First Published: Aug 22 2026 | 11:20 AM IST

The 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season will kick off today, Friday, August 28, despite major changes in the administration of Nigerian football less than 24 hours before the opening match.

The new NPFL campaign begins with an exciting clash between Shooting Stars and newly promoted Inter Lagos, as both sides look to start the season on a winning note.

The remaining nine Matchday One fixtures will be played on Sunday, August 30, with clubs across the country beginning their battle for the league title, continental places and survival.

Former champions Abia Warriors will welcome newly promoted Kun Khalifat FC, while another new top-flight side, Barau FC, will host Nasarawa United.

Rivers United will face Plateau United in one of the weekend’s biggest matches, while seven-time champions Rangers International will take on a strengthened Katsina United.

Kwara United will host Kano Pillars, while Niger Tornadoes will welcome Enyimba in another interesting opening-day fixture.

In the South-South, Bendel Insurance will face returning side Warri Wolves in a derby that is expected to be closely contested.

Newly promoted Ikorodu City will begin their campaign against Ranchers Bees, while Doma United will host Sporting Lagos.

The opening fixtures come after several clubs strengthened their squads during the transfer window, with new players expected to make their debuts and coaches looking to introduce fresh tactical ideas.

However, the start of the new season comes against the backdrop of a major shake-up in Nigerian football.

NPFL Chairman Gbenga Elegbeleye was removed from his position less than 24 hours before the season was due to begin.

The development followed the resignation of NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and members of the NFF Executive Committee.

The National Sports Commission has also approved Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, the former NFF Deputy General Secretary, to oversee the NFF Secretariat as Acting General Secretary, while Dr Ademola Olajire, former Director of Media and Communications, will serve as Acting Deputy General Secretary.

The changes have also affected the country’s domestic leagues.

The Chairmen, appointed Directors and Chief Executive Officers of the NPFL, Nigeria National League (NNL), Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) and Nationwide League One (NLO) have been directed to hand over the administration of their leagues to their respective Chief Operating Officers.

Despite the changes, the NPFL season is set to go ahead as planned today.

Fans will now turn their attention to the pitch as Shooting Stars and Inter Lagos get the new campaign underway.

The season promises plenty of competition, with traditional clubs such as Enyimba, Rangers, Kano Pillars, Shooting Stars and Rivers United hoping to challenge for honours, while the newly promoted teams will be aiming to prove they belong among Nigeria’s top clubs.

The first whistle will finally bring the focus back to football, with clubs beginning their long journey towards the 2026/27 NPFL title.

Australia’s Elijah Pepper during a game vs Syria in the Fiba World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at Mall of Asia Arena. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Australia barely broke a sweat in its 123-64 rout of Syria in the second round of the 2027 Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers at Mall of Asia Arena on Friday.

The Boomers remained undefeated in the qualifiers after seven games, leading Group E with 14 points.

READ: Gilas Pilipinas loses big to Australia to end Fiba 3rd window

“As the game grew on we did a better job at taking better care of the ball,” coach Jacob Chance said.

“We knew coming in that Syria, after the state of the qualifiers, would be desperate for a good performance so I’m happy with how our starters came out.”

Elijah Pepper led the Australians with a game-high 32 points. Luke Travers had 14 while the duo of Josh Bannan and Anthony Dell’Orso scored 11 points each.

James Justice Jr. registered 21 points for the Syrians in the loss. Christian James Maran, meanwhile, tallied 12.

Syria, on the other hand, found itself crashing to a 2-5 slate, good for nine points.

Michael Carrick has confirmed that new £70 million signing Carlos Baleba will be unable to make his Manchester United debut for around three weeks due to an ankle injury.

Following the summer arrivals of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, the 22-year-old completed his move from Brighton on Tuesday to further bolster the midfield.

United director of football Jason Wilcox praised Baleba as “an elite midfielder with immense potential to develop further”, but fans face a wait to see him play.

The Cameroon international arrived with an ankle problem, ruling him out of Sunday’s Premier League home fixture against promoted Ipswich and beyond.

“He’s got a little ankle issue, so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks,” Carrick said.

“We’ll see but we knew that before, so it’s no major issue but it’ll be great to have him back when we can.”

Asked if Baleba and Amad Diallo could return before the three-week international break, the United boss said: “It’s obviously new, the break to deal with, but we’ll wait and see.

“We’re hopeful but I don’t want to put any deadlines on it just yet.

“Amad won’t be involved this week. He’ll be out for a little bit longer. Mase (Mason Mount) is back around the group, which was great. Trained this week, so that’s a big positive for us.”

Baleba’s injury ruled him out of Brighton’s Conference League fixtures and Premier League opener, with Carrick’s timeline pointing to a potential debut against his former club.

United host Albion in the Carabao Cup before travelling to Fulham on September 20 – their final game before hosting Tottenham after the international break on October 10.

Despite the delay, there is strong excitement about what the 22-year-old can achieve at Old Trafford.

“We’re delighted to have Carlos,” Carrick said. “I think huge potential, massive potential. I think he’s a really exciting signing for us.

“I think the quality that he has, the attributes that he has that offsets a little bit of the balance of the group that we’ve got. Different strengths, different combinations.

“So, for us to have that, absolutely delighted to have him. I think there’s so much more to come from him as well, which with the player that he already is with that little bit more to come is exciting for us.”

United are looking for a response after last weekend’s 2-0 loss at play-off winners Hull marked a nightmare start to the season.

Marcus Rashford was introduced at half-time having been granted additional rest after the World Cup, alongside fellow substitutes Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo.

“We’ve got a squad to choose from. We’ve got a good squad and we could pick we could pick a variety kind of combinations within the team,” Carrick added.

“We’ll pick a team for the weekend but, yeah, certainly the boys are massively in contention.”

Friday is the penultimate day of the NFL preseason slate, and with 10 games on the docket, the NFL DFS player pool is quite robust. One of the matchups features the LaFleur brothers facing off as Matt’s Packers face Mike’s Cardinals. Arizona has rookies like Jeremiyah Love and Carson Beck who could be fixtures in daily Fantasy football lineups for years to come, but it’s another pair of Cards who could better factor into your preseason NFL DFS strategy. RB Corey Kiner entered the week leading the preseason in rushing yards, while his teammate in WR Jalen Brooks tops in receiving yards.

Many teams will be sitting their starters which throws a wrench into finding high-quality NFL DFS picks. Projected playing time should be top of mind when deciding who to utilize in NFL daily Fantasy for Friday. Before making any NFL DFS picks for this slate on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out the NFL DFS lineup advice, strategy and player stacks from SportsLine NFL expert R.J. White.

White is an elite NFL betting handicapper who has cashed huge twice in the world’s most prestigious handicapping tournament, the Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest. He’s also SportsLine’s No. 1 all-time NFL ATS expert. In addition, he serves as CBS’s Fantasy expert, making him the ideal expert to dig deep on these rosters and make NFL DFS picks. 

Now, White has turned his attention to the 2026 NFL preseason Week 3 schedule for Friday, and just locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.

Top 2026 NFL preseason Week 3 DFS picks for Friday

One of White’s top NFL DFS picks for Friday is Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton. Coach Brian Schottenheimer said earlier in the week that the backup job to Dak Prescott is still up for grabs, meaning Milton should see ample playing time to show his merit. He has 286 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns and a rushing score across two games, leading Dallas in pass attempts in each contest. After the Cowboys and Saints held joint practices this week, New Orleans is electing to sit starters for Friday’s preseason game, which gives Milton even more value in facing backups.

He’s also building around Bengals wideout Colbie Young, who has drawn 12 targets during preseason and leads Cincy with 76 receiving yards. The Bengals are sitting their starters in the third preseason game, just as they did in the second, and Young had a 3-48-1 stat line in that contest. A fourth-round rookie, Young is safely on the roster but could move up the depth chart with another strong showing versus a Philly defense which rested all of its starters last week. You can see the rest of White’s NFL DFS picks here.

How to set NFL preseason Week 3 Friday NFL DFS lineups

White is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers on Friday. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is, and the rest of White’s NFL DFS picks, at SportsLine. 

So who is R.J. White including in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Friday, and which under-the-radar NFL DFS picks offer huge value? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a DFS expert who has cashed twice in a prestigious NFL handicapping contest, and find out.

AEW will host All In: London this Sunday at the iconic Wembley Stadium. The upcoming pay-per-view can potentially be one of the greatest wrestling events of all time. Unfortunately, a popular star has likely suffered an injury ahead of the show.

Kyle O’Reilly locked horns with Nigel McGuinness in the semifinals of the Continental Challenge Cup on this week’s AEW Dynamite. This was an excellent match, which Nigel convincingly won. The Conglomeration member eventually shared a picture of himself on Instagram Story where he had a swollen black eye.

According to Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, O’Reilly might have suffered a broken orbital bone.

“There was definitely fear of a broken orbital bone. He had a big black eye though. I actually saw it during the match, and then afterwards I was told about that he’s got a big black eye and it was scary,” said Meltzer.

The severity of the former WWE star’s injury is unknown. Hopefully, we will learn more about this soon. Had he defeated McGuinness on Dynamite, he would have challenged Jon Moxley for the Continental Title at All In. He does not have a match at the upcoming pay-per-view for now.

AEW star Kyle O’Reilly wants to accomplish many things in the Tony Khan-led company

Kyle O’Reilly joined AEW in 2021. In a 2024 interview with Fightful, the former World Trios Champion said that he wants to accomplish many things in the promotion, but he is not in a rush. He also said that he is happy that he is working for such a massive promotion.

“I really just don’t want to take for granted the opportunity to wrestle in a mainstream company and even have matches again. That’s something I was never really sure if it was going to happen. The fact that I get to be back on the road and earning my living and get to wrestle, the only thing I’ve ever really been good at or can at least make a living doing, that’s the most important thing. Big matches and championships, I’m sure they’ll come as long as I stay the course. I’m not going to get too ahead of myself. One match at a time,” he said. [H/T: Fightful]

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for O’Reilly. Perhaps he will win a singles title in the company soon.