Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Monday, 14 September 2026
TOYOTA GAZOO ARE MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONS! | FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MANUFACTURERS
Congratulations to Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT, who have secured the 2026 Manufacturers’ Championship, marking the brand’s tenth title! 👏🔥
What a season! 🏁🇯🇵
#FIA #WRC
VAR OFFICIAL STOOD DOWN THIS WEEKEND AFTER MANCHESTER DERBY ERROR
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| The goal was initially ruled before the decision was reversed |
The VAR who made an "error of judgement" in awarding a goal to Manchester City in Sunday's derby at Old Trafford has not been appointed to a Premier League game this weekend.
Matt Donohue, along with assistant Blake Antrobus, awarded a goal to City after a VAR check, despite Enzo Fernandez appearing to interfere with play in an offside position in the build-up to Erling Haaland’s goal.
Referees' body Pro Ref conceded it had been an error for Donohue not to send referee Michael Oliver to the screen to determine whether Fernandez’s involvement was sufficient to make him offside. The goal had been disallowed on field for an offside against Haaland, who was found on review to be being played onside by Patrick Dorgu.
Fernandez certainly appeared to have an impact on the actions of United defender Lisandro Martinez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens in his attempt to head the ball in, which would meet the definition for offside to be given.
Donohue made his Premier League officiating debut in May 2024, having gained promotion to the EFL’s assistant referees list in 2014. He has been used extensively as a VAR over the last two years.
Antrobus has also not been appointed to a game this weekend. Oliver will officiate Sunday’s match between Bournemouth and Liverpool.
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney said the decision to give the goal was "baffling".
Rooney told the BBC’s Match of the Day 2: "I’m just so sick of this VAR, I think it’s horrendous. It takes all the emotion off the game, the energy the game’s played with, and to not see that and recognise Fernandez is in an offside position…
"Anyone who’s played the game at any level understands that and knows that he’s in an offside position…to get it so wrong, it’s just baffling."
- RTÉ Sport
NICO ROSEBERG BLAMES CARLOS SAINZ ON NEW MADRING CIRCUIT
Nico Rosberg has jokingly put the blame on Carlos Sainz for the lack of overtaking at the new Madring circuit.
“Carlos Sainz was the ambassador, so we need to criticise Carlos Sainz,” Rosberg said.
He called for changes ahead of next year: “They need to revisit the track layout for next year and create one good overtaking opportunity. We need that on this track because it’s just too hard to overtake.”
Rosberg also pointed to Oscar Piastri’s struggle to pass Franco Colapinto despite having fresh tyres:
“It was pretty shocking. Piastri had fresh tyres, he could not get past. And he was so much quicker. It’s just super hard to overtake.”
Should Madring be redesigned for next season?
TOM ASPINALL OFFICIALLY VACATES UFC HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE DUE TO ONGOING EYE INJURIES
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| TOMASPINALLOFFICIAL ON INSTAGRAM |
UFC star Tom Aspinall has officially vacated the UFC heavyweight championship due to ongoing issues with his eyes.
Ever since UFC 321 almost a year ago, Tom Aspinall has been dealing with severe injuries to his eyes as a result of pokes from Ciryl Gane. While he has been on the road to recovery and seemed to be showing progress, we now know that he will be unable to defend the belt at any point in the near future.
Tom Aspinall is one of the most exceptionally talented heavyweights we have seen in recent memory, but off the back of what happened against Gane, we may never get to see what he could really accomplish inside the Octagon.
In a recent Instagram post, after recent suggestions from Dana White that he could be stripped, Tom Aspinall announced that he will be relinquishing the gold.
TOM ASPINALL VACATES UFC HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
“Anything you read in the media is simply noise. People are creating their own narratives. This is the truth:
Ongoing complications with my eyes mean I cannot get medically cleared to fight right now.
I’ve had multiple surgeries, accidents and infections, and done everything possible to get back to competing.
I had previously agreed to a fight date and was back sparring, feeling great and ready to compete when an accident caused further damage to my right eye. This means more time away from the sport, and right now, the timing of my return is unclear.
I know there have been questions about why I’ve been quiet. I’ve always followed the advice of the UFC and focused on my recovery while we’ve tried to make this happen.
I’ve now made the decision to vacate the heavyweight title. I’ve asked the UFC to allow me to make this statement because I don’t want to hold the heavyweight division up. I know what it’s like to have your career put on hold and I want the other fighters to have the opportunity to compete for the title.
The UFC and Hunter have been informed every step of the way and have seen the tests, procedures and medical information relating to my eyes. We have worked closely with different doctors and specialists to try and make my return happen, but unfortunately, it’s simply not possible right now.
I’m absolutely gutted. I’ve chased this dream since I was 10 years old.
I’m not done.
Stepping away from the title is not stepping away from the sport or the dream. I’ll continue doing everything I can to get healthy, get cleared and get back to competing as soon as possible.
What makes this particularly difficult is that many of the complications I’m dealing with are a result of fouls that changed the course of my career. Fighters rely on officials to enforce the rules and protect us in those moments, and it’s hard to still be dealing with the consequences today.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this absolute nightmare.
I’ll be back as soon as I’m medically able to be.
Tom”
What title fight do you want to see next? Let us know in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
- Harry Kettle
LAMINE YAMAL'S THREE-WORD MESSAGE IGNITES BALLON D’OR FEUD WITH KYLIAN MBAPPÉ
The two Clásico rivals are in pursuit of soccer’s greatest individual prize.
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| Lamine Yamal (left) has not hidden his desire to win the Ballon d’Or. | Alex Caparros/Getty Images (Yamal), Diego Souto/Getty Images (Mbappé |
While Lamine Yamal named Kylian Mbappé as one of the top two players in the world over the past 12 months, the Barcelona star left no doubt over his pick for the 2026 Ballon d’Or: “I deserve it.”
The release of the 30-man shortlist for this year’s award has sparked pushes from some of the world’s top players. Mbappé recently insisted there had been nobody better than him over the past season, insisting he feels good about his chances of winning the award.
Mbappé is undoubtedly among the favorites to win, but the Real Madrid forward is joined towards the top of the rankings by Yamal. The 19-year-old contributed 24 goals and 18 assists for La Liga winners Barcelona and then helped Spain to World Cup glory this summer.
“Who would I give it to? The best in the world,” Yamal told Movistar+. “Who are they going to give it to? That’s a very long discussion.
“I honestly think that maybe there are two of us who are the best in the world. And I think I deserve it this year because of what I’ve won. Because for me, Mbappé and I are the two best in the world. For me, it’s very clear, and everyone who watches the games knows it.”
Barcelona Vice-President Calls for ‘Justice’ in Ballon d’Or Race
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| Yamal has plenty of support in Barcelona. | Pedro Salado/Getty Images |
Yamal’s belief that he deserves to win the Ballon d’Or was, predictably, backed up by Barcelona vice-president Rafa Yuste.
“Lamine Yamal is a young boy who is giving a lot of hope to young people around the world,” Yuste insisted. “He has a genius that at his age is incredible, it has been many years since I have seen a player like him. Therefore, I believe and wish that justice will be done with this well-deserved Ballon d’Or.
“Simply, for giving so much happiness to so many boys and girls around the world and to us who like football, justice has to be done, and he deserves everything and more for being the way he is and for making so many people happy.”
The Third Contender Yamal and Mbappé Are Forgetting
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| Harry Kane enjoyed a stunning 2025–26 season. | Uwe Anspach/picture alliance/Getty Images |
Yamal and Mbappé have, while staking their own claims for Ballon d’Or glory, been very complimentary to each other, proudly boasting their confidence in their abilities.
The problem is, however, neither player is actually viewed as the favorite.
Leading the polls currently is Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who netted 73 goals for club and country across the 2025–26 season to fly right to the top of the rankings ahead of next month’s award ceremony.
Yamal and Mbappé may sit clear as the two best players in the world, but the Ballon d’Or is designed to celebrate the best player over the previous season, and Kane’s numbers make him incredibly hard to ignore.
Working in Kane’s favor is Bayern’s success. Europe’s Golden Boot winner helped Bayern to a domestic treble and the semifinals of the Champions League, where he scored in both legs in one of the greatest ties in competition history against eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Yamal’s Barcelona won La Liga and the Spanish Supercopa, before he played a subdued role in Spain’s World Cup triumph. That puts the youngster clear of Mbappé, who ended the year without silverware but did win the World Cup’s Golden Boot and became the leading scorer in tournament history.
Team success often plays into the final Ballon d’Or verdict, which could give Kane or Yamal the edge over Mbappé.
- TOM GOTT
DANIEL MALDINI COULD BE BANNED FROM ITALY NATIONAL TEAM AFTER FRESH CAR CRASH DETAILS
Daniel Maldini now faces serious punishments from not only Italian authorities, but also the national team, as a damning new report into his car crash this week has emerged.
The 24-year-old, son of the legendary Paolo, one of the best players in football history, was involved in a car accident on Sunday morning in Milan, after he had scored the winner in Cagliari’s 2-1 away win at Atalanta in the Serie A.
Six people were reportedly involved in the two-car crash, with all said to have suffered minor injuries. Three ambulances and a medical car were sent to the scene following the incident, with Maldini taken to hospital.
New Report Offers Worrying Insight into Maldini's Car Accident
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Maldini's road traffic incident wasn't merely caused by accident. The attacking midfielder was driving his Porsche Carrera with three other people in the car and, according to reports, he failed to give way to a Volkswagen Golf carrying a man and a woman, causing the crash.
Police and ambulances arrived at the scene, where Maldini failed a breathalyser test. The first test was 0.91mg/l and the second was 0.89mg/l, above Italy’s legal limit of 0.5mg/l. Therefore, police confiscated his driving license.
To make things worse, according to the same report, Maldini also tested positive in a preliminary test to check for drug use. The hospital’s full toxicology test results are now being assessed.
Maldini Now Faces Hefty Fine & Ban From the Italian National Team
As per Sport Mediaset, the consequences that Madlini now faces could see him denied a call-up to the national team. In their report, they claim Cagliari could impose an internal fine, but this would be the least of his concerns.
Indeed, because of the Azzurri's code of ethics and conduct, the door could be closed on any plans Roberto Mancini had in calling him up to the squad ahead of October's international break - the first opportunity he would have to prove he's worthy of future involvement as Italy try to put their World Cup failures behind them and focus on the European Championship.
Unlike his famous father and grandfather, Daniel operates further up the pitch as an attacking midfielder. He came through Milan’s academy and made 24 senior appearances for the Italian giants before spells with Spezia, Empoli and Monza.
Maldini later joined Atalanta and spent the second half of last season on loan at Lazio before making another temporary switch to Cagliari. The six-cap Italy international has since made a bright start in Sardinia, with Cagliari currently sitting fourth in Serie A and due to face Udinese next Saturday.
- Robin Mumford
WEST HAM ICON LUDEK MIKLOSKO DIES AGED 64 AS TRIBUTES POUR IN
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| Ludek Miklosko has passed away (Image: Getty) |
West Ham United have confirmed that former goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko has died at the age of 64, after a brave battle with cancer. He made 373 appearances during eight years at the club.
In a statement, the club wrote: "Everyone at West Ham United is deeply saddened by the passing of Ludek Miklosko at the age of 64, following a courageous battle with cancer.
"The hugely popular former goalkeeper, known fondly as ‘Ludo’ to the Claret and Blue Army, made 373 appearances for the club during eight years as No1 between 1990 and 1997.
"The incredible impact he had on the club and the fondness with which he is remembered is heard every matchday, when supporters sing his iconic ‘My name is Ludek Miklosko, I come from near Moscow, I play in goal for West Ham’ chant."
In an emotional statement on the club's website, Miklosko's son Martin said: “We are heartbroken to announce the passing of my Dad Luděk, following a brave and courageous battle with cancer.
“On behalf of my Mum and my family, I would like to sincerely thank the fans and everyone at West Ham United Football Club for the kind wishes, thoughts and prayers that were sent to my Dad during his illness.
“We know that the many messages and wishes from his former teammates and fans alike were a huge sense of comfort to him in his battle with cancer, and gave him the strength to not give up and keep fighting for as long as he could.
“We are heartbroken at his loss, but take huge comfort from the immense support he received from all of you, along with the knowledge that he is now at peace and no longer suffering.
“Dad simply loved West Ham United, and especially hearing his name sung loud and proud at every game. The Club, and its fans, were and always will be a part of our family, so thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.”
West Ham added: "The thoughts and sincere condolences of everyone at West Ham United are with Luděk’s family as they come to terms with their loss, and we kindly ask that their privacy is respected at this sad and difficult time.
"A period of appreciation to honour Luděk will be held before kick-off at Tuesday’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Fulham, and our following home EFL Championship fixture, against Queens Park Rangers on Friday 9 October, will be dedicated to Ludek’s memory. Further tributes will also appear across club channels in the coming days.
"Rest in peace Ludek, our beloved, inspirational goalkeeper and gentle giant of a man."
Miklosko was the guest of honour at the London Stadium for the Premier League fixture against Liverpool in December 2024, just after he announced his decision to withdraw from further cancer treatment. Hammers fans showed their support for the goalkeeper back in February by displaying a tifo in honour of him.
- Amie Wilson
Sunday, 13 September 2026
LEWIS HAMILTON HANDED F1 TITLE BLOW WITH SPANISH GP EXIT
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| Credit: F1C |
Lewis Hamilton has been forced to retire from the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid following a brake issue, denting his narrow World Championship hopes.
Five laps into the race, the Ferrari driver complained to over team radio that he felt his brake pedal going long shortly after Max Verstappen let him pass to take third place.
Unable to accelerate for fear of not being able to slow the car, Hamilton was subsequently overtaken by his teammate, and then by the other cars on the grid, slipping down to last place.
HAMILTON OUT!
Brake failure sends the #Ferrari driver into an early retirement#F1 #Hamilton #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/w6EyxMzJLX
— Motorsport Week (@MotorsportWeek) September 13, 2026
The Briton was able to limp into the pits on Lap 7, marking the end of his race.
This followed a lap 1 scuffle between Hamilton and Verstappen, which saw the two nearly make contact as the Red Bull was forced off track. As a result, Verstappen went ahead of Hamilton and then overtook Kimi Antonelli, but was forced to concede two positions after the team ordered him to Hamilton the position back.
- Eleanor Cooper
F3: UGOCHUKWU IS CROWNED 2026 CHAMPION AS TAPONEN EARNS MAIDEN WIN
Ugo Ugochukwu claimed the Formula 3 title in the final race of the season as Tuukka Taponen became an F3 winner for the first time in the Madrid Feature Race 2.
Ugo Ugochukwu has won the F3 Drivers’ Championship, taking the title in the final race of the season in Madrid to beat Freddie Slater to the crown.
Ugochukwu finished P2 on the road to become the first F3 Champion from the United States, while Tuukka Taponen became the first Finnish driver to win an F3 race as he secured top spot in Feature Race 2 on Sunday.
From there, the MP Motorsport driver controlled the gap to Ugochukwu behind, with the Campos Racing car staying within touching distance and DRS range throughout.
A late-race Safety Car set up a final lap sprint to the finish, but Taponen remained calm and collected to take his first F3 victory in the final race of the 2026 season.
The result means Ugochukwu is the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Drivers' Champion, finishing on 159 points. Slater winds up second in the standings on 145 points. Taponen's win lifts the Finn up to third in the Championship.
Entering the day level on points with Slater and starting from P2, the Campos driver kept himself out of trouble to earn a podium to complete a turnaround, having trailed the Briton in the points coming into this weekend.
Pedro Clerot was on the podium once again in Madrid after taking his first F3 victory in Feature Race 1 on Saturday, rounding out the rostrum in third position for Rodin Motorsport.
Slater, the TRIDENT and Audi Development Driver, finished where he started in eighth position, leaving him second in the points after a season-long battle.
For an in-depth report of the final FIA Formula 3 Feature Race of 2026, head to the official website here.
- Formula 1
Saturday, 12 September 2026
ONE LAST BATTLE 🇿🇦 V 🇳🇿 | SPRINGBOKS VS ALL BLACKS
ONE LAST BATTLE 🇿🇦 V 🇳🇿
The tour comes down to this 🏉
23:00 SAST.
M&T Bank Stadium.
Who finishes the tour on top?
#springboks #allblacks #Rugby
ARCHBISHOP STEPHEN KAZIIMBA MAGALU ON ARSENAL SUPPORTER THE LATE KING OYO NYIMBA KABAMBA IGURU RUKIDI IV
“King Oyo supported Arsenal, so if you want to follow his legacy, support Arsenal, all of you. I felt so bad because ever since he fell ill, Arsenal has been winning, beating Chelsea, Napoli… I missed him a lot.”
Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu speaking at the funeral service of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
#KingOyo #Tooro #Uganda #KingOyoNyimba #Arsenal
LIVERPOOL IS THE ONLY ENGLISH CLUB TO WEAR NUMBERED UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BADGE
Liverpool is the only English club to wear the numbered UCL badge on their kit sleeves.
To earn the right, clubs have to have won the European Cup or Champions League at least 5 times or have won the title 3 years in a row.
The only clubs in history who have qualified for this honour are:
• Real Madrid (15 titles)
• AC Milan (7 titles)
• Liverpool FC (6 titles)
• Bayern Munich (6 titles)
• Barcelona (5 titles)
• Ajax (4 titles including 3 in a row)
European Royalty ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
RYAN GARCIA VS. CONOR BENN | TALE OF THE TAPE | WBC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
#GarciaBenn #Boxing #ConorBenn #RyanGarcia
PU USED PER DRIVER UP TO UNTIL THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
🇪🇸 PU components used per Driver up until the SpanishGP
Via: FIA
#F1
HOW CESC FABREGAS' COMO WENT FROM A €1MILLION TO A €1BILLION VALUATION IN FEWER THAN 10 YEARS
GOAL looks at how far the small, lake-side club has come - and analyses just how far they might yet go
The tagline on Como's Twitter profile reads, 'The most beautiful football in the most beautiful location'. It's quite the claim and yet hardly hyperbole.
Certainly within an Italian context, there is no better team to watch in Serie A right now. Just last Sunday, World Cup winner Daniele De Rossi admitted that he hasn't come across a stronger side since taking charge of Genoa almost a year ago.
And then there's the location. Como's Sinigaglia stadium is neither big nor modern. The 13,000-seater arena is almost 100 years old - and, to be brutally honest, for all the recent refurbishments, you can still tell. However, while the ground itself might not itself be particularly impressive, the surroundings are spectacular.
Sinigaglia sits on the banks of the breath-taking Lago di Como, one of the most popular and prestigious tourist destinations not only in Italy, but the entire world. And it is here, in this spectacular setting, that Como will make their eagerly-awaited Champions League debut on Thursday night, against RB Leipzig.
Unsurprisingly, tickets are at a premium, so much so, in fact, that president Mirwan Suwarso and other members of the executive team have given up their seats to allow more than 40 of the club's oldest supporters to attend. It's a lovely gesture but also another public relations masterclass from a board that has barely put a foot wrong since the Djarum Group acquired Como in 2019.
Back then, Como was worth less than €1 million, but Suwarso says it could surpass €1 billion - so, how have they done it? How has such a small club gone from the third tier of Italian football to mixing it with Europe's elite in such a short space of time? And how high up the footballing ladder might they yet climb?...
An Italian 'Welcome to Wrexham'
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| Mirwan Suwarso was initially looking to make a football documentary in Italy. Getty Images Sport |
A few years before 'Welcome to Wrexham' first premiered on FX in 2022, Suwarso and some of his colleagues at Mola TV - one of Djarum's subsidiaries - had an idea for a "sort of football documentary" set in Italy.
"We thought it would be a familiar theme for the audience, given Serie A's immense popularity in Indonesia during the 1990s," Suwarso told Calcio E Finanza.
The only issue was where to film, as Italy's most populous cities presented all sorts of logistical issues. However, it was while exploring Milan that Suwarso came across Como; "a happy coincidence", as he put it.
On the face of it, Como 1907 looked like an odd choice for the target audience, given the Lariani had hardly been a major force in Serie A's heyday. Furthermore, while the club had just been promoted to Serie C1, the cracks in Como's infrastructure were quite literally there for all to see.
"We are going to renovate the entire building," Suwarso said during a video presentation that featured footage of the club's dilapidated stadium, "and return it to good condition."
It was, thus, already clear: Suwarso had found the potential rags-to-riches story he'd been seeking.
Wise move
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| Dennis Wise played an integral role in turning Como into a professional outfit. Getty Images Sport |
Money was never going to be an issue for Como - the Djarum Group was led by the Harton brothers, Budi and Bambang, two of the richest men on the planet. The real challenge would lie in figuring out how best to invest that money.
Suwarso may have been familiar with Serie A, but he had no experience of running a football club. Consequently, he turned to former England and Chelsea midfielder Dennis Wise for help.
At the time of the takeover, the Londoner was involved in an Indonesian youth development programme run by Djarum and he initially began working with Como as a consultant, before later becoming CEO, and then president.
"I took total control of the football club, from top to bottom, employing every single person in the building," Wise later revealed to The Coaches' Voice. "When I went there, the club didn't even have their own training ground, just a year-by-year lease. In fact, they had gone bankrupt twice and crowds were only around 800.
"So, it was about improving supporter numbers, the community around the club, getting a training ground and creating an academy, which had been outsourced, so we had to bring it back in.
"There wasn’t too much interest from afar at that stage - and Mirwan left me to my own devices, really. I never had much to spend in the transfer market, so I had to try to do some really good deals. We had 14 loans at one stage – it was about filtering in and out, because there wasn’t money to spend. Then, all of a sudden, it started to grow."
'I just wanted a project that excited me'
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| Cesc Fabregas initially joined Como as a player and a shareholder but was appointed coach in 2023. Getty Images Sport |
By 2021, Como were back in Serie B for the first time since before their second bankruptcy four years' previously. The following summer, in the clearest demonstration to date of the owners' ambitions, Cesc Fabregas joined the club - both as a player and a shareholder. Unsurprisingly, Wise played a pivotal role in bringing the World Cup winner on board.
"Dennis was the most convincing [of the club directors I spoke to]," the veteran midfielder explained at the time. "I didn't care about the money. I just wanted to join a project that excited me. I see a long-term future for this club."
Fabregas, Wise and Suwarso all had the same objective: to get Come back into Serie A, and, in 2024, the team was promoted to the top flight for the first time in more than two decades.
By that stage, Fabregas was looking after the first team. He may have been technically listed as Osian Roberts' assistant but that was only because the former Arsenal ace had yet to secure all of his coaching credentials. Everyone knew, though, that it was Fabregas calling the shots and the full extent of his influence only became clear when Wise parted company with Como in the summer of 2024 and explained his surprise exit by stating, "The club has decided to follow Cesc Fabregas' direction."
Wise also later claimed that Suwarso wanted to "take more control" of the club and "not within the same financial structure". "It was right for me to step away from certain things I don't agree with," Wise added.
Fabregas and Suwarso, though, remained perfectly in sync. "We share the same vision, the same goal, which is to get as high as possible," the Spaniard said. "We are still a small club - but with big, very big ambitions for the future."
Speculate to accumulate
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| Come have spent more money than the vast majority of Italian clubs over the past three years. Getty Images Sport |
Basically, Como weren't simply content to compete in Serie A, they wanted to win right away - and that meant spending more money.
According to Football Benchmark, the club's operating costs (€52m) were more than five times their operating revenue (€10m) during their promotion-winning season in Serie B, and they continued to splash the cash upon arriving in Italy's top flight. The net transfer balance at the end of their first year was just over -€93.35m. Last season, it was almost -€108.79m.
Como's thought process was clear: you have to speculate to accumulate. And it's a strategy that has paid off for them, at least until now, with Fabregas leading the team to a shock fourth-placed finish last season that even took his bosses by surprise.
Suwarso has insisted, though, that Champions League qualification wasn't imperative to balance the books, that the club wasn't under any financial pressure to qualify for Europe.
"We don't set specific sporting targets," he told Calcio E Finanza. "We try not to think that way. We view everything in terms of profitability. If we manage the budget correctly and keep it within a sustainable level, we believe we can be profitable within two to three years."
It's certainly a possibility, given the way in which Como are going about building their brand.
The stars coming out for Como
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| Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley are just two of the many celebrities to have turned up at Sinigaglia. Getty Images Sport |
"If you look at the accounts, Como is a loss-making club at the moment, but I would say that's quite normal in the circumstances," Antonio Di Cianni, director of Advisory at Football Benchmark, tells GOAL. "This is a different model to the one we normally see in football.
"Djarum didn't buy an already established football club with high revenue streams. This is a club coming from the lower leagues and they've essentially built a new club from the ground up.
"They've had a net loss of almost €200 million over the past three seasons, but they've secured promotion, and now qualification for the Champions League.
"Obviously, the stadium is small, so capacity is a problem, but they are revamping it. They want to improve the facilities, to make the stadium more state-of-the-art, but also increase the capacity to between 15 and 17,000, which would accommodate more hospitality seats, and that's where the real money comes from a matchday perspective for football clubs.
"Perhaps most importantly of all, Como are doing a lot in terms of merchandising and licensing to exploit the Lake Como brand. Lake Como is well known everywhere in the world, like Venice or Cinque Terre. It has that level of prestige and prominence.
"Past owners didn't take advantage of that fact but now Djarum are unsurprisingly doing everything they can to tap into that brand. They have even set up a private members club (The Club On The Lake) that has a membership fee of €4,500 per annum.
"So, they are trying to cultivate this exclusivity concept around the football club."
Attracting so many celebrities certainly helps enhance that image. In the past 18 months alone, Hollywood stars such as Hugh Grant, Michael Fassbender, Adrien Brody, Kiera Knightly, Kate Beckinsale, Jeff Goldblum, Benedict Cumberbatch and Hugh Jackman have shown up at Sinigaglia.
Interestingly, Suwarso says that these weren't PR stunts organised by the club. "We haven't done anything like that," he insisted last year. "They come on their own.
"For instance, James Righton, Keira Knightley’s husband, wanted to visit Como after reading about how Cesc Fabregas was building an exciting football team, so he wanted to see it for himself. From there, everything else followed naturally."
The 'CEO of football'
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| Cesc Fabregas' team has a clear footballing identity. Getty Images Sport |
It's undeniably difficult to overstate the importance of Fabregas to the Como project. The club has other notable shareholders such as Thierry Henry, while Raphael Varane is on the board, but Fabregas is the frontman, the face of the entire enterprise, Como's "CEO of football", as Suwarso puts it.
"He is crucial for executing the plan that the board has given him," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport. "Unlike other teams, we don't just rely on the coach and sporting director; we have an expanded football board that includes Cesc and his staff, as well as all other components of our football management, plus our CFO and myself representing the ownership.
"We try to make decisions as a committee, using the DNA we have built as a guideline. But Cesc has been fundamental in building that DNA."
Right from the start, the owners made it clear to Fabregas that they wanted to see a team playing "front-footed football". The objective wasn't so much to win, but to entertain. And the reasoning was twofold: firstly, to attract players to the club; secondly, to attract tourists.
Como's stadium may be small, but so too is the city, which has just over 82,000 inhabitants. What Como has a lot of, though, is visitors and Suwarso's goal all along was to turn Sinigaglia into one of the area's main tourist attractions.
"When I first arrived, there were 1.6 million tourists," he explained. "Five years later, it’s 4.8 million. So, there must be a way to generate revenue from this increase in visitors, and I like to think of our business model in a way similar to Disney.
"For Disney, Disneyland represents its theme park division; for us, the football club and the matchday experience are our 'theme park division'. Then, we have eight other divisions connected to this... But what makes us unique is the way we connect the football experience with tourism in Lake Como, creating a one-of-a-kind synergy.
"We even have schools and an academy - not just a youth sector for the club, but an academy for those who want to play football in the summer, for example, coming from the U.S. Parents can go on vacation while their kids play football. Also, even when we were in Serie B, we sold tickets in 122 countries. Last year, 20 percent of our e-commerce sales were from abroad, and this year, 12% of our sales have come from the U.S. alone.
"If you walk around the city today, you’ll start seeing a lot of our merchandise, whereas three years ago, we didn’t even have a store. Now, we have four stores in the city and 485 retail points distributing our products across the province of Como.
"We are serving a population of 85,000 people, plus the 4.8 million tourists who visit every summer. Our goal is to expand internationally and transform those 4.8 million seasonal visitors into 48 million, 400 million, or whatever realistic number we can reach. If we succeed, it will be extraordinary because achieving profitability in just eight years is incredibly fast."
'Moving in the right direction'
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| Champions League football could become a regular occurrence at Sinigaglia. AFP |
Como obviously aren't there yet, though. For all Fabregas' qualities as a coach (and he clearly has many), the club understandably remains quite reliant on the transfer market to create a competitive squad, as it will be some time before the revamped youth sector starts producing homegrown talent - which also explains why Como aren't yet making very much money from player sales.
Consequently, they are still some way off achieving the desired €1bn valuation - which, according to Football Benchmark, would rank them fourth among Serie A clubs, behind Inter (€2.1bn), Juventus (€1.84bn) and AC Milan (€1.8bn), but above Napoli (€967m).
"Owners obviously always aim high, it's their own asset, it's in their interests to talk positively about increasing the value of the club," Di Cianni says. "But Como, in 24-25, they generated approximately €50m in revenue, so they're some way below even Italy's highest earners.
"Of course, they will play in the Champions League this season, and while it depends how far you go, I would imagine that they would get maybe between 30 and 40 million euro just by participating. Therefore, they could maybe approach something like €100m in revenue this season.
"Even then, though, a one billion valuation is an ambitious target, because there are no guarantees in sport and it remains to be seen how consistent they are in terms of sporting results. Will Como become a stable side in Serie A, regularly challenging for the top four? Are they now going to qualify for Europe every year? What happens if they have one bad season and fall back into Serie B? These are the questions from a sporting perspective that affect the value of a club.
"From an asset perspective, though, the revamped stadium and all of the activities they are doing to increase revenues, it's all moving in the right direction, moving towards increasing the value of the club, and the squad.
"I think player trading is going to become a bigger part of their strategy going forward, in terms of balancing the books, which is very important from a UEFA licensing requirements perspective. Just look at the fact that, as of today, the combined market value of Como's players was €584.2m - up from €288m last September - and that figure has increased thanks to a significant revaluation of many players, as well as the addition of summer signings like Moise Kean and Trevoh Chalobah, so, that's the level of escalation we're witnessing at Sinigaglia.
"Clearly, the billion-euro target is obviously not a short-term objective, but in the medium- to long-term, if everything continues to go well, I think it's possible, something that can be achieved at some point, given the synergies at play, and the prestige of the location."
Basically, if the football remains as beautiful as the backdrop, Como's first Champions League campaign won't be their last.
- Mark Doyle
WEST HAM HIT WREXHAM FOR SIX TO SECURE TOP SPOT IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP
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| Getty Images Sport |
West Ham United produced a magnificent attacking display to destroy Wrexham 6-0 at the London Stadium on Friday night. Six different players found the back of the net as the hosts secured their fourth consecutive league victory, brutally exposing the Welsh side's defensive frailties and sending a massive statement of intent in the Championship promotion race.
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| Getty Images Sport |
West Ham run riot in London
West Ham climbed back to the top of the Championship after a ruthless 6-0 victory over Wrexham, as reported by The Athletic. Nuno Espirito Santo saw his team dominate from the start, opening the scoring on 29 minutes when Jarrod Bowen converted a cross from Morato, who was making his full debut. Taty Castellanos then teed up Joel Piroe to double the advantage before the break. Wrexham struggled to cope with the relentless pressure, and their defence capitulated under the home side's devastating second-half performance.
Defensive woes for Wrexham
The floodgates opened after the interval, with heading home from a corner to make it 3-0. Wrexham were punished again when Kyle Walker-Peters launched a rapid counter-attack from a poorly executed corner, allowing Castellanos to calmly slot in the fourth goal.
Substitute Mohamadou Kante added a fifth with a brilliant rising strike, before Manor Solomon completed the rout via a deflected effort. Phil Parkinson witnessed his team suffer their heaviest defeat since he took charge, exposing serious vulnerabilities at the back.
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| Getty Images Sport |
Record attendance watches heavy defeat
Despite the humiliating scoreline, Wrexham made a piece of club history by playing in front of the biggest crowd they have ever experienced. An official attendance of 59,712 was recorded at the London Stadium, though this massive figure was largely made up of West Ham's home support and season-ticket holders. The large crowd offered little comfort to the travelling fans as they watched their side chase shadows for 90 minutes.
Anthony Patterson managed to make a few crucial saves early in the match, including tipping a Bowen shot onto the crossbar, but the goalkeeper was ultimately left hopelessly exposed by his defence.
- Moataz Elgammal
Friday, 11 September 2026
FIA CONFIMS SPANISH GRAND PRIX PUNISHMENT AFTER INVESTIGATION
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| The Madring, home of the Spanish Grand Prix |
Williams driver Alex Albon has been handed a warning by the FIA stewards’ following an incident with Arvid Lindblad in FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Albon and Lindblad were summoned to the stewards following opening practice in Madrid after the Williams driver left the track and rejoined unsafely at Turn 6.
FIA issues warning to Alex Albon after Spanish GP FP1 incident
Albon was informed over team radio that Lindblad was closing on him, with the Williams driver crossing the track in his attempts to avoid blocking his rival.
Following a hearing with Albon and Lindblad, and representatives of the Williams and Racing Bulls teams, the stewards have confirmed that Albon has been handed a warning.
The stewards’ verdict read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 23 (Alexander Albon), the driver of Car 41 (Arvid Lindblad), team representatives and reviewed video and in-car video evidence.
“The driver of Car 23 stated in the hearing that he was informed about Car 41 closing in and therefore continuously checked his mirrors.
“But doing so he missed out on taking an appropriate line to stay to the right of the yellow line in the runoff area.
“When approaching the track edge, he made the decision to accelerate and cross the track as quickly as possible to not interfere with Car 41.
“The Stewards determine that, although he took reasonable action not to impede Car 41, the driver of Car 23 could have been more
cautious and alert on his way through the runoff area and when re-joining the track.”
As reported by PlanetF1.com, Lindblad was frustrated by a blocking incident with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli in FP1 after encountering the pair moving slowly on the exit of La Monumental, the banked right-hander.
Lindblad was heard saying over team radio: “These same two guys, man! I don’t know what they’re doing. They’re just stupid, right in the fast corner!
He added: “It’s actually very dangerous. It’s been twice now.”
Lindblad and Albon were classified seventh and 20th respectively in FP1 as the Madring hosted a competitive session for the first time.
Lindblad improved to fourth in FP2, but the Racing Bulls driver caused the first red flag of the weekend with an accident at Turn 13, the left-hander immediately after La Monumental.
Albon was classified 18th in the second practice session as Mercedes driver and F1 2026 championship leader Kimi Antonelli topped the times.
FP3 will be held at 12:30 local time on Saturday in Madrid before qualifying takes place at 16:00.
The Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 15:00 on Sunday.
- Oliver Harden
FORMER SIMBA SPORTS CLUB PLAYER BAKARI IDDI HAS PASSED AWAY
The management of Simba Club has received with great sorrow the news of the death of former player Bakari Iddi, which occurred this evening at his home in Kigogo, Dar es Salaam.
During his lifetime, Bakari Iddi served Simba from 1989 to 1992, playing in the number eight midfielder position and being among the players who represented the club during that period.
In 1991, Bakari was part of the Simba squad that played in the final of the East and Central Africa Champions Club (CECAFA) against Sports Club Villa of Uganda, where Simba won the championship after securing a 3-0 victory in the match played at Uhuru Stadium, Dar es Salaam.
Simba has joined the family, relatives, and friends in mourning the death of Bakari Iddi, while praying to God to rest his soul in eternal peace.
#SimbaSC #SimbaSportsClub #bakariiddi #
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