By Son Tertsegha

As the second ⁠edition of World Humanoid Robot Games kicked off at the National Speed Skating Oval for the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Beijing, a Chinese robot named Lightning ⁠has run ​the 100m in 9.32 seconds, ⁠beating the human world ⁠record, held by the Jamaican, Usain bolt, in 2009.

The humanoid, developed by the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor, ‌reached a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second during ‌a test event for ​the second World Humanoid Robot Games. The ​performance surpassed ​the ​9.58sec men’s ​100m world record ​set ​by Usain Bolt 17 years ago at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

China is in the lead of promoting humanoid robots as an emerging industry, with policymakers and companies ‌believing that these advances in AI and hardware will accelerate their deployment in manufacturing, logistics ​and consumer applications.

Lightning also won the Beijing half marathon in April in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, faster than the men’s world record. The robot stood 169cm tall and ​had ​95cm-long legs at ​the half marathon.

Researchers have since lengthened ​its legs ‌by 10​cm for these Games.

More than 2,000 humanoid robots are participating in the second edition of the five-day games, with the spectacle intended to demonstrate China’s rapid progress in advanced robotics as the technology race with the US heats up.

This edition has 51 events and more than 1,000 competitions taking place including running, table tennis and football.

The games opened the same week as Beijing held the 2026 World Robot Conference, where companies showcased around 3,000 products, including humanoid robots. China makes the majority of the world’s humanoid robots.

In what’s believed to be targeting China, last month, the US Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots. The Pentagon recently also added Unitree, one of China’s leading humanoid robot makers, to its list of companies that it deemed have ties with the Chinese military. Beijing has hit back at the accusations.

At Saturday’s opening of the robot games, the organisers and robot makers said that Chinese humanoid robots defeated human world records, as hundreds of humanoid robots marched in formation on to the field in a massive display of synchronised coordination.

In a standing high jump, a humanoid robot was able to reach 2.88m, well above the 0.95m best result by a humanoid in last year’s first edition of the games.

It equally surpassed the human high jump record of 2.45m set by Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor in 1993. Both robots were from Beijing-based X-Humanoid.

Experts say humanoid robots are still mostly used for demonstrations, performances and research – at least for now – and it will take time to achieve mass real-world deployment. Some spectators at the robot games said they were excited about the humanoid robots’ quickly improving abilities.

Press reports indicate that humanoid robots are “evolving rapidly”, said Li Yanfeng, an education worker and a Beijing resident. “At first, I wasn’t very accepting of artificial intelligence. I was even a bit resistant to it, because of the possibility that it might replace or displace humans,” she said. “But now that I see this development is unstoppable, I decided to come and take a look.”

Yang Shangzheng, another spectator, said: “These sports are perfectly normal for humans, but now robots can do them. I find it amazing.” Liu Tao, who was watching the games with his son, said he was hoping to see “the best robots China currently has to offer”.

This year’s robot games – which the organisers say has 16 countries participating, among them Germany, Japan and the US – also includes other events such as weightlifting and tug of war.

By Felix Umande

Former Brazil superstar Ronaldinho has announced a sensational comeback to professional football 11 years after retiring, signing with Italian Serie C side Ravenna with the goal of scoring “a 300th goal.”

The 46-year-old, who won the 2002 World Cup and the 2005 Ballon d’Or, was unveiled on Thursday on a beach in Ravenna, ending a glittering career that last saw him play an official match for Fluminense in September 2015.

“I’m very happy to be here with friends, we have a team that can do something good,” Ronaldinho told reporters.
“Will you see me play? I don’t know, only the coach knows that. Coming back to Italy is wonderful, I’m here to help my teammates win.
“As you can see, I’m in shape, I feel good. If I could score my 300th goal, that would be even more beautiful.”

The comeback was first announced in June on the sidelines of the World Cup in Miami by Ignazio Cipriani, an Italian-American businessman who has owned Ravenna since 2024.

Cipriani said Ronaldinho’s mission is “romantic” and insisted it was not just for publicity.
“His objective is romantic, to try to score his last goal,” Cipriani said on Thursday.
“His involvement is not a token gesture or a marketing stunt to get people talking about us.”

The former Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan playmaker will also become a shareholder in the club. He scored 33 goals in 97 appearances for Brazil during his career.

Cipriani confirmed that Ronaldinho will not feature against Reggiana in Monday’s Serie C season opener.
Ravenna finished third in Group B of last season’s third division and are targeting a return to Serie B for the first time since 2008.

For Ronaldinho, the move marks a return to Italian football more than a decade after his stint with AC Milan between 2008 and 2011.

By Felix Umande

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, have launched investigations into the utilisation of the N12 billion Federal Government intervention fund released to the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, for players’ wages and bonuses.

A top source familiar with the matter disclosed to newsmen on Thursday that some officials linked to the fund had been invited by investigators and had made statements.
“They have been under our radar before now. We invited some officials over to our offices, and they gave their statements. Presently, they are on administrative bail. We have not ended our investigation,” the source said.

The development was contained in a letter dated August 18, 2026, signed by Onoja Joshua, Esq., on behalf of the NFF General Secretary. The letter was addressed to Cromwell & Okeke in response to a Freedom of Information request for financial records and utilisation logs of the fund.

The NFF declined to release the documents, saying the matter was already before the two anti-graft agencies.
“It is my instruction to inform you that the subject matter of the request under the Freedom of Information Act is subject of investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission,” the letter stated.
“Therefore, all documents relating to the request are before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.”
A copy of the NFF’s response was published by SaharaReporters on Thursday.

President Bola Tinubu approved the N12bn payment in January 2024, ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, to clear outstanding debts owed to Nigeria’s national teams.
According to a statement from the President’s Media Centre, the fund covered 15 months of unpaid salaries for senior national team coaches, as well as allowances and promises due to the Super Eagles, Super Falcons, and U-20 teams.

The fund was released amid repeated complaints by players over unpaid bonuses and allowances.

The probe comes at a tense time for Nigerian football. In November 2025, the Super Eagles boycotted training in Rabat, Morocco, ahead of a crucial 2026 World Cup play-off against Gabon, citing outstanding allowances dating back to 2019.

Both the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons have also failed to qualify for major tournaments, with the men missing the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, and the women missing the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, elected in September 2022 in Benin City, is seeking a second term at the federation’s elective congress scheduled for September 27. His administration has faced growing criticism over transparency and results.

Although the NFF board has denied it, there are claims that the National Sports Commission is considering stopping the elections and installing a normalisation committee to oversee Nigerian football.