Sport

Sport brings together match reports, results and the stories shaping teams and athletes across football, tennis, athletics and beyond. It covers the moments that decide titles and seasons, from a striker settling into a new manager's side to a player carving out a piece of sporting history, alongside the off-field decisions and pressures that increasingly sit alongside the action itself.

This is where readers can follow the twists of ongoing competitions and the fortunes of major clubs and figures, as well as the wider debates around governance, money and politics that now shape how sport is run and watched. It matters because sport remains one of the few shared cultural touchstones, drawing in millions who follow it not just for the scores but for what it says about ambition, fairness and identity.

Expect a mix of the immediate, results, injuries, transfer news, and the reflective, profiles and analysis of the people and institutions steering the games we watch.

Saudi Pro League club Al-Taawoun handed stadium ban over Diogo Jota chants

September 16, 2026

The Saudi Pro League club Al-Taawoun have been fined and ordered to play two home matches behind closed doors after their supporters chanted the name of the late Diogo Jota during a league fixture. The chants, audible during Saturday’s match against Al-Hilal, prompted Rúben Neves, a former Wolves and Portugal teammate of Jota’s, to gesture…
Sunderland open Europa League account with penalty win over AZ Alkmaar

September 16, 2026

Sunderland began their Europa League league-phase campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar at the Stadium of Light, thanks to a second-half penalty from Enzo Le Fée. Régis Le Bris’s side dominated much of the match but were profligate in front of goal, hitting the post and missing several clear-cut chances before the…
Sixteen-year-old Cavan Sullivan earns maiden United States call-up

September 16, 2026

Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan, aged 16, is set to receive his first call-up to the United States men’s national team, according to a source with knowledge of the roster. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino is expected to confirm the squad on Thursday for upcoming friendlies against Chile, Peru, Mexico and Canada in late September and…
Murray swaps professional tennis for Lego building in new campaign

September 16, 2026

Sir Andy Murray has appeared in a new advert for Lego, encouraging adults to take up brick-building as a hobby, marking his latest venture since retiring from professional tennis. The campaign, aimed at getting grown-ups to “awaken their joy”, plays on Murray’s famously deadpan humour, showing him dressed in cycling gear before he swaps a…
United play Brighton, Coventry face Villa in Carabao Cup third-round ties

September 16, 2026

Manchester United face Brighton in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday evening, one of four ties taking place amid mixed motivations for the clubs involved. United’s fixture comes at a fraught time under Michael Carrick, who took permanent charge after Ruben Amorim’s sacking but has seen old problems resurface despite a £150m summer outlay…
Sunderland marks historic return to continental football after 52 years

September 16, 2026

Sunderland host Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in their first European fixture since 1973-74, marking a landmark return to continental football after an unexpected seventh-place Premier League finish secured them a place in this season’s expanded Europa League. The club’s only prior European foray came 52 years ago, when they lost 2-1 at home to Sporting…
USA fall to Brazil on penalties for disappointing exit from U-20 Women’s World Cup

September 16, 2026

The United States were eliminated from the U-20 Women’s World Cup at the last-16 stage on Wednesday, losing to Brazil on penalties after a 1-1 draw following extra-time in Katowice, Poland. The defeat continues a difficult run for US youth national teams, marking the third instance since last October that an American youth side has…
Readers divided over future of state pension triple lock

September 16, 2026

This Guardian letters page collects reader responses to earlier coverage of whether the UK’s pensions triple lock should be scrapped, revealing sharply divided opinion among the public on the policy. The debate matters because the triple lock, which guarantees the state pension rises by the highest of inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5%, has become…
‘They are very similar’: Arsenal’s Dowman reminds Merino of Lamine Yamal

September 16, 2026

Arsenal’s 16-year-old forward Max Dowman scored twice as his side beat Ipswich Town 4-2 to reach the last 16 of the Carabao Cup, prompting midfielder Mikel Merino to compare him to Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal. Merino, who plays alongside Yamal for Spain, said the two teenagers share a fearless character and thrive under pressure, highlighting how…
Inquest into Oasis fan’s fatal Wembley balcony fall scheduled for February

September 16, 2026

A full inquest into the death of Oasis fan Lee Claydon, who fell from a balcony during the band’s Wembley reunion gig, will take place next year, a pre-inquest review hearing has confirmed. The 45-year-old landscape gardener, from Bournemouth, died after falling from the stadium’s fifth level during a sold-out show on the Live ’25…