Man Utd said they planned to build a new Old Trafford for the 2030/31 season when plans were unveiled last year.

06:00, 10 Mar 2026

There are 52 months until August 2030. That date is significant because Manchester United said they hoped to move into a new 100,000-seater Old Trafford for the 2030/31 season.

Last year, United unveiled ambitious plans for a state-of-the-art stadium at an event in London, but the timeframe for completing the project may also be ambitious.

There are no official deadlines, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe identified the 2030/31 season as the target. Ratcliffe will be 77 when that Premier League campaign begins. The British billionaire is a man in a hurry, and will see the new stadium as a legacy project in the city where he was born.

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For that ambition to be realised, there will need to be spades in the ground sooner rather than later. Tottenham left White Hart Lane in 2016, spent nearly three seasons at Wembley, and moved to their new 61,000-seater venue in 2019. Everton’s new stadium, the Hill Dickinson, took four years to build.

United must reach a deal to purchase the rail yard surrounding Old Trafford before they can push ahead with stadium plans. The land is owned by Freightliner, and the parties are yet to reach an agreement.

Last summer, reports claimed Freightliner valued the land at £350million, although Andy Burnham played down that figure, saying: “I think everyone should file that one away.”

The last update from a United spokesperson was: “While Manchester United owns a significant portion of land around Old Trafford, it is not all in a single, continuous block.

“To accommodate the scale of the proposed new stadium – including a canopy – and to avoid disruption to the existing stadium during construction, we are working to secure additional land.

“We’ve been engaged in constructive discussions with neighbouring landholders and are optimistic about reaching mutually agreeable terms in the coming months.”

The stadium design has been paused while United await an agreement on the Freightliner land. United said: “Early design work has been intentionally paused until we have greater clarity on land assembly and fan requirements. As with other aspects of the project, we encourage fans to treat speculative media reports with caution.

“We remain excited by the vision set out by Foster + Partners for a new stadium at the heart of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area.

“We always said this was a conceptual design, with more detailed architectural work to follow. While we remain keen to advance as quickly as possible, the timetable is subject to progress on land assembly and financing, which depends on key stakeholders working together.”

Burnham has suggested compulsory purchase powers could be used to acquire the space if a deal can not be agreed, but it’s understood United are “optimistic” of reaching a breakthrough.

The mayor of Greater Manchester is involved with the Old Trafford regeneration project – the land around the stadium – but he recently clashed with Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe claimed the United Kingdom has been “colonised” by immigrants during an interview about politics in Britain with Sky. He suggested the government needed to make “difficult” decisions, which he claimed his Ineos regime had made at Old Trafford. Ratcliffe received backlash.

Burnham was among the high-profile figures to call on Ratcliffe to apologise. “These comments go against everything for which Manchester has traditionally stood: a place where people of all races, faiths and none have pulled together over centuries to build our city and our institutions, including Manchester United,” he said.

There was a pop at the Glazers included in Burnham’s statement. “If any criticism is needed, it should be directed towards those who have offered little contribution to our life here and have instead spent years siphoning wealth out of one of our proudest institutions,” he added

Ratcliffe cosied up to Kier Stamer at Old Trafford in 2024 as talks over a new stadium gathered momentum. It made sense for Ratcliffe to forge political allies with a new 100,000-seater stadium in mind, and it remains to be seen whether his comments on immigration have weakened relationships.

How a new Old Trafford will be founded is another question. Ratcliffe floated the idea of taxpayers partly funding the £2billion project, saying: “People in the north pay their taxes and there is an argument you could think about a more ambitious project in the north which would be fitting for England, for the Champions League final or the FA Cup final.”

Burnham has previously stated that no public funding would be granted for the stadium itself, and he reiterated that stance to The Added Time Podcast. “Manchester United will be paying for the stadium. There will not be a penny of public money going into that,” he said.

United announced their financial figures for the second quarter at the end of February, and the numbers shockingly confirmed the club’s debt is close to reaching the £1.3billion mark.

In August, football finance blogger Swiss Ramble placed Everton and Tottenham above Manchester United in his debt league, but both of those clubs have borrowed to build new stadiums. United have calculated that a new Old Trafford would cost around £2billion.

United have not communicated how a new stadium will be funded. There is a lot to still work out.

Five Iranianwomen’s national team players were granted humanitarian visas in Australiaamid fears of persecution back home.

“Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“They’re safe here, and they should feel at home here,” he added.

According to Albanese, all other members of Iran’s squad are welcome to receive help, but it was up to them to accept the offer.

Australian police took the five Iran squad members from their hotel in Gold Coast, moving them to a “safe location” after their asylum requests.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who met the five players upon the completion of their humanitarian visas, said they were “excited” about their future lives in Australia.

“I don’t want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night it was joy, it was relief,” Burke said.

Trump calls for players to be granted asylum

This came after US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Albanese about the players. Trump also posted on his Truth Social account that Australia should give the players asylum and that the US would take them in if Canberra wouldn’t.

Trump added they’d be killed should they return back home.

The reason for the call was the fact that Iran’s players received attention for not singing their country’s national anthem ahead of their first Asian Cup game against South Korea.

Many believed the move was in criticism of the Iranian regime amidst the US-Israel war on the country.

Back in Iran, the Iranian national team faced criticism, with some accusing them of being “wartime traitors,” sparking worries over the players’ safety.

The following game, against hosts Australia, the Iran players sang the anthem while saluting, a move many critics of Iran’s Islamic regime believed they had been forced to carry out.

After Iran’s elimination from the Asia Cup due to the loss to the Philippines, calls around the world grew to make sure the footballers would be granted asylum in Australia, preventing them from facing the potential backlash and sanctions back in Tehran.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

Following Sass Appeal’s three successive victories at Flemington, trainer Danny O’Brien will forego Sydney options.

Sass Appeal notched the Group 2 Kewney Stakes (1600m) on Saturday via Jordan Childs’ expert handling.

Childs guided the filly from a wide draw to settle behind Pillow Fight, striking decisively at the 300m mark.

With 200m to go, Sass Appeal, sent out at $2.35, drew clear by 2-¾ lengths from $14 shot Pillow Fight, as Salty Pearl ($2.60) trailed by another 1-¾ lengths for third.

Defending Kewney winner Treasurethe Moment headed north to Sydney, prevailing in the Vinery Stud Stakes and Australian Oaks, before a spring return victory in Caulfield’s Memsie Stakes.

The filly has triumphed in all four of her debut-season starts, leading O’Brien to favour a rest before spring engagements.

“Often with the three-year-old fillies you want to make hay while the sun shines against their own age, and sex, and make the best of what you’ve got before they turn four,” O’Brien said.

“But I think this horse will measure up to the older horses. With that in mind, she’s had a five start prep and I’m keen to give her a break and see her back here in the spring.”

O’Brien highlighted the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington amid Melbourne Cup week as attractive.

“The handicap races like the Sir Rupert Clarke and the Toorak Handicap are good options for her on the way through as well,” he said.

Sass Appeal’s racing profile frustrates competitors, O’Brien explained, given her record when crossing the lead.

“She makes it look easy when she’s got that tactical speed early and you get that good position in running,” O’Brien said.

“It’s a lot easier to watch than horses back in the field.

“Once they took positions today and I looked wherever everything else was, there hasn’t been a horse come from behind her and finish in front of her.

“The only horse she ultimately had to get past was the leader, and she did that and put a space on them.”

For the best racing betting markets, check sites offering odds on Sass Appeal’s spring targets like the Empire Rose Stakes.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma has been in a relationship with model Winnie Harlow since 2020, and they got engaged in February 2025. NBA fans were quick to react and comment on Harlow’s recent head-turning post on social media.

In an Instagram post, Harlow celebrated International Women’s Day with her co-stars from the show, “The CEO Club.” She was joined by tennis legend Serena Williams, motivational speaker Loren Ridinger, designer Dee Ocleppo, Latin pop star Thalia, heiress Hannah Bronfman and model Isabela Rangel Grutman.

“Happy International Women’s Day 🥂 can believe we’re finally celebrating our show The CEO Club, a show about inspiring, empowering, uplifting and learning from amazing women. And right by Womens day alignment! A big shout out to the women Behind the scenes who brought this show to life! Here’s to hopefully a season two,” Harlow wrote.

Winnie Harlow pulled up wearing a braless see-through red sleeveless sando, which caught the attention of her followers. She also had a crimson leather jacket and pants, with red shoes and a handbag.

However, fans cannot believe that she wore something that exposed herself. Here are some of the comments on Instagram.

“I think you’re beautiful and have followed you for years, but I don’t understand the purposeful exposure. It lessens my respect towards you, to be honest,” a fan wrote.

“Girl not hating but, wasn’t there anything else to wear?” one fan asked.

“The way no one sees nothing wrong with this is disturbing,” another fan commented.

“We love you but……save this for your man. Let’s leave something to the imagination,” a fan replied.

“We like u but this is straight up ridiculous….,” one fan responded.

“Kuz shouldn’t be letting her do this respectfully,” another fan said.

When is Kyle Kuzma and Winnie Harlow’s wedding?

Speaking on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” in January, Kyle Kuzma was asked about his engagement with Winnie Harlow. Kuzma was happy with how supportive Harlow is of his NBA career. He also teased that their wedding is coming pretty soon.

“That’s confidential,” Kuzma said. “It’s coming soon. It’s coming. I think it’s a blessing to be engaged and also to enjoy that time and space. ‘Cause it’s the only time you’re ever going to have it ever again in your life.”

Kuzma is in his first full season with the Milwaukee Bucks, and he’s averaging 13.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.