New season, new haircut.
Erling Haaland started the 2026-27 Premier League campaign with a buzzcut after shaving off his flowing blond locks.
To mark the occasion we have created a footballers haircut quiz.
Can you tell these players from their trims? Use the hints and try to get all seven.
THE England squad are no stranger to luxury breaks from Hawaii to Dubai and the Amalfi Coast – but some enjoy a humble staycation too.
Here are some of England’s Three Lions footballers past and present that have been spotted at UK theme parks, Haven resorts and even Butlin’s.
Just a few days ago, Jude Bellingham enjoyed a day out at Alton Towers with his girlfriend, Ashlyn Castro.
The Three Lions midfielder was spotted in amongst the busy summer holiday crowds at the Staffordshire theme park.
He didn’t go unnoticed though…
One onlooker even recorded Jude while he was on the Toxicator – a spinning ride in the Forbidden Valley. which opened last year.
Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire has previously been spotted at a humble UK holiday park.
In 2024, the footballer left other holidaymakers ‘starstruck’ when he arrived at the bingo hall in Haven Presthaven Sands in Wales.
The footballer went on the break with his brother, Laurence, and wife, Fern.
Presthaven has everything from swimming pools and go-karting, to crazy golf, it has five restaurants including Burger King, Chopstix and Papa Johns. Thanks to its proximity to the coast, it’s easy to take a stroll down to the beach too.
Former Three Lions defender and current Burnley player, Kyle Walker has revealed he loves a caravan holiday – saying he enjoys a stay in Abersoch, a seaside resort village on the south coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd.
Talking to NorthWales Live, on where he stays while he’s there, Kyle said: “I’d say it’s a posh caravan – like a chalet that we’ve got. I wouldn’t even call it a lodge, it’s a posh caravan.
“We just go down there, there’s just a really good vibe, good community, it’s like a posh council estate. The kids go off in the morning, leave you, and they come back at night, it’s fantastic.
“You go to these nice hotels and everything, and your kids are swinging off the chandeliers and I’m thinking ‘oh my gosh, get me out’ – that’s why I prefer to be down there.”
Jordan Henderson, the midfielder who has just signed for Chelsea, has previously visited the popular LaplandUK.
The dad-of-three enjoyed the wintry experience alongside his family last year seeing reindeer and visiting Santa.
LaplandUK now two experiences in the country, with the original in Ascot and the site in Manchester which opened last year.
The attraction has revealed some big changes to the experience this year, including giving guests more time in the Elven Village.
Families will have more time to try out activities like ice skating and letter writing.
Tickets start from £60pp to the experience aren’t on sale yet, but you can sign up for updates on the 2026 release.
Fairground rides, funhouses, ice skating and tasty Christmas treats – Winter Wonderland is the sign of the festive season.
And one footballer has been seen enjoying all it has to offer.
Last December, defensive midfielder for Arsenal and the England team Declan Rice was spotted at the festival.
He even took the time to pose for pictures with fans too.
Back in 2021, Steven Gerrard who hails from Merseyside, came back from a luxe holiday in Dubai and went straight on a motorhome staycation.
In a post on Instagram, Gerrard shared pictures of the campervan and of him and his son Lio sitting at the table together.
While he captioned them: “Thanks to Barlow Trailers’ quality service for campervans.
“Great few days with the family.”
No one can forget the moment I’m a Celebrity when Coleen Rooney, wife of footballer and pundit, Wayne Rooney announced she loves a holiday to Butlin’s.
The star revealed that she still loves a break to the seaside holiday park in Skegness, Lincolnshire with her family.
She said that her son, Kai, even called it “the best holiday I’ve ever been on” at the time.
Every break includes unlimited rides in their fairground, plus the new SKYPARK has lots of climbing towers and slides – including one that’s 14-metres high.
When manufacturers begin to design new boots – a process that can start up to two years before release – they often consult trend forecasters such as WGSN to learn which colours, themes and styles are likely to be ‘in’ when the product eventually hits the shelves.
But there are other factors as to why pink has been a hit in football.
Of course, players are far more open to wearing extravagant boots than previous generations.
But the simple reason the companies have hit upon pink is because of how it contrasts with the green of the pitch.
It stands out whether you are watching on television, at the stadium, or scrolling on your phone.
The pink boot shows up if you are looking at slow-motion clips, or watching under stadium lights.
In a nutshell – it is highly visible.
But the irony may be that, with so many manufacturers arriving at pink, perhaps it is more difficult for their designs to stand out?
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.
Iran players get visas 10 days before their opening World Cup match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.
Published On 5 Jun 20265 Jun 2026
Iran’s World Cup football players have been granted visas to enter the United States, according to a White House official, just 10 days before their first match in Los Angeles amid a conflict between the two countries.
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said late on Thursday the squad had still not received their US visas, but these were granted overnight, the White House official said.
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US Ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack confirmed the visas in a message on X on Friday. “Proud of our outstanding team at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for their work processing visas for Iran’s national football team on their road to the @FIFAWorldCup in the United States,” he said, commenting on a news report that Iran’s World Cup players have been granted the visas to enter the United States.
The US had not yet issued visas to some members of the Iran team’s technical and administrative staff, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Friday.
Iran’s federation has not yet made a statement on the news.
“Visas for some members of the national team’s technical and executive staff have not yet been issued, and the US embassy has so far refused to issue them,” Fars said, without citing a source.
The US-Israel war on Iran has turned the World Cup – the biggest global sporting event – into a geopolitical contest, with both sides appearing to use the tournament for political posturing.
It is the first World Cup, since its inception in 1930, in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war with.
Tehran negotiated a last-minute move of the team’s base from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico due to the visa issues and a growing feeling in Iran that the squad’s presence in the United States should be kept to a minimum.
They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early on Sunday.
Iran are due to play their first Group G match on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, where they will also face Belgium before taking on Egypt in Seattle.
The US has never formally said it does not want the Iranian team to stay on its territory, Ambassador Pasandideh said.
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the US would not allow Iran to include in its World Cup delegation individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces.
Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s football federation, was denied entry for the tournament draw in Washington in December. He is a former commander in the Revolutionary Guards.
Iran’s desire to compete in the World Cup underscored its efforts to reach a resolution in the war with Washington, Pasandideh said.
“Iran’s participation in the World Cup – even on the soil of what is seen as its enemy – shows that Iran seeks peace,” Pasandideh said, speaking through a Spanish interpreter at the Iranian embassy in Mexico City.
Progress in peace talks between Iran and the US has been slow, with both sides seemingly inching towards an interim agreement even as they continue to carry out military strikes.
Iran is heading to the World Cup while the country is at war with a host nation, a situation that is unique in the tournament’s history.
The United States-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, and there has been an uneasy ceasefire in place since April 8, but the uncertainty – and occasional flare-up in hostilities – means an end to the conflict is far from certain.
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For the Iranian players and staff, the situation has thrown their World Cup preparations into chaos – all of their matches are scheduled to be played in the US.
The Iran team has spent more than two weeks in Turkiye, mostly practising at the coastal resort Antalya, and some travelled to the capital, Ankara, to submit visa applications at the US embassy.
The team’s participation in the event in the US, Canada and Mexico has long been in doubt and, with the visa situation still up in the air, nothing can yet be fully guaranteed.
“Well, to be honest, it’s not easy,” said Saeid Ezatolahi, a 29-year-old midfielder who also played for Iran in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
“This is going to be my third World Cup. So for me and some of the other players, it might be easier to manage these kinds of things,” he told The Associated Press news agency in English on the sidelines of a training session on Wednesday.
“But at the end … it is going to be difficult for us because, at the same time, we are following the news in our country and the political things, of course, can affect the mind of the players and the people.”
The team is set to travel to Mexico this weekend after receiving visas from the Mexican embassy in Ankara. The team said Thursday that the process of obtaining entry permits had been finalised for all members of the squad.
Problems with visa processing meant Iran’s World Cup training base was moved from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, on Mexico’s border with California.
Iran will play its first two games near Los Angeles, which has a large Iranian community, many of whom oppose the current government.
“So for sure, we are expecting to have a lot of fans during our games at the stadium,” Ezatolahi said. “And this is going to be a lot of pressure for us because the expectation is going to be high. I just wish we can make them proud and show them that Iranians, they are prepared for every hard job in the world,” he said.
Mohammad Ghorbani, 24, is going to his first World Cup for Iran.
“It’s true that we are facing special circumstances right now, but we are football players, and we have to play, practise, and prepare ourselves for the competitions we have ahead,” the Abu Dhabi-based player said in Farsi.
“On the other hand, we know that our people have been going through a lot of difficulties throughout the war, and we are going there for them, to get the best results for their joy and the joy of the people of our country.”
The US and Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials in their initial attacks. Iran responded with strikes targeting Israel, US forces and the Gulf Arab states. It also has maintained a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Gulf, imperilling global energy supplies.
Despite the nominal ceasefire, Iran and the US have yet to negotiate a permanent end to the war, and attacks continue in the region.
Iran is in Group G with New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt and Iran’s team is not required to enter the US until June 14, one day before its first match against New Zealand at the Los Angeles Rams’ stadium in Inglewood.
Iran returns to Inglewood to face Belgium on June 21 and completes Group G in Seattle, against Egypt on June 26.
“I’m really proud to be part of my national team,” said Ezatolahi, whose career has taken him to play for clubs in Spain, Russia, England, Belgium, Denmark, Qatar and now Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
“We need to clear up our minds and be fresh because our target and our duty is to fight for our people, to represent our country and to show how good we are,” he said.
Ghorbani agreed, saying the team wants to bring joy to Iranians.
“The best message I can give right now is that the Iranian team is showing what it means to be a team,” he said. “We are showing that we are one team under one flag that can bring joy to our whole country, and to show the power of Iranian players and Iranian people to the world.”
The FIFA World Cup begins on June 11. You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated World Cup 2026 page with all the latest news, match build-up and live text commentary and keep up to date with group standings, real-time match results and schedules.
