Andi Farid teams up with Hafizh Syahrin at JDT Racing Team

MotoGP will head to Rio de Janeiro to officially launch its new 850cc era, with the Brazilian city selected to host the championship's 2027 season presentation on February 21. The main event will take place at Botafogo Beach beneath the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain, bringing together all MotoGP riders, teams, manufacturers and their new-generation machinery ahead of the opening race of the season.

 

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Rio becomes the third city to stage MotoGP's standalone season launch following Bangkok in 2025 and Kuala Lumpur in 2026, as the championship continues to expand the event beyond a traditional team presentation into a major pre-season showcase. This year's Kuala Lumpur edition generated more than US$7 million in economic value, according to MotoGP, while the Rio event is expected to be its biggest yet with rider and team presentations, fan activities and live entertainment planned along the city's waterfront. The announcement also came after Brazil successfully returned to the MotoGP calendar earlier this season following a 22-year absence. Almost 150,000 spectators attended the sold-out race weekend at Goiânia, which saw Marco Bezzecchi pip Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin to the Grand Prix win. While Rio will host the festivities, the racing itself will begin in Southeast Asia less than two weeks later, with Thailand's Chang International Circuit hosting the opening round from March 5-7. The 2027 season will mark one of the biggest technical resets in MotoGP history, headlined by the switch from 1000cc to 850cc engines, the arrival of Pirelli as the championship's new sole tyre supplier and the introduction of fully non-fossil fuel.

Alexandra Eala's increasingly packed schedule has become the "price of success" following her rise into the world's top 20, according to her uncle Noli Eala, amid concerns over the Filipina's workload during the North American hard-court swing. The 21-year-old has already played 45 matches across 18 WTA-level and Grand Slam tournaments this year, with her schedule becoming particularly demanding in recent weeks. Eala won her maiden WTA Tour singles title at the Washington Open before continuing directly to the Canadian Open in Toronto, where she reached the fourth round.

 

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Her seven-match winning streak eventually came to an end with a 4-6, 0-6 defeat to Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, having also overcome an ankle problem during her three-set victory over American Caty McNally earlier in the tournament. “Many are concerned about Alex’s schedule, playing big tour events week after week,” Noli wrote on X on Sunday. However, he explained that her rise up the rankings brought greater obligations, leaving the world number 20 with less flexibility over which tournaments she plays. “Fortunately or unfortunately, as a top-tier player, Alex is mandated by WTA rules to play all WTA 1000 tournaments plus all Slams,” he said, pointing to events in Canada, Cincinnati, Beijing and Wuhan among her expected commitments. Under the WTA's 2026 rules, players aged 18 and above who qualify for the main draw of mandatory WTA 1000 tournaments are automatically entered, with a zero-point ranking result possible for those who do not compete unless an exemption applies. Grand Slam and mandatory WTA 1000 results also form a major part of the rankings calculation for leading singles players, meaning Eala's rapid climb has brought with it a considerably more demanding calendar. There is still plenty more tennis ahead, as Eala is due to compete at the Cincinnati Open before travelling to New York for the US Open, while the Asian swing later in the season includes WTA 1000 tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan. Her schedule could become even busier because of her commitment to representing the Philippines in international competition such as the 2026 Asian Games, something her uncle acknowledged as another consideration beyond her WTA Tour commitments. “This does not even account for her desire to play for the Philippine national team. The price of success,” he added.

Western United's future in Australian professional football suffered a major blow after the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) terminated the club's participation agreement ahead of the 2026/27 season, which begins on October 16. The decision means Western United will not return to the A-League Men and Women after both teams spent the entire 2025/26 campaign in conditional hibernation amid the club's ongoing financial and ownership problems.

 

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APL chair Stephen Conroy confirmed on Monday that the league had been working closely with Western United since September last year as the club attempted to resolve their financial, governance and legal issues. However, the APL board ultimately decided to terminate Western United's Club Participation Agreement after determining that the club had breached several of their obligations, including compliance with Football Australia's National Club Licensing Regulations. The latest development came almost a year after WMG Football Club Limited, the company that owned and operated Western United, was placed into liquidation by Australia's Federal Court. Despite the termination, Western United responded that the decision does not necessarily spell the end of the club. In their own statement, the club said they had been working with the APL on a pathway to survive and rebuild under new ownership, with the termination opening the door for new investment and custodians. Western United are now targeting a return to the A-Leagues for the 2027/28 season, with preserving the club's identity and academy structure in Melbourne’s west among their priorities. The club joined the A-League Men as an expansion side in 2019 and won their first championship just three years later, while their women’s team memorably finished as runners-up in their 2022/23 debut season.

As part of their 2026 pre-season preparations, Asian football clubs tested themselves against European opposition, producing a string of eye-catching results as teams from Australia to Saudi Arabia used the post-FIFA World Cup break to gauge their progress against clubs from that continent. Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) provided the latest example on Sunday when the Malaysian Super League champions held Chelsea to a 3-3 draw, capping preparations that also took them to Spain for matches against the likes of Rangers, Elche and Cartagena. JDT were far from alone, with clubs across Asia using the extended pre-season window to arrange friendlies against European opposition ahead of their respective domestic and continental campaigns. Saudi Pro League teams such as Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli were particularly active in Europe as they prepared for another domestic campaign following several years of major investment in the competition. Other West Asian clubs followed a similar route, with teams from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar using European training camps to secure opposition ranging from lower-division sides to clubs from the continent's major leagues.

 

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The traffic also flowed in the opposite direction, with several European clubs once again travelling to Asia and providing AFC teams and representative selections with opportunities to test themselves against some of the biggest names in world football. Borussia Dortmund played FC Tokyo and Cerezo Osaka in Japan, while Bayern Munich faced Jeju SK in South Korea and Manchester City took on a K League All Stars selection. Aston Villa also travelled through Southeast Asia, facing an Indonesia All Stars side and Thailand's BG Pathum United. Australia's A-League, whose clubs compete within the AFC structure, also featured prominently as Western Sydney Wanderers faced Chelsea, and Sydney FC and Auckland FC took on Tottenham Hotspur. Of course, friendly results offer no definitive measure of the gap between Asian and European football. Teams are often at different stages of preparation, managers regularly rotate their squads and fitness or tactical experimentation generally takes priority over the final score. Nevertheless, the sheer number and variety of fixtures offered an interesting snapshot of how AFC clubs matched up against European opposition during the 2026 pre-season. Here are some of the results of AFC clubs and representative sides against European opposition during the 2026 pre-season:

Date	Match	Result
11 Jul 2026	Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) vs Pinzgau Saalfelden (Austria)	8-0
11 Jul 2026	Gamba Osaka (Japan) vs Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)	0-3
15 Jul 2026	Gamba Osaka (Japan) vs Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)	3-0
15 Jul 2026	Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) vs Holstein Kiel (Germany)	1-4
16 Jul 2026	JDT (Malaysia) vs Rangers (Scotland)	2-2
19 Jul 2026	Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) vs Rio Ave (Portugal)	2-2
19 Jul 2026	Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) vs Sturm Graz II (Austria)	2-1
22 Jul 2026	Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) vs Benfica B (Portugal)	1-2
24 Jul 2026	JDT (Malaysia) vs Elche (Spain)	0-0
24 Jul 2026	Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) vs Vitória de Guimarães (Portugal)	1-3
24 Jul 2026	Al Ettifaq (Saudi Arabia) vs York City (England)	2-2
25 Jul 2026	Al Ettifaq (Saudi Arabia) vs Eldense (Spain)	1-3
25 Jul 2026	Al Fateh (Saudi Arabia) vs Mallorca (Spain)	0-3
25 Jul 2026	Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) vs Las Palmas (Spain)	2-1
26 Jul 2026	Auckland FC (Australia/New Zealand) vs Tottenham Hotspur (England)	0-2
28 Jul 2026	Western Sydney Wanderers (Australia) vs Chelsea (England)	4-6
28 Jul 2026	Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) vs Portimonense (Portugal)	0-2
28 Jul 2026	Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) vs Mérida (Spain)	2-0
28 Jul 2026	Shabab Al Ahli (UAE) vs Udinese (Italy)	2-1
28 Jul 2026	Al Ain (UAE) vs Elche (Spain)	2-2
29 Jul 2026	Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) vs Fulham (England)	1-1
29 Jul 2026	Cerezo Osaka (Japan) vs Borussia Dortmund (Germany)	1-0
29 Jul 2026	Al Ula (Saudi Arabia) vs Villarreal (Spain)	0-3
29 Jul 2026	Al Ula (Saudi Arabia) vs Como (Italy)	1-3
29 Jul 2026	Sydney FC (Australia) vs Tottenham Hotspur (England)	1-1
30 Jul 2026	Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) vs Málaga (Spain)	2-2
30 Jul 2026	Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) vs Mallorca (Spain)	2-4
31 Jul 2026	JDT (Malaysia) vs Cartagena (Spain)	2-0
31 Jul 2026	Al Ula (Saudi Arabia) vs Crystal Palace (England)	1-3
31 Jul 2026	Shabab Al Ahli (UAE) vs Mainz 05 (Germany)	0-1
1 Aug 2026	FC Tokyo (Japan) vs Borussia Dortmund (Germany)	0-1
1 Aug 2026	Indonesia All Stars (Indonesia) vs Aston Villa (England)	1-3
1 Aug 2026	Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) vs Estrela da Amadora (Portugal)	2-4
4 Aug 2026	BG Pathum United (Thailand) vs Aston Villa (England)	1-3
4 Aug 2026	Jeju SK (South Korea) vs Bayern Munich (Germany)	1-2
4 Aug 2026	Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) vs Almería (Spain)	0-2
5 Aug 2026	K League All Stars (South Korea) vs Manchester City (England)	1-3
6 Aug 2026	Al Arabi (Qatar) vs Málaga (Spain)	2-4
8 Aug 2026	Al Ain (UAE) vs Osasuna (Spain)	2-0
9 Aug 2026	JDT (Malaysia) vs Chelsea (England)	3-3