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Sweeney also denied speculation that he was planning to ride out the furore in the hope of stepping down in the wake of a successful Women’s Rugby World Cup later this year. The tournament is being hosted in England, has already brought in record ticket sales, and the Red Roses are hot favourites to win the World Cup for the …

Kick-off 15:00 GMT unless stated Friday, 7 February Ayr United v Hibernian (19:45) Saturday, 8 February Aberdeen v Dunfermline Athletic (12:30) Dundee v Airdrieonians Livingston v Cove Rangers St Johnstone v Hamilton Academical Celtic v Raith Rovers (17:30) Sunday, 9 February Rangers v Queen’s Park (15:30) Monday, 10 February St Mirren v Heart of Midlothian (19:45)

Born in Haiti but raised in Belgium, he came through the ranks at Anderlecht and represented his country at various age grades before making his solitary senior appearance for the Red Devils under Roberto Martinez in 2020. He will provide competition for Ben Cabango and Harry Darling at Swansea, and may go straight into Williams’ side at Norwich City this …

Manchester City have signed Egypt forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt for 70m euros (£59m). The 25-year-old has agreed a contract until June 2029, with add-ons rising to £4m. Marmoush has scored 15 goals in 17 Bundesliga games this season, second only to England captain Harry Kane’s 16 for Bayern Munich. “Manchester City is one of the biggest clubs in …

Being blunt, it is about money. The FAW says the new cup – which would replace the existing Welsh League Cup – would generate £3m a season, with the aim to invest that into grassroots infrastructure projects, women’s football and the domestic game in general. But there is also the longer-term hope that the EFL clubs would perform better in …

Rodgers has already won all there is to win in Scotland, comfortably and repeatedly. Europe was the hurdle he had failed to clear with them – until now. After the 7-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund at the start of October, this would have been almost unimaginable. “The ultimate aim is to get into the knockout phase and that’s what they’ve …

Aston Villa enter the top 20 after competing in Europe last season for the first time since 2011. Nine Premier League clubs are in the top 20, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham retaining their places. Lyon are the only other new club, with Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt dropping out. A further five Premier League clubs are …

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou says his players are “giving everything in every game” and have a “fantastic opportunity” to enjoy a successful season. Spurs have won just one of their past 10 Premier League games and are without a victory in the past six. Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at Everton was their third in succession and they sit 15th in …

After his transformative impact on the Test side, McCullum’s arrival as white-ball coach has been highly anticipiated, with England hoping he can revitalise a team that has lost its way in giving up two world titles in the last two years. The attacking approach instilled by the New Zealander has drawn criticism at times. This, though, was a result of …

Seeing a friendly face is supposed to be a good thing. Yet when Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa take to the court for their Australian Open semi-final on Thursday, it may only add to the pressure. The pair are close friends with Sabalenka going so far as to call Badosa her “soulmate” in Stuttgart last year. “I love Paula very …