s he’s racing this weekend were mainly in the Golden Slipper and he didn’t finish too far away from the winner.”

Music Time, who will be partnered by Kerrin Mcevoy, is currently listed as a $15 chance for Saturday’s San Domenico Stakes, with the Golden Slipper winning horse Guest House installed as the $2.80 favourite.

Betting markets for the San Domenico Stakes are available at leading sports betting platforms.

Tom Dabernig is hoping for a strong showing from one of his sprinters this weekend, aiming for Group 1 contention, after another of his horses secured a spot in a major race last Saturday.

The untapped four-year-old Oliveanotherday is scheduled to begin his campaign in Saturday’s $200,000 The Heath at Caulfield.

This Group 3 event over 1100 metres will be Oliveanotherday’s first outing since completing a perfect four-start season in the Listed Wangoom Handicap (1100m) in early May, a performance that announced him as one of the country’s most exciting sprinters.

Dabernig understands the gelding must step up, but he was heartened by the Wangoom Handicap win over older horses and has been satisfied with his recent work.

“Three to four is always a funny transition, but as a three-year-old he was in races where he was beating older horses, so I think he’s a horse that can make that transition fine,” he said.

“He trialled at Caulfield last Wednesday and trialled really well and he pulled up well.

“He’s had a nice build-up, he’s had two trials and seems to be going well.”

Oliveanotherday is part of a capable sprinting team for the Warrnambool trainer. Last Saturday, Cavalry Girl earned her place in the Group 1 Moir Stakes for this year with a victory in the Group 3 Carlyon Stakes at Sandown.

Oliveanotherday defeated Point Barrow in a 1000m jumpout on Caulfield’s Heath track on August 19, following an 880m trial at Casterton.

Dabernig considered The Heath a suitable starting point for Oliveanotherday, given his previous win at Caulfield before the Wangoom Handicap, which will help shape his future campaign.

“He was good at Caulfield, so we thought that might be a nice, safe kick-off,” Dabernig explained.

“He hasn’t been to Flemington yet, so what we’re considering is maybe the Bobbie Lewis (second-up) and trying it early, which might help map out what we do.

“The straight is an unknown and I didn’t want to go first-up down the straight, so I thought we can get that run into him and then make that call on what we do.”

Oliveanotherday is the $2.50 favourite for The Heath, with prominent rivals including Group 1 winner War Machine ($4), Bridal Waltz ($6), and Inkaruna ($8).

Oliveanotherday is the $2.50 favourite for The Heath, and keen punters might be checking out betting sites for the best racing betting markets available on the field, which includes Group 1 winner War Machine ($4), Bridal Waltz ($6), and Inkaruna ($8).

Chelsea legend John Terry has revealed that Jose Mourinho once told him to deliberately collect yellow cards so he could serve a planned suspension and be rested for a key Premier League match.

Terry, 45, made the revelation while speaking on FC Bullard The Show, recalling one of the tactical decisions Mourinho made during his time as Chelsea manager.

According to the former England defender, Mourinho wanted him to miss an FA Cup match against Walsall so he could be available for Chelsea’s important Premier League clash against Manchester United.

Terry said Mourinho approached him when he had two league bookings and told him to pick up yellow cards in his next three league games.

“I’m on two bookings. He comes to me and says, ‘You have to miss that one because we play Man United at home after Walsall. I want you to miss the FA Cup game, so you have to get booked in the next three league games,’” Terry recalled.

The former Chelsea captain said he collected bookings in his next two matches before deliberately looking for another late in the third game.

With Chelsea winning, Terry described how he delayed taking a throw-in in the final minutes until the referee eventually showed him a yellow card for wasting time.

“I’m waiting about two minutes. In the end, he comes over and books me. I drop the ball and just go running back,” Terry said.

Terry then revealed that Mourinho rewarded him with a four-day trip to Dubai after the plan worked.

“He sends me to Dubai for four days after. Little bits like that. It was just so good,” he added.

The story has attracted criticism from some fans, with some questioning the idea of deliberately getting booked to manipulate the suspension system.

For Terry, however, it was another example of Mourinho’s attention to detail and the unusual methods he used to prepare his team for important matches.

The pair enjoyed great success together at Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles during Mourinho’s first spell at the club.

It has been a goodbye to the greats in Manchester City’s summer of change, adios to Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva and John Stones and Rodri, with tributes reflecting their importance in the club’s history. Nathan Ake, another Champions League winner, was afforded less of a fanfare, but then he always did tend to fly under the radar.

But there is a different kind of farewell: to the men who have come and gone at some speed, often with sizeable sums of money changing hands, but without the longevity of Guardiola, Silva and Stones, who all gave either nine or 10 years of service. Some may have been designed as the successors to the Treble team, but are leaving in the same summer as a couple of them, barely a year after others. Which, in turn, can show the difficulty of coming after legends; anyone else can look a downgrade.

Yet if one interpretation is to note how quickly City abandoned some of their plans for the future, another is that they are extricating themselves in such a way to fund further rebuilding, to buy the players who came after the players designed to take over from Rodri and Silva and co.

James Trafford, Tijjani Reijnders and Savio have already gone this summer. Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush probably will follow. It will be profitable business for City, with £91m banked before the a club record £85m from Savio’s switch to Spurs, with perhaps a further £100m on top of that if the Egyptian joins him at Tottenham and the Spaniard heads to Newcastle. That more than pays for a new midfield – the £116m buy of Elliot Anderson and the proposed £85m arrival of Ayyoub Bouaddi – and goes quite some way towards funding a third arrival in the centre of the pitch.

The common denominator among the departures is that Trafford, Reijnders, Savio, Gonzalez and Marmoush all arrived in Guardiola’s last two years; they came in his final four transfer windows, rather than playing in the four-in-a-row team. None won the title with City; Savio’s 84 appearances were the most of that quintet, Marmoush’s 16 goals the highest.

Rather than becoming constants in the team, they became symbols of a time of transition: from Guardiola to Enzo Maresca, from a great team to a merely good one, from Txiki Begiristain to Hugo Viana, with two directors of football having varying roles in their respective arrivals.

They also marked a point where continuity gave way to change. City have a reputation as big spenders but were relatively restrained in the transfer market for a while; too long, as they suddenly needed to replace an ageing group. They spent £450m in four windows, more than half on players who have either gone or may play a negligible part in the new regime. They had to rush recruitment, particularly in January 2025; at times they got quantity more than quality, players who either lacked the characteristics or the brilliance of the men they were supposed to replace.

If it underlined the difficulty in unearthing footballers to suit Guardiola’s style of play, it is also hard to get those as good as their predecessors. Savinho, for instance, had some similarities to Riyad Mahrez, and took his No 26 shirt, but never had his goalscoring habit. Marmoush offered the ability to operate as a striker that City needed for Erling Haaland’s rare absences, but when opponents defend deep, his pace was negated. Had either really succeeded – and each was poor in the first half of last season – then perhaps City would never have signed Antoine Semenyo.

Reijnders is more of a box-to-box midfielder than a quintessential Guardiola technician and lost his place. Gonzalez was bought to be Rodri’s understudy. But while Maresca has talked of late of finding “a new Rodri”, City concluded it was not Gonzalez; again, he was overlooked for more technical players last season. Trafford, meanwhile, rejoined scarcely expecting City to buy Gianluigi Donnarumma. There was a failure of communication.

Reijnders was required in part because the 2024 deal to bring back Ilkay Gundogan, another of the luminaries, backfired. The German went again after a year. Four relatively recent arrivals remain on the books, but Sverre Nypan has been loaned out again. Vitor Reis has returned from his own City Football Group loan to be fifth-choice centre-back. Marcus Bettinelli is third-choice goalkeeper. Rayan Ait-Nouri, who never felt a Guardiola left-back, may not be a Maresca one either and has started the season as an unused substitute.

It only leaves a core five recruits from the in-between years, a quintet who should be pivotal. It feels notable that three of them were low-risk recruits anyway: Donnarumma, already established as one of the world’s finest goalkeepers, and Semenyo and Marc Guehi, Premier League-proven players who were among the best in the division in their positions.

That leaves two coups from the two years of rapidly rebuilding the squad: Cherki, a huge talent and, at £31m, a bargain, and Abdukodir Khusanov, raw when signed but with the speed to make him formidable. It also gives him some echoes of Kyle Walker just as, in his creativity, Cherki can seem a successor to Kevin De Bruyne.

There may be a lesson there especially as Guehi, like Stones, is a ball-playing centre-back. It shows a consistency of thought. Some of the other recruits may not. Some came, went into the team, out again and headed to the exit.

While City have commanded premium prices for back-ups, the fact they have paid a club record sum for Elliot Anderson may suggest they concluded the mix-and-match buying for £30m and £50m had too much trial and error to make them the best again. But arguably the abiding lesson is that it is impossible to completely rebuild a champion team in four transfer windows; or they could not, anyway. They instead got half a side, and got their money back and more on the other half.

Britons Harriet Dart and Fran Jones both made winning starts to their bids to reach the US Open singles main draw.

Dart, who has twice reached the US Open second round, came through 6-0 6-7 (1-7) 6-1 against Jordyn Hazelitt in the first round of qualifying in New York.

She will face another American 16-year-old, Kristina Penickova, next.

Jones, who qualified for the US Open for the first time last year, will face Germany’s Mona Barthel after winning 6-3 6-4 against Italy’s Nuria Brancaccio.

But Jodie Burrage lost to Spain’s Guiomar Maristany 7-6 (7-1) 6-4, while Henry Searle was beaten 6-1 6-2 by American 16-year-old Michael Antonius in the men’s event.

Antonius will face former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori in the second qualifying round, after the Japanese 36-year-old battled to a 6-1 2-6 6-2 win over Austrian Sebastian Ofner.

Former US Open semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov will face Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov in his second qualifying match after dismissing Italy’s Lorenzo Giustino 6-0 6-3.

In the women’s draw, 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu progressed with a 6-1 6-2 win against Dutch player Eva Vedder.

Heather Watson resumes her qualifying campaign with a second-round match against Spain’s Angela Fita Boluda on Wednesday.

In the men’s draw, Britons Jacob Fearnley, Toby Samuel, Billy Harris, Harry Wendelken and Jack Pinnington Jones all return to action seeking to move one win away from the Flushing Meadows main draw.

Players must come through three rounds of qualifying to reach the singles main draw, which gets under way on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Britain’s Arthur Fery warmed up for the US Open with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Cruz Hewitt at the Winston-Salem Open.

Fery, playing just his third match since his stunning run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, came back from 4-1 down in the second set to advance.

The fourth seed will play either Czech Tomas Machac or Dutch qualifier Mees Rottgering next.