Saudi Runner Wins 400m Gold at World Masters Athletics Championships
Saudi runner Ismail Al Sabyani achieved a new milestone for Saudi sports after winning the gold medal in the 400m at the World Masters Athletics Championships Daegu 2026, currently taking place in Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Al Sabyani won the gold medal after completing the race in 46.97 seconds, setting a new record, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
UEFA to Distribute €31.5 Million to Clubs for Nations League
UEFA will distribute €31.5 million ($35.7 million) to clubs who released their players to compete in the 2024-25 season of the Nations League, European soccer's governing body said on Tuesday.
The payment is the first under the UEFA Club Benefits Program cycle, which is part of a memorandum of understanding between UEFA and European Football Clubs (EFC), which represents over 800 clubs across Europe.
"The payments form part of the €104 million allocated to clubs releasing players for the 2024-25 and 2026-27 UEFA Nations League and the qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2028," UEFA said in a statement, according to Reuters.
"The program benefits 611 clubs across all UEFA's member associations, including several amateur clubs. RB Leipzig of Germany will receive the highest total compensation in this payment, with approximately €353,000 for releasing 16 of its players," it added.
Portugal defeated Spain on penalties in the 2025 final. The 2026-27 edition of the tournament began last week.
FIFA Accuses UEFA of 'Misinformation Campaign' in Bid for World Cup Papers
FIFA has accused European football's governing body UEFA of a "misinformation campaign" in its bid to access documents related to Gianni Infantino's plan to sell off parts of the World Cup.
In FIFA's response in a court case in Florida, it says that UEFA's attempt to force the world body to hand over the documents is designed to "influence" the FIFA presidential election scheduled for next year.
In the 26-page legal filing, FIFA says UEFA is acting "for purposes of harassment, rather than out of any legitimate need for discovery" in pursuing its case against world football's governing body.
It accuses UEFA of acting "in bad faith".
FIFA president Infantino caused uproar in July with proposals to create a commercial subsidiary to run its biggest events, such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.
The plan would have allowed private investors to acquire stakes in a company created under the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative. The backlash that followed led to the proposals being quickly shelved.
FIFA says in its court filing that UEFA makes "numerous false or misleading statements" about Infantino and the world governing body, including that he "sought to profit personally from the FFE proposal".
FIFA's court filing says that UEFA's application "fails on both the facts and the law", and should therefore be denied.
UEFA said it had no comment to make when contacted by AFP.
UEFA has filed a request in Florida for permission to gather evidence for a potential criminal complaint in Switzerland, where both UEFA and FIFA are based.
European football's governing body said last month that alongside "other interested parties" it was "preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement".
UEFA, the federation that represents World Cup holders Spain and football powerhouses such as France, England and Germany, is leading the opposition to Infantino, calling openly for his removal.
FIFA confirmed this month that Infantino will stand again for president in the election next March, despite the backlash over his now-abandoned private investment plan.
Infantino sent a letter to FIFA's 211 members this week indicating that a greater amount of money could be distributed to FIFA members from its vast cash reserves.
Earlier this month, UEFA urged FIFA to make $10 million available to each of its member associations -- a total of $2.1 billion -- "for investment in infrastructure and football development".
In the letter seen by AFP, Infantino said he would support "the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered".
Infantino insisted in the letter that the abandoned proposal to sell off World Cup commercial rights had been intended to generate additional money for football.
"The recent commercial proposal, now withdrawn, was intended to enable FIFA to invest more in football," Infantino wrote.
FIFA has an estimated $6 billion of unused cash reserves and UEFA argued that Infantino did not need to try to raise capital given how much money his organization was already holding onto.
Tunisia’s Miserable Run Continues After Botswana Draw in AFCON Qualifiers
Tunisia’s poor form continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Botswana in their Africa Cup of Nations Group H qualifier in Rades on Monday, extending their winless run to eight games.
It is a second successive draw for the North African side at the start of the continental qualifiers having been held to a 1-1 home draw by Uganda on Thursday.
Botswana lead the pool with two points from as many matches, the same as Tunisia, while Libya and Uganda have a point each. They meet in Hoima on Tuesday.
Thatayaone Kgamanyane put Botswana ahead on 37 minutes but two goals from Hazem Mastouri either side of halftime turned the fixture in the favor of the hosts.
But Tunisia were denied victory when Lebogang Ditsele equalized for Botswana on the hour mark and the sparse home crowd left disappointed once again.
Yoane Wissa was on target as the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe in Harare to move top of Group E with a full haul of six points.
