Sports

FULL LIST: Man United To Play Mourinho’s Fenerbahce In 2024/25 UEFA Europa League Draw[SEE DRAW TABLE]

Published

1 year ago

August 30, 2024

Editor

The UEFA Europa League is back with an exciting new format for the 2024/25 season.

As the tournament prepares to kick off, the inaugural league phase draw revealed the opponents of the 36 teams ready to battle it out for European glory.

Held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Friday, August 30, the draw set the stage for a thrilling campaign featuring some of the continent’s most formidable clubs.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will represent England in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League, both eyeing success.

They’ll face tough competition from Italian clubs Lazio and Roma, Spain’s Real Sociedad and Athletic Club, and Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim, among others.

The revamped format promises an exciting and unpredictable group stage.

The PUNCH reports that there will be a reunion between United and former manager, Jose Mourinho, who is now with the Turkish side, Fenerbahçe.

All you need to know about the 36 teams competing in the 2024/25 league phase:

The line-up for the inaugural league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League is complete. UEFA.com profiles all the contenders.

This is as obtained from a Friday release on the Europa website titled, “UEFA Europa League: League Phase Draw.”

The format of the Europa League has changed for this season, along the same lines as the new-look Champions League.

The number of clubs in the competition proper is now 36, all of whom are placed into one league but split into four pots of seeds.

Each participant plays eight games, facing two clubs from each pot, one at home and one away.

The top eight at the end of the league phase, which runs until the end of January, will advance to the last 16, while the teams finishing from ninth to 24th will advance to a play-off round to decide the remaining last-16 spots.

The bottom 12 in the league phase will be eliminated, with no clubs dropping down into the Conference League ahead of the knockouts, and no teams parachuting down from the Champions League as in the past.

UEFA have said that dates for all fixtures will be announced on Saturday. The first group games will be played on September 25 and 26, a week after the opening matchday of the Champions League.

This season’s Europa League final will be played in Bilbao on May 21 next year. Atalanta won the trophy last season, beating Bayer Leverkusen in the final in Dublin.

36 competing teams:

The 36 teams competing in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League league phase are Qarabağ (AZE), Anderlecht, Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL), Ludogorets (BUL), Slavia Praha, Viktoria Plzeň (CZE), Midtjylland (DEN), Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), Athletic Club, Real Sociedad (ESP), Nice, Lyon (FRA), Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim (GER), Olympiacos, PAOK (GRE), Ferencváros (HUN), M. Tel-Aviv (ISR), Lazio, Roma (ITA), RFS (LVA), Ajax, AZ, Twente (NED), Bodø/Glimt (NOR), Braga, Porto (POR), FCSB (ROU), Rangers (SCO), Elfsborg, Malmö (SWE), Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray (TUR), and Dynamo Kyiv (UKR).

Here is the full draw for the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League Phase:

Europa League Phase Pot 1

Europa League Phase Pot 2

Europa League Phase Pot 3

Europa League Phase Pot 4

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Sports

CRASH: Anthony Joshua Opens Up On Friends’ Death

Published

2 days ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

Former world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, has said the death of his two friends posed a tough time for him.

Recall that a car conveying the boxer earlier this month, rammed into a stationary truck along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The accident claimed that lives of his personal trainer, Kevin Latif Ayodele, and his strength and conditioning coach, Sina Ghami.

In a post on his verified Facebook page on Thursday, the former heavyweight champion said it was tough for him.

Joshua acknowledged that the incident was “even tougher” for the parents of the deceased.

He wrote, “Thank you for all the love and care you have shown my brothers. I didn’t even realise how special they are.

“I’ll just be walking with them and cracking jokes with them, not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men.

“100% it’s tough for me, but I know it’s even tougher for their parents. I have a strong mind, and I believe God knows their hearts. May God have mercy on my brothers.”

Sports

NPFL: Kano Pillars Sack Two Players

Published

2 days ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

Kano Pillars have announced the departure of the duo of Umar Sani Yakasai Samuel Tiza.

Yakasai and Tiza’s contracts were terminated by the Kano-based club.

The Sai Masu Gida confirmed the development in a statement on Wednesday.

“Kano Pillars FC wishes to announce that, following a mutual understanding, the club have amicably parted ways with striker Samuel Tiza and midfielder Umar Sani Yakasai,” Kano Pillars wrote in a statement confirming the players departure.

“Both players will now continue their careers elsewhere ahead of the second stanza of the 2025/2026 Nigeria Premier Football League season.”

Kano Pillars is expected to make up for their departure with the signing of new players.

Sports

AFCON: It’s Not Possible – NSC On Super Eagles Players Requesting Cash Payment

Published

2 days ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

Chairman of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Shehu Dikko, has insisted that it is not possible to pay the Super Eagles of Nigeria their match bonus in cash.

Dikko stated this while clarifying the situation about Super Eagles match bonuses following reports of players threatening to boycott training and refusing to travel to Marrakech for Nigeria’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, quarter-final clash against Algeria on Saturday.

He spoke on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

“Clearly, the players requested whether they could get some of these in cash, and they were told it’s not possible,” Dikko said.

“These bonuses are not paid in cash; they have to be paid through the bank, which is the normal procedure.

“The only ones they agreed to pay in cash are the daily allowances.”

The Super Eagles progressed to the last-8 after humiliating Mozambique 4-0 in the AFCON Round of 16.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Finance, Doris Nkiruka-Anite, had earlier disclosed that the Super Eagles players will start receiving their bonus money alerts today or tomorrow before the Algeria clash.