More than 137,000 tickets to the Women’s Euro 2025 finals in Switzerland have been sold in the first week of going on sale, prompting UEFA to release another 50,000 yesterday.

UEFA said that all tickets in the18 matches of the first release have been sold. The additional tickets released cover all 31 matches.

In total 720,000 tickets will be available for the finals. UEFA is holding back 120,000 for sale to supporters of the 16 participating national teams. These will be released following the December 16 draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Fans can purchase up to ten tickets per match from CHF25 for category 2 tickets. Category 1 tickets cost CHF40 for the group stage and quarter finals, rising to CHF for the semi-finals and CHF90 for the final.

An official ticket resale platform will be available from spring 2025. Ticket holders travelling within Switzerland will have free public transport. Their tickets will be valid on matchday for a second-class round trip between any Swiss locality and the match venue.

At the ticket launch on October 1 at the iconic Jungfraujoch in the Bernese Alps, 3,454m above sea level, Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA president, said: “This tournament goes beyond showcasing Europe’s top talent – it embodies UEFA’s deep commitment to elevating the sport and expanding its reach across the continent. We are eager to see the passion it will ignite in host cities and beyond, as it offers a powerful platform to inspire the next generation of fans and players. This is more than a sporting event – it celebrates progress and immense potential in women’s football.”

The Swiss have taglined the tournament the ‘Summit of emotions’. Getting a ticket looks like being a mountain climb in itself.

The Metropolitano Stadium, home to Spanish giants and 11-time La Liga Champions, Atletico Madrid has changed its name.

For the remainder of this season and until the end of the 2032-33 season, the venue will be known as the Riyadh Air Metropolitan.

In August 2023, Riyadh Air became the front-of-shirt sponsor for Atleti and the expansion of this partnership has made a substantial impact to balancing the club’s books.

Reports from the Spanish capital value the deal at between €250-300 million ($274 million to $328.8 million) in total, or €27.7-33.3 million a year. While the deal is one of the most lucrative in world sport, it still pales in the face of La Liga rivals, FC Barcelona, who receive a reported $76.8 million per year from the popular music streaming service, Spotify, however, that deal is only for four years.

Reports have been gaining traction that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) sovereign wealth group is interested in the purchase of Atletico Madrid, which makes the Riyadh Airlines agreement a seamless play. The airline is wholly funded by PIF though it has yet to start flying, with operations slated to start in 2025.

With one of the highest wage bills in football currently estimated to be €136.4 million for the current season, Atletico, who sit fourth in La Liga and 23rd in the new Champions League Swiss, need this injection of cash to remain competitive.

The 70,460 capacity Metropolitano is one of the most iconic stadiums in world football and hosted the 2019 Champions League Final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, however, it has been hit with a partial 3-game closure after crowd trouble during the recent Madrid derby.

All the roads will lead to the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, venue of the Zenith Bank sponsored Nigeria Women’s Basketball Premier League final 8, to pick the eventual champion for the season.

In the qualifying phases played simultaneously in the Atlantic and Savannah Conferences held in Enugu and Abuja, respectively.

First Bank led the Atlantic conference qualifiers and joined by MFM, Dolphins and Bayelsa Whales. While Nigeria Customs as leaders in the Savannah conference is leading other teams, Titans, Royal Aces and Air Warriors to Lagos.

Speaking on the final 8 championship which will hold October 10-15, 2024, at the Indoor Hall of the National Stadium, President of Nigeria Basketball Federation, Engineer Ahmadu Musa Kida, restated the readiness of the NBBF, to organise an exciting and very competitive final 8 tournament that would eventually produce a worthy Nigerian champion.

He also commended the contributions of Zenith Bank to the development of the game in Nigeria.

“The final eight is a testament of Zenith Bank’s commitment to basketball and the Girl Child development.

“We commend them for standing alongside with the NBBF, to grow the game of basketball. The global achievements of D’Tigress, can only go to show how Zenith Bank’s commitment has helped turn around the game in Nigeria and Africa, as a continent,” Kida stated.