Sport

The Guardian Footballer of the Year Jess Carter: ‘I remember not wanting to go out’
Posted on Friday January 02, 2026

England defender publicly confronted racist abuse at the Euros and ended 2025 a title winner with club and countryThe Guardian Footballer of the Year is an award given to a player who has done something remarkable, whether by overcoming adversity, helping others or setting a sporting example by acting with exceptional honesty.Jess Carter has spent her life grappling with when to hold back and when to speak up; wrestling with being naturally herself, embodying the characteristics her parents instilled in her of being open, honest, vocal and confident, and subduing herself because, while society values those traits, in a black woman they can be viewed negatively. Continue reading...

Chelsea manager latest, transfer updates and more: football news – live
Posted on Friday January 02, 2026

⚽ Read Jacob Steinberg on Maresca’s Chelsea departure⚽ Fixtures | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email TomEddie Howe is having none of the idea that Newcastle have no plan B, reports PA Media, and rejected suggestions they were under the cosh in their win at Burnley.Howe bristled at suggestions they had come under an onslaught at Turf Moor and there was nothing they could do about it. He said: “An onslaught? What, against us? Have you seen the stats of the game? You must have been watching a different game then. There was no onslaught.“Yes, we had moments, of course. We had moments the other way. I would never describe it as that. If it was an onslaught, I’d give you my opinion and say, ‘Yes, I thought it was’. Continue reading...

Africa Cup of Nations: tie-by-tie analysis of the last-16 matches
Posted on Friday January 02, 2026

After a group stage that delivered an average of 3.6 goals a game we look at the match-ups in Morocco that start on SaturdaySenegal, winners of the Afcon in 2022, have arguably the best collection of players, including the experience of Sadio Mané and the explosive talent of Nicolas Jackson, and are superior to their east African opponents. But Sudan, who qualified for the tournament despite the tragedy of a horrendous war in their country, certainly match the Lions of Teranga in fortitude. Sudan, coached by the Ghanaian Kwesi Appiah, who led his home country at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, played all their qualifiers away from home, with the war, which began in April 2023, shutting down a thriving domestic league. The Sudan striker John Mano told the BBC: “Some of them [people in Sudan] cannot watch the matches … They can’t even listen on the radio … We are trying to free our country, through the football way.” An win for Sudan would be one of the fairytales of the tournament. Continue reading...

West Ham agree deals to buy strikers Castellanos and Pablo for up to £47m
Posted on Friday January 02, 2026

Both transfers being driven by Nuno Espírito SantoSterling rejects West Ham, with Fulham favouritesWest Ham are poised to boost their attacking options by signing Gil Vicente’s Pablo Felipe and Lazio’s Taty Castellanos at a cost of up to £47m.Both deals have been driven by Nuno Espírito Santo, who is looking to help his struggling side’s fight to stay in the Premier League by adding more firepower. West Ham considered a move for the Wolves striker Jørgen Strand Larsen but decided against making a bid after concluding that his £40m valuation was too high. Continue reading...

Touching on his relationship with God, his family and racism, the Australian articulates how he became a better cricketer as he became a better manThere is no gainsaying Usman Khawaja’s significance as an Australian Test cricketer; an additional mark of his stature is that he almost made you take him for granted.Think on it for a moment, and run your eye up and down the palely conventional list of Australia’s highest Test scorers, where he ranks 15th, between Mike Hussey and Neil Harvey – so various in methods yet so similar in origins. There was a recognition through the 1990s and into the 21st century that the face of Australia was being changed by immigration, while the face of Australian cricket remained eerily unaltered. Then, all of a sudden, 15 years ago, Khawaja’s darkly slim figure emerged from the shadows of the Sydney Cricket Ground to pull his first Test delivery for four, and the axis of the game tilted ever so slightly. Continue reading...

Pep Guardiola urges Manchester City players to get ‘heads up’ for visit of Chelsea
Posted on Friday January 02, 2026

Manager calm after ‘really good game’ at SunderlandChelsea visit Etihad on Sunday after sacking MarescaAn outwardly sanguine Pep Guardiola suggested he was reasonably content with a hard-fought point at Sunderland after watching his Manchester City side lose ground on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.The 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light leaves City second, four points behind Mikel Arteta’s leaders, but Guardiola was not too downhearted. “I’ll take the point against this team at this stadium,” said a good-humoured Guardiola, who seemed unaffected by reports that Enzo Maresca, once his assistant at the Etihad Stadium, had discussed the possibility of relocating to Manchester later this year with figures associated with City. “It was a really good game.” Continue reading...

Thomas Frank’s Spurs booed off after toiling to point on his Brentford return
Posted on Thursday January 01, 2026

There was an extraordinary moment just before kick-off here when Thomas Frank strode 20 yards on to the pitch and applauded all four corners of the stadium. The Tottenham head coach was applauded back by the Brentford fans because he will always be a hero to them. His work over a near seven-year period as their manager has seen to that.But what of the followers in his new gig, which began when he said farewell to the Gtech last summer? It is safe to say the jury remains out after this driest of January performances had the supporters in the away enclosure adapting a barb they have historically reserved for Arsenal. “Boring, boring Tottenham,” they chorused in the 85th minute. Continue reading...

PDC world darts: Van Veen dumps Humphries out as Littler wins over crowd
Posted on Thursday January 01, 2026

Former world champion beaten 5-1 by rising starLittler cheered during rout of Krzysztof RatajskiFor the third time in this match, Gian van Veen is lining up the bull finish for a 170. This time, though, he steps away from the oche, and as the noise builds and swells around him, as the applause hardens into a tribal rhythm, he smiles. And in that moment, with millions of pairs of eyes on him, with glory within his grasp, he just knows. Knows that after all the years of hope and toil, of dreams and dismay, his moment is here at last.That’s the thing about the future: you spend lifetimes waiting for it, peering into the glass, reading the tea leaves, and when it arrives it happens all at once. It was a little after half past nine on the first evening of the year, and already the throngs were streaming out of Alexandra Palace and back down the hill, convinced beyond any fraction of a doubt that they had just seen the next few years of darts take shape. Continue reading...