Wigan’s roofing manufacturer IKO PLC is helping national amputee football reach new heights after striking a sponsorship deal that will see the elite sport broadcast live for the first time.

IKO has become headline sponsor of the England Amputee Football Association (EAFA) National Football League (EAFL), supporting EAFA throughout 2024, from providing new kit and equipment to live streaming matches.

The new deal will see the EAFL rebranded as the ‘IKO EAFL’ ahead of the new season, which kicks off at the end of this month.

The EAFA provides amputees, people with congenital limb deficiencies and those with limb-affecting disabilities, with the opportunity to play football at grassroots and international level.

All fixtures for the 2024 season will be played at Reaseheath College, in Nantwich, Cheshire, and broadcast across the EAFA Facebook and YouTube channels.

Vital support

Owen Coyle Jr, EAFA committee member, said: “This sponsorship injects vital support into the operations and continuation of the EAFL, a cornerstone platform for players across England. By facilitating this league, IKO has helped to ensure a structured and competitive environment for clubs and players to participate, develop their skills and foster a sense of camaraderie within their communities.

“Moreover, live broadcasting of the games – a first-time endeavour made possible by this sponsorship – will amplify the sport’s narrative, showcasing the skill, dedication and passion of the players, while also breaking barriers and raising awareness about the inclusivity and dynamism of amputee football on a global scale.

“In essence, this sponsorship empowers EAFA to nurture homegrown talent through the EAFL while simultaneously propelling the sport onto the international stage, marking a transformative moment in the trajectory of amputee football’s visibility and growth.”

IKO already has strong ties with local sports and community clubs, including Shevington Sharks Rugby Club, and is a proud patron of Wigan Youth Zone, supporting young people to develop their art skills.

Positive impact

Anthony Carlyle, IKO Plc group managing director (pictured left with Liam Burbridge, Everton and England amputee footballer) said: “People sit at the heart of everything we do at IKO and we are always striving to positively impact the communities that we work and live in.

“EAFA, with its dedication to inclusivity, sense of community, holistic support and enduring team spirit – combined with its deeply ambitious vision for a brighter future – closely aligns with our values, making it a perfect fit for forging a partnership.

“IKO is honoured to enable EAFA to continue its invaluable work, invest in players and improve accessibility for fans. Not only will this funding help to provide teams nationally with a safe and supportive space to socialise and play their beloved sport but will further elevate amputee football as an elite sport by giving it the platform it deserves.

The first live broadcast of EAFA fixtures will take place on January 27. To watch, visit the EAFA Facebook and YouTube channels.

Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri has joined Sevilla on loan for the remainder of the season, with the Spanish side possessing an option to make the deal permanent.

Mejbri has made 13 senior appearances for United overall, making his Red Devils debut on the final day of the 2020-21 Premier League season in a 2-1 win over Wolves at Molineux.

The combative 20-year-old made 41 appearances while on loan at Championship side Birmingham City last season, before returning to Old Trafford ahead of Erik ten Hag’s second campaign in charge.

He has played 10 times for United this term with six of those outings coming from the bench, scoring his first Premier League goal in a 3-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion in September.

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Everton were credited with an interest in Mejbri, who opted against travelling to the Africa Cup of Nations with Tunisia in order to secure a move, but he will now represent the Europa League holders for the rest of 2023-24.

Sevilla have an option to extend Mejbri’s stay beyond the end of the campaign, with reports claiming they will pay United €20million (£17.2m) if they wish to make the move permanent. It has also been suggested that United will have a buy-back clause on Mejbri if he extends his stay in Spain.

Good luck for the remainder of the 2023/24 season, @HANNIBALMEJBRI 🤝#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) JANUARY 15, 2024

Sevilla have endured a poor campaign and parted company with Europa League-winning boss Jose Luis Mendilibar in October. His replacement Diego Alonso lasted just 67 days, with former Watford coach Quique Sanchez Flores becoming their third coach of 2023-24 in December.

Los Nervionenses sit 17^th in LaLiga, just one point clear of Cadiz in the final relegation place, following Friday’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Alaves at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was named the winner of FIFA’s Best Men’s Coach award for 2023 on Monday, with England’s Sarina Wiegman scooping the women’s prize.

Guardiola led City to a remarkable Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League treble last season, a feat only previously achieved by Manchester United’s iconic 1998-99 side.

Having edged out Arsenal to win their third straight domestic title, City beat local rivals United in the FA Cup final then overcame Serie A giants Inter in a tense Champions League final in Istanbul, as Rodri’s goal proved decisive.

That achievement led to Guardiola being honoured at FIFA’s annual awards ceremony in London, seeing off competition from Inter’s Simone Inzaghi and Napoli’s Luciano Spalletti as he landed the prize for the first time.

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Speaking to ceremony host Thierry Henry, Guardiola compared City’s treble to the one he won with Barcelona in 2008-09, saying the Citizens’ lack of prior European success made their triumph sweeter.

“Barcelona is the club of my heart, they are the reason why I am here,” Guardiola said. “But doing it with Man City, 15 or 20 years ago we were not here.

“We have built step by step since Roberto Mancini was here. All those years ago, we could not expect to be here.”

Our boss!! 🤩#THEBEST FIFA Men’s Coach 2023! ⭐️@PEPTEAM 🩵 PIC.TWITTER.COM/P8XJ7UKQCX

— Manchester City (@ManCity) JANUARY 15, 2024

City also dominated the FIFPRO Men’s World XI, with John Stones, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland making the team.

Meanwhile, Lionesses boss Wiegman won the Best Women’s Coach award for a record-extending fourth-time, beating Chelsea’s Emma Hayes and Barcelona Femeni boss Jonatan Giraldez to the prize.

Wiegman, who previously landed the trophy in 2017, 2020 and 2022, led England to the final of last year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where they were beaten 1-0 by Spain.

Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps saved a penalty from Jenni Hermoso in the showpiece game, and she was named the Best Women’s Goalkeeper as she claimed another individual honour less than a month after winning the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year trophy.

Incredibly, seven England players were named in the FIFPRO Women’s World XI, with Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Keira Walsh, Alessia Russo, Lauren James and Ella Toone joining Earps in being selected.

Congratulations, boss!

Sarina Wiegman is #THEBEST FIFA Women’s Coach for a FOURTH time! 👏 🏆 PIC.TWITTER.COM/PXVEQKLXTA

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) JANUARY 15, 2024

The headliners

The first round of singles action at the Australian Open draws to a close on Tuesday, and with the defending champions in both the men’s and women’s draws safely through, the pretenders to their thrones take centre-stage.

Novak Djokovic won three of the four major titles on offer in 2023 and is the clear favourite to claim his 11^th Australian Open title this month. However, Carlos Alcaraz denied him a calendar Grand Slam last year and is surely his most likely challenger at this event.

Second seed Alcaraz begins his campaign as part of Tuesday’s night session, taking on veteran Richard Gasquet on Rod Laver Arena.

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Alcaraz edged out Djokovic in a classic Wimbledon final in 2023 and claimed his first grand slam title on the hard courts at the US Open one year earlier. However, he has yet to go beyond the third round at Melbourne Park.

The 20-year-old missed last year’s tournament with a leg injury after succumbing to Matteo Berrettini in an epic five-set, third-round contest in 2022.

It’s showtime! 🍿 We’re ready! 💪🏻

📸 @AUSTRALIANOPEN PIC.TWITTER.COM/RF1QSD2L4B

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) JANUARY 15, 2024

Coming up against an opponent who has only progressed beyond the tournament’s first round once since 2018, Alcaraz will hope to ease his way into the competition and avoid the kind of scare Djokovic suffered against Dino Prizmic on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the WTA’s top-ranked player Iga Swiatek headlines the day session, kickstarting her bid for a first Australian Open title against the United States’ Sofia Kenin.

Having seen contenders Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff race to straight-sets victories in the past two days, Swiatek will be hopeful of making similarly smooth progress.

The subplots

There are plenty of other intriguing contests taking place on Tuesday, with the likes of Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune and Elena Rybakina opening their campaigns.

However, it promises to be a big day for British tennis fans, with Emma Raducanu and Cameron Norrie flying the flag at Melbourne Park.

Raducanu’s first grand slam match in almost a year will surely be the highlight, with the 2021 US Open champion taking on Shelby Rogers.

Raducanu eliminated Rogers at the last-16 stage on her way to that career-defining triumph at Flushing Meadows, and she has shown promising signs on the practice courts after missing most of 2023 with ankle and wrist injuries.

She has described 2024 as a “fresh start”, and the 21-year-old will back herself to avoid falling at the first hurdle after taking eventual runner-up Elina Svitolina to three sets at the Auckland Classic in her last match.

 

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On the men’s side, British number one Norrie is also in action against Juan Pablo Varillas, who might be looking to take advantage of the 19^th seed complaining about a wrist injury in the build-up to the tournament.

Order of play – selected matches

Day session (from 00:00 UK time)

Cameron Norrie v Juan Pablo Varillas

Emma Raducanu v Shelby Rogers

Dan Evans v Lorenzo Sonego

Iga Swiatek v Sofia Kenin

Night session (from 08:00 UK time)

Elena Rybakina v Karolina Pliskova

Richard Gasquet v Carlos Alcaraz

Second day salutes 🫡#LUZHOULAOJIAO • #WINNINGMOMENTS PIC.TWITTER.COM/K7DSCSK2JP

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) JANUARY 15, 2024

When and how to watch

The Australian Open is available to watch live on Discovery+ and Eurosport in the United Kingdom, with the next day session getting under way from 00:00 UK time on Tuesday morning. The night session is scheduled to take place from 8am.

Predictions

The highest-ranked players in action on day three, Alcaraz and Swiatek, will both be confident of progressing in quick time, while Rybakina – the third seed in the women’s draw – should win a watchable affair against former world number one Pliskova.

Despite question marks over their match fitness, Raducanu and Norrie should avoid any major missteps, but Evans may not be so fortunate against Sonego, in what promises to be one of the most competitive contests of the first round.

Toto Wolff has signed a three-year contract extension to remain as Mercedes team principal until the end of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Wolff joined Mercedes from Williams in January 2013 and has helped the team win eight constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ titles in that time.

Lewis Hamilton has finished top of the drivers’ standings while representing the team on six occasions, most recently in 2020, while Nico Rosberg triumphed for them in 2016.

However, Mercedes have only secured one race victory throughout the last two seasons, battling reliability issues with their W13 and W14 cars while Red Bull and Max Verstappen emerged as the sport’s dominant force.

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Wolff, who is one of three equal shareholders in the Mercedes team and also serves as chief executive, told The Telegraph he had extended his contract on Monday as he targeted a major improvement for the 2024 campaign.

“At the end of the day, as a shareholder myself, I want the best return on my investment. The best return on investment is winning,” he said.

“I’m not going to try to hang on to a position that I think somebody is going to do better than me.

“I make sure that I have people around who can tell me otherwise. In the end, the three of us shareholders decided, ‘let’s do it again’.”

14.02.24. Meet the W15 🖤 PIC.TWITTER.COM/6XRMJIJC1N

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) JANUARY 15, 2024

Mercedes-Benz and INEOS owner Jim Ratcliffe – who recently agreed to buy a minority share in Manchester United – are the team’s other shareholders.

Mercedes are due to unveil their car for the 2024 season – the W15 – on February 14, ahead of the campaign getting under way with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 2.

Andy Murray accepts he may have played his final match at the Australian Open after crashing out in the first round of the year’s first grand slam on Monday.

Murray – a five-time finalist at Melbourne Park – fell at the first hurdle at the hard-court major for just the third time in his career, being humbled in straight sets by Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Thirtieth seed Etcheverry reached the second round at the tournament for just the second time as he inflicted a 6-4 6-2 6-2 defeat on Murray, who produced a lifeless performance on Kia Arena.

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Murray has previously conceded 2024 could be his final season on the ATP Tour after an injury-hit few years, and after his defeat, he said a return to Melbourne Park was far from guaranteed.

“It’s a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here,” the three-time grand slam champion said. “I think probably because of how the match went and everything.

“In comparison to the matches that I played here last year, it’s the complete opposite feeling walking off the court.

“I wish I involved the crowd more. I’m just disappointed with the way I played and all of that stuff. It’s a tough, tough way to finish.”

Moving 🔛

Tomas Etcheverry flies into the second round, defeating Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 6-2 💪#AUSOPEN • #AO2024 PIC.TWITTER.COM/DFYQGMKQVI

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) JANUARY 15, 2024

Murray won just 33 per cent of points behind his second serve and committed 37 unforced errors to his opponent’s 19 throughout a sloppy display, which the 36-year-old was at a loss to explain.

“It was a poor performance. It was very, very flat. It was an amazing crowd out there that were trying to pick me up, support me and get behind me,” he said.

“Usually I would always engage the crowd and get them going and bring some energy into the match. It was really just a flat performance.

“I don’t know exactly why that was the case because I’ve been feeling good. I played pretty well in Brisbane, I practiced really well in the last 10 days or so. Bizarre feeling on the court today.”

Argentine Etcheverry will now move on to the second round, where he is scheduled to meet Gael Monfils on Thursday.