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ITV News
an hour ago
- Sport
- ITV News
ITV to broadcast upcoming Carabao Cup and English Football League fixtures for 2025/26 season
ITV has announced their first confirmed fixtures for the 2025/26 English Football League season. As part of the continued deal between Sky Sports and ITV, the broadcaster will give UK football fans the chance to watch free-to-air coverage of select Carabao Cup and EFL matches. A total of 20 matches will be broadcast by ITV in the 2025/26 season, made up of 10 Carabao Cup ties and 10 EFL selections. ITV's coverage kicks off with Round One of the Carabao Cup, with Birmingham City v Sheffield United on Wednesday 13th August. The match is shortly followed by Wrexham v West Bromwich Albion in the Championship on Saturday 16th August. ITV's confirmed fixtures below (until the end of 2025) Carabao Cup R1 - Birmingham City v Sheffield United - Wed 13th Aug 8.00pm Wrexham v West Bromwich Albion – Sat 16th Aug 12.30pm Southampton v Portsmouth – Sunday 14th September 12.00pm Ipswich Town v Norwich City – Sunday 5th October 12.00pm Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United – Sunday 23rd November 12.00pm Derby County v Leicester City – Saturday 6th December 12.30pm Sky Sports and ITV's deal runs until the end of the 2026/27 season, which means ITV will jointly broadcast a select number of games also available on Sky Sports. The arrangement has also been approved by EFL Clubs in accordance with the League's regulations. ITV will continue to air extended highlights of the EFL on ITV4 and ITVX throughout the season as part of the deal. -ENDS-
The Independent
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Tom Brady's Built in Birmingham is an embarrassing attempt at copying Wrexham
'Probably what he knows about football you could put on a postage stamp,' says a Birmingham City fan. He might be joking but Tom Brady – the man with a greater grounding in the NFL than the EFL – is unaware the other club in the city is called Aston Villa and wasn't told not to pronounce the 'h' in Birmingham. At one stage, in the disastrous first season of Brady's minority ownership, he shows he knows something. 'We lose every f***ing match,' he laments. Built in Birmingham, and even the name is a clue to its objectives, is more about Tom Brady and Tommy Shelby – the Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight features regularly – than John Eustace and John Ruddy. Eustace, infamously, was fired by the new owners Knighthead Capital with Birmingham sixth in the Championship. 'Together we will not fail,' declares chair Tom Wagner. They start off by failing, though possibly not together, given the revolving door to the manager's office. But editorially, they fail too (and it is them, given that Brady and Wagner are executive producers). As any connoisseur of such documentaries knows, the bad years make for more entertaining television than the good. But in a five-part series, one is devoted to the hubristic demotion of 2023-24, four to the bankrolled cruise through League One. And, given some other owners are asset-strippers, or burden clubs with debt, or have other nefarious purposes, it is worth noting that Knighthead has invested. Brady's manager is damning of their inheritance. 'They have a f***ng shipping container as their lead performance centre,' he says, and Wagner and co have improved facilities. They are unashamedly ambitious – 'we will get to the Prem, it is just a question of when, not if', says Wagner, who believes their future lies in the top half of the top division – and may prove astute businessmen if their sense that a club from the Second City has untapped potential is justified. Perhaps, too, they will crack the American television market. Built in Birmingham feels modelled on Welcome to Wrexham (what next? Come to Colchester? Constructed in Chesterfield? Created in Crewe?). But it offers too little even to Birmingham fans (besides those in it, who provide the self-deprecating humour). They are trying to mine a formula, but it is a dumbing down of the League One season, with the other 22 clubs obscured and two highlighted. They are at pains to draw distinctions between Birmingham and Wrexham, but not Wigan or Wycombe. Only two league games attract more than a cursory mention: long segments on the two meetings with Wrexham. 'Wrexham, we're coming for your ass,' says Brady, in an outbreak of frat-boy nonsense. The Birmingham fans are at least sharper. 'You can stick your f***ing Deadpool up your arse,' they chant. Their special guest, David Beckham, has to explain a chorus about sheepshaggers to Brady. His visit is instructive. Wagner wants to give Beckham a Birmingham swag bag, presumably thinking the very rich need more free stuff. Brady is uneasy talking to English people, apart from Beckham, and much more relaxed around Americans. His reference points are all American, sending manager Chris Davies a video about transformational leadership from a college football coach. He perks up when talking about his NFL career; when there is more footage of Brady's touchdown passes than Birmingham's passing, it feels clear who the designed audience is. Perhaps they want non-stop Brady but the wit and the best one-liners come from the Birmingham fans, whereas the serial Super Bowl winner's management-speak musings on leadership may work on the US corporate circuit but, no matter how often Wagner says they are invaluable, feel bland. They certainly don't spare Birmingham the drop in 2024. Brady's one footballing opinion of note concerns Wayne Rooney. 'I am a little worried about our head coach's work ethic,' he said. 'I don't have great instincts on that.' But there isn't a proper examination of Wagner's decision to fire Eustace and appoint the former England captain. The verdict from one of the fans was blunt: 'What qualifies Wayne to manage Birmingham City? Absolutely nothing.' If only he had been on the interview panel; Wagner and co fared better, in fairness, in plumping for the lower-profile Davies last summer. Rooney comes and goes in 15 minutes of the first episode. Others feature still less. Three of the five men to manage Birmingham in 2023-24 go unmentioned; Tony Mowbray was diagnosed with bowel cancer, his enforced absence a reason for their relegation, and yet, somehow, the producers made an episode without a reference to him. Brady blames the players, whom he calls lazy and entitled, for the club's demotion. There is a clearout and thereafter Birmingham succeed, in their own minds, by implementing a new culture. 'Getting promoted is an amazing accomplishment,' said Wagner. 'I love that everyone doubted we would do it.' Really? Birmingham were the bookmakers' favourites after a £30m outlay. Spending a record amount of money for a third-tier club may have played its part. They get 111 points and, to Brady's delight, finish above Wrexham. Which, it would seem, is their hope for the ratings. This is a battle of the documentaries, a fight for new American followers. And yet it is also an indication of one of the many things that are wrong with the game when historic clubs are defined by producing airbrushed content for streaming in the United States in attempts to expand their fanbase. Because there are plenty of good reasons to support Birmingham, but this show isn't one of them.
Scottish Sun
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Ambitious EFL club submit plans to add extra 2,250 seats in new stand boosting stadium capacity to 18,000
The club released images of their stunning stadium plans DRAGON'S DEN Ambitious EFL club submit plans to add extra 2,250 seats in new stand boosting stadium capacity to 18,000 Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HIGH-FLYING Wrexham have submitted plans to add an extra 2,250 further seats to the club's newly approved Kop Stand. The latest submission to Wrexham Borough Council will take the potential capacity of the world's oldest international footie stadium to 18,000. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Wrexham released images of revised plans for a new Kop stand at their Stok Racecourse home 5 The stadium will pay homage to the city's terracotta history 5 Wrexham have submitted plans to add extra 2,250 further seats in the new Kop Stand Credit: Getty Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! A new Kop End has been in the works since Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney won promotion from the National League in 2022. Fast forward three years and Wrexham head into this season as a Championship club after becoming the first team to achieve back-to-back-to-back promotions up the EFL pyramid. The STōK Cae Ras Stadium, better known to fans as the Racecourse, has used temporary Kop End for the last two seasons. Wrexham Borough finally approved plans for a new £5,500-capacity Kop in March. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS FOOTIE SHAME Former Prem legend hounded ex with calls & showed up at her home with flowers But now a separate planning application has requested for 2,250 extra seats - taking the capacity up to 7,750. The additional seats are a second tier of seating that form a key part of the main structural integrity of the new stand, which could be up and running at the start of the 2026/2027 season. The North Welsh club say the stand's proposed external brick facade design pays homage to the city's 'Terracottapolis' nickname. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK While the brick colour and textures are reminiscent of the historic Ruabon red brick from the local area and will look on to a public plaza. The updated drawings included the use of solar panels on the roof as a part of an overall sustainable approach. How Wrexham was transformed from crime-ridden hellhole to Welsh Hollywood as locals say 'next stop's the Premier League' 5 The plans include a new hospitality and player facilities section Credit: Getty For a 2026 unveiling to be possible, construction work will be ongoing throughout the upcoming season. The aim is for Wrexham's ground to host international matches once again. The new stand, along with other works planned at the stadium, will make Wrexham's ground fully compliant with Uefa category 4 stadium standards. That will allow it to host the European Under-19 Championship finals tournament in 2026 and other international events. Wrexham CEO, Michael Williamson, said: "When we submitted the revised designs the intention was always to future proof the stadium so that it could hold international matches for many years to come." The original standing Kop terrace was abandoned in 2007 and was unused until its demolition in January 2023. Work on the new stand was originally due to begin in 2023 but was delayed because of what the club called "additional complications". In January 2023, an application for UK government Levelling Up Fund money was rejected and delays to the Kop redevelopment were announced the following September, when Wrexham said funding for the project had not yet been finalised. Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson's next step is to do the business on the pitch and take the club to the glittery heights of Premier League football. SunSport exclusively revealed that the club are preparing to splash the cash on the field too, with the owners open to smashing their transfer record to sign Nathan Broadhead from Ipswich. The Red Dragons travel to freshly relegated Prem side Southampton on Saturday August 9, before hosting Championship regulars Hull City in the EFL Cup the following weekend.
Scottish Sun
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
EFL legend Ronnie Moore, 72, diagnosed with incurable cancer as fans pay tribute to ‘proper top bloke'
Moore's career almost didn't happen at all after his mum died of cancer CANCER SHOCK EFL legend Ronnie Moore, 72, diagnosed with incurable cancer as fans pay tribute to 'proper top bloke' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EFL legend Ronnie Moore has been diagnosed with an incurable type of blood cancer. The 72-year-old has managed several clubs, including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool, where he is currently the chief scout. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Ronnie Moore has been diagnosed with an incurable type of blood cancer Credit: Action Images - Reuters The former striker played for seven different clubs in a career spanning almost two decades, including Tranmere, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic and Rotherham. But it was at latter club Rotherham where Moore cemented himself in English football history as he's considered of the greatest club players of all time. It was the South Yorkshire side who delicately revealed that Moore has been diagnosed with Myeloma – a type of blood cancer. The much-loved EFL figure will now receive treatment in the coming months. He will reportedly await a stem cell transplant for a cancer that is treatable, but sadly incurable and will need to be managed by medical professionals. Rotherham revealed that Liverpool-born Moore is currently "feeling well" and walking regularly. The League One club: " We're right with you Ronnie ❤. The thoughts and unwavering support of everyone at Rotherham is with legendary former player and manager." A true legend of the football club, Ronnie will continue to be welcome to attend matches at AESSEAL New York Stadium. 3 Moore has left a huge impact on English football after nearly 54 years in the EFL Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Moore, who has managed nearly 1000 games, has received hundreds of tributes from the English football world, wishing him support. One footie fan wrote: "Proper top bloke Ronnie, from a Barnsley fan I wish him all the best in the world. Neil Warnock hints at shock return to management with 'unbelievable' crisis club "Always used to come in local boozer to us and would make time to come talk football and all sorts with us. One of the good ones!" While another supporter said: "You've got this Ronnie, keep fighting 👊❤️🤍." Rotherham fans have planned to sing Moore's name loud and clear when they face Port Vale in their season opener on Saturday. Moore's time in the EFL began 54 YEARS ago when he joined Tranmere Rovers. Despite being a prolific striker, the 6ft footballer was used as a defender by player-manager Ron Yeats, before returning to centre forward under John King. Tranmere were forced to sell Moore for financial reasons after they were relegated in 1979. He joined Cardiff City for a then-staggering club record of £120,000, but signed for then third tier side Rotherham a year later. And he quickly made an impact, becoming top scorer when the club got promoted to the Second Division in the 1980-81 season. After 52 goals in three years for the club, Moore left for Charlton Athletic in 1983, reportedly because of a clash with incoming manager, George Kerr, centred around access to the players' bar. A season-long stint at Rochdale followed, as well as a three-year return to Tranmere, before retiring from football in 1989. 3 Moore's career almost didn't happen at all, his chance of an apprenticeship with Everton wrecked when he was 15 and his mum died of cancer Credit: Getty Four years later his son Ian Thomas-Moore made his senior debut for Tranmere, where he made over 50 appearances before a loan spell at Bradford City. Moore Jr, who followed in his striker dad's footsteps, later became a key player Burnley and Leeds United. Meanwhile, Moore Sr, who has three other children with wife Ange, managed eight clubs in his career. But most successful stint as boss was again with Rotherham , where he achieved two consecutive promotions, taking the club from Division Three to Division One. Moore's career almost didn't happen at all, his chance of an apprenticeship with Everton wrecked when he was 15 and his mum died of cancer in 1969. He previously told The Star: "Bang, I went off the rails massively. I was out on the Friday when we were playing Saturday, looking for trouble, getting into fights. "It's ridiculous how you can lose your way. Everton weren't going to put up with that." He made sausages in the butcher's shop at the Alliance Cash and Carry in Huyton, Liverpool before Tranmere gave him his chance. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.
The Sun
16 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
EFL legend Ronnie Moore, 72, diagnosed with incurable cancer as fans pay tribute to ‘proper top bloke'
EFL legend Ronnie Moore has been diagnosed with an incurable type of blood cancer. The 72-year-old has managed several clubs, including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool, where he is currently the chief scout. The former striker played for seven different clubs in a career spanning almost two decades, including at Tranmere, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic and Rotherham. But it was at latter club Rotherham where Moore cemented himself in English football history as he's considered of the greatest club players of all time. It was Rotherham who delicately revealed that Moore has been diagnosed with Myeloma – a type of blood cancer. The much-loved EFL figure will now receive treatment in the coming months. He will reportedly await a stem cell transplant for a cancer that is treatable, but sadly incurable and will need to be managed by medical professionals. Rotherham revealed that Moore is currently "feeling well" and walking regularly. The League One club: " We're right with you Ronnie ❤. The thoughts and unwavering support of everyone at Rotherham is with legendary former player and manager." A true legend of the football club, Ronnie will continue to be welcome to attend matches at AESSEAL New York Stadium. Moore, who has managed nearly 1000 games, has received hundreds of tributes from the English football world, wishing him support. One footie fan wrote: "Proper top bloke Ronnie, from a Barnsley fan I wish him all the best in the world. "Always used to come in local boozer to us and would make time to come talk football and all sorts with us. One of the good ones!" THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
