The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) will introduce a record prize money package from the 2026/27 season, with the league champions set to receive N1 billion.
The new reward system was approved by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) during a high-level meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday.
Under the new arrangement, the team that finishes second will receive N500 million, while the third-placed team will earn N300 million.
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The N1 billion prize for the champions is the biggest cash reward ever offered in the history of the NPFL.
Football stakeholders believe the new prize structure will help improve the league and make it more attractive to clubs, players, sponsors and supporters.
The initiative is seen as a major step forward for Nigerian domestic football and highlights the commitment of the NFF and NSC to strengthen the country’s top-flight league.
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The new payment structure is expected to increase competition among clubs and raise the overall standard of the NPFL from the 2026/27 season.
Team Northern Ireland boxers Michaela Walsh and Kaci Rock both had to settle for Commonwealth Games silver medals as they lost their respective finals by unanimous decision.
Holy Family fighter Walsh, who has earned a medal in each of her four successive Games appearances, has claimed a third silver after also coming second in 2014 and 2018.
But she missed out on the chance to add a second gold to the one she won in Birmingham four years ago after being outclassed by Jaismine.
The decorated 33-year-old also won gold in 2022, and joins bowler Neil Booth, shooter Martin Millar plus Mike Bull and Lady Mary Peters from athletics on four medals.
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Only shooter David Calvert has won more medals with eight, four of which were gold.
Three of the five judges scored the fight 29-28 while the other two gave it 30-27 with all in favour of Jaismine.
Walsh made a slow start and had an uphill battle after a cagey first round which she lost 3-2.
The second was a much closer affair and while she went all out for the stoppage in the third, her efforts were in vain as Jaismine did enough to win and claim the gold.
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Rock comes away from her first Games with NI’s fourth silver after falling short against England’s Sacha Hickey.
Hickey just had too much for 23-year-old Rock in an entertaining encounter, with four judges scoring it 30-27 and one 29-28 for the English fighter.
She edged the first two rounds and pushed on in the third to comfortably take victory.
Jon McConnell has the chance to add boxing’s first gold of these Games when he fights Wales’ Orlando Holley-Sotomi in the men’s light-middleweight final at 13:15 BST.
HOUSTON — Yainer Diaz homered and tied a career high with four hits and Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker also went deep to lead the Houston Astros to an 11-2 rout of the Texas Rangers Friday night that put them in first place in the AL West.
Jeremy Peña had three RBIs and Yordan Alvarez added two as the Astros tied a season high with 18 hits for their ninth win in 10 games to move a half-game ahead of Texas atop the division.
There were runners on first and third with one out in the second when LaMonte Wade Jr. doubled to make it 1-0. Nathan Eovaldi (10-9) plunked Peña on the arm to load the bases with two outs.
Alvarez followed with a single on a grounder to left field to score two and push the lead to 3-0.
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Cam Smith tripled with two outs in the fourth before Peña extended his hit streak to 12 games with a single that made it 4-0.
Paredes and Walker hit back-to-back home runs off Eovaldi to open the fifth inning and leave Houston up 6-0.
Joc Pederson homered and Corey Seager doubled and had two hits for the Rangers in his return after missing 23 games with inflammation in his lower back as they dropped a third straight.
Pederson’s home run to right-center field cut the lead to 6-1 in the sixth. Evan Carter hit an RBI single with two outs in the sixth to make it 6-2.
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Diaz’s solo homer was the first of four runs Houston scored with two outs in the seventh that pushed the lead to 10-2.
Houston starter Hunter Brown (3-1) yielded six hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Eovaldi allowed 10 hits and tied a season high with six runs in five innings.
Texas RHP Jacob deGrom (7-6, 3.67 ERA) opposes RHP Ronel Blanco (0-1, 8.10) when the series continues Saturday night.
The 2026 AIG Women’s Open continues on Saturday, August 1, with the third round at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in England. You can find full AIG Women’s Open tee times for Saturday’s third round at the bottom of this post.
AIG Women’s Open Saturday tee times: What to know
At the halfway point of the 2026 AIG Women’s Open, Haeran Ryu has an eye on her third major championship win of the season.
Already the winner of the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the 2026 Evian Championship, Ryu shot a two-under 69 on Friday in tough conditions at Royal Lytham and St. Annes to improve to seven under. That was good enough for a one-shot lead.
But Ryu has plenty of challengers with 36 holes to play, including World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul (five under), home country favorite Charley Hull (two under) and Nelly Korda (one under).
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Ryu will tee off for Round 3 on Saturday morning at 9:40 a.m. ET alongside Shiho Kuwaki.
You can watch Saturday’s third round of the AIG Women’s Open from 7 a.m.-12 p.m. ET on USA and then 12-2 p.m. ET on NBC. Additional Saturday streaming coverage will be provided by Golfchannel.com, the Golf Channel App and the NBC Sports App.
You can check out the complete Round 3 tee times for the 2026 AIG Women’s Open below.
2026 AIG Women’s Open tee times for Saturday: Round 3 (ET)
Tee No. 1
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3:50 a.m. – Pia Babnik, Sara Kouskova 4:00 a.m. – Manon De Roey, Cara Gainer 4:10 a.m. – Nastasia Nadaud, Ayaka Furue 4:20 a.m. – Hyo Joo Kim, Yunseo Yang (a) 4:30 a.m. – Alison Lee, Amelia Garvey 4:40 a.m. – Carla Tejedo Mulet, Patty Tavatanakit 4:50 a.m. – Maja Stark, Casandra Alexander 5:05 a.m. – Annabell Fuller, Alexandra Forsterling 5:15 a.m. – Yuka Saso, Amy Yang 5:25 a.m. – Jin Young Ko, Wei-Ling Hsu 5:35 a.m. – Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Mi Hyang Lee 5:45 a.m. – Ashleigh Buhai, Chizzy Iwai 5:55 a.m. – Arpichaya Yubol, Jenny Shin 6:05 a.m. – Lindy Duncan, Aki Iwai 6:20 a.m. – Yuna Araki, Sei Young Kim 6:30 a.m. – Amanda Doherty, Alice Hewson 6:40 a.m. – Dewi Weber, Brooke M. Henderson 6:50 a.m. – Hannah Green, Nasa Hataoka 7:00 a.m. – Ariya Jutanugarn, Rose Zhang 7:10 a.m. – Minji Kang, Shannon Tan 7:20 a.m. – Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mao Saigo 7:35 a.m. – Auston Kim, Anna Nordqvist 7:45 a.m. – Esther Henseleit, Rio Takeda 7:55 a.m. – Aunchisa Utama, Yana Wilson 8:05 a.m. – Kajsa Arwefjall, Mimi Rhodes 8:15 a.m. – Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko 8:25 a.m. – Robyn Choi, Jin Hee Im 8:35 a.m. – Celine Boutier, Lottie Woad 8:50 a.m. – Minami Katsu, Chanettee Wannasaen 9:00 a.m. – Charley Hull, Lauren Coughlin 9:10 a.m. – Paula Martin Sampedro (a), Lucy Li 9:20 a.m. – Jing Yan, Soo Bin Joo 9:30 a.m. – Yealimi Noh, Jeeno Thitikul 9:40 a.m. – Shiho Kuwaki, Haeran Ryu
Additionally, several notable developments occurred heading into SummerSlam 2026. In this article, let’s take a look at five things WWE subtly told us in the final edition of the blue brand before the Biggest Party of the Summer.
Thanks for the submission!
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#5. WWE may have lost faith in Giulia
Lash Legend defeats Giulia in two minutes She earns the final spot in the Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match on Sunday #SmackDown
Giulia and Lash Legend locked horns in an Interim Women’s Championship qualifying match on the blue brand. Though fans were rooting for the Japanese star, Legend dominated and defeated her in barely two minutes.
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The WWE Universe was largely disappointed with the outcome and expressed frustration over Giulia’s booking. However, suffering such a loss subtly suggests that WWE may have lost faith in Giulia, making it unlikely that she will receive a major singles push on the blue brand anytime soon.
#4. CM Punk vs. Trick Williams teased
“SOONER OR LATER IM COMING FOR THAT WWE CHAMPIONSHIP” – TRICK WILLIAMS TO CM PUNK 👀 #Smackdown
When CM Punk was being interviewed backstage, Trick Williams confronted him. The United States champion asserted that sooner or later, he was coming for the Undisputed Title.
In response, the Second City Saint claimed that he needed challengers and would be ready to face Trick Williams in the near future. Before leaving, Punk promised to knock Trick down when he reached the top of the mountain.
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This interesting conversation subtly teases a potential feud between Punk and Williams in World Wrestling Entertainment. If the Voice of the Voiceless retains the title at SummerSlam, a match between the two could likely unfold in the coming months.
#3. Talla Tonga and Tama Tonga could dethrone Damian Priest and R-Truth
Haku appears to be the new manager of Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga on SmackDown. The veteran star returned to the blue brand this week and motivated the former MFT members. Later in the night, Tama and Talla stood tall by destroying Damian Priest, R-Truth, and The War Raiders.
The return of Haku and Tama & Talla’s destruction could be a hint that WWE is planning to push them as a major tag team. This subtly suggests that they could eventually dethrone Damian Priest and R-Truth to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions.
#2. Charlotte Flair losing at SummerSlam
Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill were involved in a brawl on SmackDown. Additionally, Adam Pearce has announced a match between them for next week’s episode of the blue brand.
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For those unaware, Flair and Cargill will compete in the Interim Women’s Title Ladder Match at SummerSlam. Traditionally, the superstar who stands tall on the go-home episode before a premium live event often ends up losing at the event itself.
With the Queen standing tall over the Storm on SmackDown, it could be a subtle hint that she might fall short in the Interim Women’s title ladder match at the Biggest Party of the Summer.
#1. Cody Rhodes foreshadowing heel turn
Night 1 of SummerSlam will feature Cody Rhodes and CM Punk facing off for the Undisputed Title. During their final confrontation before the two-night PLE, fans noticed an interesting detail.
During SmackDown, the American Nightmare wore a black suit, something he rarely does on WWE television. This quickly drew comparisons to his AEW heel run, where he wore a black suit.
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As a result, many fans believe the SmackDown segment subtly foreshadowed a potential heel turn for Cody. At the Biggest Party of the Summer, the Prodigal Son could finally show his true colors by turning on The Best in the World.
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Uefa has declared it has lost confidence in the Fifa leadership as president Gianni Infantino faces open revolt over his controversial scheme to sell stakes in the World Cup.
Fifa was forced to climb down on the plans to open the World Cup to private equity investors late on Friday night after backlash from multiple football federations including Uefa, which voted to boycott Fifa tournaments in protest, as well as from within the governing body itself.
Infantino’s position remains under serious threat despite the climbdown, with Uefa announcing on Saturday that it had lost confidence in his leadership and slamming the “shabby, back room” deal.
“The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” it said. Concacaf and the AFC also criticised the proposals, pitting a significant number of Fifa’s member associations in direct opposition to the governing body.
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It quoted a speech Infantino made when he came to power a decade ago in a lengthy statement outlining its position.
The statement “welcomed” the decision to cancel the scheme, adding: “The proposal was unanimously rejected by Uefa’s national associations and by many other federations and confederations of all sizes around the world, whose job it is to protect football.
“Uefa thanks all the fans, leagues, clubs, players, individuals, associations and confederations that opposed the scheme, alongside the many Prime Ministers, Heads of State and commentators who have demonstrated to the Fifa President that football is not for sale.”
Uefa’s statement continued: “We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.
“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, Uefa will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again. That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin is in direct opposition to Infantino (Getty)
“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of Fifa’s Member Associations to elect him as their President in 2016, he said, ‘Of course we have to be transparent. I have been this in the last 15 years of my life in Uefa. You will have to play a part every day in the life of Fifa,’ before telling the assembled stakeholders, ‘The money of Fifa is your money. It’s not the money of the Fifa president. It’s your money. You are the national associations and the money of Fifa has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else.’
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent.
“And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.
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“Uefa will begin work immediately with partners and stakeholders all over the world and right across the game to propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing Fifa Forward programme.
“We must start to use some of that money that is sat idle in Fifa’s bank account to deliver the kick start that the grassroots and the wider game need in each of the 211 countries of Fifa. But we don’t need to sell off the family silver to pay for it.
“This is a victory for the whole game. But it must not be the end of the story. The proposal has gone. The task of rebuilding trust in Fifa has only just begun.”
The New York Mets have scratched right-hander Freddy Peralta from his Friday night start against the Miami Marlins, according to the New York Post.
Peralta, a free agent at the end of the season, has reportedly garnered trade interest from the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline.
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Peralta, a two-time All-Star, is in his first season with the Mets. Through 22 starts, the 30-year-old owns a 4.99 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP and an 83 ERA+, while totaling 113 strikeouts and -0.2 wins above replacement over 113 ⅔ innings pitched.
Last season, Peralta posted a career-best 2.70 ERA, 155 ERA+ and 5.5 wins above replacement with the Milwaukee Brewers — where he spent the first eight seasons of his MLB career (2018-25) — while posting 204 strikeouts and a 1.08 WHIP.
The Mets acquired Peralta and fellow right-hander Tobias Myers from the Brewers in June for infielder Jett Williams and right-hander Brandon Sproat. Williams was the No. 14 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft who’s now ranked as Milwaukee’s No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline, and Sproat was the No. 56 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, and has made 18 starts for the Brewers this season.
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New York traded left-hander David Peterson to the Chicago Cubs in June and sent reliever A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins early Friday morning. Elsewhere, relievers Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazobán and Devin Williams, starting pitcher Clay Holmes — who hasn’t pitched since May due to a fractured fibula — and outfielder Luis Robert Jr. have been among the many Mets players who have been mentioned in persistent trade rumors.
The Mets are 47-63, good for last place in the National League East and 14th in the NL altogether.
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino and that “no option should be off the table” as it will pursue a full review of his now abandoned plan to sell stakes of the World Cup to private equity investors.
Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors, but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday’s announcement.
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“We must identify those responsible and hold them to account,” UEFA said in a statement on Saturday. “No option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”
West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has responded to head coach Daren Sammy’s comments regarding his absence from the ongoing home Test series against Pakistan, insisting that the public narrative surrounding his decision lacked important context.When Cricket West Indies announced the squad for the two-match series, the board stated that Joseph would miss the matches due to personal reasons. However, Sammy later told reporters that the pacer had been selected but chose not to accept the call-up, saying Joseph had “declined selection.”Speaking on the Antigua Observer’s Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Joseph said Sammy’s remarks created an unnecessary perception about his commitment to the team.“We had a chat, myself and the head coach. I’ve also had a chat with CWI, and if you realise the statement CWI released said personal reasons. Mr Sammy, being around for a long time, he knows exactly what that statement would have done so, to be honest, I have nothing to say to Mr Sammy in terms of his statement,” Joseph said.“As I said, he knows exactly what that statement would have done and the narrative it would have pushed in the public. Obviously, I’ve been out for an entire year. I haven’t played at international intensity for so long after having a second stress fracture,” Joseph added.The 29-year-old explained that his decision was influenced by concerns over his physical condition after recently returning from a lengthy injury layoff.“We spoke about me playing the two Test matches here, playing five back-to-back ODIs [against New Zealand earlier this month], and how my body was feeling, and I knew to myself, my body was not ready to go into another Test series. So, the statement in itself is controversial, without context,” he said.Joseph spent close to a year on the sidelines after suffering a second stress fracture in his lower back, an injury that ruled him out of the West Indies’ tours of India and New Zealand. He only returned to international cricket during the Test series against Sri Lanka earlier this year.Having only recently resumed playing at the highest level, the right-arm quick said he wanted to carefully manage his workload to avoid another setback.The contrasting explanations from Joseph and Sammy have also sparked discussion over the state of their relationship. The fast bowler, however, insisted that personal equations would not affect his commitment to representing the West Indies.“I’m a professional, so I’m going to go to work. I am representing the West Indies. I’m not representing Daren Sammy, so for me, I’m neither here nor there in terms of a relationship,” Joseph said.“I don’t go there to make friends. I go there to work and do a job and represent the people of the West Indies,” he added.
The Tampa Bay Rays announced Friday that they’ve placed ace Shane McClanahan on the 15-day injured list after the left-hander experienced lower back pain during his Thursday outing against the Texas Rangers.
Rays president Erik Neander expressed in an interview on 95.7 WDAE & AM620 that McClanahan’s injury is “pretty minor” and the two-time All-Star should only miss “two starts.”
Right-hander Alex Cook was called up from the Triple-A Durham Bulls to take McClanahan’s roster spot. In Triple A, Cook, who’s yet to pitch in MLB, has recorded a 3.78 ERA over 33 ⅓ innings this season, managing to strike out 28.5% of the batters he’s faced. Cook is expected to provide bullpen depth, as opposed to simply filling McClanahan’s rotation spot.
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McClanahan’s injury comes against the backdrop of him not pitching for the Rays since 2023 prior to this season. In 2023, McClanahan underwent Tommy John surgery, which ultimately sidelined him for the entirety of the 2024 season. Then, prior to 2025 spring training, McClanahan experienced nerve irritation in his triceps, causing him to undergo surgery that August, as well.
Through 20 starts this season, McClanahan owns a 3.09 ERA and a 9-6 record across 99.0 innings pitched. Overall, he has a career 3.04 ERA across four major-league seasons.
Could the Rays make a trade for a pitcher in the wake of McClanahan’s injury? They’ve been mentioned in trade rumors for Detroit Tigers superstar left-hander Tarik Skubal and New York Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta. The trade deadline is Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. ET.
As we count down to the first college football game of the 2026 season, we continue our new series: The records of each top CFB program in the West against all the others in the region.
Some schools have met many times over the years, while others are beginning new rivalries in the wake of recent realignment.
For each opponent in the table below, we provide the total games played, wins, losses, ties, winning percentage, first year played, and most recent contest.
We continue with Stanford, which has played 878 games against regional foes, winning 471, losing 378, and recording 29 ties, for a winning percentage of 553.
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The Cardinal have recorded the most wins (66), played the most games (129) against Cal, and has lost the most games (66) against USC.
Here is a breakdown of Cardinal’s records vs. the region’s teams.
Stanford Football Wins vs. the Top Programs in the West
Some schools have met many times over the years, while others are beginning new rivalries in the wake of recent realignment.
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