Saudi Arabia has quietly halted progress on a $2.5 billion cutting-edge stadium planned for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, multiple industry and news sources confirm, with delays to the kingdom’s signature Neom mega-development raising new questions about the future of its most ambitious infrastructure initiatives. According to MEED Projects, a leading construction sector intelligence platform, the high-profile stadium project has been formally categorized as “on hold” indefinitely, matching an earlier Reuters report on the suspension. What makes the planned venue unique is its design: it was slated to become one of the most futuristic sports facilities in the world, built 350 meters above ground inside The Line, the 160-kilometer linear car-free city that forms the core of Neom, and would have held 46,000 spectators for World Cup matches. When Saudi Arabia unveiled its official 2034 World Cup bid proposal in 2024, the Neom stadium was featured as one of 15 proposed match venues spread across five host cities, and FIFA officially selected Saudi Arabia as the 2034 tournament host in December 2024. This edition of the World Cup will make history as the first tournament with an expanded 48-team field held entirely within a single country. The suspension of the stadium project casts renewed uncertainty over The Line, the flagship development that sits at the center of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, a sweeping plan to diversify Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy and reshape the kingdom’s global image through a series of futuristic, large-scale infrastructure projects. Questions about The Line’s timeline are not new: in April, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) — the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that owns Neom — publicly noted that The Line is no longer a top priority and will not receive accelerated development before 2030, though he declined to confirm any outright project cancellations. In response to reports of the stadium suspension, Saudi Arabia’s World Cup 2034 Hosting Higher Authority stated that “substantial delivery” of tournament construction is already underway, and shared visual updates on other ongoing stadium projects to back this claim. The Neom stadium hold is not an isolated shift: it comes just months after construction was suspended on The Mukaab, a massive cube-shaped skyscraper planned as the centerpiece of Riyadh’s New Murabba downtown development project. Industry observers say PIF, the kingdom’s main investment vehicle for large-scale projects, has been gradually reorienting its strategy away from these high-cost giga-projects toward investments that can generate faster financial returns. This strategic shift comes as Saudi Arabia faces growing economic and security pressures on multiple fronts. The kingdom’s critical energy exports have faced disruptions tied to escalating regional tensions stemming from the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, and Yemeni Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks on Saudi infrastructure in recent months. Just this past Saturday, the group claimed responsibility for an attack near an Aramco facility in the Saudi capital Riyadh, with local witnesses reporting visible smoke and fire at the site, though Saudi government officials and Aramco have not yet issued an official confirmation of the incident. Economically, the kingdom is already facing headwinds: following a prolonged downturn in oil sector activity, Saudi Arabia’s finance ministry projects a national budget deficit for 2025, and forecasts a 3.6 percent contraction in real gross domestic product. For Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup has long been framed as a core pillar of his strategy to grow Saudi Arabia’s global influence and diversify its economy away from fossil fuels, and FIFA has publicly praised the kingdom’s bid proposal as “absolutely incredible.” It remains unclear whether the suspended Neom stadium will be relocated to another site within Saudi Arabia’s 2034 venue network, or if a replacement venue will be named ahead of the tournament.
分类： sports
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Pretorius breaks Gayle’s T20 record score
South African cricket prodigy Lhuan-dre Pretorius has etched his name into the record books of T20 cricket, breaking the 11-year-old record for the highest individual score in men’s T20 cricket with a stunning unbeaten 188 in the CSA T20 Challenge held at Bloemfontein’s Mangaung Oval.
The 20-year-old international, who already has Test, ODI and T20 caps for South Africa, delivered a masterclass in power hitting to anchor his side Titans’ innings, facing just 79 deliveries to reach his historic total. His knock included 13 towering sixes and 15 clinical fours, ending with a blistering strike rate of 237.97 that kept the scoreboard ticking at a relentless pace.
Pretorius’s innings was a study in controlled aggression from the first ball. He brought up his half-century off just 24 deliveries, then accelerated even further to reach his century in only 40 balls – 16 additional deliveries after his fifty. He crossed the 150-mark in 58 balls, surpassing the previous record of 175 set by West Indian legend Chris Gayle in the 2013 Indian Premier League, where Gayle hit the score for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors.
By the end of Titans’ 20 overs, the side had posted an imposing total of 267 runs for the loss of just three wickets, putting Knights under enormous pressure from the start of their run chase. Knights could never recover from the high required run rate, being bowled out for 143 in 17.2 overs, with top scorer Patrick Cloete making 39 off 25 deliveries. Medium-pacer Ferreira was the pick of Titans’ bowlers, taking three wickets for just 16 runs, to help seal a dominant 124-run victory for the franchise.
Already a established member of South Africa’s national setup across all three formats, Pretorius has already hit a century in both Test cricket and T20I cricket for the Proteas, adding this domestic record to his growing list of career achievements at just 20 years old.
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‘I reduced my running because of urine leaks’ â Commonwealth finalist Korir
Kenyan middle-distance runner Naomi Korir has turned a 13-year battle with a congenital disabling condition into a story of global athletic success, reaching new career heights this summer when she crossed the line in fifth place at the 2024 Commonwealth Games mile final in Glasgow. But for the 28-year-old, reaching the world stage of elite track and field looked nearly impossible earlier in her life.
Born with congenital genitourinary fistula, a condition characterized by an abnormal opening between the bladder and vagina that causes constant, uncontrollable urine leakage, Korir fell in love with sport as a young girl, but her condition forced her to drastically adjust her early relationship with running. “I played most of the sports activities: football, netball, athletics, even rugby,” Korir recalled in an interview with BBC Sport Africa. “But it was difficult because [of] the training, and the urine is flowing continuously. It’s bad. I reduced my running to shorter distances to reduce the leaking. I began doing 100m hurdles.”
Beyond the physical discomfort, the condition carried severe social stigma that left Korir isolated from peers. Many people avoided her due to misunderstanding of the condition, but her love of athletics became a lifeline that kept her connected to activity and gave her a sense of purpose. “I could do it because I loved it, because most of the people could avoid me, I did a lot of activities just to pass time and not to feel that I’m excluded,” she said.
Fistula, a condition that affects an estimated 500,000 women globally, can develop either as a complication of prolonged obstructed childbirth or, as in Korir’s case, be present from birth. While widespread access to obstetric care and low-cost corrective surgery has all but eliminated the condition in high-income nations, it remains a persistent public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where high-quality specialized care is often out of reach for low-income communities.
Korir endured two failed corrective surgeries before a third successful procedure finally brought her relief in August 2013, when she was 13 years old. The operation was performed at Eldoret’s Gynocare Hospital, a Kenyan facility that specializes in fistula treatment, obstetric care and reproductive health, which has treated thousands of patients from across East Africa since opening in 2011.
Caroline Mabeya, director of Gynocare, explained that the social isolation and stigma surrounding fistula often creates as much harm as the physical condition itself. “It’s a difficult condition to live with every day,” Mabeya said. “They are ostracised in the society. That’s the psychological torture that they face with the fistula.” Unlike many treatment providers, Gynocare offers free care for low-income patients and combines surgical intervention with long-term support to help women rebuild their self-esteem and reintegrate into their communities after treatment. “When they come into the facility, they are crushed, they have low esteem. So, there’s a huge amount of effort that is put in to make them at least be strong enough to be reintegrated and get back into the community,” Mabeya added.
For Korir, successful surgery opened the door to a second chance at both education and her athletic dreams. Through Gynocare’s Young Fistula Programme, she was able to complete her secondary education, while the end of her chronic symptoms allowed her to return to full-distance running training. By 2019, she had turned professional, quickly climbing the ranks of international track and field: in 2021, she claimed a silver medal in the 2x2x400m mixed relay at the World Relays in Poland alongside teammate Ferguson Rotich, followed by a gold medal in the 4x400m relay at the 2022 African Championships in Mauritius.
Her 2024 Commonwealth Games appearance marked her first start in a major global senior final, a milestone that has cemented her role as a beacon of hope for women living with fistula around the world. “I’m giving hope to young women maybe who have lost hope,” Korir said. “They need to come back again in living and enjoying life.”
Mabeya noted that Korir’s journey has become a powerful inspiration for both current patients at Gynocare and the hospital’s staff, who face daily challenges treating the condition and addressing its long-term social impacts. “She makes them realise that you can actually pull yourself out of these struggles and still make it in life and succeed,” Mabeya said. “Naomi actually is one of those patients that inspires us to continue working very hard, because we struggle with this condition and these women. The work is not easy.”
Once a young girl who assumed music would be her future, singing in church and playing keyboard, Korir now has her sights set on even bigger athletic milestones: the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Beijing and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Reflecting on her journey so far, she remains grounded in what her biggest victory has already been. “I know I’m a champion in life, because conquering fistula alone is being a champion,” she said. “Now I’m looking forward to be a champion in sport.”
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‘Knowledge is power’ – Awoniyi
For professional football stars at the peak of their careers, stepping off the pitch and back into the classroom is a rare choice. But for Taiwo Awoniyi, the Nigerian international striker who plies his trade for Coventry City and has already built a multi-million career in top-tier soccer, continuing his education is not an extracurricular hobby – it is a lifelong promise he made to himself, rooted in a lesson from his father.\n\nAwoniyi, who previously built his reputation in the Premier League, has just marked a major personal milestone: he has graduated with a specialized diploma crafted to cultivate the next generation of leadership within the global football industry. In recent comments explaining his ongoing commitment to academic study alongside his demanding playing schedule, the forward emphasized the core wisdom passed down to him from his family: that knowledge is the most enduring form of power, and education holds irreplaceable value that no athletic success can replace.\n\nWhat makes Awoniyi’s choice stand out is that it breaks the common stereotype that top professional athletes set aside academic growth once they secure sporting fame and financial stability. As a millionaire player who has achieved widespread success in his career, his decision to prioritize education sends a powerful message to young aspiring athletes around the world, particularly emerging talent across the African continent. It highlights that athletic careers are finite, but the knowledge and skills gained through education can open doors to long-term leadership opportunities that extend well beyond a player’s time on the pitch.\n\nThis report was reported by Nizaar Kinsella, produced by Ian Williams, and edited by Aaron Akinyemi, published one hour ago in the Africa Sport subsection.
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Manchester City’s Emirati chair’s diplomatic immunity complicates legal action
A seismic judgment has landed in English top-flight football, after an independent commission commissioned by the Premier League found Manchester City, one of the world’s most commercially successful and successful on-field football clubs, guilty of 115 separate breaches of the league’s financial fair play rules between 2009 and 2018. The ruling uncovered that the club artificially inflated its total revenue by more than £900 billion ($1.1 billion) through a web of misleading business arrangements designed to bypass league-imposed spending caps. The commission’s official findings document that club owners deliberately hid the true financial position of the organization from both independent auditors and football governing bodies, using what the panel described as “sham” sponsorship contracts to mislabel direct owner investment as legitimate third-party commercial income. The commission also concluded that the club failed to follow required accounting and auditing standards, acted recklessly, and did not conduct its business with the utmost good faith that league rules require.
The case first came to public attention in 2018, when German investigative news outlet Der Spiegel published a series of leaked internal emails and documents purportedly from senior Manchester City executives. The leaks exposed that the club inflated sponsorship revenue from two UAE-based state-backed firms, Etihad Airways and Etisalat, by disguising direct funding from owner Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) as third-party income.
Amid the fallout from the ruling, new details have emerged about the diplomatic status of the club’s long-serving chair, Khaldoon al-Mubarak. Documents confirm that al-Mubarak, who has led Manchester City’s board since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan purchased the club for $265 million in 2008, was granted diplomatic immunity by United Kingdom authorities in 2020. This legal status typically shields recipients from most criminal prosecution and many types of civil legal proceedings within UK jurisdiction. Al-Mubarak also serves as managing director and group chief executive officer of Mubadala, the $330 billion sovereign wealth fund majority-owned by the government of Abu Dhabi. In recognition of his work strengthening cultural and economic ties between the UK and UAE, al-Mubarak was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013. To date, no allegations of personal wrongdoing have been made against al-Mubarak.
Sheikh Mansour, who currently serves as vice president and deputy prime minister of the UAE, has overseen an unprecedented transformation of Manchester City since his 2008 acquisition. Under Abu Dhabi ownership, the club has won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups, and a historic UEFA Champions League trophy, emerging as the most dominant English football club of the last 15 years.
Manchester City has forcefully pushed back against the commission’s findings. The club issued a statement denying all charges, rejecting the independent panel’s conclusions, and confirming it will launch an appeal against the ruling to clear its name.
If the guilty verdict is upheld on appeal, the consequences for Manchester City could be severe. Other Premier League clubs that believe they were harmed competitively and financially by City’s rule-breaking have indicated they may pursue civil legal action against the club. UK law enforcement could also open a formal criminal investigation if evidence of unlawful activity is uncovered.
The case also carries diplomatic and political overtones for the UK, which has actively courted increased foreign investment from the UAE in recent years. Current UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who previously served as mayor of Manchester, has previously praised Manchester City’s ownership for the significant economic investment and regeneration it has delivered to East Manchester. In late July, Burnham held his first official phone call with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mansour’s brother, as part of UK efforts to attract greater investment from Gulf allies.
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Never played in Prem – now World Cup hosts await
One year out from the opening match of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, two part-time turned full-time players are sharing their excitement and unshakable ambition as Hong Kong China prepares to make history at the global tournament.
On 1 October 2027, 61,000 fans will pack Perth Stadium, with millions more tuning in across the globe, to watch two-time world champions Australia kick off the tournament against their unlikely opponents: Hong Kong China. For the two-time title holders, this opening-stage spotlight is nothing new. But for Hong Kong China, this fixture will mark their first ever men’s Rugby World Cup appearance — the biggest match any player in the squad will have ever played.
Among the athletes set to take the historic pitch, barring last-minute setbacks, are Alex Post and Jack Combes, two players who cut their teeth in the lower semi-pro leagues of English rugby, far from the glare of global sports media. Their journey to the world stage fits the classic David-and-Goliath narrative: an unranked underdog facing three of the sport’s most dominant teams in Pool A, alongside Australia, the All Blacks of New Zealand, and Chile. Yet far from being daunted by the challenge, both players say they are ready to embrace every minute of the experience.
Twelve months to the day before that historic opening kickoff, the pair sat down with BBC Sport senior journalist Kieran Fox during a Hong Kong public holiday to reflect on how their lives and rugby careers have been transformed by qualifying for the tournament. “I think the whole run-up to the whole qualification process was already a dream in itself. To qualify for a men’s first World Cup was huge,” said Combes, the team’s scrum-half. The excitement was visible in their animated expressions — a far cry from the grim resignation many would expect of a massive underdog.
While critics have already questioned whether Hong Kong China deserves their spot in the tournament, Post says the opportunity itself is a once-in-a-lifetime dream no athlete would turn down. “People will say it’s daunting and it’s a huge challenge to have those two top nations in your pool, but if you’re going to do it, do it properly. Why not?” Post said. “People might question whether we deserve to be there. But for me, if you asked anyone as a kid, if you could open up the World Cup in that first game in a year’s time, it’s genuinely amazing. A dream come true. And I’m sure anyone who does give us any criticism about us being there, there’s no way they wouldn’t be doing the same thing if they could, 100%.”
Post, 31, made his international debut a full decade ago, but until recently he plied his trade as a hooker for Richmond in England’s RFU Championship, the country’s second tier. He never got the chance to play in the top-flight Premiership, but he argues the Championship — a league that often flies under the radar — gave him some of the toughest preparation possible for international rugby. Before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted global rugby, Post was a full-time contracted player for Hong Kong China. When play halted, he moved to the UK to complete a Master’s degree at the University of Oxford, and even played in the famed Varsity Match at Twickenham, one of the largest crowds he has ever performed in front of.
Now, just one year out from the World Cup, Post has put his academic and professional career on hold to chase the global dream. He recently relocated his entire family back to Hong Kong to take up a full-time professional contract with the national squad, leaving behind his work as a financial analyst and part-time semi-pro rugby. “With Richmond, we’d train twice a week and then you would do your own gym sessions in your own time,” Post explained. “But you can probably do twice as much as that with Hong Kong now.” The full-time setup, he added, has allowed the entire squad to build far stronger cohesion than most part-time international sides, as all players are based in Hong Kong year-round and train together constantly.
For 29-year-old Combes, the journey to full-time international rugby has been even more circuitous. A former student and teacher at England’s Hartpury College, he spent time playing third-tier rugby for Birmingham Moseley before switching to full-time play, and even suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury that forced him to step away from the game to teach. Only at 25 did he make the jump to full-time professional sevens rugby, a path he calls a “reverse career” — but one he would not change for anything. “I wouldn’t change it for the world, but going into a full-time environment where you have the resources, you have the training time, physical development, it’s necessary for what we’re facing,” Combes said.
Rugby has deep roots in Hong Kong, stretching back more than 70 years, anchored by the world-famous annual Hong Kong Sevens tournament that draws global teams and fans every year. The squad has dominated Asian rugby for the past seven consecutive years, and secured their World Cup spot with a dominant 70-22 win over Korea in the final round of the Asia Rugby Championship last year. A dramatic late 42-40 win over Uruguay — another 2027 World Cup qualifier — in July proved the side can compete with higher-ranked international opposition, and shifted the squad’s mindset from simply competing to going for broke. “The mindset’s changed from years gone by where you compete in Asia and you play against teams that you know you probably should be beating,” Combes said. “Now we’re completely on the other side of the spectrum where we’ve got nothing to lose. I think just be ambitious, be fearless, and go for it. ‘Be memorable’ is the phrase that coaches have been talking about.”
Both Post and Combes were born in Hong Kong and rose through the local age-grade rugby system, so they have seen firsthand how the sport has grown in the region. They are also no strangers to the most common criticism the team faces: questions over the international makeup of the squad. But the pair say the best response is to put in a performance that makes Hong Kong proud. Post added that the team’s goal is to inspire the next generation of local rugby players in Hong Kong, where youth rugby has rebounded and grown again in local primary and secondary schools after the pandemic. Combes, who was born in Hong Kong in 1997 to a half-Chinese mother, highlighted the deep local roots many squad members have, saying he hopes the team’s historic debut will encourage more young local players to pursue the sport.
Under new head of coaching Toby Booth, formerly of London Irish and Ospreys, the team will get a critical chance to test their progress next month at the Nations Cup, where they will face three seasoned World Cup veterans: the USA, Canada, and Tonga. As for the historic opening match in Perth, Post says he already has plenty of pressure from loved ones to secure his spot in the starting lineup, and expects a large contingent of Hong Kong fans to make the trip to Australia. “We want to be everyone’s second team,” Post said.
Combes embraces the underdog label, arguing it gives the team the freedom to play without fear. Nicknamed “Maradona” by his teammates for his habit of kicking stray footballs that wander onto the training pitch, Combes notes the side will continue to be overlooked in all their warm-up matches leading up to the World Cup — but that underdog status works to their advantage. “You know, we are always going to be the underdogs. I think our whole string of games leading into the World Cup with Nations Cup, warm-up games we’re always going to be sort of looked over. But I think that works in our favour – we’re just a bit fearless,” he said. And if any fans need a reminder that underdogs can pull off surprising results, they only need to look back to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where Cape Verde held heavyweight Spain to a shock draw.
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Australia call up Maddinson after cancer recovery
In a remarkable comeback story that has captured the attention of the global cricket community, Australian batter Nic Maddinson has earned a recall to the national squad for the opening Test of Australia’s three-match series against South Africa, just months after completing treatment for testicular cancer. The 34-year-old left-hander, who last represented Australia in Test cricket back in late 2016 for three caps, was diagnosed with the disease in April 2025, when it spread to his lung and lymph nodes. After completing a rigorous course of chemotherapy in July 2025, Maddinson received medical clearance to return to competitive cricket just eight weeks after his final treatment session. While he has not appeared in first-class cricket since his diagnosis, he has worked his way back to match fitness through five appearances in last season’s Big Bash League, and turned in a standout performance of 126 runs for New South Wales against Victoria in Australia’s domestic one-day competition on Sunday to cement his case for selection. Joining Maddinson in the updated touring squad is 29-year-old Victorian wicketkeeper Sam Harper, who receives his first ever call-up to a senior Australian Test squad. Both additions come as cover for existing squad members dealing with injury: incumbent wicketkeeper Josh Inglis will miss the series opener starting 9 October in Durban after scans confirmed a fracture to his right index finger. Australia’s selection chair George Bailey explained the pair’s inclusion, noting that Harper provides immediate back-up for Inglis as the injured keeper works toward a potential return for the second Test in Gqeberha, while Maddinson offers valuable batting flexibility across the entire order. Harper earned his call-up off the back of strong recent form, having notched 128 runs for Australia A against India A in an ongoing unofficial Test in Puducherry this week, and amassed 677 runs across the 2025-26 Sheffield Shield domestic season. The series opener is not without further selection questions for Australia, however: star all-rounder Cameron Green remains a doubtful starter after picking up a lower abdominal strain while batting in the final one-day international that preceded the red-ball series. Both Maddinson and Harper are now in contention for a spot in the final starting XI for the first Test, which will get underway at Durban’s Kingsmead ground this Friday. The match marks the first stop of a grueling three-match Test tour for Australia, which will move on to Gqeberha for the second fixture and conclude with a third match at an alternate South African venue. The inclusion of Maddinson, whose off-season battle with cancer has been widely followed in Australian cricket circles, adds an emotional narrative to what is already expected to be a hotly contested series between two of the world’s top-ranked red-ball sides. As it stands, South Africa have named a 19-player preliminary squad for the series, led by captain Temba Bavuma, and featuring key fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, and star batters Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi. Australia’s full 18-man squad, now including Maddinson and Harper, is led by captain Pat Cummins, and features core players including Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc.
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Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ jersey sells for £9m
One of the most iconic pieces of Michael Jordan sports memorabilia has made auction history, after his game-worn jersey from the Chicago Bulls legend’s legendary 1998 ‘Last Dance’ season fetched $12.3 million (£9.3 million) — the highest price ever paid for a Jordan-related collectible.
The sleeveless jersey was worn by Jordan during Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals, the final championship run of his first tenure with the Bulls. That series saw Jordan lead Chicago to a 4-2 victory over the Utah Jazz, securing his sixth NBA title with the franchise. Remarkably, Jordan claimed the Finals Most Valuable Player award for all six of his championship runs with the Bulls, cementing his status as the greatest player in basketball history.
This new sale price breaks the previous record for Jordan memorabilia, set just earlier when another 1998 Finals jersey — worn by Jordan in Game 1 of that same series — sold for $10.1 million (£7.6 million). The Game 3 jersey was listed for auction by entrepreneur Ryan Gough at Joopiter, the digital auction platform founded by superstar musician and producer Pharrell Williams. Ahead of the bidding, Joopiter had projected the item would sell between $10 million and $15 million, a range that the final hammer price fell comfortably within.
Alongside the star jersey, another Jordan item also turned heads at auction: the basketball icon’s 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello sold for $2.7 million (£2 million), four times the previous auction record for that specific Ferrari model.
In its official listing description, Joopiter emphasized the unique cultural significance of the 1998 Finals jersey, noting: ‘Few objects in the history of sport embody greatness as completely as Michael Jordan’s game three jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals. Worn during the Last Dance… it marks the culmination of an era that transformed basketball into a global cultural phenomenon. Today it stands among the most important game-worn sports artifacts ever to come to market.’
While the jersey set a new record for Jordan collectibles, it remains below the all-time record for a piece of game-worn sports memorabilia. That benchmark still belongs to a jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth during his famous ‘called shot’ at the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.1 million (£18.2 million) in 2024.
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‘Rock, paper, scissors’ decides London Marathon dates
The 2026 London Marathon, a historic one-off two-day edition of one of the world’s most prestigious distance running events, will see its elite men’s and women’s races split across separate days after an unexpected, playful twist: a game of rock-paper-scissors that determined the final schedule.
Next year’s race made headlines earlier when organisers confirmed the new two-day format after receiving a staggering 1.33 million public ballot entries, an all-time record for the event. The change was designed to accommodate far more participants than the traditional single-day format could support, opening the door for thousands more recreational runners to chase their marathon goals alongside the sport’s elite. For 2027, the event will expand even further, hosting a historic 100,000 total participants and projecting that participants will raise more than £150 million for charitable causes across the United Kingdom.
To settle which elite division would get the historic traditional Sunday race slot, two of the event’s confirmed 2026 champions-to-be faced off in the lighthearted contest: Catherine Debrunner, the women’s wheelchair marathon world record holder, and Sebastian Sawe, the men’s world record holder who recently made history by breaking the elusive sub-two-hour marathon barrier in London. Debrunner claimed victory in the rock-paper-scissors match-up, securing the elite women’s and women’s wheelchair divisions their place on Sunday, 25 April. As a result, the elite men’s open and men’s wheelchair races will move to the opening day of the event, Saturday 24 April.
Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, framed the playful decision-making process as a fitting way to kick off the historic edition, noting that the unexpected contest added fun to the schedule announcement. “Splitting the elite races will allow us to shine an even brighter spotlight on the extraordinary athletes taking part,” Brasher said in a statement following the decision.
The 2026 edition will also bring a landmark change to the mass participation race structure for women’s events: for the first time in London Marathon history, all women’s championship waves will start immediately behind the elite women’s open field, with the elite women’s wheelchair field stepping onto the course just ahead of the open elite group. Brasher explained that the re-seeding will create a standalone, focused celebration of women’s marathon running, putting the achievements of female and female wheelchair athletes front and center.
On both days of the 2026 event, the mass participation waves will follow the elite races, featuring mixed open fields that welcome male, female, and non-binary runners of all abilities.
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Manchester City chief claims ‘conspiracy’ as UAE-owned club found guilty of financial violations charges
After years of drawn-out investigative work, an independent disciplinary commission delivered a landmark ruling Tuesday, confirming Manchester City Football Club is guilty of all 115 allegations of financial rules violations that stretch back to 2009.
The commission’s findings lay bare a pattern of deliberate financial misconduct that artificially boosted the club’s bottom line. Investigators confirmed the club entered into fraudulent, so-called “sham” commercial deals that inflated declared revenues and hid more than $1 billion in actual costs. According to the commission’s official report, the club’s financial statements were never prepared or audited in alignment with required industry and regulatory standards. The report went further, noting the club acted recklessly and failed to uphold the standard of utmost good faith required of all Premier League member organizations.
The ruling caps a years-long process that first gained public traction in 2018, when German news outlet Der Spiegel published a trove of leaked internal documents. Those files, which included emails exchanged by top Manchester City executives, alleged the club disguised direct owner investment from Abu Dhabi as sponsorship revenue from two major state-linked entities: airline Etihad and telecommunications firm Etisalat. The Premier League formally brought the 115 charges against the club in 2023, following a multi-year probe into alleged rule-breaking between 2009 and 2018. Beyond artificial revenue inflation, the club was also accused of failing to disclose accurate details of player and coaching staff payments and violating league financial sustainability rules.
In a Tuesday statement, Premier League leaders called the ruling the most significant disciplinary decision in the organization’s history. The outcome, the league said, fully justifies its decision to pursue the case against the English football giant. “While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently,” the statement read. “It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.”
Manchester City has pushed back hard against the ruling, however. In an internal video addressed to club staff and players that was later obtained by Sky Sports News, chief executive Ferran Soriano dismissed the entire investigation as nothing more than a “Premier League conspiracy theory.”
The club’s transformation into a global football powerhouse began in September 2008, when Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates, purchased the club for $265 million through his Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) investment vehicle. Over the 15 years since the takeover, City has dominated English and European football, claiming eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups, and a single UEFA Champions League trophy. Beyond on-pitch success, ADUG has also invested heavily in urban regeneration projects in east Manchester, earning public praise from current UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham during his time as Manchester mayor. As recently as late July, Burnham held his first official call with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mansour’s brother, as part of UK efforts to attract increased investment from wealthy Gulf allies.
With the verdict now in, all eyes turn to the next step: determining what sanctions the club will face. Industry analysts say the harshest possible penalties include a substantial points deduction that could alter the club’s league standing, a relegation to a lower division, and massive financial fines, though no formal announcement on penalties has been scheduled as of yet.