South Korean sportsman Son Heung-min was in transit to the United States on Tuesday to officially join Los Angeles FC, a record-breaking signing for Major League Soccer, which is expected to be announced in the coming days.
Videos on social media showed Son signing autographs for fans at Incheon airport in Seoul before he boarded a flight to Los Angeles.
The Athletic and GiveMeSport reported on Tuesday that LAFC is paying a transfer fee of about $26.5m to $27m to acquire Son, shattering the current MLS record of $22m that Atlanta United paid for Emmanuel Latte Lath last offseason.
Son, 33, announced over the weekend that he planned to leave Tottenham Hotspur, saying he had achieved everything that he could with the North London club and was interested in a new challenge.
Son scored 172 goals and added 94 assists in 451 matches for Tottenham across all competitions, with 127 coming in Premier League play. A team captain, he helped the Spurs win the 2025 Europa League for the first major trophy of his career.
Son has also scored 51 goals in 134 matches for South Korea, the country’s second-leading goal-scorer of all time. Son played in the past three World Cups.
The forward made his last appearance for Spurs, waving to the club’s travelling fans after their preseason friendly against Newcastle United on Sunday.
Son was given an emotional farewell by his teammates, Newcastle players and almost 65,000 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium in his native South Korea.
The game between the Premier League teams ended 1-1, with the high point being Son’s second-half exit when he was surrounded by both sets of players before eventually sitting on the bench in tears.
“First, we had the walk around, and then the teammates gathered around, and he was emotional,” Tottenham coach Thomas Frank said. “In the changing room, it was more of the same. I just said a few things, but not much, because it’s about Sonny, and then he said a few things. It was beautiful.”
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe also paid tribute to the South Korea forward.
Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out says it received record-high reports of discrimination during the 2024-25 season with a rise in sexism, transphobia and faith-based abuse.
Across all levels of English football last season, there were 1, 398 incidents reported – up from the 1, 332 published in last season’s figures – and the most ever received by the organisation.
Reports of sexism and misogyny rose by 67%, with reports increasing from 115 in the 2023-24 season to 192.
Faith-based abuse reports climbed from 117 to 132, while reports of transphobia doubled from 22 to 44.
Reports involving girls ‘ football doubled to 31, including two at under-9s level, while overall youth reports rose from 144 to a record high of 186.
Overall reports of racism fell across all levels of football, but the number of racist incidents in the professional game increased from 223 to 245.
Kick It Out also noted in its end-of-season reporting statistics for last season:
Kick It Out chief executive Samuel Okafor said “discrimination remains deeply embedded across the game”, and the rise in abuse in youth football “should be a wake-up call”.
Okafor acknowledged there had been a “clear shift” in people “calling out sexist behaviour”, but he wants to see greater action to tackle online abuse.
“It’s clear that online platforms are still falling short. The volume of abuse remains high, and too often those responsible face no consequences”, said Okafor.
Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out says it received record-high reports of discrimination during the 2024-25 season with a rise in sexism, transphobia and faith-based abuse.
Across all levels of English football last season, there were 1, 398 incidents reported – up from the 1, 332 published in last season’s figures – and the most ever received by the organisation.
Reports of sexism and misogyny rose by 67%, with reports increasing from 115 in the 2023-24 season to 192.
Faith-based abuse reports climbed from 117 to 132, while reports of transphobia doubled from 22 to 44.
Reports involving girls ‘ football doubled to 31, including two at under-9s level, while overall youth reports rose from 144 to a record high of 186.
Overall reports of racism fell across all levels of football, but the number of racist incidents in the professional game increased from 223 to 245.
Kick It Out also noted in its end-of-season reporting statistics for last season:
Kick It Out chief executive Samuel Okafor said “discrimination remains deeply embedded across the game”, and the rise in abuse in youth football “should be a wake-up call”.
Okafor acknowledged there had been a “clear shift” in people “calling out sexist behaviour”, but he wants to see greater action to tackle online abuse.
“It’s clear that online platforms are still falling short. The volume of abuse remains high, and too often those responsible face no consequences”, said Okafor.
In addition to the rise in sexism, transphobia, and faith-based abuse, the anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out reports record-high reports of discrimination during the years 2024 to 2025.
The organization received 1, 398 reports last season across all levels of English football, an increase over the 1, 332 reported in the previous season’s figures, making that number the most reports ever received.
Reports of misogyny and sexism increased by 67%, from 115 to 192 in the 2023-to-24 season.
Reports of transphobia increased from 22 to 44, while reports of faith-based abuse increased from 117 to 132.
Reports on girls’ football increased from 144 to 186, with two of those reporting at under-9s level.
Overall, there were no fewer racist incidents in the professional game than there were overall, but overall there were no more racist incidents.
In addition, Kick It Out noted the following in its last-season end-of-season reporting statistics:
The rise in abuse in youth football “should be a wake-up call,” according to Kick It Out CEO Samuel Okafor, who stated that “discrimination still exists fundamentally throughout the game.”
Although Okafor acknowledged that there had been a “clear shift” in “calling out sexist behavior,” he wants to see more action taken to combat online abuse.
It is obvious that online services are still lacking. The abuse continues to rise, and many responsible parties don’t get any justice, according to Okafor.
As Nigerian women, who predominate in other sports on the continent, are competing against top talent from abroad, with a culture of mismanagement, pay disparities, and even the possibility of being reprimanded for speaking out.
Nigeria recently captured their fifth consecutive championship at the continent’s top hardwood basketball competition, Women’s AfroBasket, while last month the Super Falcons won their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) football title.
However, the football team’s successes have been made when they are paid at all despite pay disparities compared to their male counterparts.
The majority of the women’s pay comes from per-match bonuses, which vary depending on the team’s results, despite receiving training camp allowances.
Despite their reputations as arguably the best teams on the continent, both the women’s basketball and football teams have experienced late or unpaid match bonuses for years.
None of the players, however, eluded questioning from an AFP reporter in the press scrum about being paid the same as the men’s team when the Super Falcons arrived in Abuja following their 3-2 win over hosts Morocco last month.
Following their victory at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria’s Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu and goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie arrive at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja.
The question was deemed useless by Nigerian journalists present because it was far too politically charged.
According to Solace Chukwu, senior editor at Afrik-Foot Nigeria, “speaking up against what’s happening completely eliminates the chance of getting what you’re entitled to,” you could be blacklisted.
Not that there won’t be conflicts: Basketball players called out the authorities when they won the game in 2021 in protest of unpaid match bonuses.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation at the time blamed clerical errors for the situation, and at the time, denied any wrongdoing.
In action at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games basketball competitions are Ezinne Kalu and Jackie Young of Team USA, left.
The women’s football team, like the basketball team, has had remarkable success thanks to a diaspora-heavy diaspora and a population of more than 200 million, which is the largest on the continent.
According to Chukwu, they also benefited from early investments in women’s football when other African nations concentrated on men’s teams, helping the Super Falcons win the WAFCON’s first seven games between 1991 and 2006.
Yet they only played a small number of test matches before making their final-minute comeback plans for this year’s competition in Morocco.
Despite mismanagement and disinterest from the authorities, the Super Falcons have not remained silent.
However, it seems as though doing too much rocking the boat will cost.
Players who take the initiative or dare to protest “always run the risk of not being invited or completely sidelined,” according to Harrison Jalla, a union official.
She was removed from her position as captain and not called up for the 2022 tournament after leading protests led by former Super Falcons captain Desire Oparanozie, who is now a commentator.
Former men’s coach Sunday Oliseh, who was fired from the national team in early 2000s as a result of protests over backpay, described the situation as “criminal” retaliation.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) at the time denied dropping Oparanozie due to the protests.
According to an AFP request for comment, the Super Falcons and the NFF did not respond to the allegations that players were hesitant to speak up.
Before the Paris 2024 Games, Nigeria’s Promise Amukamara and Senegal’s Cierra Dillard, left, chase a loose ball in a group A match between the women’s Olympic qualifying team members.
Women’s sports continue to grow in players’ minds.
Fresh off her AfroBasket victory, Nigerian point guard Promise Amukamara told AFP in Abuja, “I think the sky is the limit.”
“Nigeria should obviously have more facilities built around it. Perhaps once a year, we should host the AfroBasket.
Meanwhile, NFF official Aisha Falode urged the government to “invest in the facilities, invest in the leagues, and the players, because the women’s game can no longer be taken lightly.”
Despite the difficulties, younger fans continue to support women’s sport.
Justina Oche, 16, a player at an Abuja football academy, claimed her exploits had spurred her on to pursue a career in the sport.
The youngster, whose role model is Asisat Oshoala, six-time African Footballer of the Year, said, “They say what a man can do, a woman can do even better.”
Watch highlights as the Oval Invincibles beat the London Spirit in their opening game of The Men’s Hundred at Lord’s with debutants Rashid Khan and Sam Curran taking three wickets.
Men’s Hundred: Oval Invincibles v. London Spirit: MATCH REPORT
