By Mitch Phillips, EMEA Sports Editor |
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Photos: Andrew Boyers, Aaron Doster, Lee Smith |
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Soccer: The Championship playoff final — dubbed the richest game in world soccer — is dramatic at the best of times. But this year's battle for the coveted place in England's Premier League has come with an added twist. Favorites Southampton were kicked out of the playoffs after admitting to spying on opponents Middlesbrough, who will now take their place in Saturday's decider alongside a confident Hull City. With promotion worth around £200 million ($268 million), the stakes could hardly be higher.
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Extra Time: What else we're watching |
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Enhanced Games: Sport's doping debate takes center stage this weekend as the Enhanced Games — dubbed the "steroid Olympics" — makes its debut in Las Vegas. Backed by high-profile investors including Donald Trump Jr. and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, the competition will feature both enhanced and non-enhanced competitors as well as a $25 million prize pot, which organizers say is designed to reward athletes while exploring the limits of human performance, even as critics warn it undermines clean sport.
Enhanced Games, Las Vegas, Nevada — May 24
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Soccer: The Women's Champions League final in Oslo pits OL Lyonnes against Barcelona, with both teams boasting Norwegian stars in Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg and Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen. Their presence is set to draw a huge crowd as the city hosts a major European final for the first time.
Women's Champions League final, Oslo, Norway — May 23
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Boxing: Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk will put his WBA, WBC and IBF boxing titles on the line when he takes on former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in Egypt this weekend, with the Pyramids of Giza providing a dramatic backdrop. A defeat for Usyk would rank among the biggest upsets in heavyweight history.
Usyk v Verhoeven, Giza, Egypt — May 23
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Motor Racing: George Russell has a chance to regain momentum in the Formula One title battle in Canada, where he will try to deny Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli a fourth straight win. The 19-year-old Italian holds a 20-point advantage over Russell, who started the season as title favorite but is now coming across more as a shell-shocked veteran fighting for his reputation.
Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal, Canada — May 24
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North London celebrates as Arsenal seal the title |
Arsenal fans celebrate outside London's Emirates Stadium as Arsenal win the Premier League on May 19, 2026. Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers |
For many Gooners, as Arsenal fans are affectionately known, it was a night 22 years in the making.
After second-placed Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth on Tuesday, sealing the Premier League title for long-dominant Arsenal, thousands of supporters filled the streets outside the club's Emirates Stadium, turning north London into a sea of red and white.
Flags waved and flares lit up the forecourt as fans gathered beneath the stadium's facade, with some climbing onto ledges and up poles to get a better view of a moment that had eluded them for decades. Chants of "Red Army" and "Champions! Champions! Ole! Ole! Ole!" echoed through the streets as supporters marked a triumph that had been building over the course of the season.
"It's amazing, honestly, and this club deserves it," Arsenal great Ian Wright, who joined the party outside the stadium, said of the result. "Our fans deserve it all, around the world and everybody, we deserve this, man."
But the club's season isn't over yet. At the end of the month, Arsenal head to Budapest to face Paris St Germain in the Champions League final, seeking to wrest the title from its holders for the first time. Win there, and Mikel Arteta's team will go down as one of the greatest in the club's 140-year history.
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