Wales have become the first nation to publicly withdraw backing for Gianni Infantino’s bid to continue his leadership of Fifa.

It follows the loss of confidence in the Fifa president following his scrapped plans to sell stakes in its competitions to private investment firms.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has confirmed “its withdrawal of support for the candidature of Mr Gianni Infantino for re-election as Fifa president for the 2027-2031 term”.

Infantino’s lucrative plan sparked a global outcry, with European football’s governing body Uefa threatening to boycott all Fifa competitions, including the World Cup.

Uefa and Concacaf – which which oversees football in North, Central America and the Caribbean – both released statements on Saturday criticising the leadership of the world governing body following Infantino’s decision to withdraw the plan.

The FAW added: “The recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement have led us to a position where Mr Infantino has lost the confidence of the FAW to remain at the helm of world football.

“Failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept.”

Celtic get their SPFL title defence underway this evening as they host Dundee FC, and look to capitalise on Rangers’ Friday night draw to give themselves an early lead in the title picture.

The Hoops have won the last five consecutive SPFL titles and will be hoping to get this year’s defence off to the perfect start despite plenty of outgoings this Summer, including last season’s star striker Daizen Maeda, who has joined Ipswich Town. Maeda scored the goal that ultimately won Celtic the league back in May, in their final day shootout with Hearts at Celtic Park. Martin O’Neill will also be without Liam Scales, Jota, and Benjamin Nygren for this one due to injury and suspension.

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Dundee, meanwhile, have reestablished themselves in the top flight over the last three seasons with consistent mid-table finishes, including an 8th-place finish last term. The Dee have already played four competitive games this season, escaping their Premier Sports Cup group in second place behind Ross County, thanks to wins over Airdrieonians, Annan Athletic and Clyde. Steven Pressley’s men will now take on Aberdeen in the Round of 16 in 12 days’ time.

O’Neill’s Celtic side are winless in pre-season, having drawn with Shelbourne, Middlesbrough and AC Milan as well as suffering a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon.

The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30pm BST and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

San Antonio Spurs basketball player Victor Wembanyama looks on as he takes part in a free skills clinic during the inauguration of a newly refurbished basketball court at the Complexe Sportif Paul Vaillant-Couturier in Nanterre, a northwestern suburb of Paris, on July 30, 2026. (Photo by Guillaume BAPTISTE / AFP)

French NBA star Victor Wembanyama has agreed to a contract extension with Nike that will include his own signature shoe, according to multiple reports on Friday.

ESPN and The Athletic, citing unnamed sources, reported the 22-year-old 7-foot-4 (2.24m) center for the San Antonio Spurs will extend a deal that expires in October, but there were no details except ESPN reported sources calling it a “long-term” contract.

The game looks different from here. pic.twitter.com/AVHEztAvHZ

— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) July 31, 2026

The move comes on the heels of Wembanyama signing a five-year maximum rookie contract extension worth $252 million with the Spurs in early July.

A video released by Nike and Wembanyama on Instagram showed an outer space explosion setting up a “VW” logo with the shape of an alien head.

READ: NBA 2K27 covers feature Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark, Derrick Rose

“We are proud to continue supporting Victor Wembanyama’s journey with Nike,” Nike said in a statement to The Athletic.

“As one of the most unique and influential athletes in the world, Victor is a generational talent who continues to inspire the game’s next generation. We are excited about all that we’ve built together and look forward to more wins ahead.”

Wembanyama, the top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, was last season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year, topping the league in blocked shots for a third consecutive campaign.

In his first playoff appearance, Wembanyama powered the Spurs into the NBA Finals, where they lost to the New York Knicks.

Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and A’ja Wilson have often been mentioned in the “face of the WNBA” debates.

Last month, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joined the discourse, claiming that the title couldn’t belong to Clark or any one player yet.

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On Sunday, former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant introduced an unexpected name into the discussion.

Dez Bryant Bypasses Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese in Naming WNBA’s Biggest Star

The “face of the WNBA” discussion picked up steam in mid-July when the Los Angeles Lakers icon wrote on Substack that such a title should only be given to a player who has the “on-court and cross-platform dominance of a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James.” The Hall of Famer added that until that baseline is met, the recognition can’t be given to one player.

Former NFL star Robert Griffin III pushed back against Abdul-Jabbar’s claim. The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner contended that Clark should have that honor since she is the WNBA’s biggest draw.

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On Sunday, Griffin praised Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles for her dazzling display against no less than the Indiana Fever superstar, prompting Bryant to make a bold claim.

“The Face of the WNBA!” Bryant tweeted.

The Egyptian King reached an agreement to rip up his £400k per week contract one year early.

The 34-year-old’s deal – signed in 2025 – was due to run until 2027 but a fallout with club chiefs including Arne Slot prompted an early divorce.

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Salah has been without a club since the end of June – although there has been no shortage of links with new teams.

Salah looked set for Trabzonspor

At one stage it looked nailed on that the Egypt national team legend would join Besiktas.

The Istanbul giants drew up a contract worth around €20m per annum including bonuses. But the deal fell apart owing to the excessive demands of Ramy Abbas according to various reports.

Besiktas have since called a halt to talks – a development which opened the door to Trabzonspor.

The team who finished third in the Turkish Super Lig last season have assembled an attractive package for the two-time African footballer of the year.

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Salah would earn €17m per annum in Trabzon according to reports – his salary topped up by a 20 to 25 percent share of shirt sales.

And while Turkish reporters reckon a deal could be concluded this week there is a line of dialogue reportedly open with Saudi Arabia.

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Salah won’t settle for less than Mane

It’s being reported in WinWin in Egypt that Ramy Abbas is in talks with Al-Ittihad over the terms of a stunning deal.

Last week it was claimed that the Tigers had stolen a march on their Turkish competitors for Salah’s signature – wrapping up a deal at £21m per year.

But a deal for the left-footed attacker is going to cost MUCH more than that.

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Because WinWin is claiming that Salah’s representative is asking for €40m (£34m)a year PLUS commission for Salah’s deal to conclude.

It’s been claimed that Team Salah are using Sadio Mane’s contract at Al-Nassr as a yardstick – refusing to settle for any less than the Senegal man who is on €40m a year.

Where will Salah end up?

Saudi chiefs remain keen to do a deal for Salah but are currently refusing to budge past the €25m mark according to the report.

That sum would be topped up by various bonuses but right now it’s uncertain where Salah’s fate will lie.

The Egyptian spent nine seasons at Anfield – carrying off two Premier League titles, the Champions League and a lot of other team and individual honours.

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His output decreased in his final season at Anfield – with it being floated that the superstar was no longer at his best.

However there are still plenty of teams – in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and MLS – who would no doubt love to have him on board.

Abbas has got his bidding war at last for Salah and right now the agent is waiting for an answer from Saudi Arabia.

After Victoria withdrew in 2023, Glasgow answered the SOS call – and organisers say the past 11 days in the Scottish city have “exceeded all expectations”.

Yes, there have been grumbles – including from those who have seen parking spaces outside their houses taken – and taxi drivers and shop owners the Games have passed by.

On the ground, though, this felt like a meaningful event.

Ticket sales of 434,000 were well down from 1.5 million for Birmingham 2022, but they were always going to be given the smaller venues for this scaled-back edition. It has been rare to enter a venue and not find a joyful, engaged crowd.

There was plenty of excitement for fans, too – Josh Kerr’s golden homecoming at Scotstoun, Angharad Evans making the swimming pool floors shake, and Neil Fachie’s emotional victory on his return to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

They also celebrated Jamaica’s seismic netball win over Australia. Live sport rarely fails to deliver.

But a nagging question has remained throughout: is anyone else watching?

Big names such as Kerr and Adam Ramsay-Peaty – with his emotional reaction to taking bronze in the pool – broke out of this Glaswegian bubble, but what else?

Organisers said their social media views passed those of Birmingham within the opening few days and highlighted record-breaking television figures in Australia and New Zealand, where the Games were free-to-air.

Still, without that same coverage in the UK, these Games have – at times – drifted by.

Glasgow 2026 was also hurt by the absence or late withdrawal of big-name competitors, particularly in athletics, which missed Keely Hodgkinson, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Dina Asher-Smith.

The Games’ differing relevance between sports was again clear – for netball, this remains the pinnacle and is treated as such; for others, it is a stepping stone. Many narratives focused on the “next generation”.

Eighteen-year-old Jersey swimmer Filip Nowacki was perhaps the most exciting name to emerge, but gymnasts Ruby Evans (Wales) and Reuben Ward (Scotland) and England track cyclist Henry Hobbs, who won two golds and a bronze, were others.

Swimmer Faye Rogers impressively brought her success at the Paralympics back to Glasgow with gold in the pool – and then competed in the non-para event as well.

Cyclist Emma Finucane turned her three Olympic medals in Paris into four Commonwealth golds in Glasgow.

All will have their eyes on Los Angeles in 2028.

It was a fifth successive mid-table finish for the Welsh club, who have not mounted a serious promotion push since Steve Cooper’s team were beaten in the 2021 play-off final by Brentford.

Having been among the Championship’s biggest spenders in the 2025 close season, Swansea’s hierarchy have once again shown ambition this summer.

The club are believe to have spent in the region of £15m on Elijah Just, Joseph Opoku and Moussa Yeo, while Stephen Welsh has signed on a free transfer.

They are also working on deals for a left-back and central midfielder and may look to add another centre-back before the window closes.

“The focus is improving the team, improving the players, put the team in a level that we can compete against everyone,” Matos added.

“There are strong teams [in the Championship] with a lot in terms of budget and a lot of expectations.

“So it doesn’t mean that we need to be the best team, but it means that we need to be able to compete against everyone and be able to win against everyone.

“That’s the good thing about sports. You don’t need to be the best one, but you need to be able to beat the best one. That’s what we want to be.”

The final medals of the 2026 Commonwealth Games have been won after athletes from 74 nations and territories vied for gold in Glasgow.

Glasgow stepped in after the Australian state of Victoria backed out three years ago due to the cost of hosting the Games, meaning the Scottish city staged the event for the second time in 12 years.

A slimmed-down 10-sport programme, as well as six Para sports, included athletics, gymnastics, cycling, and swimming, spread across four Glaswegian venues.

Team England had the honour of taking home the first gold of the Games as Mark Swan secured a dramatic victory in the men’s lightweight category of the men’s para powerlifting, hauling up 222kg – more than three times his body weight – but Australia went on to surge clear of the rest of the field.

Here are the final medal standings from the 2026 Commonwealth Games

Chelsea have signed Argentina international Valentin Barco from sister club Strasbourg on a seven-year deal.

The 22-year-old, who played seven times for Brighton including six Premier League appearances during the 2023-24 season, becomes the seventh arrival of new manager Xabi Alonso’s reign.

A versatile player who can be used in central midfield as well as his regular position of left-back, Barco was in the Argentina squad that finished as runners-up at the World Cup, winning his fifth cap in the 3-1 group-stage win over Jordan.

He moved to Strasbourg initially on loan from Brighton in 2024 but signed permanently a year later having helped the club to qualify for the Conference League.

In all he made 53 appearances for the Ligue 1 side.

He was involved in a heated exchange with England’s Jude Bellingham immediately after his side’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final win in Atlanta, with Bellingham appearing to clip Barco around the head. An unused substitute, the Argentinian had earlier run onto the pitch to celebrate after Enzo Fernandez had equalised.

He is expected to join up shortly with his new team-mates on their tour of Australia and Hong Kong.

It continues a busy summer in the transfer market for Chelsea as they look to remodel under Alonso.

On Saturday they confirmed the signing of veteran striker Danny Welbeck from Brighton, following the signings of Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix and Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.

Marco Palestra, Emmanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda have also been signed.

Team Nigeria finished the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as Africa’s highest-ranked nation after winning 24 medals.

Nigeria ended the Games in seventh place on the final medal table with 10 gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals.

The performance saw Nigeria finish ahead of several traditional sporting nations, including Jamaica, Wales, Malaysia and South Africa.

However, Nigeria’s overall medal haul was lower than its performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the country won 35 medals.

The 24 medals in Glasgow represent a drop of 11 medals, while the 10 gold medals were also two fewer than the 12 gold medals won in Birmingham.

Australia topped the final medal table with an impressive 70 gold medals, followed by England and Canada.

South Africa was the second-best African nation, finishing 11th with seven gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals.

Kenya finished 13th with three gold, four silver and five bronze medals, while Mauritius placed 15th with one gold, two silver and one bronze.

Cameroon finished 16th with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Uganda won two silver and one bronze medal to finish 27th, while Namibia placed 29th with one silver and two bronze medals.

Ghana finished 30th with one silver and one bronze.

Other African countries that won medals were Lesotho, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda and The Gambia.

A total of 13 African nations won at least one medal at the Games.

Although Nigeria’s medal tally was lower than in Birmingham, finishing as Africa’s number one nation once again highlights the country’s strength across different sports and its place among the Commonwealth’s leading sporting nations.