Richard Roundtree died at the age of 81 in his Los Angeles home

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has signed a new five-year contract with the club. The influential Norwegian midfielder, who was Arsenal’s player of the season last campaign, has committed his future until 2028. The 24-year-old initially joined on loan from Real Madrid in 2021 and said he has found his “home” at the Gunners. Odegaard becomes the latest young Arsenal star to sign a new deal with the club, following Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba. “Signing a new contract was a really easy decision for me for lots of reasons,” Odegaard said. “Mainly what we are doing right now as a club is special, and I want to be a part of that. I’m really excited for what’s to come here. I’ve found a place where I can be really settled and call my home. "My story is a bit different maybe, as I moved around different clubs since I was 16. At Arsenal, since the first day, I’ve felt great and this is definitely my home now. “I just want to say thanks to everyone working at the club and of course, our fantastic supporters. I will continue to give everything to bring success to this club in the years to come.” Odegaard scored 15 Premier League goals last season as Arsenal finished second to Manchester City, and the Norway captain says he is determined to help Mikel Arteta’s side take the next step. He scored the fourth goal of Arsenal’s 4-0 win over PSV on Wednesday as the Gunners marked their return to the Champions League with a commanding victory at the Emirates, six years after their last appearance in the competition. “It just shows what we’re doing as a club. People want to be here as part of the project. “What we’re doing is really special and the players see what the manager wants to do and how the club is progressing, the connection we now have with the fans. “I think it’s a no-brainer for the players to be part of that. With so many hungry young players, it’s a great place to be. “Of course, it’s a good thing. You see the players around you want to be a part of what we’re doing and it shows just how connected we are as a team. “All the players want the same thing, they want to stay for a long time and really fight for the club and win things together. It shows the family feeling we have.” Read More Arsenal are back in the Champions League — and they look like contenders too Jack is back – Pep Guardiola provides positive update on Man City star Grealish North London derby the headline act this weekend – Premier League talking points Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praises Ange Postecoglou ahead of Tottenham’s visit

Micah Parsons is either coping hard with the Cowboys 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers or casting subtle blame on the coaching staff.

WIXOM, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 12, 2023--

After Australia confirmed they would not bid for the 2034 World Cup to leave Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate, a number of “concerned” football officials said they would wait to publicly speak until the bid process became clearer. Then, a few hours later, Fifa president Gianni Infantino appeared to confirm it all on his Instagram account. “The next two editions of the Fifa World Cup are set to be hosted in Africa (Morocco) and Europe (Portugal and Spain) – with three celebratory matches played in South America (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) – in 2030 and in Asia (Saudi Arabia) in 2034.” It was seen as an interesting way to announce what is one of football’s major decisions. So much for going to the member associations for ratification, for a confirmation that was scheduled to come in the fourth quarter of 2024... A decision that very few in football seem to actually want has involved very little discussion at all, at least in public. Like the 2030 World Cup that paved the way for it, it has almost been imposed on the game. That is despite the reality that Saudi Arabia 2034 will involve most of the same discussions as Qatar, but on a completely different scale. The bidding terms were already altered so the kingdom only needed to have four of the 14 required 40,000-seater stadiums, but that means 10 new arenas have to be built. That will involve the same migrant labour system that was such a core criticism of Qatar, but without yet any of the reforms. Saudi Arabia meanwhile has a far more criticised human rights record than its smaller neighbour with far graver issues like capital punishment now coming to the fore. That is because the kingdom is way behind Qatar in terms of progressive reforms, which will foster a much more difficult conversation about women’s rights and who actually feels comfortable attending the World Cup. But corruption? The accusations of bribery that shrouded how the 2022 World Cup was won? There’s no need to get into any of that because it’s all been so smooth, which of course brings us to the modern Fifa, as well as the very governance of football in the 21st century. While Sepp Blatter was actively against Qatar getting the World Cup in 2022, it is pretty clear that Infantino looked on this favourably. It has come as part of strengthening the relationship with the kingdom and Mohammed bin Salman, amid an alignment of ambitions. The crown prince has sought to make the sport a core of his Vision 2030 reform, in part for its immense global popularity, in part for his country’s genuinely vivacious football culture. Infantino is meanwhile seeking to evolve Fifa and the greatest part of that is harnessing the immense power of the club game. A World Cup is only every four years, after all. The club game is all the time and everywhere. “How many people outside of Italy are supporting the Italian national team,” Infantino pondered in October 2019. “Not many, but when you look at how many people are supporting Real Madrid or Barcelona in Spain, this goes much beyond the Spanish borders. These are hundreds of millions of people all around the world…” Eyeing the huge revenues of the Champions League, Infantino has wanted his own version, which is why the Club World Cup is to be expanded to 32 teams from 2025. To make that as glamorous as Uefa’s showpiece event, though, the Fifa president knows he needs the big European names. So he needs funding to make it attractive, especially when previous talk has been about offers of £80m for competing. Saudi Arabia is one of a few states from the global south that have been doing more business with Fifa. A sponsorship deal with Visit Saudi for the Women’s World Cup – ironically held in Australia and New Zealand – already caused a player revolt. Saudi money meanwhile formed part of a Softbank fund that was supposed to finance the previous version of this tournament. From all this, a path has been smoothed for Saudi Arabia to get what it really wants, which is the World Cup. The stadium rules were changed. Rivals were taken out of the running. The Saudis had previously been in the running for 2030, which already had Morocco-Spain-Portugal offering a persuasive commercial argument and Argentina-Paraguay-Uruguay offering a persuasive romantic argument due to the centenary of the first World Cup in Montevideo. From what was potentially the most split voting process of all, a much cleaner solution was raised. The South American countries would get three games to recognise the centenary, and the rest of that World Cup would be held in Morocco-Spain-Portugal. Given Fifa’s continental rotation rules and how 2026 is to be staged in Canada-Mexico-USA, that left only Asian and Oceania countries eligible for 2034. Asia quickly fell in behind Saudi Arabia and it should be noted that Infantino has long built a strong alliance with the Asian confederation. They vote for him as a bloc, in presidential elections that don’t actually have competitors. Rather than the transparency that was supposed to define World Cup democracy after the scandals of 2018-22, football was effectively presented with one choice, all the major moves having taken place in meetings behind closed doors. The point to all of this is not to already have the discussion surrounding Saudi Arabia or other World Cups. It is about, as various sources put it, “the failure of football governance”. It certainly doesn’t feel like true democracy and this is regarding decisions that change the face of the entire game. So, amid all of the discussion about Saudi Arabia, the wonder is why there is not more debate about football’s presidential structure just not working for the sport. This is not unique to Fifa after all. The global body, appropriately enough, just represents the most high-profile example from the top down. Uefa and the continental confederations have similar structures. Most of these presidential elections since the 2015 football governance reforms, including the last two from Uefa for Aleksander Ceferin, have been single-candidate campaigns. This gives the eventual incumbent a significant mandate in itself but also comes in a context where there is no “opposition” or multi-party system to keep democratic processes in check once the president is in power. They in effect become executive presidents, with a huge amount of influence to set the direction of the game for decades. Everything flows from the top down, although presidents inevitably spend a lot of time cultivating power blocs. It is why many describe Infantino’s “today I feel…” speech as political genius rather than simply bizarre, since he was speaking to a huge core of constituents that reject western Europe’s perception of the game. Infantino is widely seen as having Africa and Asia sown up in terms of votes. More generally, confederation meetings are described by various people involved as “muted” with only the presidents really speaking, unless it is to express agreement. Dissent or disagreement, as figures like Norwegian president Lise Klaveness have found, is rapidly shut down. This is in part because the president gets to appoint the committees, which everyone wants to be on, so it means no one steps out of line. This problem of power invested in the role is then compounded by the power of tournaments themselves. It is quite an intoxicating thing to be able to fly around the planet on private jets, “have every door opened” – in the words of one prominent source – and be able to bestow the most popular events in the world on countries. This brings all the pomp and circumstance of a major head of state, but with none of the responsibility or the internal resistance. Figures with long knowledge of how football governance talk of how presidents get “power corrupted”, if not financially corrupted. “Ceferin has changed,” one source who knows him says. It was similarly noted by people in English football how, after the Super League, Ceferin was much more content to thank heads of state rather than football administrators. A tension between Fifa and Uefa over the game’s calendar has meanwhile evolved into an increasingly personal rivalry between Infantino and Ceferin, that drives a lot of modern football. All of this has created a situation where, to bring it full circle, a series of tournament votes where there have been single candidatures too. Although 2026 did have Morocco, it was seen as a fait accompli for Canada-Portugal-Spain and that was the start of a series of five successive European Championships and World Cups where there was only one bid. Is this really how the world’s only truly global game should be governed, especially when that status gives it such profound political power, and it consequently faces a number of existential threats? Decisions of huge importance are taken out of the hands of those most affected. It all speaks to a dangerously split game, prone to all sorts of influences, but this is one huge reason why it is split in the first place. There’s similarly an argument that this isn’t really about individuals in the roles, even if everyone obviously has personal responsibilities. It is what the system produces. The system needs to evolve. There should be wider-reaching outcomes than the mess of 2030, or Saudi Arabia getting 2034. If the Russia-Qatar decisions prompted regime change at Fifa, this should prompt a change of the entire governance model. Read More Saudi Arabian World Cup in 2034 sparks ‘significant concern’ from major leagues Lionel Messi, the complete footballer who completed football, finally leaves the Ballon d’Or stage Enjoying the Qatar World Cup? Here is the reality hiding in plain sight The year that sportswashing won: A season that changed football forever Sportswashing is about to change football beyond anything you can imagine First golf, now football? Saudi Arabia’s grand plan and the 72 hours that changed everything

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Stale Solbakken admits it was a “big blow” to lose Erling Haaland for Sunday’s dead-rubber Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland at Hampden – but the Norway manager is confident the Manchester City striker’s injury is not a serious one. The free-scoring forward withdrew from the squad on Saturday morning after damaging his ankle in the second-half of Thursday’s 2-0 friendly win over Faroe Islands. “It’s a big blow for any team but we have played without him before, sometimes with success, sometimes without,” said Solbakken, speaking at Hampden on Saturday evening. “We started the qualification when he was not ready for the first two games, but after that he has played every single game so it was unfortunate for us that he got the small knock on Thursday. “It’s the movement in his foot that is the problem but it’s not a serious injury. Had it been a final, I don’t know (if he would have been fit to play). “All parties agree it is probably a little too early (for him to play) but it is not a career-threatening injury.” When asked why Haaland – a talisman for club and country – was risked in such a low-key match, Solbakken said: “It was his choice. He wanted to play 45 minutes to keep the momentum in a week where we were maybe not training as much. It was his decision. “There were three players who have played many games and we had conversations with all three of them and Erling’s much preferred choice was to play 45 minutes.” Many anticipated Sunday’s match being a qualification decider but Scotland’s 2-1 win in Oslo in June, when they scored two goals in the closing minutes to overturn Haaland’s penalty, has proved pivotal. It's the movement in his foot that is the problem but it's not a serious injury Stale Solbakken The Scots are already assured of a place in the finals in Germany and are six points ahead of third-placed Norway, who have only a slim chance of landing a play-off if results elsewhere go their way. “It was probably the sorest defeat you will ever feel,” said Solbakken, recalling Scotland’s late turnaround in the summer. “I still wake up at night thinking about those last five minutes but that is life. “If you look back now, those five minutes were very, very damaging. Otherwise the game tomorrow would have been a final. That speaks volumes. “But we must congratulate Scotland on a great campaign. They have done really, really well, not only in this campaign but also in the years before that. “They’ve played at a very high level and have also been good at bringing the margins on their side in tight games, which is very important in national football when there are so few games.” Unless they manage to salvage a Euro 2024 place via a play-off, Norway’s run without major tournament football will extend to 26 years. The Scots ended a 23-year wait when they qualified for the Euros in 2021 and Solbakken feels his nation can draw inspiration from Steve Clarke’s resurgent side. “Of course we can,” he said. “I think we are quite even. We always play very tight games against each other but they have been better than us with the small margins lately. We need to see if we can find that way too.” Read More Rob Page admits Wales’ best chance of making Euro 2024 likely to be in play-offs James McAtee scores twice as England Under-21s win comfortably in Serbia A look at the data behind Virat Kohli’s record 50 ODI centuries Steve Clarke wants return to winning ways – Scotland v Norway talking points Steve Clarke not concerned over which pot Scotland are in for Euro 2024 draw Liam Broady replaces injured Andy Murray in Great Britain’s Davis Cup team

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By Tiemoko Diallo and Judicael Yongo BAMAKO/BANGUI A revolt by the Wagner militia in Russia poses a diplomatic

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On the stage of an influential activist group’s two-day conference, far-right conspiracy theorists, Republican presidential candidates and members of Congress veered into Christian nationalist evangelising, QAnon-adjacent conspiracy mongering and a bleak picture of an America in rapid decline under Democratic leadership. The guest speakers at Turning Point USA’s inaugural Turning Point Action Conference in Florida repeatedly denied the existence of transgender people, claimed that support for Ukraine is built on a lie, and characterised President Joe Biden as both a frail and incapable stooge and the most corrupt politician of all time. And they professed their loyalty to both Donald Trump, who delivered rambling remarks in primetime on 15 July, and to Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News pundit celebrated by Turning Point guests as the key figure who can articulate their long list of grievances. In his own keynote address, a giddy Carlson turned his attention to what he perceives is a campaign of censorship and free speech targeting right-wing Americans, as he downplayed the January 6 attack, boosted false and misleading claims about Russia and Covid-19, and assured his audience that they “have a right to decide who you hate” on whatever basis they want. Carlson was fired from Fox News shortly after the network settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787m to avert a blockbuster defamation trial in which his segments and statements would be crucial evidence. He also is the subject of another defamation lawsuit against Fox from a man accused of being a federal agent who incited the riots. Carlson claimed there was never a national “conversation” about what happened in the election and its aftermath, despite the mountain of litigation, evidence, audits, bipartisan reports and jury verdicts that confirmed the results and brought convictions against hundreds of people who joined the assault. But he said that Americans who have questioned the outcome and the attack were “basically hounded out of public life,” including being fired from their jobs, which the crowd appeared to think was a reference to himself. “Pretty funny,” Carlson said, laughing. “Sorry, I was so into it I lost self-awareness for a minute.” Vivek Ramaswamy, a Trump booster among Republican candidates vying for the 2024 Republican nomination, invented a baseless narrative about the January 6 attack, which he did not blame on bogus conspiracy theories or the actions of people who refused to accept a democratic election but on a “pervasive culture of censorship”. “When you tell people they can’t scream, that’s when they start tearing things down,” he said. In his remarks, the former president – the subject of separate criminal investigations into efforts to subvert the election’s outcome – repeated his baseless claim that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him and that the current probes are another attempt to “rig” the next. “Every time the radical left Democrats indict me, I consider it to be a great badge of honour and courage,” he said. “I am doing it for you. I am being indicted for you.” Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who is seeking the Republican nomination, was met with boos and “Trump” chants when he got to the stage on Sunday afternoon. The former president’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr later said on the stage that at least Mr Hutchsinson “had the b****” to show up to the conference, unlike the “absentee” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who did not appear at the event. Mr Trump, however, did not attend a separate Carlson-led evangelical summit on 14 July. He seized on his rival’s absence at Turning Point’s conference, where GOP members of Congress pledged their unending support to the former president. “Of course, we ride or die with President Donald John Trump,” Florida US Rep Matt Gaetz said in his remarks on Saturday. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who one day earlier was forced on the defensive after Carlson grilled him for supporting American military aid to Ukraine, did not appear at the Turning Point event. At Turning Point, Carlson continued his attacks on the former vice president and a narrative of Ukraine that has shaped an element of the Republican Party and its base while earning accolades from Russian state media. “If you’re a Christian leader and Christians are going to jail for their views, you are required to say something,” said Carlson, reviving a misleading narrative that accuses Ukraine’s Jewish leader Volodymyr Zelensky of persecuting Christian priests. “And if you don’t, you’re not much of a Christian leader.” “How thankful are we for Tucker Carlson revealing true snakes … who do not have our best interests in mind,” said right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, between cackling over viral clips of President Biden and “boos” directed at Mr Pence. But in speaker after speaker, in echoes of the Conservative Political Action Conference and Republican events and statehouses across the country, Turning Point’s agenda repeatedly turned to transgender people as a scapegoat for what pundits and candidates believe is America’s collapse. US Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene launched into a transphobic speech using Jeff Foxworthy-style setups to accuse Democratic officials and voters of being paedophiles for supporting transition healthcare. Turning Point Action CEO Charlie Kirk spelt out explicitly that anti-trans attacks are a “winner politically for Republicans.” “There should be a healthy measure of ridicule,” former Fox News personality Megyn Kelly Kirk during a lengthy discussion about trans people and the erasure of trans rights. “These people are freaks. They’re perverts, by the way, if they go into a women’s locker room,” Kirk said. Asked how she feels about being labelled transphobic, Kelly said: “OK, whatever, honestly I’ve been called worse … Let them call you whatever you want. Who gives a damn.” Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who unsuccessfully ran for chair of the Republican National Committee, opened the speaking lineup with a series of inflammatory claims about trans people and their families. She claimed that schools are “inflicting powerful psychological indoctrination on vulnerable children” and compared doctors who provide gender-affirming healthcare to Nazis in falsely labelling gender-affirming care a “Mengele-like experimentation on America’s children”. Throughout the conference, those remarks were often wrapped in evangelical-style preaching, with Pizzagate proponent and far-right activist Jack Posobiec screaming “Deliver us from evil” after reciting the Lord’s Prayer to the crowd. “There’s a book you can read called the Bible,” he said. “Everything that is happening today has been foretold.” Mr Gaetz announced that he plans to introduce legislation “so that in every classroom in America, there will be time for students to pray if they want to,” a measure that could appear to violate the establishment clause of the US Constitution and mandate Christian prayer in schools, which is already permitted. “God’s love does not halt for the limitations of man and God’s reach does not stop at the schoolhouse gates,” he said. The congressman said that the “beautiful” US Supreme Court “that Trump gave us” might end up upholding it, should it ever become law. Read More Trump news – live: Trump tells DeSantis to go back to Florida as governor’s campaign fires staff Trump knows he lost 2020 election but ‘ego’ won’t let him admit it, Chris Christie says Trump suggests he won’t participate in first GOP debate: ‘It’s actually not fair’ He was a loyal Fox News viewer before he starred in a conspiracy theory. Now Ray Epps is suing US support for Ukraine emerges as key dividing line between GOP 2024 hopefuls in Tucker Carlson-hosted forum