Category sport-news

Electronic Arts, the largest all-cash private equity purchase in history, announced on Monday that the company would be led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to acquire it for $55 billion.

Additionally, the consortium includes President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former White House advisor Jared Kushner, both of whom are US investors Silver Lake and Affinity Partners.

In a statement, EA Chairman and CEO Andrew Wilson said, “This moment is a powerful recognition of their remarkable work,” adding that the agreement would help “unlock new opportunities on a global stage.”

READ MORE: Spotify Takes Transparency Measures to Combat AI Abuse.

In its most recent fiscal year, EA reported revenue of $7.5 billion, including Madden NFL, The Sims, and Battlefield, a well-known franchise.

Early 2026 is when the acquisition is scheduled to close, and EA shareholders and regulatory bodies must approve the deal.

PIF, which already owns a 9.9% stake in EA, will carry over its previous investment as part of the deal.

The consortium’s members will have approximately $36 billion in equity and JPMorgan Chase will have about $20 billion in debt as collateral for the transaction.

Under Wilson’s continued leadership, EA will be delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange and have its headquarters in Redwood City, California.

As Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil revenues, PIF’s latest major investment in the gaming industry is the deal.

World football’s governing body FIFA announced on Monday that South Africa had forfeited a World Cup qualifying match against Lesotho for fielding an ineligible player.

In Group C of the African Zone qualifiers, South Africa is now trailing Benin on goal difference behind South Africa’s 2-0 victory on March 21 in Polokwane by a 3-0 defeat, leaving Lesotho in fifth place.

The FIFA Disciplinary Code’s disciplinary committee alleged that South Africa had violated Article 19 by playing Teboho Mokoena after the midfielder had received two yellow cards against Benin and then Zimbabwe.

Read more about Morocco’s participation in the 2026 World Cup’s first African qualifier.

As he prepares to welcome Jose Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge, Enzo Maresca claims there is “no reason to panic” over Chelsea’s mini-slump. He cites the impact of a string of red cards.

The Blues, who defeated Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday, had a successful start to the season after winning the Club World Cup in July.

However, they desperately need a win over the Portuguese side at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to begin their European campaign after losing three of their previous four games.

After his team was reduced to 10 men in their Premier League defeats by Manchester United and Brighton, Maresca is aware that Chelsea will have to resolve their disciplinary issues.

Additionally, they lost to Bayern Munich in the first Champions League game.

Maresca, who is currently in his second year at Stamford Bridge, gave a calm explanation of the subpar performance at his Monday press conference.

Chelsea has lost four of their past five games, according to the Italian, and a player has been dismissed.

Maresca acknowledged that making wiser choices in the wake of the sending-off between Brighton and United would have helped him.

He claimed that the only game his team had lost was earlier this month’s 3-1 defeat at German champion Bayern, which his team had won.

Knowing that football is a crazy world, he said, “For me personally, there is no reason for us to create panic.”

It’s a crazy world to play in if you lose five games in six months and have to say things to defend yourself.

I don’t believe we need to defend ourselves at this moment because I have a very positive feeling about our team.

Maresca claimed that facing Mourinho at Stamford Bridge would be an “absolute honor.”

The 62-year-old Portuguese was appointed as Benfica’s new coach earlier this month, just days after Fenerbahce fired the club.

In his two years at Chelsea, Mourinho helped the club become a trophy-winning force by bringing three Premier League titles and other silverware with him.

The injuries sustained by Moises Caicedo, Andrey Santos, and Joao Pedro will be evaluated before the Benfica game against Brighton.