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• Spain's Williams pledges to fight racism as lifetime goal

  Nico Williams holds fighting against racism as his sole lifetime goal amid continued issues with such abuse in Spain.

  The Athletic Bilbao forward was subject to racial abuse away to Atletico Madrid last season, leading Spain's footballing authorities to force a partial closure of their south stand for two matches.

  Vinicius Junior has suffered similar targeting for Atletico's fierce rivals Real Madrid, with the Brazilian suggesting Spain should be stripped of the honour in hosting the 2030 World Cup unless progress is made.

  The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has attempted numerous anti-racism measures in an effort to clamp down on the issue, while Spanish court made history by issuing the first criminal conviction for racial insults in a football stadium in June.

  Williams will not be satisfied until the abuse is erased entirely, however, as the Spain winger – whose brother Inaki plays for Ghana and alongside him at club level – pledged to continue in the much-needed fight.

  "My brother and I, as black people, have an important task in this life, which is the fight against racism," Williams said in an interview with Spanish media outlet El Mundo.

  "It's my number one goal. As a public figure, in order to contribute to that fight, I cannot be sidetracked or become a freak and not have my feet on the ground."

  The issues remain prevalent in Spain – a Mallorca fan was issued a 12-month suspended prison sentence for racially insulting Vinicius and Villarreal's Samuel Chukwueze in September. 

  "I think that Spain is moving forward on the right path and we must continue like this. I am very happy to see that progress is being made," Williams added.

  "There are always people who try to sell another image of immigrants, but they are a minority."

  Williams attracted attention from Barcelona and a host of European giants after playing a decisive role in Spain's victory at Euro 2024. 

  The 22-year-old believes his efforts with the national team embody a multicultural Spain, having been born in the country to Ghanaian parents, with his brother Inaki opting to play for his home country.

  "It is important to make everyone aware that many people come to Spain to earn their bread, to try to achieve a future that they do not have in their countries and to give a better life to their children," he continued.

  "My family did that journey. I am going to try to do everything in my power so that these people can have a better life."

• St. Benedict’s College strengthens lead atop SSFL Premier Division to six points after 2-0 win over East Mucurapo Secondary

  A brace from captain Derrel Garcia propelled ten-man St Benedict's College to a 2-0 victory over East Mucurapo Secondary School to strengthen their lead atop the Premier Division of the Secondary Schools Football League at the Queen’s Royal College Ground, Serpentine Road, Port-of-Spain on Saturday. 

  Garcia’s first goal came in the 59th minute as he quickly latched on to a Cam'Ron Burke pass before unleashing a right-footed shot from 20-yards out that beat Mucurapo goalkeeper Orlando Francis. 

  The former Trinidad & Tobago youth player got his second goal of the game nine minutes from full time with a brilliantly placed strike from just outside the box after beating two defenders.

  The win instead ensured that St. Benedict's College maintained a six-point advantage at the top while defending champions Fatima College played to 2-2 draw with Speyside at their home ground on Mucurapo Road, Port-of-Spain. 

  The other results on Saturday were as follows:

  Malick Secondary 1-3 Presentation College

  Fatima College 2-2 Speyside Secondary

  Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High 1-1 Signal Hill Secondary

  Naparima College 2-0 St Mary's College

  St Anthony's College 4-1 Queen’s Royal College

  St Augustine Secondary 1-1 San Juan North Secondary

  Trinity College 1-1 Arima North Secondary

  St. Benedict’s lead the 16-team table with 28 points from 10 games, six ahead of Presentation in second and eight ahead of defending champions Fatima College in third.

  St. Anthony’s and Arima North close out the top five with 18 points each while the top 10 is rounded out by Naparima (15 points), St. Augustine (14 points), QRC (13 points), Malick (11 points) and San Juan North (10 points).

  St. Mary’s (10 points), Signal Hill (9 points), Trinity East (7 points), Speyside (6 points), East Mucurapo (6 points) and Miracle Ministries (4 points) round out the points standings.

• Clarke aiming to prove Scotland doubters wrong against in-form Portugal

  Steve Clarke is aiming to prove the doubters wrong when Scotland welcome Portugal to Hampden Park in their Nations League clash on Tuesday. 

  Scotland sit bottom of Group A1 after losing all three of their matches in the competition, the latest of which came in a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Zagreb. 

  The loss saw Clarke's side extend their longest winless run in competitive matches in their history to nine (D3 L6), while they have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in five years.

  Scotland's recent run of form includes their dismal showing at Euro 2024, as they failed to reach the knockout stages for a sixth time at a major tournament, picking up just one point from their three games in Germany, though Clarke remains optimistic.

  "It's a tough moment, no doubt about it, but we believe in ourselves," Clarke told BBC Sport.

  "After 20 years in the international wilderness, this group has got to two major tournaments and been promoted to the top level of the Nations League, so I don't understand why there would be doubts.

  "We have to believe in what we are doing and when I look at the players on the pitch, I believe in what we're doing.

  "The players understand where we are in the process, and they are ready to go again.

  "They understand that we are playing difficult opponents, and they understand the squad could be stronger.

  "I don't speak about that too much, since we have to concentrate on who we have here.

  "We have to go out against Portugal, and we know we have to be good at everything we do in the game."

  But in aiming to rediscover that winning feeling, they face an uphill task against a Portugal side who have won each of their last seven competitive away games by an aggregate score of 22-1.

  Scotland have also lost each of their last four matches against the Selecao, with the Scots only currently on a longer run of defeats against Belgium and Brazil (both six). 

  But one positive from their display against Croatia was the performance of Ben Doak.

  At 18 years and 336 days old, Doak became the youngest player to start a competitive match for Scotland since Willie Johnston against Poland in 1965 (18 years and 298 days) against Croatia.

  However, Clarke stressed the importance of not piling too much pressure onto the youngster's shoulders so early into his international career. 

  "We're already starting to grow the next generation of players," Clarke said.

  "As well as trying to be good now, I’m trying to leave a group who are ready to carry on. We don't want 20 years after this group without the success we all want.

  "We want Ben to be a talent for the next 15 years, not 15 months, so don't put too much pressure on him.

  "He's a young man, he will make mistakes in the game, he will do really good things in the game.

  "We need to get the balance right between giving Ben the opportunity to play, which he's more than capable of taking, and protecting him a bit, make sure we don't overhype."