Saturday, 31 October 2026
BACKSTAGE REPORT ON CHANGES TO WWE CROWN JEWEL CARD
 |
| Ethan Miller/Getty Images |
WWE Crown Jewel 2026 was recently moved to a new venue in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but that's reportedly not the only change that was made to the event. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer outlined changes that were reportedly made to the show's card.
The premium live event was moved from a temporary outdoor arena to The Venue, an indoor location, as of this week, and Meltzer cited photos and posters from the workers' building around the temporary venue. One poster showed Finn Balor next to one of GUNTHER, which Meltzer noted could be a singles match added to the show, as "WWE SmackDown" airs live on Friday, and next week's episode will be taped on Monday. He noted Crown Jewel's original lineup featured Balor vs. "The Ring General."
Meltzer also noted that the World Tag Team Championship match, which will be the first defense for The Vision's Bron Breakker and Austin Theory since the stable won the gold on July 6, against Je'Von Evans and Mr. Money in the Bank, Penta, was originally meant to be a six-man tag. The match was meant to involve Bronson Reed and Oba Femi, but was changed due to the feeling that it made no sense to do the six-man before the title bout.
World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns is set to take on Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn for the men's Crown Jewel Championship, and WWE Women's Champion Chelsea Green will face off against Women's World Champion Liv Morgan for the women's title elsewhere on the card. Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton are also set for a Last Man Standing match.
- DAISY RUTH
Friday, 30 October 2026
DAKAR 2027 | ROUTE
👇 Dakar 2027 official route
🗓️ 9th - 23rd January 2027
🚩 Loulé/Faro - Marrakech 🏁
🗺️ 7,824 km (4,341 km of SS)
🔜 #Dakar2027
AFCON RETURNS TO 2-YEAR CYCLE AFTER CAF REVERSES QUADRENNIAL DECISION
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will cohost the next AFCON in 2027, with subsequent tournaments in 2028, 2031 and 2033.
 |
| CAF announced the planned Nations League would take years to generate enough revenue to sustain African football [File: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images] |
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be held every two years, not four as was planned, governing body the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced after reversing an earlier decision.
AFCON has traditionally been staged every two years, but CAF’s surprise decision last December to move to a four-year cycle was not widely welcomed.
“The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee today unanimously decided that the CAF Africa Cup of Nations will return to taking place every Two Years,” CAF said in a statement.
Under the previous plan, AFCON would have moved to a four-year cycle, with the proposed CAF Nations League becoming the continent’s biennial competition.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe said at a strategy conference in Cape Verde earlier this month that the organisation was considering returning AFCON to a two-year cycle.
CAF said the Nations League would take years to generate enough revenue to sustain African football.
“The decision by the CAF Executive Committee to reinstate the organization of the AFCON every two years aims to advance, protect and promote the interests of African football and the 54 CAF Member Associations, as well as those of African players playing for clubs outside the continent,” Motsepe said in a statement.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will cohost the next edition in 2027, with subsequent tournaments to be held in 2028, 2031 and 2033.
There will be no AFCON in 2030, with CAF maintaining its tradition of not staging the tournament in a World Cup year.
- Reuters
YOUNG BENNA BOYS PICK UP FIRST WIN AT FIFA U-15 WORLD CUP
 |
| Antigua and Barbuda Under-15 Football Team. |
The Antigua and Barbuda Boys’ Under-15 Football Team picked up their first win at the ongoing FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival being held in Azerbaijan when, on Wednesday, they defeated the British Virgin Islands (BVI) 3-0.
Playing at the Hovsan Competition Complex, the young Benna Boys were led by a brace from Allan Henry with Tafari Looby adding the other goal.
In their two previous encounters, Antigua and Barbuda were beaten 5-1 by Hong Kong, China and 6-0 by Mongolia. On 25 October, the U15s played to a 3-3 draw with New Caledonia but fell to their largest defeat of the tournament on that same day, going under 10-0 to Northern Ireland. Antigua and Barbuda had previously fallen 4-0 to Lebanon and 3-2 to Burkina Faso.
- Neto Baptiste
ATP ROUNDUP: ALEXANDER ZVEREV CLINCHES WORLD NO. 1 RANKING
 |
| September 9, 2026; New York, United States; Germany's Alexander Zverev serves during his quarter-final match against Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images |
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev secured the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for the first time with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over the Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor on Thursday in the second round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
The German did not face a break point and broke Griekspoor once in each set to reach his tour-high 13th quarterfinal of the season.
Zverev will become the 30th player to hold the No. 1 ranking when the new list is released Monday and the first German to reach the top spot since Boris Becker in 1991. The 29-year-old won the French Open and the U.S. Open this summer, and he reached the Wimbledon final.
His next opponent will be Great Britain's Arthur Fery, who defeated Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain survived four set points in the second-set tiebreaker before beating Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 7-6 (11).
No. 3 Daniil Medvedev of Russia rallied past Great Britain's Cameron Norrie 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), while seventh-seeded Tommy Paul routed Italy's Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1. Matteo Berrettini advanced when fourth-seeded fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli retired with an injury while trailing 5-2 in the opening set.
Swiss Indoors Basel
Swiss wild card Jerome Kym stunned top-seeded Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1) in the second round at Basel, Switzerland, while Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff eliminated fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic in another three-set upset.
Struff defeated Djokovic for the first time in nine career meetings, rallying for a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory in 2 hours, 36 minutes. Djokovic failed to convert four break-point chances in the second set before Struff forced a decider, and the German closed out the final tiebreaker with an ace.
Monaco's Valentin Vacherot also knocked out a seeded player, edging No. 3 Rafael Jodar of Spain 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (5).
Second-seeded Arthur Fils of France avoided the upset bug by rallying past American Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States dispatched Canada's Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-3, and No. 8 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic defeated German lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 7-5, 6-4.
--Field Level Media
Thursday, 29 October 2026
MERCEDES-BENZ MARKS LONG HISTORY OF MAKING CARS FOR THE POPE
Pope Leo XIV also met with the executives of the German auto company on Wednesday.
 |
| Pope Leo XIV with some executives of Mercedes-Benz after his private audience with them at the Vatican on Oct. 28, 2026. (Photo: Vatican Media) |
Mercedes-Benz, the German luxury automaker, celebrated nearly 100 years of producing the popemobile — the pope’s personal vehicle.
To mark the occasion, Pope Leo XIV held a private audience with Mercedes-Benz executives on Wednesday. That same day, the exhibit “A Century of the Popemobile” opened at the Vatican Museums, featuring the first popemobile, gifted to Pope Pius XI in 1930, and the one in which St. John Paul II was shot on May 13, 1981.
Evolving Papal Transportation
In his address to Mercedes-Benz, the Pope praised the company for its enduring partnership with the Vatican and reflected on how papal transportation — from St. Peter to the present — has evolved.
“Over the decades, the Popemobile has evolved from a means of transportation into an instrument of encounter, enabling the pontiff to draw closer to the faithful during pastoral visits and public celebrations,” Leo said.
 |
| Pope Leo XIV addresses the executives of Mercedes-Benz during a private audience at the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on Oct. 28, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media |
“In this way, your work has helped facilitate the Church’s mission of reaching out to people and bringing a message of faith, of hope, and of charity to the world.”
The Pope also encouraged them to direct their innovations toward a more sustainable world, placing their "technological innovation at the service of human dignity, care for creation, and the common good.”
From Carriages to Modern Transport
Papal transportation has evolved since the late Roman Empire, when popes were carried on the “sedia gestatoria” — ornate, ceremonial thrones carried by 12 footmen during processions and major liturgical celebrations.
 |
| Pope Pius XI used the Nürburg 460 Pullman, made by Mercedes-Benz, as the first official automobile to transport the pope. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Vatican Museums |
From the late 19th century onward, popes increasingly chose modern forms of transportation, with Blessed Pius IX using the first papal train in 1859. The Nürburg 460 Pullman, made by Mercedes-Benz and given to Pope Pius XI in 1930, was the first official automobile used to transport the pope.
 |
| The Fiat 1107 - Nuova Campagnola, in which St. John Paul II was shot on May 13, 1981. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News |
The word “popemobile” was first used to describe a custom-made Lincoln Continental for St. Paul VI’s 1965 visit to the United States. Popes since St. John Paul II have used the popemobile, with Mercedes-Benz adapting future models for security since his 1981 shooting.
Keeping the Pope Safe
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the exhibit “A Century of the Popemobile,” the Mercedes-Benz executives spoke with EWTN News, reflecting on the near-century-long partnership with the Vatican.
Marc Langenbrinck, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Italy, described the partnership as a privilege, especially as a Catholic.
“[This day] is just simply the most beautiful day of my career because I am Catholic and I believe, and for me it is something which is a project of a lifetime,” Langenbrinck told EWTN News.
Marcus Breitschwerdt, executive vice president of Mercedes-Benz, explained the security and accessibility measures implemented in the popemobile.
“Well, first of all, a vehicle has to move safely, comfortably, but also safely in terms of traffic and accident risks,” Breitschwerdt said to EWTN News. “It has to be safely conceived and executed in terms of the current modern risks you face if you are in big crowds.”
 |
| Marcus Breitschwerdt, executive vice president of Mercedes-Benz, at the exhibition “A Century of the Popemobile” at the Vatican Museums on Oct. 28, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News |
“So we have armored versions; we have the secured glass Popemobiles, which are very, very sophisticated,” Breitschwerdt added.
Breitschwerdt, in a speech for the exhibit launch, also said that no Mercedes-Benz employee is ever allowed to sit on the pope’s seat in the Popemobile.
“There is a strict rule that no one — not even the mechanics who maintain the vehicles or our CEO — is allowed to sit in the popeʼs seat,” Breitschwerdt said.
- Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News | Vatican
JAY-Z THROUGH HIS ROC NATIONS SPORTS AGENCY WILL FUND SENSATIONAL THREE YEAR OLD NEVADA PIERRE'S TRIP TO SPAIN 🇪🇸
American rapper and billionaire businessman Jay-Z, through his sports management agency Roc Nation Sports, has committed to funding an international development trip to Spain for three-year-old football sensation Nevada Pierre.
Pierre shot to global fame after videos showcasing his exceptional football skills went viral on social media. He attracted further attention following a youth match in Florida where his impressive performances reportedly led to police being called to the venue.
The trip, planned for December, will give Nevada and his family an opportunity to experience specialised football training in Spain as the young prodigy continues developing his talent.
#NevadaPierre #JayZ #Soccer #RocNation #RockNationSports
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)