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As ambassadorial appointments go, Ryan Giggs being employed by a betting site to promote International Women’s Day is even more jaw-dropping than Peter Mandelson being made the UK’s envoy in the US.

In case you missed it, Giggs put on his Instagram page the weirdest, clanging, inappropriate piece of content that you are likely to have seen in a long while.

It is a 25-second clip for betting firm F168 of the former Manchester United player standing in front of what looks like an AI generated cartoon utopian meadow using his best monotone hostage voice to say “today we celebrate the strength, beauty and achievements of women everywhere”. 

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The problem here is the evidence that came out in court in a trial which ended just under three years ago, when he was up on charges of coercive and controlling behaviour and assault of his ex-partner and her sister. He was cleared of all charges, as his ex-partner did not want to give evidence. 

But even though he walked free (figuratively – he was not there when the verdict was read out) in July 2023, during the trial, he showed himself to be an utterly unsuitable role model for F168, an Isle of Man-based gambling portal aimed at a Vietnamese audience, and their campaign to celebrate women.

He admitted under oath during his trial that he had sent message after message of abusive, aggressive, expletive-laden content to his ex-partner. He also said that he had never been faithful in any of his previous relationships, including his wife, who he cheated on with his sister-in-law.

One of his threats, via email, read: “I am so f**king mad right now I am scaring myself because I could do anything.” By “anything”, one presumes he didn’t mean reading off a cue card for money: “To all the amazing women in our community, keep shining and inspiring us all.”

Shining and inspiring. Well now. At this juncture, it is worth returning to Manchester Crown Court, and the question one of the jurors asked the court near the beginning of Giggs’ trial: “What is gaslighting?”

Look, we know people can change. Maybe Giggs really has turned over a new leaf and is ready to walk the earth as an ally for women, not as an entitled 52-year-old former footballer, desperate to cling on to the prestige, fame power and attention that comes with playing for a championship-winning football club.

Maybe he really did mean it when he began his monologue, with: “Hello, everyone, I am Ryan Giggs, brand ambassador for F168. Happy Women’s Day.” He certainly meant it when he ended it with: “Don’t forget to have some fun and games at F168.”

So perhaps this is the first step to redemption for Giggs. Admittedly a moral vacuum such as a tax-exile gambling company is an odd place to start clawing back a reputation, but at least it is a start.

Maybe an apology, some education or a donation to a charity would be more appropriate. But F168 it is. You never know, F168 one day, the Sky Sports Super Sunday sofa the next. Fellow former Manchester United idol George Best, who also got into spots of bother with women, was a former Sky employee, so there is hope for Giggs yet.

But hang on a minute. This creepy advert enticing us to gamble (via a VPN, as the site is not accessible in the UK) will not make us forget that Giggs admitted in court that his email threat detailed above was not idle.

The prosecuting lawyer, Peter Knight KC, followed up Giggs’ admission with: “What were you suggesting you could do?” Giggs just said: “I don’t know.”

Maybe he would give the same answer if we asked why the hell he put his name to such a tone-deaf attempt at a reinvention.

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It was only Defence Force FC, the champions of the Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League, but for Manchester City-bound Cavan Sullivan it still marked a big milestone.

Two goals in a 7-0 home win for Philadelphia Union, Sullivan’s current club, were the first in senior football for a 16-year-old attempting to live up to his billing as one of the world’s best young talents.

It says much about the hype surrounding him that the attacking midfielder already has a clutch of lucrative endorsement deals, including a tie-up with Adidas that has seen him collaborate with his idol Lionel Messi.

Sullivan for Sullivan

15-year-old Cavan Sullivan subs on for brother Quinn. pic.twitter.com/7P2U3Y13KS

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 6, 2025

His progress has been tracked on an Apple TV mini-series and he is the youngest debutant in the history of the MLS.

But with the clock ticking down on his move to the Premier League at the end of 2027, this probably needs to be a breakthrough year if he is to meet those sky high expectations.

“He’s absolutely got the talent,” says Jonathan Tannenwald, The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s football writer.

He is close to Sullivan’s family and has monitored his progress since the first whispers that the club were hothousing a “special talent”.

“What we don’t know yet – or we have only seen in glimpses – is whether he can do it against guys twice his age.”

‘Sullivan won’t be the next Adu’

Alongside the hype there has been scepticism.

It is incredibly tricky to predict the trajectory of wonderkids.

Freddy Adu, hailed as the next Pele when he emerged at the age of 14 only to become a journeyman in Europe’s lower leagues, remains a cautionary tale.

“He won’t be the next Adu,” Tannenwald says.

“The infrastructure of the league, the coaching staff, the academy structure, the education and support is on another level from what it was 21 years ago.”

A major signing coup

City – who have invested more than £3.5m in the deal – continue to monitor his progress closely and invited him to Manchester in the summer to train with their under-23s.

They beat off competition from Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt, as well as a clutch of rival Premier League clubs, to persuade his family that they were the right place for his development.

In an illustration of the meticulous work that goes into their academy recruitment, they presented “incredible” data that benchmarked Sullivan against other players of his age and showed him why they wanted him.

City’s highly-regarded director of recruitment Sam Fagbemi was personally involved in a signing that insiders believed was a sizeable coup.

With US interest in the sport taking off, there would be huge commercial benefits for City if Sullivan fulfiled his promise and became a Premier League regular in Manchester.

Great expectations

But that pipedream was always going to collide with reality at some point.

As part of the negotiations Sullivan, with City’s blessing, opted to stay in the US and sign his first professional contract with Philadelphia.

The alternative was to be farmed out to SK Lommel, the second division Belgian outfit that are part of the City Group network but there was a belief that staying close to his family – who have a long history in professional sports and football – would be a huge benefit.

So far he has played 15 times but Tannenwald says the expectation was that it would be more.

He earned plaudits in the under-17 World Cup though couldn’t break into the Union first team.

This season promises to be different, with Sullivan seen as potentially a key man in a reshaped Philadelphia squad.

There is a clause in the original agreement that allowed City to pull him out of the MLS club early if he was pulling up trees but with more first-team opportunities next season, it is highly unlikely that will be triggered.

Instead the hope is that he becomes Philadelphia’s main man before getting experience of European football with one of City’s partner clubs.

After that, he either excels at the Etihad or is sold off for a tidy profit.

The next 12 months might tell us much about which route he is going to go down.

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RACECOURSE GROUND – Something Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney did not bargain for when they attempted their Hollywood epic in north Wales was just how unpopular Wrexham are becoming.

Of course, much of the vitriol coming their way has more than a tinge of envy. From total obscurity to the cusp of the Premier League is already a blockbuster tale. What they have created, and how they have gone about doing it, however, has already fast-tracked their superficial status to that of the supervillain, over the all-conquering hero, in many eyes.

Billed as a FA Cup giant-killing, box-office smash, Wrexham came up agonisingly short as Chelsea needed extra time to secure a spot in the quarter-finals at a raucous Racecourse Ground. But this was no ordinary David and Goliath tussle, despite what the billboards said.

10-man Wrexham think they've equalised deep into extra-time against Chelsea but the goal is judged offside by VAR

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/mzlQbb0H7b

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 7, 2026

Being in attendance at a buoyant Racecourse only added to the feeling that, especially for the traditionalists among us, there is something overly-manufactured, even unsavoury about what is happening in north Wales.

“How far have you travelled today?” one interviewer asked outside the stadium pre-match.

“I live just over there,” came the reply from a rather less zealous supporter in red. Not what the excitable American had wanted to hear.

While the numbers have obviously swelled as interest in this struggling Welsh town has gathered momentum, there remains a core support within the Racecourse who have been there long before the dollars poured in.

As Chelsea initially laboured under great pressure on a bitter Saturday evening, Wrexham supporters stayed true to their roots with their jibes: “Are you Chester in disguise?” A team who used to be their wealthy, bourgeois rivals.

When Wrexham stormed into a second-half lead, however, another terrace chant summed up the bizarre circumstances we found ourselves in: “You’re only here to see the Wrexham.”

To have American broadcasting behemoths like Bleacher Report and Fox News competing for time with half-cut Welshmen outside, what five years ago, was a non-league ground, is just part of the furore, here and across the Atlantic, Reynolds and McElhenney have started. Chelsea, one of the most glamorous elite Premier League clubs, were hardly discussed. Everyone really was here to see the Wrexham.

Flight trackers flooded social media pre-match, checking that their star-studded overlords would be in their box, high in the Mold Road Stand. Blake Lively hanging onto her billionaire husband only increased the need for more cameras and microphones being pointed towards them than the action itself.

There was still plenty of minnows-against-top-flight elite feel about the occasion. A cramped press room full-to-bursting. Free FA Cup shirt-sleeve badges handed out. Programmes sold out an hour before kick off.

That is where labelling Wrexham alongside any of their lower-league peers ends.

While the obvious parallels between this encounter and the defeat of Arsenal in 1992 dominated the pre-match discourse, that team, led by Mickey Thomas, was a world away from a club who had United Airlines as its shirt sponsor in League Two. Or a team who generated £14m in revenue in League One. Or one who has a net spend of £35m this season in the Championship, double that of any opponent.

The project has done wonders for the wider area. Tourism, jobs, stadium redevelopment, new training facilities, a town and its people enjoying a mood shift of grandest proportions. The benefits for the owners, with Welcome to Wrexham season five starting soon on Disney+ and Reynolds and McElhenney, rather controversially, on Sky Sports co-comms for the Welsh derby clash with Swansea City on Friday – conflict of interest, anyone? – far outweigh the social byproducts of the success.

On this weekend five years ago, a few days before Reynolds and McElhenney’s investment was confirmed, Wrexham were playing Sutton United, behind closed Covid doors, in a stadium that had 750 seats. The match ended 0-0.

Taking Chelsea to extra time, so early into their project, is way beyond Reynolds and McElhenney’s wildest dreams. The owners gushed with pride after the match. As they made their way onto their luxury transportation, supporters climbed fences, no matter how dangerous, numbering in their hundreds, begging for autographs, desperate to express their gratification.

“You promised me a hug,” a rather delirious female supporter screamed – one of the few promises the pair have not followed through with. This “Hollywood script”, swiftly becoming football’s most tiresome moniker, is still only in its infancy. Whether we like it or not.

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England Women 2-0 Iceland (Bronze 22’, Stanway 78′)

CITY GROUND – In the last two years, Lauren James has played fewer than 1,000 minutes in the Women’s Super League. Of all the remarkable numbers, good and bad, surrounding her career that one is probably the most perplexing.

James can feel like a Harlem Globetrotter – coming alive in glimpses as an international player, limited to just 10 club games in 11 months. Injuries have continuously disrupted the progress of one of the most thrilling players to watch in world football. Every turning point can feel like a false dawn.

The paradox of James is that on the one hand, she is in desperate need of momentum to become the player she can. At the same time, when she does resurface, she is graceful and detached enough to play the game at her own pace. Left foot, right foot, socks rolled down, oozing around the pitch.

For long spells she had the freedom of Nottinghamshire, the one forward capable of truly unlocking Iceland even as the Lionesses blitzed Cecilia Runarsdottir’s goal.

It just HAD to be her!

Lucy Bronze scores for England on the day she becomes the third most capped Lioness pic.twitter.com/qulrE0Fhky

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 7, 2026

The 24-year-old has never felt fully appreciated; she spoke in a Times interview this week how she can be perceived as “arrogant” rather than nonchalantly cool, lazy as opposed to effortless. The reality is we may not see another player like her in a generation. Why do we, collectively, not value players like her, regardless of whether she looks aesthetically industrious enough?

The assist for England’s opener, the link-up with Georgia Stanway, the cross for Lucy Bronze’s header, was the epitome of what makes James such an asset. Stanway added the second after pushing higher up the pitch for the last half hour, with James drifting into the middle to compensate.

Sarina Wiegman had opted to start her on the left, with Lauren Hemp on the right; which may have been unconventional, but it worked. There is no other player who offers that versatility and this Iceland side, as much as they struggled to meaningfully trouble England, gave a useful reminder of why that matters.

These campaigns are always so free-scoring for Wiegman’s side that they effectively serve as an exercise in overcoming low blocks; they have put 88 goals past their last 12 opponents in World Cup qualifiers, so it is inevitable that less established teams set up that way against the double European champions.

England navigated that superbly against Ukraine in midweek, scoring six, and got over the line again here. The ability to use James to create so many different shapes has been so important in the last two major tournaments and will be again in Brazil – assuming England qualify – in 2027.

The curious thing is what happens between now and then. On co-comms, Karen Carney again described her as a future Ballon d’Or winner – the question, she insisted, was when not if. We have heard that before – but it may be time to restart the Lauren James hype-train.

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Mansfield Town 1-2 Arsenal (Evans 50′ | Madueke 41′, Eze 66′)

FIELD MILL – It took 90 seconds for the first whistles of frustration, six minutes for the first audible shout of “Set Piece FC”, and seven for a cry of “Get up!”.

This spoke volumes about the Arsenal that most Mansfield Town supporters were expecting to witness in this FA Cup fifth-round tie, in what was one of the home club’s biggest games in their 129-year history.

And yet Arsenal largely abandoned their principles at Field Mill. The “boring”, set-piece focused tactics that have been thrust into the spotlight of late, particularly after Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler aired his frustrations in midweek, made way for an attempt to actually play some football.

It almost backfired. After two early corners, where Arsenal put just two players inside the six-yard box, it was Mansfield Town who created a flurry of chances.

So many in fact that Arsenal faced more shots inside the first 15 minutes, eight, than they had done all season – they’ve played Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Liverpool twice, and Chelsea four times.

That Mansfield would come to regret these missed chances was hardly a surprise. It would have taken a gargantuan effort to replicate their opening 15 minutes another five times, but they did roll over either, and it was not until the 41st minute when an England international broke their resolve, Noni Madueke curling in a fine opener for the visitors.

Arsenal’s patience paid off. They had weathered the storm. But Mansfield’s spirit was not diminished by the scoreline at half-time, and just five minutes into the second half Will Evans gave this crowd not merely a goal to remember for years to come, but actual belief in the moment that the cupset was doable.

The idea that it could be Mansfield’s day grew when they survived a five-on-two, Madueke almost blessed with too many options before the ball was cleared off the line.

With Arsenal’s quadruple dream on the line, on came Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timber with half-an-hour to go, and it was the former who barely had an inch on the edge of the area when finding the top corner.

There's no stopping that!

Eberechi Eze fires Arsenal back in front with a strike of real quality

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/zOpWUWTI8k

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 7, 2026

Two stunners. No set-piece goals here, with the manner of this victory only serving as a reminder of why Arsenal have typically adopted more divisive tactics this season.

Having asked Arsenal fans this week what they make of their “boring” label, the response was that beautiful football had got them nowhere for 20 years.

This tie underlined that. Arsenal played with more freedom and almost came unstuck. An undercooked side, with Mikel Arteta having made nine changes, pushed to the very end by League One Mansfield.

And so only when I asked myself one simple question are Arsenal’s usual tactics starting to make sense.

Would I want my team to do anything it takes to win a trophy? Of course I would.

And bearing in mind Arsenal could silence rival fans after years of ridicule in the process, no wonder they are prepared to do whatever it takes.

So don’t expect to see an Arsenal display like this again this season. They’re playing for silverware soon, the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on 22 March, and the quad is only still on because of the football that got them here.

It is a position any club would love to be in at this stage of the campaign.

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My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week we speak to former England and Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster about his Wrexham heroics, ups and downs and becoming a YouTuber.

My happiest years were at West Brom

It was at a time in my life when my kids had just been born. I was living local. We were settled as a family.

I was there for a good eight years, it was eight years of Premier League football as well.

Don’t get me wrong, there were ups and downs, but I was surrounded by really nice, hard-working, down to earth people.

I’m a big believer that when you’re happy in life, you play your best football.

I wanted to get out of Manchester United

It was too much, too big. I’m not ashamed to say that. I remember being so nervous going into every game thinking “don’t make a mistake”.

It’s funny because if I bump into anyone who recognises me, I played for England, played for Manchester United, played nearly 400 Premier League games and they all say that penalty save for Wrexham was incredible.

I’ve watched the video back a few times. It still gives me goosebumps. Those moments stay with you for life.

I didn’t have a clue about YouTube

I didn’t know how to start a YouTube channel. This is something I’ve had to learn. It’s a brand new skill set, and I’ve had to learn how to do it all through trial and error.

We’re not one of the big boys. We haven’t had massive investment from betting companies. We’ve got to do it all ourselves.

Everything is self-funded. I love the fact that we can do it on our own terms. We get to call the shots.

If I hadn’t been a footballer I would’ve been a policeman

I’d have done something that required me to be active. My daughter is 17, she’s doing her A-Levels, and she’s at a point where she has to pick a uni course, but she hasn’t got a clue what she wants to do. I don’t think anyone knows what they want to do at 17.

My son wants to be a rugby player. I’ve met a lot of the players, and I’ve seen how they are as people, and they’ve got a lot more respect for people than footballers. So I’m happy he’s trying his hardest to play rugby.

My kids hate the YouTube stuff, honestly. They absolutely hate it because their mates send them clips if I say something funny. And they’re like, “Dad, don’t say things like that.”

I fully ruptured my rotator cuff in my shoulder

I had so many setbacks, whether it was injuries or loss of form or not being in the team, but the worst injury came after I retired.

I did a work thing about six months ago. It was for Emirates at St George’s Park, and it involved me playing in a six-a-side or whatever. It was some of the worst pain I’ve had for 48 hours. I dived for the ball, I landed hard and my shoulder just went pop. I’d never had a shoulder injury before. I was genuinely white as a ghost.

I’m an active guy, I love to be on the move, I like my bike and I like playing golf. And I couldn’t do anything for five months. I had to have a massive operation. It was miserable. The pain was unbearable.

The best player I played with?

It would have to be Paul Scholes. He was just effortlessly good. I’ve never seen a player strike the ball so cleanly.

And he had a nasty little bite in him, which made him even better. Because if you’ve got that nasty bite in you, like Wayne Rooney had, that can amplify your game like you wouldn’t believe. That little naughtiness makes you a much better player.

People would think it’s probably Cristiano Ronaldo, but it’s not. Scholes was a joke. It all just came naturally to him.

Ryan Reynolds didn’t know much about football

I think if you asked him, deep down, he didn’t know what he was getting himself into. He didn’t really know anything about football or how it worked, the organisation, the business. He just wanted to help his mate Rob [McElhenney] out.

He is a lovely guy who is super enthusiastic about Wrexham. And because he cares, people can see he cares. That is the most important thing.

They have done an unreal job. Everybody sees it as a massive success but – and they won’t mind me saying this – they’ve made loads of errors along the way. But they should be so proud of what they’ve achieved, because it’s really hard to go into something when you don’t know what you’re doing.

Ben Foster was speaking ahead of new content from CGK Studios, the content production company behind The Fozcast and The Cycling GK. Co-founded by Foster, CGK Studios specialises in authentic, long-form storytelling across sport and culture, with The Fozcast ranking among the UK’s most popular sports podcasts. Episodes are available weekly on Spotify and YouTube.

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As with so many things at Newcastle United these days, it all comes back to three dreaded letters.

Before it was PSR – profitability and sustainability rules – that forced the club to sell now £100m-rated midfielder Elliot Anderson and restricted their ability to flex financial muscles.

Now it is SCR, squad cost ratio, the new version of the rules that will restrict Newcastle’s spending to 85 per cent (or 70 per cent if you’re in Europe) of what they bring in.

As they announced a 5 per cent price hike in season tickets (or 15 per cent for premium areas), the Magpies made no bones about it: the rules are the reason.

“In the current financial landscape, we must balance affordability for our fans with the need to generate the revenue required to remain competitive,” CEO David Hopkinson said on Friday.

With matchday revenue currently among the lowest 25 per cent in the league his point is loud and clear – price rises are a necessary evil. At 5 per cent it’s noticeable that the price rises mirror those announced by Manchester United.

But does that logic actually stack up?

Football finance experts estimate the price rise will rake in an extra £2m a year for the club. For the sake of the financial rules that’s £10m towards signing a player on a five-year contract. It’s covering £40,000-a-week of a new signing’s wages. Newcastle spent more than £250m last summer.

For perspective, the difference between finishing 10th and 11th this season is roughly £2m. Under the lucrative terms of the TV deal being on Sky Sports or TNT Sports twice earns you around £1.5m. The big wins – in terms of revenue – feels as if they are elsewhere.

And that’s what the club are mostly under fire for on Friday. Fans are absorbing a fourth successive price rise at a time when the club don’t seem to be sweating the asset quite as much as they should.

Progress on solving the stadium issue has been glacial – although sources suggest conversations have ramped up again recently – and big-ticket sponsorship deals remain elusive.

The absence of a training ground or training kit partner remains mystifying, and PIF don’t appear to be giving Newcastle quite the commercial leg up that they need.

All of this predates Hopkinson’s arrival and insiders suggest there’s been new energy around these issues in recent months. He has been true to his word about transparency and it was notable that his name was attached to Newcastle’s release while Manchester United’s was anonymous. Hopkinson is owning this, at least.

But he will also know patience on Tyneside is straining after a difficult year on the pitch and four years without a big infrastructure project as proof of ambition. It is time to take the wrapping off the training ground – and deliver in the transfer market.

The worry is always the deeper impact of these creeping price rises. It may only be £3.92 a month for now but in a cost of living crisis an above inflation rise has an impact. Some will be feeling the pinch.

The reduction of the disability discount from 50 per cent to 25 per cent is especially puzzling. Ultimately that can’t be worth more than tens of thousands to the club. It just feels cynical.

The club’s Fan Advisory Board said they were “disappointed” with the rise. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire said he felt the PSR excuse was a bit “disingenuous”. It certainly testing the faith of the club’s greatest asset.

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