COVENTRY, England (AP) — Switzerland defender Aurèle Amenda came home from the World Cup to sign for newly promoted Premier League club Coventry on Thursday.
Coventry said the 22-year-old Amenda signed a four-year contract without stating the transfer fee paid to Eintracht Frankfurt, which was reportedly 18 million euros ($20.6 million).
Amenda has played seven times for Switzerland though did not get called from the bench during the team's impressive run to the World Cup quarterfinals. Switzerland lost to Argentina 3-1 after extra time.
Amenda helped Young Boys win Swiss league titles in 2023 and '24 before moving to Frankfurt, where he played in five Champions League games last season.
Coventry won the second-tier English Championship last season coached by former Chelsea great Frank Lampard and will play in the Premier League for the first time since 2001.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Switzerland's Aurele Amenda arrives for the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Argentina and Switzerland in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The start time for the MLB game between the New York Mets and the Phillies on Thursday in Philadelphia was moved up an hour due to air quality concerns because of wildfire smoke from Canada and northern Minnesota, and an MLS game in Chicago was postponed.
Heavy, pungent wildfire smoke darkened skies in the U.S. from the Great Lakes to parts of the East Coast, reducing visibility and prompting warnings that breathing the air outside could be dangerous.
Officials in many cities urged residents to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. The National Weather Service said a lingering high pressure system has trapped the smoke close to the ground.
The Philadelphia region is experiencing smoky and hazy skies. The game's start was moved to 6:10 p.m. EDT from 7:10 p.m. It is the only game on the big league schedule coming out of this week's All-Star break.
This is the second time wildfire smoke has affected a game in Philadelphia. In June 2023, a game between Detroit and Philadelphia was postponed due to poor air quality related to smoke from Canadian wildfires.
Poor air quality due to wildfire smoke also forced the Major League Soccer game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Fire at Chicago's Soldier Field, along with a scheduled postgame concert, to be postponed. The game, which was expected to draw 40,000, will be made up on Oct. 6.
Trinity Rodman, a member of the U.S. women's national team, said the smokey sky was difficult to deal with during Wednesday night's NWSL game between the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC at New York's Citi Field.
Rodman said she wasn't a fan of the hydration breaks every 15 minutes in the game as the temperature reached into the 90s.
“Air quality was rough,” Rodman was quoted as saying by The Athletic. “Not to make excuses at all, but I think on both sides we were all like, ‘another break, another break, another break.’”
A crowd of more than 42,000 attended the rematch of teams in last season's NWSL title game. The crowd was a record for a women’s sporting event in New York City.
“If we have to have a hydration break every 15 minutes, then we shouldn’t be playing the game, and that’s my opinion,” Rodman said. “But at the end of the day, there’s 40,000 people. It’s a whole event, so it’s really tough. It’s just a really hard situation for everyone to work around.”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
People wear masks as they walk on the street during poor air quality due to dense smoke from Canadian wildfires in Evanston, Ill., Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A general view of a street in Northbrook, Ill., during poor air quality due to dense smoke from Canadian wildfires in Northbrook, Ill., Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A general view of street mall during poor air quality due to dense smoke from Canadian wildfires in Glenview, Ill., Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) CORRECTION: Glenview, not Northbrook
