Sporting Lagos will battle local rivals Inter Lagos for the Nigeria National League, NNL, title in Ikenne on Friday.

Jeffrey Buter’s Sporting Lagos moved top of the Super Four playoff log following a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Doma United on Wednesday.

Sporting Lagos have so far garnered six points from two matches, having opened up their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Ranchers Bees.

They need just one point from the clash with Inter Lagos to be crowned champions.

Inter Lagos bounced back into reckoning after a 2-0 victory over Ranchers Bees on Wednesday.

Doma United and Inter Lagos have three points each, while Ranchers Bees have zero point.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Tuesday defended World Cup ticket prices, insisting that football’s global governing body was obliged to take advantage of US laws that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.

FIFA has faced searing criticism over the cost of World Cup tickets, with fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) branding the pricing structure “extortionate” and a “monumental betrayal”.

FSE filed a lawsuit with the European Commission in March targeting FIFA over “excessive ticket prices” for the tournament.

FIFA’s own World Cup resale website, FIFA Marketplace, last week advertised four tickets to the July 19 final in New York at a cost of more than $2 million each.

Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Infantino said the eye-watering prices reflected demand to watch the World Cup.

“If some people put on the resale market, some tickets for the final at $2 million, number one it doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2 million,” Infantino said.

“And number two it doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets,” Infantino said. “And if somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience.”

Fan groups have contrasted the difference in price of tickets for this summer with the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

The most expensive ticket for the final in 2022 was around $1,600 at face value, while in 2026 the most expensive ticket for the final is about $11,000 at its original price.

Infantino was adamant that the steep increase in face-value prices were justified.

“We have to look at the market — we are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates,” Infantino said.

“In the US it is permitted to resell tickets as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.

“And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double of our price.”

Infantino said that FIFA received in excess of 500 million ticket requests for 2026, compared with fewer than 50 million combined for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The FIFA leader added that 25 percent of tickets for the group phase were priced at under $300.

“You cannot go to watch in the US a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300,” Infantino said. “And this is the World Cup.”

Arsene Wenger made his feelings clear on Arsenal’s celebrations after the win over Atletico Madrid – and they were different to Wayne Rooney’s

Arsene Wenger has leapt to Arsenal’s defence over their Champions League celebrations, insisting they were ‘deserved’ and ‘normal’ after Wayne Rooney’s brutal criticism. The England icon immediately took aim at Mikel Arteta and the players by claiming the jubilant scenes at the end were over the top.

Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal just before half-time to clinch a 2-1 aggregate win and set up a final against either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain.

The Gunners celebrated wildly after the final whistle, drawing criticism from Rooney, who was at the Emirates as a pundit for Prime Video. The Manchester United legend said: “They deserve to be in this position but they haven’t won it yet. I think the celebrations are a little bit too much. Celebrate when you win.”

Legendary former Gunners boss Wenger disagreed with that stance, insisting the Gunners had every right to enjoy the moment. Speaking on beIN Sports, the Frenchman said: “They celebrate well tonight, which is normal, but you want to focus already on the final and the next games.

“The celebration is deserved and happiness is normal – absolutely normal – but the next step is to go to the final and win in.”

Wenger felt that the Gunners were worthy winners, saying: “I think Arsenal wanted it a bit more than Atleti and they were more decisive in the duels.

“We said before the game that to go to the final, they needed to be strong defensively and they didn’t concede a goal tonight. They played a team who for 45 minutes absolutely needed to score a goal and they didn’t give them a chance.

“I believe it shows how strong Arsenal are defensively and how disciplined they are, as well as the limitations of Atletico, who were not good enough in the final third.

“In the end, it’s a well-deserved win for Arsenal, there’s no doubt they were the better team over the two legs.”