European football’s governing body UEFA said Thursday it would boycott the World Cup should FIFA press ahead with its private investor plan.

“No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership,” UEFA said in a statement.  

“The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product … No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”

Read moreUEFA accuses FIFA of ‘selling football’ with World Cup investment plan

FIFA, football’s world governing body, on Tuesday announced plans to create a commercial subsidiary to run its biggest events, such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

Under the proposal, private investors would be allowed to acquire stakes in the company but would remain minority shareholders, FIFA said.

The governing body hopes to raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative.

If approved, the project could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Wednesday described the initiative as a “golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally”.

However, the proposal has drawn criticism from not only UEFA but also several leading European federations and European Union officials, who view it as another step in the commercialisation of sport and have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest.

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have also expressed concern that the proposal was made public before FIFA’s 211 member associations were fully consulted.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has called on its members to review FIFA’s controversial plan.

Never for sale

UEFA, in its statement Thursday, said that the World Cup was “one of football’s greatest sporting legacies.

It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent.”

“It is both irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret and brought to the brink of approval without any meaningful consultation with those entrusted with stewarding the game,” UEFA said.

“This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football.

“National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football’s greatest competitions or bear the consequences.

“This is not a ‘democratic decision’, but governance by intimidation – an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.”

UEFA added: “Nobody should be in any doubt: UEFA and its national associations will oppose these plans with absolute determination.

“There are moments when institutions are judged not by what they are prepared to accept, but by what they refuse to compromise. This is one of those moments.

“Some things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Manchester United legends Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand have never been shy of voicing their opinions on all matters connected to Old Trafford including transfers

Chelsea have signed Danny Welbeck on a two-year deal from Brighton & Hove Albion. The news comes despite Manchester United legends Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville believing that he should be back at Old Trafford in a red shirt.

The United academy graduate will bolster Xabi Alonso’s attack at Stamford Bridge this season and add some much-needed experience to a young squad. The 35-year-old’s move to west London comes after he rolled back the years at Brighton last term.

The former United and England forward netted 14 goals and provided two assists across all competitions for Fabian Hurzeler’s team in 2025/26. Welbeck’s performances at the Amex Stadium helped them qualify for the Europa Conference League.

And the frontman will now be pulling on the blue of Chelsea in 2026/27 after agreeing a contract with Alonso’s men until 2028. The experienced striker is expected to join up with his new team-mates on their pre-season tour.

Welbeck has shared his pride at joining the Stamford Bridge club after his move was confirmed on Saturday evening.

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He said: “When you hear of the interest from Chelsea, it’s something that fills you with such immense pride. Knowing the history of Chelsea, it’s a club that wants to win trophies and is pushing to do that every single season.

“I’m really honoured to come to a club of this stature at what feels like a really exciting time. I know a few of the boys already and I’ve had fantastic conversations with the manager and already feel that connection. I’ve got that fire in my belly and I’m ready to give it everything for this club to make everyone at Chelsea, and the supporters, proud.”

The former Arsenal player’s move comes despite a plea on social media from former Reds team-mate Ferdinand for him to rejoin United instead.

Posting on X on Monday, the 47-year-old said: “Welbs…. Ignore + come back home! Champions League football next season in Manchester.”

And another former team-mate in ex-United captain Neville shared his view that the Reds should never have sold Welbeck over a decade ago

Speaking to Sky Sports on Thursday, he said: “I said 10 years ago that Manchester United should never have sold Danny Welbeck. He’s gone away and done brilliantly well.

Franco Mastantuono is one of the players in the Real Madrid first team who has been outright informed that he is not in Jose Mourinho’s plans.

The teenager , after all, endured a difficult first season at the club and did not impress as he would have liked with injuries playing a part in keeping him from his best version.

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Pressed to look for a departure, the Argentine star seemingly preferred a move back to River Plate but Los Blancos preferred that his next destination be somewhere in Europe.

Serie A sounds strong

As reported by Mundo Deportivo now, Mastantuono has agreed to leave to a European club but demands that it be in Italy.

On that front, one club sounds strong, and it is surprisingly the same team Los Blancos face in their first pre-season friendly – Fiorentina.

Out of Mourinho’s plans. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The player has reportedly conveyed to the manager that he wishes to move to Italy, and Fiorentina are among the most interested of all parties at his doorstep.

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Notably, even AC Milan and Napoli have submitted offers for Mastantuono, and everything will come down to his personal decision. The ball is completely in his court and he would prefer to participate in European competitions.

As matters stand, contacts are ongoing between Fiorentina and Mastantuono and it remains to be seen how long they drag on. The Italian club, for their part, do not wish to pressurise the player.

A ‘see you later’

Real Madrid are sending Mastantuono on loan with the intention of counting on him for the long haul, but history is testament that loan departures are seldom as straightforward as they appear.

Serie A bound? (Photo by Marcos Brindicci/Getty Images)

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While some, like the case of Brahim Diaz, worked out relatively well, others have not ended as joyously. A return to the club after leaving on loan, moreover, is complicated given that Real Madrid seldom have any constraints in replacing players.

Mastantuono will thus leave with the intention of returning soon, and he will hope it is just a ‘see you later.’

The practicality of the situation, however, is grossly different, and he must thus look to play solid minutes at a high quality to ensure his future at an elite club.

JJ Gabriel made his Man Utd debut at the age of 15 on Saturday and Leny Yoro believes the teenager has a big future in the game.

Leny Yoro was just 16 when he made his competitive debut for Lille and when he moved to Manchester United for £52million in the summer of 2024, he became the most expensive footballer aged 18 or under in the history of the game. So he is well placed to talk about JJ Gabriel.

The United teenager lit up the Strawberry Arena in Stockholm on Saturday with a lively late cameo in the 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid, making his first senior appearance at the age of 15 as his talent continues to bloom.

Gabriel trained regularly with the first team last season and travelled to Trondheim for last weekend’s win against Rosenborg, but this was his first outing for Michael Carrick’s side and even though it was a pre-season friendly, he still caught the eye.

He scored 26 goals in 26 games in the Under-18 Premier League last season and has attracted interest from Barcelona, with United desperate to keep hold of a forward who looks like a generational talent, and Yoro has been impressed.

“He’s a really good player,” he said. “Still really young, still a lot to learn, a lot to improve. He’s really humble, still working, so I’m happy for him to get his first minutes, so I hope for him it’s going to continue like that.”

As a fellow teenage sensation who made waves early in his career, Yoro knows what the attention on Gabriel is going to be like now and can see similarities in his own journey to the one the United youngster is embarking on.

“I can see myself,” he said. “[I would say] stay humble, just want to work, and this is what we need in the team, even for the young guys.

“They’re all doing really well, and JJ is one of them, so I hope he’s going to learn a lot, continue like that, improve, yeah. But he’s really good, a good player.”

Emerse Faé’s contract as manager of the In Ivory Coast’s Elephants expires on August 1. The Ivorian Football Federation has announced that it will not be renewing his contract. He will therefore step down, having led the team to victory in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations and guided the Ivorians to a historic run at this summer’s World Cup. In Italy, the football world is mourning one of its legends: Franco Baresi, who died at the age of 66.

Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory on the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes in Lausanne on Saturday to claim the race leader’s yellow jersey.

The 27-year-old Dutch rider beat Mauritian Kim Le Court into second with European champion Demi Vollering third.

Sprint specialist Wiebes, a two-time former European champion, leads the overall standings by four seconds from Le Court and six seconds to Vollering thanks to bonus seconds on the line.

This was Wiebes’s 10th Tour stage victory overall and the 132nd victory of her career.

Amongst the likely overall contenders, Vollering stole a march on some of her rivals by taking four bonus seconds on the line.

That gave her an advantage over the last two winners of this race, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Kasia Niewiadoma, who finished eighth and ninth respectively in the same time as the stage winner.

Other potential contenders, Paula Blasi and Anna van der Breggen conceded an extra eight seconds to Vollering, coming home in 12th and 13th.

Read moreTour de France 2026 routes feature peaks, passes and Montmartre

Four riders had escaped up the road early on in the 138km stage around Lausanne.

Czech Nikola Noskova, Spaniard Idoia Eraso, Dutch rider Maud Rijnbeek and Frenchwoman Oceane Mahe built up a maximum lead of six minutes but they were reeled in 6km from the finish.

Sunday’s second stage remains in Switzerland and is a hilly 147.9km from Aigle to Geneva.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP) 

ATHLETICS

Men’s Triple Jump Final: Praveen Chithravel, Selva Prabhu Thirumaran at 2.40 PM.

Women’s 10,000m Race Walk Final: Priyanka Goswami, Ravina Gayakwad at 3.00 PM.

Men’s Pole Vault Final: Dev Kumar Meena, Kuldeep Kumar at 11.35 PM.

Men’s 5000m Final: Gulveer Singh at 12.15 AM (August 2).

Mixed 4x400m Relay Final at 1.50 AM (August 2).

PARA ATHLETICS

Men’s Shot Put F57 Final: Soman Rana, Shubham Juyal at 2.35 PM.

Men’s 1500m T54 Final: Ramesh Shanmugam at 2.50 PM.

BOXING

Women’s 54kg Final: Preeti at 3.30 PM.

Women’s 57kg Final: Jaismine at 3.45 PM.

Men’s 55kg Final: Jadumani Singh Mandengbam at 4.45 PM.

Women’s 51kg Final: Sakshi at 9.00 PM.

Women’s 60kg Final: Priya at 9.15 PM.

Women’s 70kg Final: Arundhati Choudhary at 9.45 PM.

Women’s 75kg Final: Lovlina Borgohain at 10.15 PM.

Men’s 60kg Final: Sachin at 10.45 PM.

Men’s 80kg Final: Ankush Panghal at 11.15 PM.

Men’s 90 kg Final: Narender at 11.45 PM.

JUDO

Women’s 63kg Round of 16: Unnati Sharma at 3.30 PM onwards.

Men’s 90kg Round of 16: Karanjit Singh Maan.

Men’s 81kg Quarterfinal: Harsh Tokas.

Women’s 70kg Quarterfinal: Inunganbi Takhellambam.

TRACK CYCLING

Men’s Sprint Qualifying: David Beckham, Ronaldo Singh, Rojit Singh at 2.30 PM.

Men’s 10km Scratch Race Qualifying: Harshveer Singh Sekhon, Dinesh Kumar at 4.19 PM.

LAWN BOWLS

Men’s Pairs Sectional Play: Navneet Singh & Dinesh Kumar at 3.50 PM.

Women’s Singles Sectional Play: Nayanmoni Saikia at 10.20 PM

India’s Priya Ghanghas added another gold to the country’s remarkable boxing campaign, defeating Canada’s Marie-Bathoul Al-Ahmadieh by a 4-1 split decision in the women’s 60kg final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Saturday. The victory marked India’s fourth boxing gold medal of the day, continuing the nation’s dominance inside the ring at Glasgow 2026.

Al-Ahmadieh edges the opening round

Priya entered the bout with a clear height and reach advantage, while Al-Ahmadieh looked to close the distance with aggressive attacks. The Indian boxer landed several clean punches with greater efficiency, but the Canadian finished the round strongly. The judges narrowly favoured Al-Ahmadieh, awarding her the opening round by a 3-2 split decision.The second round saw Priya struggle to find her rhythm initially as Al-Ahmadieh continued to press forward. Despite appearing fatigued at times, the Indian relied on well-timed counter punches and produced a strong finish to the round. Her late surge impressed the judges, who scored it 4-1 in her favour, setting up a winner-takes-all final round.

Split decision seals another gold for India

With the title on the line, both boxers came out aggressively in the final round. Priya started brightly before Al-Ahmadieh responded with several solid combinations in a fiercely contested exchange. The Indian continued to throw powerful punches despite showing signs of exhaustion, while the crowd created a vibrant atmosphere throughout the closing moments.The judges’ scorecards reflected the intensity of the bout. Three judges awarded the contest to Priya by margins of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, while one judge scored it 29-28 in favour of the Canadian. The split verdict ultimately went India’s way, sealing another boxing gold for the country in Glasgow.She joined Sakshi, Jaismine and Preeti, who won gold medals earlier in the day, to continue India’s superb run in the Commonwealth Games 2026.

Full list of India’s medal winners in boxing at the Commonwealth Games 2026:

Indian boxing has already improved on its performance from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Four years ago, India returned with seven medals, including three golds, one silver and three bronze from a 12-member contingent. Glasgow has already witnessed India surpass that gold tally with four titles, while several finals still remain.

The country’s medal conversion rate has also improved significantly, underlining the remarkable progress of Indian boxing on the international stage.

How India’s golden day unfolded 

Preeti Pawar outclasses Scarlett Delgado

Preeti Pawar gave India the perfect start by defeating Canada’s Scarlett Delgado via unanimous decision to win the women’s 54kg gold medal.

The World No. 3 controlled proceedings from the opening bell with sharp footwork and crisp combinations before forcing Delgado into a standing count in the second round. She comfortably closed out the contest as all five judges awarded her the bout.

Jaismine Lamboria lives up to world champion billing

Reigning world champion Jaismine Lamboria followed it up by defeating Northern Ireland’s Michaela Walsh in the women’s 57kg final.

After edging a closely-fought opening round, Jaismine completely dominated the second with precise punching and intelligent movement before comfortably seeing out the contest to secure India’s second gold of the day by unanimous decision.

Jadumani Singh settles for silver

India’s winning run briefly paused in the men’s 55kg final as Jadumani Singh went down to Australia’s Jye Dixon.

Jadumani made a bright start and edged the opening round before Dixon responded strongly in the second with accurate counter-punching. Despite a spirited finish from the Indian, the Australian claimed the gold through a unanimous decision, leaving Jadumani with a well-deserved silver medal.

Priya Ghanghas delivers India’s third gold

India returned to the top step of the podium thanks to Priya Ghanghas, who edged Canada’s Marie-Bathoul Al-Ahmadieh in a fiercely contested women’s 60kg final.

The bout remained evenly poised heading into the final round, with both boxers exchanging heavy punches in front of a vocal crowd. Despite showing visible signs of fatigue, Priya continued to attack until the final bell.

The judges eventually awarded the Indian a 4-1 split-decision victory, sparking loud celebrations among the Indian supporters as she secured India’s third boxing gold of the day.

Sakshi Chaudhary makes it four

Sakshi Chaudhary ensured India’s golden run continued by defeating England’s Ruby White in the women’s 51kg final.

The Indian remained in complete control throughout the contest, successfully neutralising White’s attacks with solid defensive work before landing sharp right-hand counters. Even as the English boxer attempted to mount a late comeback, Sakshi stayed composed and dictated the pace.

When the final bell rang, the judges unanimously declared Sakshi the winner, handing India its fourth boxing gold medal of the Games. The two boxers embraced after the bout in a show of mutual respect, bringing an end to another commanding performance from the Indian.

More golds still up for grabs

India’s remarkable boxing campaign is far from over.

With Lovlina Borgohain, Arundhati Choudhary, Sachin Siwach, Ankush Panghal and Narender Berwal still scheduled to contest their respective finals, India has an opportunity to finish with its greatest-ever boxing medal haul at the Commonwealth Games.