Sports
Ceferin dismisses FIFA bid as Infantino woos poorer associations
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said Sunday he would not challenge FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who in turn, cast himself as a champion of smaller footballing nations in his bid for another term.
Nearly four weeks after Infantino dropped his controversial plan to hand 20% of a new FIFA commercial rights entity over to private investors, the fight over who controls the future of world football remains fierce.
European governing body UEFA, backed by the regional blocs for Asia (AFC) and North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), has led the opposition and Ceferin suggested that Infantino should stand down.
During an appearance on the “The Rest Is Politics: Leading” podcast, he explained that the choice comes down to two options.
“One option is that he realizes that he doesn’t have the support, and that’s not only a political support of the ones who vote, but the political support of football community, the political support of fans, the political support of the players, former players, coaches.”
“And the second option that he goes to the elections in March, but in that case, I think he will have a candidate against him. I don’t know yet who,” Ceferin said.
Familiar sources reported last week that UEFA, the AFC and CONCACAF were considering a third option, a vote of no confidence in Infantino ahead of the ballot in March next year.
The Slovenian leader confirmed he hasn’t been in touch with Infantino since the dispute broke out, believing his lack of ambition to replace the Swiss official makes his critique more objective.
Smaller Europe nations oppose
Ceferin said the proposal was a greater threat to the sport than the European Super League plan that UEFA successfully fought in 2021, and said opposition was not just from Europe’s bigger nations.
“On one side was England, Germany, who you understand don’t want that, because this money is not so big for them. But on the other side was San Marino … Liechtenstein, ‘We are not for sale,’ they said” Ceferin added.
Infantino has shown no intention of leaving the post he has held since 2016, signaling that he will rely on support from less wealthy national associations in his bid for reelection through 2031.
In a video interview released by FIFA after meeting with Caribbean Football Union (CFU) members in the Dominican Republic over the weekend, Infantino said FIFA has a responsibility to narrow the gap between wealthier and poorer associations.
“We want to grow football in every one of our 211 countries in the world,” he said.
“We need to find investments for all the others, opportunities for all the others. This is about, indeed, finding and giving opportunities, access, and resources to world football.”
“Some, unfortunately, don’t need and they don’t want that others grow, but we need to narrow this gap between the big, big countries and all the others.”
“That’s what we have been trying to do in the last 10 years and also in the last 10 weeks, and what we will be continuing to do in the next years.”
With backing from South American and African blocs, Infantino has sought to marginalize the confederations by appealing straight to individual member countries throughout the crisis
Infantino welcomed in Dominican Republic
CFU forms part of CONCACAF and Infantino said he had been very happy with how he had been received on the sidelines of an under-14 tournament in the Dominican Republic.
CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani had asked Infantino to stay away from the tournament, saying his presence would overshadow the football.
Infantino pointed to the tournament, funded by FIFA development money, as proof of the progress made under his leadership.
Meanwhile, six Nordic members, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, met in Helsinki Sunday and released a joint statement demanding his resignation.
On his podcast appearance, Ceferin rejected claims that Europe was undermining support for poorer football nations and pushed back against attempts to paint UEFA as an entitled elite.
“What I hear is that they play on, you know, arrogant Europe is against us,” he said. “But I think someone should remind him (Infantino) that he is a European and that he was supported by UEFA, which he forgot.”
Defending champions Barcelona opened their La Liga season in dominant fashion Sunday, thrashing Elche 5-0 with two goals each from Raphinha and Fermin Lopez.
Earlier in the day, Atletico Madrid fought back to secure a 2-2 draw with Villarreal, managing the stalemate despite playing down a man after Robin Le Normand was red-carded.
Fresh off Real Madrid’s narrow 2-1 win over Espanyol under Jose Mourinho, Barcelona laid down a marker with a dominant victory against Elche.
Karim Adeyemi marked his debut with a goal while another debutant Anthony Gordon contributed a pair of assists, allowing Hansi Flick to smartly managed his squad by benching several key players recovering from the World Cup.
Even with a subdued performance from Lamine Yamal following Spain’s tournament triumph, Barcelona’s emphatic display showed they won’t surrender their crown without a fight.
“Five goals against this team is good, Elche play fantastic football,” Flick told reporters.
“We are really happy that we won 5-0, three points, this is a fantastic start for us. It give us the confidence we need for the next matches.”
Brazil international Raphinha lined up as the team’s No. 9, after Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres left the club, and shone.
Barcelona are still looking for a striker after Atletico Madrid rejected their bid to sign Julian Alvarez.
“I’ll leave that to the president,” said Raphinha, when asked if Barca needed to sign a No. 9. “I am comfortable (anywhere) on the pitch.”
Raphinha opened the scoring for Hansi Flick’s side from a 14th-minute penalty after being brought down by Victor Chust.
Rapid winger Adeyemi, initially struggled on the left wing before finding his rhythm to double the lead before halftime, assisted unselfishly by Raphinha.
In an electric second-half substitute appearance, Anthony Gordon set up Raphinha’s second and provided an assist for Fermin Lopez.
Youngster Xavi Espart then set up Lopez for his second, a sweet redemption after missing Spain’s World Cup triumph due to injury, rounding off a dominant win.
“We ended up feeling good, it was a great game from the team, we’re still getting up to speed and we have to carry on like this,” said Lopez.
“I was really excited to start the season well, it was tough for me (this summer), and I’m happy.”
Flick, Barcelona’s high-pressing defense showed its trademark vulnerabilities at times, but goalkeeper Joan Garcia stood firm to secure a clean sheet with some crucial saves.
Simeone rescues draw, Alvarez returns
In Madrid, Giuliano Simeone rescued a draw for Atletico after penalties from Gerard Moreno and Georges Mikautadze overturned Marc Pubill’s 59th-minute opener for Villarreal.
During the match, Diego Simeone brought on Alvarez as a second-half substitute to a chorus of boos from the home crowd and the forward headed straight down the tunnel alone at the final whistle while his teammates went over to thank the fans.
“It wasn’t Julian’s decision, it was a decision from the club,” said Diego Simeone.
“I think that we all have to be united, Julian is with us in the team, while he’s here we will support him,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak told DAZN.
“It’s not a comfortable situation for anyone, I hope it’s resolved and we’re all happy at the end of the season.”
Simeone began with Alvarez on the bench and fans jeered as his name was read aloud by the stadium announcer at the Metropolitano stadium, after his attempt to leave the club this summer amid interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Atletico took the lead just before the hour mark when Spain defender Pubill scored from long range, curling powerfully into the top corner.
Moreno leveled from the penalty spot after Morten Hjulmand clumsily felled Tajon Buchanan.
Simeone then introduced Alvarez for his first appearance of the campaign amidst hostile reactions from the crowd.
Villarreal took the lead with another penalty, with 12 minutes remaining after Mikautadze had been shoved over by Le Normand, who was sent off. Mikautadze took the spot-kick himself and calmly slotted home.
With just five minutes left on the clock, Atletico playmaker Alex Baena set up manager Diego Simeone’s son, Giuliano, to secure the equalizer.
In other La Liga action, Getafe edged past Racing Santander 1-0 courtesy of a late strike from Enes Ünal.
Erling Haaland debuted a new haircut for Manchester City’s Premier League opener, cutting his iconic long blond locks.
Haaland showed off his close-cropped look on social media Sunday, commenting, “New season, new trim.”
He posted another image on X showing the stages of his haircut, captioned, “Short hair don’t care.”
Hours later, Haaland walked onto the Etihad Stadium pitch to warm up ahead of City’s first league game against Bournemouth.
During a July interview with James Corden on Fox Sports, Haaland revealed he maintained his previous style on the advice of retired Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another prolific long-haired Scandinavian striker.
Haaland told Corden, “Zlatan – you know what he told me? ‘Never cut your hair because the strength is in the hair.'”
City fans hope Haaland remains as prolific as ever despite shedding his famous haircut.
French star Michael Olise scored and set up another goal as Bayern Munich beat longtime rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the season-opening German Super Cup Saturday.
After a starring role with France at the World Cup, Olise was Bayern’s most dangerous attacker, regularly tearing down the right flank.
He found makeshift midfielder Nathaniel Brown for Bayern’s 28th-minute opener and then scored one of his own just before the break.
A late goal for former Wolves striker Fabio Silva brought Dortmund closer and the hosts could have levelled deep into stoppage time but Maximilian Beier scuffed a golden chance when through on goal.
“It’s a magnificent victory to kick off the season,” Bayern striker Harry Kane told Sky. “Winning the trophy away at our league rival’s home stadium is, of course, a great start to the season.”
Bayern were rusty and barely resembled the barnstorming side which lost just once domestically last season but had enough quality to see off a rebuilding Dortmund team playing in the season opener for the first time since 2021.
The victory meant Bayern won the trophy for the 12th time and a second time in a row since it was renamed for club legend Franz Beckenbauer in 2025.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said the win showed his side had the hunger to repeat last year’s heroics.
“Some people maybe think we’ll have a drop because we won everything last year. But that won’t be the case, we won’t rest and will try to win everything,” Kompany told reporters.
With new German coach Jurgen Klopp watching on, Bayern boss Kompany pulled a selection shock by naming left-back Brown behind Kane in attacking midfield.
Summer arrival Brown seemed to struggle in the unfamiliar role early but was on the spot to put Bayern in front.
An on-rushing Olise was felled on the edge of the box but the ball fell to Brown, who calmly slotted home.
Ramy Bensebaini looked to have equalized for the hosts when he glanced in a Julian Ryerson cross late in the opening half, but the offside flag soon quelled Dortmund’s celebrations.
Bayern rubbed salt into the wound moments later, just before the break.
Olise leapt onto a poor Jobe Bellingham backpass and kept the advancing defenders at bay before slotting home Bayern’s second.
Dortmund were better after halftime, mounting a sustained campaign on Bayern’s goal, but the visitors held firm despite wave after wave of attack.
Bayern went close to adding a third when Olise found Kane positioned centrally, but the England captain blasted over the bar.
Dortmund finally broke through with 15 minutes remaining, Silva turning in a Daniel Svensson cross after some clever work from debutant Giannis Konstantelias.
Silva had another chance with three minutes remaining but he guided his header into the waiting arms of Manuel Neuer.
In the final minute, Bensebaini saw straight red for a clumsy tackle on Bayern debutant Ismael Saibari.
Dortmund still had a chance for a late equalizer but Beier chipped over the bar when one-on-one with Neuer.
Jose Mourinho’s second stint as Real Madrid coach began with a dramatic 2-1 La Liga win at Espanyol on Saturday, as substitute Carlos Espi scored in the 90th minute to seal victory.
Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in Los Blancos’ opening fixture of the season and new signing Espi secured the points at the death after Alex Calatrava had leveled against Mourinho’s star-studded team.
“I think that we deserved to win but that Espanyol didn’t deserve to lose,” Mourinho told reporters.
“They didn’t have any players at the World Cup and have been working together for a long time and you could see that.”
Back in charge of Madrid 13 years after leaving, Portuguese veteran Mourinho must bring the dressing room under control after the chaos of last season and end Spanish champions Barcelona’s domestic dominance.
Mourinho started with superstars Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham, as well as handing debuts to Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate.
Bellingham had an excellent first season at Madrid after arriving from Borussia Dortmund but the subsequent two were disappointing, both for him and the club, who failed to win a major trophy in either.
Mourinho installed him in attacking midfield with license to roam and the former Birmingham man was heavily involved before his goal as Madrid probed.
The England international netted the first of Mourinho’s second era at the club, heading home Arda Güler’s dangerous crossed free-kick.
Espanyol threatened midway through the first half as Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois beat away Clemens Riedel’s drive and Roberto Fernandez hooked over shortly afterward.
Madrid did not heed the warning and Espanyol leveled in the 30th minute, Calatrava slotting home Javi Hernandez’s cut-back after a fine team move.
Intense battle
Espanyol stopper Marko Dmitrovic made a good save to stop Mbappe after he got in behind on the right of the area.
The French forward, La Liga’s top scorer in both of his two seasons at the club, was not at his lethal best in front of goal.
On the left flank Vinicius had little impact, beyond winning a series of fouls from Espanyol players who were determined to shut him down by any means.
“Vini is not a saint, but what they do to him is too much, it started in the first minute, I think it’s something systemic, it’s done in a systemic way,” said Mourinho.
“First I hack him, then you, then me, then you, if I get a yellow then you do it. I have a yellow so I go off, and someone comes on without a yellow … it’s frustrating for him.”
Mourinho sent on two more new arrivals in the form of record signing Yan Diomande and Marc Cucurella as Madrid sought a winner in the final 25 minutes.
Federico Valverde hit the outside of the post with a low effort from the edge of the box as Espanyol dug deep to deny Madrid clear chances.
However in the 90th minute Madrid found the goal they needed when former Levante striker Espi, the lowest profile of Los Blancos’ summer purchases, capitalized on a loose ball in the box and fired home.
“We carried out our plan well and then let in that goal at the end,” said Calatrava.
“That we conceded was a gut-punch, because we worked hard until the end.”
Earlier, Sevilla won 3-1 at Athletic Bilbao and Valencia and Celta Vigo drew 0-0.
On Sunday champions Barcelona play their first game of the season at Elche, while Atletico Madrid host Villarreal.
A Chinese humanoid robot ran 100 meters in 9.39 seconds in a preliminary heat at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, faster than the men’s world record held by Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter.
Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won its heat at the opening of the games’ second edition, organizers said.
The robot overtook Lightning, from smartphone maker Honor, near the finish after falling behind early in the race. Lightning finished in 9.47 seconds, also faster than the 9.58-second record Bolt set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
The two robots lacked Bolt’s flair, slamming into a thick mat. Tiangong stumbled wildly into the sidelines, forcing onlookers to move. Lightning collapsed to the ground and was then carried away on a stretcher.
The results nevertheless marked a sharp improvement from last year’s inaugural games, when Tiangong Ultra won the 100 meters in 21.50 seconds. Tiangong also won the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon, held in Beijing last year.
Earlier on Saturday, Chinese state media reported that Lightning had run 100 meters in 9.32 seconds in a preparatory test, reaching a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second.
Lightning won this year’s humanoid half-marathon in 50 minutes, 26 seconds, faster than the elite men’s human world record.
Lightning stood 169 centimeters tall and had 95-centimeter legs during the half-marathon. Its researchers later lengthened its legs by 10 centimeters, to 1.05 meters, ahead of the games, CCTV reported.
The 100 meters is among 51 events at the games, which include football, dancing and industrial task contests.
Strategic industry
China has promoted humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers and companies betting that advances in AI and hardware will accelerate their use in manufacturing, logistics and consumer applications.
Investor enthusiasm for the sector was on display earlier this week when shares in Unitree, China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, jumped more than five-fold in its Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about $50 billion.
This year’s games have drawn 2,056 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries and six continents, up from 280 teams at the inaugural event.
The games, held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, run through Wednesday.
Manchester United made a nightmare start to the new season as promoted Hull City silenced their doubters with a shock 2-0 victory on their Premier League return Saturday.
Sergej Jakirovic’s playoff winners had been written off by pundits before a ball was kicked, with former England international Joe Cole even predicting an immediate return to the second tier. His comments sparked anger among Hull supporters.
But those predictions looked badly misplaced as the unfancied Tigers roared to a stunning and thoroughly deserved opening-day victory, scoring twice from first-half set pieces to stun United and announce their return to the Premier League in emphatic fashion.
Semi Ajayi opened the scoring after United failed to deal with a corner, and Michael Carrick’s men were again found wanting when Regan Slater sent in a free kick for debutant Nobel Mendy to nod home.
The Red Devils boss, handed the permanent job in May, had warned of a challenging start in East Yorkshire, but he could not have foreseen such a meek display from his side months after finishing third.
Carrick has plenty to mull over following United’s first-ever Premier League loss to Hull, whose first top-flight match since 2017 will live long in the memory.
“One family, one dream,” read the flags placed on seats around the MKM Stadium, 13 weeks after the playoff final win over Middlesbrough.
The togetherness, spirit and momentum from that unlikely promotion helped City roar out of the blocks as Jakirovic’s Tigers immediately made life difficult for United.
Oli McBurnie would have nodded Hull into a fifth-minute lead had it not been for a smart clearance, with the striker soon seeing a booming header denied by Senne Lammens.
Debutant Konstantinos Tzolakis brilliantly stopped a Bryan Mbeumo effort between those chances, but United offered little else, and Lammens soon had to tip over a Ryan Giles cross-shot.
The resulting 17th-minute corner sparked bedlam. Slater’s driven ball was flicked on, and McBurnie saw an effort superbly pushed onto the far post by Lammens, only for the ball to fall to Ajayi, who slammed home.
It was an astonishing moment that the ineffective Patrick Dorgu tried to cancel out, but a passive United lacked a focal point, and Hull would punish them from another set piece.
Debutant Youri Tielemans brought down Mohamed Belloumi outside the box, and Slater whipped in a fine free kick that Mendy headed beyond Lammens in the 38th minute.
“You’re getting mauled by the Tigers,” chanted gleeful Hull fans, who took aim at dismissive pundit Cole and playfully sang about winning the league.
City were given a standing ovation at the break, and United turned to Marcus Rashford, who made his first competitive appearance for the club in 618 days.
Carrick had hoped to change the dynamics, but Hull continued to keep the visitors at arm’s length and looked primed to break whenever given the chance.
McBurnie’s dancing feet on one such break showed their confidence, as did Belloumi’s rising effort from distance just after the hour mark.
Goalscoring debutant Mendy limped off for the hosts, and Carrick turned to his bench, including introducing Benjamin Sesko.
Substitute Cody Drameh fired just wide as Hull sought a third, with Mbeumo lifting an effort over before seeing another shot denied by Tzolakis.
Former Hull defender Harry Maguire was denied as United tried and failed to avoid a humiliating opening-weekend loss.
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