By Tony Odu
• The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations was postponed by the Confederation of African Football on Thursday, just 12 days before it was scheduled to start in Morocco. The organization cited undefined “unforeseen circumstances” as the reason for the more than four-month delay.
• On Thursday, Inter Miami celebrated winning the MLS Cup for the first time in the team’s history at a White House reception, where Lionel Messi, the captain, gave President Donald Trump a gift. Along with Trump and Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas, Messi went into the East Room and gave the president a Miami pink soccer ball. Mas and head coach Javier Mascherano also gave Trump a Miami jersey and watch.
• Despite Iranian missiles targeting Qatar in the expanding Middle East conflict initiated by Israel and the United States, UEFA still intends for the country to host the Argentina vs. Spain match known as Finalissima this month.
• According to Bernardo Silva, Pep Guardiola’s team is losing the title battle as a result of refereeing calls that go against Manchester City. Man City’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday left them seven points behind leaders Arsenal.
• The Spanish team Celta Vigo has appealed to Madonna and their supporters to assist them in concluding their 36-year quest to locate the team jersey the world-renowned singer wore for her 1990 performance at their stadium in Balaidos.
• After being “nowhere near good enough in every aspect” of their first loss under Michael Carrick, Senne Lammens stated that Manchester United needed to learn from their “collective off day” at Newcastle.
• Alan Pardew thinks that if Arsenal can fend off Manchester City, their Premier League triumph should be accompanied by an asterisk due to their time wastage. After Brighton’s 1-0 victory at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday, which put them seven points ahead, manager Fabian Hurzeler harshly criticized the Gunners’ tactics.
• Despite the unrest in the region, Ghana’s women’s national football team, the Black Queens, will stay in the United Arab Emirates after traveling to Dubai to train for the forthcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
• Harry Kane’s chances of breaking the Bundesliga record for the most goals in a season will be hampered by his calf injury, which will keep him out of Bayern Munich’s game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday, March 6.
• This summer, FIFA has approved commercial broadcasters to air advertisements during World Cup water breaks. FIFA said last December that it would implement three-minute rests halfway through each half for all 104 matches this summer as a player welfare precaution in response to the anticipated high temperatures in North America.
• Crystal Palace’s crushing defeat at home has increased Tottenham Hotspur’s concerns of relegation; the Spurs lead thanks to Dominic Solanke, but Micky van de Ven’s red card caused them to crumble; Ismaila Sarr scored twice, and Jorgen Strand Larsen added a third; Spurs are only one point above the drop.
• In cricket news, Jacob Bethell’s incredible 105 off 48 balls was insufficient to get England into Sunday’s final against New Zealand as they chased a valiant 254 runs in their T20 World Cup semi-final against India and lost by seven runs.
• Lewis Hamilton, starting his second season with Ferrari, describes his objective as “leaving behind the bad” and winning the 2026 Formula 1 championship.
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