Football's best-player prize is decided by a jury of journalists. The favourites spent this week campaigning for their votes.

The rest of the day

23 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   FIFA's challengers offer the voters $10m each

   Aleksander Ceferin runs European football's governing body UEFA and Victor Montagliani runs the North American one. On Friday the two wrote to FIFA's members asking that $10m go to each of the 211 national associations out of World Cup reserves. [14] Those 211 associations elect FIFA's president, one vote each, and its president Gianni Infantino had offered them $20m each to back his plan to sell a stake in FIFA's commercial arm to private investors. [14][15] He dropped it after UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA tournaments. [15]

   $20m eachOffered by FIFA's president

   vsvs

   $10m eachOffered by his challengers

   Why it matters — Candidates must enter by 18 November and the election is held in Morocco next March. [14] The associations being offered the money are the ones that will cast the votes.

2. 03

   Ukraine asks countries to boycott a FIFA youth event

   FIFA banned Russian national teams from its competitions after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Russia's under-15 side has now been entered in a FIFA football festival in Azerbaijan. FIFA lifted its ban on Russia's under-17 team in 2023, but this would be the first time a Russian side actually plays. [16] Ukraine's football association called the entry the legitimisation of a terrorist state, asked other countries to stay away, and thanked Iceland and Germany for already pulling out. [16] Russia is drawn with Turkiye, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Sudan. [16]

   Why it matters — The International Olympic Committee dropped its recommendation that sports federations ban Russia in July, so each sport now decides on its own. [16] In February Infantino said the ban had not achieved anything.

3. 04

   NFL blocks two players who won in court

   Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright signed contracts with NFL clubs, were released in August, then sued for a fifth year of college eligibility and won a ruling. [17] The SEC, the college conference LSU plays in, and other conferences then voted to bar teams from taking back anyone who had signed a professional contract, and LSU left both men off its 105-man roster. [17] On Wednesday the NFL told its clubs they may not sign either player this season and threatened discipline for any that did. [18][17] Their lawyer says they will act within the week. [17]

   Why it matters — A judge said they could play. Two bodies that are not courts then each decided that they could not, and there is nowhere left for them to play this year.

4. 05

   A racetrack reopens on a $455m state loan

   Belmont Park, a racecourse just outside New York City, reopened on Friday after a $550m rebuild by the New York Racing Association. [19] The work could not have happened without a $455m loan from New York State, pushed by the state governor Kathy Hochul. [19] She went to the ribbon-cutting about 14 hours after watching her home NFL team in Buffalo's new $2.1bn stadium. [19] The track is now meant to hold concerts and other events as well as racing. [19]

   • Loan from New York State$455m · 83%
   • Paid by the racing association$95m · 17%

   Why it matters — Owners are setting records at horse sales, helped by a US tax change that lets businesses deduct the full cost of some assets at once. [19] Whether enough people turn up to a rebuilt racecourse is the part nobody has answered.

5. 06

   Athletics takes its world championships to Africa

   World Athletics, which runs track and field, chose Nairobi to host the 2029 world championships. [20] It is the first time the championships will be held anywhere in Africa, and Kenya sits second only to the United States on the all-time medal table. [20] The stadium is already being upgraded because Kenya co-hosts football's Africa Cup of Nations next year. [20] Munich takes the 2031 edition; London and Rome lost the 2029 bid. [20]

   Why it matters — It also brings a harder light onto doping in Kenyan distance running. The women's marathon world record holder, Ruth Chepng'etich, is serving a three-year ban. [20]

6. 07

   Rowers lose the argument over a crocodile river

   A stretch of the Fitzroy River in Queensland passed its technical assessment as the rowing and canoe venue for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. [21] About 500 saltwater crocodiles live in it, though state records going back more than 40 years show no attack on a person. [21] The rowers' objection was not the crocodiles. It was the tide: the river bends and runs, and many in the sport say that makes the racing unfair. The venue is also about 600km from Brisbane. [21]

   Why it matters — Queensland's premier David Crisafulli called the objectors interstate and overseas elites who did not want to go to regional Queensland. [21] The people who will row there train four years for one race.

7. 08

   A Premier League club starts the season with a blank shirt

   Sunderland are the only club in England's top division playing without a sponsor on the front of their shirt. [22] Their previous deal, with the betting firm W88, was killed by a new Premier League rule banning gambling companies from shirt fronts. [22] A replacement with Visit Ghana, reported at 10m pounds a season, collapsed this week after the Ghanaian government never gave formal approval. [22] The club says talks with others continue and expects to sign within a month. [22]

   Why it matters — English clubs may only spend a set share of their own revenue on players. Sunderland's share is 70% because they are in the Europa League, against the 85% the Premier League allows, so the missing 10m pounds is money off the wage budget. [22]

8. 09

   The five people who decide whether a referee was right

   England's Premier League runs a Key Match Incidents panel: five people, three of them former players or coaches, one from the league and one from Pro Ref, which runs refereeing. [26] It reviews contested calls and votes on them. This month it ruled unanimously that Arsenal's Gabriel had not committed violent conduct when his raised boot hit Chelsea's goalkeeper Emi Martinez in the face. [26] In a separate case four of the five thought Brighton should have had a penalty, but three of the five said it was not a clear enough error to be overturned. [24]

   Why it matters — The league's published record for that week says every decision after a video check was correct. [24] That line is the output of a three-to-two vote, not a measurement.

9. 10

   The video referee misses the offside that mattered

   Manchester City beat Manchester United 1-0 through a goal by Erling Haaland. [25] The assistant referee flagged Haaland offside, and the video check found he was onside, played on by a United defender's foot. [25] But Enzo Fernandez was clearly offside in the same move and had dived in front of a United defender to challenge for the ball. [25] After a check lasting two and a half minutes the goal stood. Pro Ref said that evening the video referee should have sent the referee to the pitchside screen, and told United it was an error of judgement. [25][24]

   Why it matters — The Premier League runs two different offside systems from two suppliers, which it says is not a deliberate choice. [25] The machine answered the question it was asked. A person got the next one wrong.

10. 11

    Arsenal lose for the first time this season

    Arsenal had won all seven of their matches in every competition this season. On Saturday Brighton beat them 3-0 at the Amex Stadium on England's south coast. [28] It was Arsenal's first three-goal defeat in the Premier League in more than three years, and the last one was also at Brighton, in May 2023. [28] Their manager Mikel Arteta traced the collapse to a rushed goalkeeper's kick that went straight out for a throw-in and a weak clearance after it. [28] Brighton's manager Fabian Hurzeler took over from Roberto De Zerbi in the summer of 2024. [29]

    Why it matters — Arsenal are the reigning champions. [39] Arteta said his team put itself in trouble three times in the opening minutes, and has to get out of that pattern faster. [28]

11. 12

    Tottenham's worst ever start after a 380m-pound summer

    Tottenham lost 3-2 at home to Aston Villa on Saturday. Villa had not won a league game all season. [30] It is Tottenham's worst ever start to a Premier League season and leaves them 19th of 20, after they spent more than 380m pounds in the summer to stop a third straight finish near the bottom. [30] Their manager Roberto De Zerbi did not speak to his players afterwards because he did not want to say anything. [30] Villa have now won as many league games at Tottenham's ground in the past year as Tottenham have. [30]

    380m poundsSpent in the summer

    vsvs

    19th of 20Position after five games

    Why it matters — A supporter who goes to every home game has paid roughly 600 pounds for each home win over that period. [30] Saturday's goals at least ended a run of more than eight hours without a league goal. [30]

12. 13

    The Yankees lose their best hitter again

    Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees captain, went back on baseball's injured list on Friday with a strain in his right calf. [31] He had returned less than two weeks earlier from a fractured rib that kept him out for more than three months. [31] The club would not say how bad it is or when he might play; he is eligible to return on the final day of the regular season. [31] In his seven games back he missed with 41% of his swings at fastballs, against a league average of 19%. [31]

    Why it matters — The Yankees can clinch the top wild-card place as early as Sunday, so the games left barely matter in the table. [31] They mattered to Judge, who needed the time at bat to find his timing before the playoffs.

13. 14

    College football plays its first big game at Wembley

    Arizona State beat Kansas 24-17 at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday, in a game organisers called the Union Jack Classic. [32] It was the first match between top-division American college teams played in Britain; an earlier college game in London, in 1988, drew about 5,000 people. [32] This one drew 46,523 into a ground that holds more than 90,000, with the upper tier closed. [32] Brett Yormark, who runs the Big 12 conference, said buyers came from 35 countries and that he is already talking to schools about London next year. [32]

    1

    0 seats45,000 seats90,000 seats

    1. 1Tickets sold46,523 seats

    Why it matters — The NFL has played a regular-season game in London every year since 2007. College football is now testing whether the audience that built will follow a different version of the same sport. [32]

14. 15

    Rugby league sells out Auckland and empties Sydney

    The New Zealand Warriors sold out a 50,000-seat stadium in Auckland in under 48 hours for Sunday's knockout game against Newcastle. [35] Australia's National Rugby League moved the match from the club's usual ground to Eden Park, the country's national stadium, and about 48,000 are expected, close to 10,000 more than the club has ever drawn. [37] In Australia it went the other way. Cronulla moved a final from their 15,000-seat home to the 42,500-seat Allianz Stadium and barely 17,000 came, a crowd their own halfback called embarrassing. [36] A Penrith against Sydney Roosters final drew 22,148. [36]

    Auckland (expected)48,000 fans

    Penrith v Roosters22,148 fans

    Cronulla's final17,000 fans

    Why it matters — The league was criticised for the empty seats in the first week of its finals. [35] One move filled a bigger stadium. The other left a bigger stadium two-thirds empty. [36][37]

15. 16

    A fifth women's basketball World Cup in a row

    The United States beat France in the final of the women's basketball World Cup, a fifth consecutive title. [38] France had dominated the tournament until then, and for the first twenty minutes its defensive pressure stopped the Americans finding any rhythm. [38] The game was a rematch of the 2024 Olympic gold medal final, which the same two countries contested. [38]

    Why it matters — France arrived having beaten everyone in front of them and still could not hold it past the first twenty minutes. [38] That is the distance the rest of women's basketball is trying to close.

16. 17

    The Premier League nearly had a week with no home wins

    In 1,307 completed Premier League matchweeks since 1992, only three have ended with no home team winning, the last in September 2000. [39] This month's fourth round came close: five away wins and four draws, with Leeds beating Newcastle 4-1 at Elland Road the one home victory. [39] Leeds were 3-0 up at half-time, and their opening goal took a double deflection on its way in. [39] Dominic Calvert-Lewin has now scored in five straight home league games there. [39]

    Why it matters — Home advantage is one of the oldest assumptions in football, and one near-miss proves nothing on its own. [39] It is the kind of week that makes people start counting.

17. 18

    Champions League finals go to Munich and Barcelona

    UEFA, which runs European club football, gave the 2028 Champions League final to Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena and the 2029 final to Barcelona's Camp Nou. [40] The Munich ground holds 70,000 and is ready; Camp Nou is still being rebuilt under a project started in 2023. [40] The women's Champions League finals go to Lyon in 2028 and Cardiff's Principality Stadium in 2029. [40] Barcelona's comes a year before Spain co-hosts the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Morocco. [40]

    Why it matters — A final is awarded years ahead, so a club can win one with a stadium that is not finished. Barcelona has just done that. [40]

18. 19

    Fanatics opens a second card shop in Europe

    Fanatics, the American sports merchandise company, will open a trading-card store in Paris on 23 October, its second in Europe. [23] Its first, on Regent Street in London, opened 18 months ago, and the company's founder Michael Rubin says it is taking about $25m a year against an original estimate of $6m to $8m. [23] That shop was broken into this month and about 200 cards were stolen, among them a 2004 Lionel Messi card and a Kobe Bryant rookie card. [23] The Paris store is 5,500 square feet. [23]

    Why it matters — Paris hosts its first NFL game two days after the shop opens. [23] Fanatics has had a ten-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain since 2020 and owns Topps, which prints the cards. [23]

19. 20

    A $7,500 fine for a smashed racket

    Aryna Sabalenka was fined $7,500 for smashing a racket at the end of her US Open final defeat by Elena Rybakina. [27] Sabalenka had won the previous two titles and lost this one 6-4, 5-7, 6-2; she said afterwards that holding it in would have been worse. [27] Ten other players were fined for racket abuse at the same tournament. [27] Belinda Bencic was fined $5,000 for hitting a ball into the crowd and striking a spectator, and was not thrown out of the match. [27]

    Why it matters — The rulebook says players must not violently or angrily hit, kick or throw equipment anywhere on the tournament site. [27] What counts as violent is settled after the match, by officials, against a list of standard fines.

20. 21

    Zidane ends two France careers

    Zinedine Zidane, now France's head coach, named five new players in his squad and left out Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante. [41] Benzema won the Ballon d'Or in 2022 and has not played for France since leaving a World Cup four years ago with an injury. [41] France play in Turkey on 25 September and in Belgium three days later, then host Italy on 2 October and Belgium on 5 October. [41] One of the new names, the 21-year-old Jacquet, joined Liverpool from Rennes this summer for a reported 70m euros. [41]

    Why it matters — A squad list is the only thing that makes a player an international. Benzema, who won the sport's biggest individual prize in 2022, found out on Friday that he is not on it. [41]

21. 22

    Alabama come back from 15 points down

    Alabama, ranked tenth in American college football, trailed Florida State by 15 points and won 50-36 in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. [33] Their quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns and ran in another, and the team finished with 615 yards. [33] Lightning delayed the kickoff and stopped play again in the second quarter, after which the teams agreed to skip half-time. [33] Alabama scored touchdowns on five possessions in a row to turn a 21-6 deficit into a 40-28 lead. [33]

    Why it matters — Alabama's defence had allowed one third-down conversion in 23 attempts across its first two games. Florida State converted eight of fifteen. [33] Two weeks of a record meant nothing in the third.

22. 23

    Clemson beat Bill Belichick's college team

    Clemson came back from 14 points down to beat North Carolina 28-20 on Saturday, through a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay. [34] North Carolina is coached by Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and is in a difficult second year in college football. [34] A defeat would have been Clemson's first at home to North Carolina in 25 years. [34] Clemson finished seventh in its 17-team conference last season, and only two of the 17 reach the conference final. [34]

    Why it matters — Belichick's team plays third-ranked Notre Dame on 3 October, a game that may settle whether he stays at North Carolina. [34] His two years there have been marked by investigations and staff resignations as much as by results.

23. 24

    The Mets' owner says the front office can do better

    Steve Cohen, who owns the New York Mets, said on the club's own television broadcast on Saturday that he has identified things the club can do better and wants to add voices to the front office. [42] He spoke in the week the Mets' former first baseman Pete Alonso hit his 300th career home run at the Mets' own ground, to cheers from Mets fans. [42] The club retired the newly inducted Hall of Famer Carlos Beltran's number the same day, and beat Philadelphia 10-3. [42]

    Why it matters — An owner saying in public that his own front office can do better is a message to everyone who works in it. [42] Cohen said the next few weeks would be busy.