Fiji Baby Pearls to face Samoa next – FBC News
The Fiji Baby Pearls will face Samoa tomorrow morning in the 9th to 12th place semi-finals at the Netball World Youth Cup. After securing their third victory of the tournament with a commanding 61-31 win over hosts Gibraltar earlier today, the team is steadily gaining momentum. Earlier this week, the Baby Pearls narrowly lost to Malawi 51-52 and were defeated 85-35 by South Africa. Article continues after advertisement They will take on Samoa at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning. Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
Tottenham’s owners yet to receive new offer for club amid report of takeover bid
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Tottenham’s owners are yet to receive a new offer for the club, despite a report claiming a United States consortium has launched a £4.5billion takeover bid, the PA news agency understands. The Sun reports a consortium headed by tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick is looking to buy the club, weeks after two expressions of interest were “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs’ majority owners ENIC, which is run by the Lewis family trust. A club statement at the start of September said “Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale” after Amanda Staveley’s PCP International Finance and a consortium of investors led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk Holdings Limited were revealed to be interested in acquiring the north London club. ENIC owns 87 per cent of Spurs, but due to the remaining shares being publicly traded, the club is subjected to the UK Takeover Code. Therefore, any expression of interest or bid must be lodged with the Takeover Code panel and made public, but PA understands the Lewis family trust has not been made aware of any consortium being ready to buy Tottenham. A source close to the Lewis family on Thursday night reiterated the club is not for sale. The Sun claims American Earick – who was involved earlier this year in a failed acquisition of Formula E team Maserati – will launch a £3.3bn takeover bid with a number of NFL and NBA investors, with a further £1.2bn set aside as transfer funds for new boss Thomas Frank. If the overall £4.5bn package were successful, it would exceed Todd Boehly’s takeover of Chelsea for £4.25bn in 2022. The Lewis family trust earlier this month asked Daniel Levy to step down from his role as Tottenham chairman after 24 years due to a desire for the club to target “more wins, more often”. Levy revealed last year the club were in talks with “prospective investors” over selling a minority share, although discussions involving Qatar Sports Investments were denied. PA understands the Lewis family trust is open to external investment, but the main focus is on providing the required support to new non-executive chairman Peter Charrington, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and head coach Frank, all whom have been appointed in 2025, to help deliver greater on-field success.
The Prem: Sale 27-10 Gloucester – Sharks’ dominate second half to win season opener
Sale: Carpenter; Roebuck, R du Preez, Ma’asi-White, O’Flaherty; Ford, Warr; Rodd, Jibulu, Opoku-Fordjour; Van Rhyn (c), Bamber, Vermeulen, B Curry, Dugdale. Replacements: Caine, McIntyre, John, Andrews, Burrow, Hanson, Reed, Woodman. Gloucester: C Atkinson; Loader, Llewellyn, S Atkinson, Thorley; Byrne, Williams (c); Bellamy, Innard, Fasogbon; Clark, Alemanno, Thomas, Venter, Clement. Replacements: Freeman-Price, McArthur, Gotovtsev, Jordan, Ludlow, Englefield, Joseph, Edwards-Giraud. Sin-bin: Jack Clement (50). Referee: Christope Ridley.
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton first up for Europe at Ryder Cup
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will launch Europe’s defence of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Friday. The pair will face Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas in the opening foursomes match when the contest gets under way at 12.10pm BST. Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick will then team up to face world number one Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley before Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood take on Collin Morikawa and Harris English. The line-up for the first session will be completed as Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland take on Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. With play expected to begin in front of a raucous and partisan home crowd in New York, Europe captain Luke Donald has opted for experience with his opening pairing. Rahm and Hatton, who are good friends and both play on the LIV Golf tour, formed a strong foursomes partnership in Rome two years ago, winning both of their matches. World number two McIlroy and Tour Championship winner Fleetwood were also victorious in two foursomes outings together two years ago. Veteran Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka and rookie Rasmus Hojgaard are the European players not involved on the first morning.
‘The Punisher’ ready to go the distance for title – FBC News
Kolinio Luvelolo (left), Bryan Roberts. Bryan “The Punisher” Roberts is banking on his 10-round pedigree when he steps into the ring against Kolinio Luvelolo for the MASA South Pacific light-heavyweight title in tomorrow night’s Bluewater Boxing Promotions that will be held in Nadi. A seasoned campaigner over the distance, Roberts has already gone the full 10 rounds four times in his career and believes his stamina and experience will be too much for Luvelolo if the bout drags on. Fighting a little heavier than usual in what will be his first overseas contest, Roberts says he has prepared carefully to ensure he is hydrated and comfortable at the new weight. Article continues after advertisement “I’m not here to muck around — much respect for my opponent, but when it’s on I’m coming for the win.” Known for his relentless style and late-round toughness, he is confident that the longer the fight goes, the more it will tilt in his favour. The FMF Bluewater Boxing Promotions will be held at Prince Charles Park in Nadi tonight. The event will be streamed live on Viti Plus. Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
Orlando Pirates identify top impact signing for January
Orlando Pirates FC already have their eye on the next transfer window. The Buccaneers have signed a variety of top players during the recently concluded transfer window. Abdeslam Ouaddou has an extremely talented squad to work with for his domestic and continental obligations. Despite the solid reinforcements, Orlando Pirates are not resting on their laurels! Orlando Pirates eyeing big January signing Abdeslam Ouaddou’s side have already lifted the first trophy on offer this season, the MTN8 title. There’s still the Carling Knockout, Nedbank Cup, Betway Premiership and CAF Champions League titles up for grabs. If everything goes according to plan for Orlando Pirates, they’ll compete till the very end for all of the above-mentioned trophies. And it’s for that reason that the club are already looking at impact players to sign in January! Andre de Jong still wanted by Bucs After failing to sign Stellenbosch star Andre de Jong, the Orlando Pirates are reportedly plotting a January push to sign the New Zealand international. “Siya sources have suggested that the Buccaneers are likely to return for De Jong in January, viewing his versatility and consistency as qualities that would add further depth to their attacking options,” a Soccer Laduma report read regarding Orlando Pirates’ upcoming transfer plans. De Jong is a senior figure at Stellenbosch. The 28-year-old has already made over 100 appearances for the Cape side. He scored 16 goals while assisting a further 11 more for Steve Barker’s side. Orlando Pirates made an attempt to sign him hours before the winter transfer window shut close. Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, they couldn’t reach an agreement with Stellenbosch in time. Now, they’re set to go back for De Jong in the January transfer window.
Tyrrell Hatton unsure how he will react to abuse from American fans at Ryder Cup
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Tyrrell Hatton admits he does not know how he will react if he is abused by American fans at the Ryder Cup but has vowed to stay true to himself. That could well lead to trouble, though, as the Englishman is a notoriously combustible character, well known for his on-course tantrums. The atmosphere at the Bethpage Black is expected to be raucous, with the home fans urged to cause “chaos” by United States player Collin Moriwaka. Preparing his players for possible heckling and abuse has been a key part of Europe captain Luke Donald’s preparations, which has included the deployment of virtual reality headsets programmed with abuse from an American crowd. Asked how he is going to react if he is targeted, Hatton said: “I don’t know, it’s hard to say until you’re put in that position. “Ultimately, I would just try and be true to myself and try and react in a way that is hopefully the right way to do it. “I haven’t really thought about that too much to be honest.” Hatton has thought about his spot on the team much more and recently opened up about his celebrations after finding out he was going to be part of Donald’s team in New York. He spoke about waking up in a pool of his own vomit after a drinking session with Jon Rahm, which involved mixing gin and tonics with Amaretto sours and vodka lemonades. The 33-year-old celebrated so hard because his route to the team has been made much more difficult following his switch to LIV and he ultimately qualified due to his performances at the majors over the last two years. “It was definitely one of the scary parts of the decision (to join LIV), Hatton said. “I knew that my opportunities to make the team would be limited. “That’s a scary thing. I definitely I feel like the events that I played outside of LIV, I had the extra motivation to play well. “It’s not like I tried any harder, I try my best no matter what. But certainly knowing that the majors had an extra importance to them for me maybe helped me. “It adds a little bit of pressure, but I feel like over the last couple years, I’ve dealt with that pretty well. “And although my performance in majors hasn’t been amazing, it’s got better the last two years. “So I take that as a positive.”
Fiji U-19 Women’s open campaign with a win – FBC News
[Source: Oceania Football Confederation/Facebook] The Fiji national U-19 Women’s football team has begun its OFC U-19 Women’s Championship campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Cook Islands. The win puts Fiji on top of Group A with three points. Fiji looked sharp from the start, with Adi Reva scoring early. Article continues after advertisement However, the Cook Islands responded with a powerful header from Aikitu Mose, which levelled the score. The match remained tight until the second half, when Annie Finau capitalized on a goalkeeping error to score the winning goal for Fiji. The result puts Fiji in a strong position for the semi-finals. Their fate now rests on their next match against Tonga, with anything other than a Tonga win securing Fiji and the Cook Islands a spot in the next round. Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
Grace Harvey claims gold as GB win six medals at World Para Championships
Grace Harvey won gold in the women’s SB5 100m breaststroke as Great Britain added a further six medals to their tally at the World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore. Harvey, 27, finished nearly four seconds ahead of Ukraine’s Anna Hontar to win in one minute 42.88 seconds and reclaim the title she last won in 2022. It was Great Britain’s 11th gold of the Championships. “It was such an exciting race with Anna going out fast and that’s great competition for the SB5 class, but to bring home the win, I’m beyond happy,” said Harvey. “I’ve been training breaststroke all season and this was the one, my child, my baby, so I gave it everything today and couldn’t have put another stroke in. That was the perfect race for me.” Alice Tai, who won four golds in the competition’s first four days, added a silver medal to her collection alongside Bruce Dee, Roan Brennan, and Faye Rogers in the mixed 4x100m medley. They set a British record of 4:31.65 as they finished behind Spain. Earlier on day five, Rogers collected an individual silver in the women’s S10 100m butterfly, finishing just three-hundredths of a second behind Turkey’s Defne Kurt. Elsewhere, Rhys Darbey broke the former world record mark as he finished second behind Brazil’s Gabriel Bandeira in the men’s SM14 200m individual medley. His time of 2:05.84 is a European record. “It’s nice to go under that old world record mark, and for two of us to go under it is unbelievable,” Darbey said. In the women’s SM14 200m individual medley, Olivia Newman-Baronius took silver and Bethany Firth bronze, with team-mate Poppy Maskill in fourth place.
Matt Fitzpatrick explains parents’ Ryder Cup absence after USA fan’s slit-throat taunt
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Matt Fitzpatrick has explained that his parents have partly avoided travelling to New York for the Ryder Cup 2025 over hateful remarks made towards him during his last appearance on US soil for Europe at Whistling Straits. Fitzpatrick lost all three of his matches in 2021 and told The Times in a wide-ranging interview that his parents were nearby when they heard American fans shout “slit his throat, Berger” during his singles contest against Daniel Berger, which the American won one up in a 19-9 thrashing overall. But Fitzpatrick has explained how his parents Russell and Susan opted to skip Bethpage Black after their past experience, though their own preparation for the Dunhill Links, with extensive travelling, also factored into their decision. “I left it completely up to them. There’s two things on that. There is, obviously, a little bit of that; they didn’t have a great experience in Whistling Straits. That’s not like a lie or anything or making anything up,” Fitzpatrick said on the eve of this year’s Ryder Cup, having admitted that the trash talk directed at him last time “didn’t go down too well with mum and dad” before highlighting next week’s DP World Tour event at the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. “The other thing is, both my parents are playing next week in the Dunhill. They also didn’t really want to ruin that experience, as well, because that’s obviously special to have that. “So yeah, it’s a combination. It’s a lot of travel. It’s obviously a busy week. It’s a tiring week. And then they obviously want to have a nice week next week, as well, with me and my brother. No denying that they had a bad experience in the past, but there’s no reason why it has to be like that this time.” open image in gallery Matt Fitzpatrick of Team Europe speaks in a press conference (Getty Images) Fitzpatrick’s parents have watched him play in three Ryder Cups so far and the Sheffield man insists he will cope well without their support in person. “They have obviously been to a lot,” the former US Open champion added. “But I’m fine with that. They have been to three Ryder Cups already, two away, two at home — one at home, sorry. You know, they have seen me in all sorts of events. open image in gallery Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy of Team Europe look at a yardage book during a practice round (Getty Images) “So obviously I’ll miss them this week for sure. But you know, I’m not — I know that they are doing what’s best for them, and that’s what’s important.” And Fitzpatrick claims his upbringing in Yorkshire enabled him to cope with insults and trash talk, which he experienced during Wednesday’s practice round. “I’m from Sheffield so that’s probably a good start,” Fitzpatrick said when asked if he has thick skin. “Yeah, I mean, it was good fun. I think for me, you know, you’ve got to buy into it. I was having a good laugh with those boys, and we were laughing about it. They were telling me, oh, you’re probably going to be here on Friday or whatever. I was like, yeah, you’re probably right, to be fair. open image in gallery Matt Fitzpatrick of England laughs with his mother, Sue Fitzpatrick, at the Old Course at St Andrews (Getty Images) “So yeah, we had a good laugh there, and they actually followed us for a couple more holes. So I think, you know, like you say, you’ve got to take it on the chin, whatever it is. “Again, like I keep saying, it’s what makes this event so fun, so special, is the fans. The fans are what make this event, and you know, it’s obviously a great opportunity for us to come and try and play our best golf in front of them.”