Nick Ames
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nickames82.bsky.social
Nick Ames
@nickames82.bsky.social
European sports correspondent, the Guardian
Reposted by Nick Ames
Well, this is quite a serious allegation. I do hope the BBC shows true impartiality and investigate whether or not some of its Board members are systemically biased. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
BBC board member with Tory links ‘led charge’ in systemic bias claims, say insiders
Sources say Robbie Gibb amplified criticisms of Trump, Gaza and trans rights coverage, and had ‘a lot of oxygen in the room’
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:34 AM
They eventually won the league by 13 points - only one defeat all season. Won’t see much else like it.
Mjällby have just won the Swedish league with three games left - and they haven’t simply won it, they’ve absolutely ripped it up. No asterisks or sugar daddies here, just the best story European club football will produce all year. From August, this is their tale: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Mjällby making minor miracles in an extraordinary Swedish football story
The former third-tier club with no financial muscle from a remote municipality of 14,000 inhabitants are leading the country’s top flight
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Nick Ames
Inside Villa Park, everyone stuck to football. Outside, a palpably disquieting undertone was kept in check. www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Maatsen and Malen help Aston Villa avoid more controversy in win over Maccabi Tel Aviv
Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen scored in each half to give Aston Villa a comfortable 2-0 Europa League victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv after hours of protests outside the stadium before kick-off
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Inside Villa Park, everyone stuck to football. Outside, a palpably disquieting undertone was kept in check. www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Maatsen and Malen help Aston Villa avoid more controversy in win over Maccabi Tel Aviv
Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen scored in each half to give Aston Villa a comfortable 2-0 Europa League victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv after hours of protests outside the stadium before kick-off
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Not to downplay the much bigger issues but, from what I've seen in the last couple of hours outside Villa Park, the proliferation of YouTubers and influencers has given the police as much trouble as anything else.
November 6, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Nick Ames
Reposted by Nick Ames
Qatar and Saudi Arabia have used their wealth and influence to tilt the football world in their favour, but now, for the first time, they have tilted the playing field too.

Story on how opaque rule changes that paved Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s path to 2026 World Cup

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/w...
How Saudi Arabia and Qatar Benefited From Rule Changes to Reach the World Cup
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:25 AM
You know Christmas can't be a million miles off when the Super League pops back up ...
October 29, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Nick Ames
I wasn't at the fight last night but the extraordinary Fabio Wardley show rolls on. Trailing on the scorecards, again, he stopped Joseph Parker to complete another stunning comeback victory. Our interview ran earlier this week and he shared his story in detail

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
‘My Netflix title would be white collar to world champion’: Fabio Wardley on his boxing journey | Donald McRae
Former Ipswich academy footballer Fabio Wardley fights Joseph Parker on Saturday and he tells Donald McRae he hopes victory will secure a title shot at Oleksandr Usyk, with whom he once sparred in Ukr...
www.theguardian.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by Nick Ames
Serie A's planned Milan v Como fixture in Perth may be next for the scrapheap, hot on the heels of La Liga's shelved Miami game. There's some confidence within UEFA that game won't go ahead, and understand AFC coming under pressure not to sanction. Story: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Plans for Milan’s Serie A match in Perth thrown into doubt
The Australian Football Confederation has come under pressure not to sanction the controversial game while Barcelona v Villarreal in Miami has already been called off
www.theguardian.com
October 22, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Serie A's planned Milan v Como fixture in Perth may be next for the scrapheap, hot on the heels of La Liga's shelved Miami game. There's some confidence within UEFA that game won't go ahead, and understand AFC coming under pressure not to sanction. Story: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Plans for Milan’s Serie A match in Perth thrown into doubt
The Australian Football Confederation has come under pressure not to sanction the controversial game while Barcelona v Villarreal in Miami has already been called off
www.theguardian.com
October 22, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Nick Ames
Mjällby have just won the Swedish league with three games left - and they haven’t simply won it, they’ve absolutely ripped it up. No asterisks or sugar daddies here, just the best story European club football will produce all year. From August, this is their tale: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Mjällby making minor miracles in an extraordinary Swedish football story
The former third-tier club with no financial muscle from a remote municipality of 14,000 inhabitants are leading the country’s top flight
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Mjällby have just won the Swedish league with three games left - and they haven’t simply won it, they’ve absolutely ripped it up. No asterisks or sugar daddies here, just the best story European club football will produce all year. From August, this is their tale: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Mjällby making minor miracles in an extraordinary Swedish football story
The former third-tier club with no financial muscle from a remote municipality of 14,000 inhabitants are leading the country’s top flight
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Lovely show for this in print today.
October 17, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Nick Ames
Gerard Deulofeu hasn't played since Jan 2023. ACL surgery & devastating cartilage infection saw to that. But every day he wakes, trains alone & dreams of appearing in Serie A again. He aims to make the most unlikely top-level return in history. Interview in Udine: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘Maybe it’s the most difficult recovery in history’: Gerard Deulofeu’s battle to play football again
Almost three years after his last game the former Barcelona and Everton player is in Udinese’s gym each weekday morning, refusing to give up
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Reposted by Nick Ames
In January it will be three years since Gerard Deulofeu kicked a ball. Even in a best case scenario, he won't manage to for a good few months after that. But he is hellbent on achieving the impossible: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘Maybe it’s the most difficult recovery in history’: Gerard Deulofeu’s battle to play football again
Almost three years after his last game the former Barcelona and Everton player is in Udinese’s gym each weekday morning, refusing to give up
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:59 PM
In January it will be three years since Gerard Deulofeu kicked a ball. Even in a best case scenario, he won't manage to for a good few months after that. But he is hellbent on achieving the impossible: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘Maybe it’s the most difficult recovery in history’: Gerard Deulofeu’s battle to play football again
Almost three years after his last game the former Barcelona and Everton player is in Udinese’s gym each weekday morning, refusing to give up
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Gerard Deulofeu hasn't played since Jan 2023. ACL surgery & devastating cartilage infection saw to that. But every day he wakes, trains alone & dreams of appearing in Serie A again. He aims to make the most unlikely top-level return in history. Interview in Udine: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘Maybe it’s the most difficult recovery in history’: Gerard Deulofeu’s battle to play football again
Almost three years after his last game the former Barcelona and Everton player is in Udinese’s gym each weekday morning, refusing to give up
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Reports in Russian media that fake "Shakhtar Donetsk" have been approved to participate in Russia's second league division B next season. Fake "Zorya" in line for promotion too, tho they've done nothing on pitch to earn it. All of this has been clearly in the post for months – where are UEFA/FIFA?
Football teams from occupied territories of Ukraine are slowly getting a foothold in Russia’s league system - a rip-off of Zorya Luhansk the latest and most egregious. The authorities seem happy to turn a blind eye, but this stuff matters for reasons beyond sport. www.theguardian.com/football/202...
How a rip-off of Ukraine’s Zorya Luhansk are climbing Russia’s pyramid
In war-torn occupied territories, fake teams are being deployed as a tool to normalise a violent denial of the past
www.theguardian.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Nick Ames
An extraordinary night’s work from Erling Haaland, a brilliant Norway team edging closer to its prize, and a highly charged event passing with minor blemishes: www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Erling Haaland hat-trick helps Norway sink Israel against backdrop of protests
On a day of pro-Palestine demonstrations, intense security and a brief spate of trouble in Oslo, Norway ran out 5-0 victors against Israel
www.theguardian.com
October 12, 2025 at 7:51 AM