Newcastle step up Champions League chase with Leicester win

Newcastle United's Italian midfielder #08 Sandro Tonali (L) vies with Leicester City's Zambian striker #20 Patson Daka (R) during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Newcastle United at King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on April 7, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 08 April 2025
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Newcastle step up Champions League chase with Leicester win

  • Fifth place will almost certainly be enough to secure a place in the Champions League next season after strong performances by English clubs in continental competition

LEICESTER, United Kingdom: Newcastle coasted to a 3-0 win over sorry Leicester on Monday to step up their Champions League charge and condemn the Foxes to an eighth straight Premier League defeat without scoring.
Eddie Howe’s men, still on a high after winning the League Cup last month, are up to fifth in the table, level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea, but with a game in hand.
Fifth place will almost certainly be enough to secure a place in the Champions League next season after strong performances by English clubs in continental competition.
But Ruud van Nistelrooy’s hapless team are heading back down to the Championship after a solitary season in the Premier League.
The visitors were 2-0 up in the 11th minute after two goals from Jacob Murphy, the second a tap-in from close range after an audacious effort from Fabian Schar hit the crossbar, and Harvey Barnes added a third before half-time.
Leicester were brighter in the second half but could not end their goal drought in the league, which stretches back to January.
The opening moments of the contest gave false hope to the long-suffering home fans as Jamie Vardy tested Nick Pope in the visitors’ goal.
Newcastle were ahead in the just second minute after Tino Livramento squared for Murphy to tap home after an attack down the left.
Minutes later time stood still as Schar, spotting goalkeeper Mads Hermansen off his line, nearly scored from his own half.
His effort cannoned off the crossbar but landed at the feet of Murphy, who was the only player to react.
The game was effectively over before half-time when former Leicester player Barnes finished from close range after Hermansen saved from Joelinton, declining to celebrate.
Van Nistelrooy introduced Stephy Mavididi and Facundo Buonanotte for Victor Kristiansen and Patson Daka at the interval and the game was more even in the second period, but Leicester struggled to make an impact.
The home fans cheered the entrance of 15-year-old Jeremy Monga late in the game as he became the second-youngest Premier League player.
Newcastle, whose fortunes have been transformed since a Saudi-funded takeover in 2021, are eyeing another season in the Champions League after exiting at the group stage in the 2023/24 campaign — after two decades away.
Howe, who led Newcastle to their first major trophy in 56 years against Liverpool at Wembley last month, has the chance to add gloss to a historic season.
But it is a tight battle — only six points separate third-placed Nottingham Forest from Aston Villa in seventh spot.
Van Nistelroy arrived at the King Power Stadium in November after a spell as interim manager at Manchester United but results have nosedived after an encouraging start.
The shock 2016 Premier League champions are almost certain to be joined in the second tier by Ipswich, who also came up last season.
Basement club Southampton are the only club whose relegation has been confirmed.


Extraordinary developments are affecting cricket’s top echelons

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Extraordinary developments are affecting cricket’s top echelons

  • Political tensions threaten to further stoke the rivalry between India’s and Pakistan’s cricket teams

Cricket’s changing landscape is generating unanticipated situations. These are occurring not just because of cricket but also because of geopolitics. These are most notable on the Asian subcontinent where increased tensions threaten to cause further fissures in the rivalry between India’s and Pakistan’s cricket teams.

The 2025 Asian Cricket Council Cup is scheduled to be held in September in T20 format, involving eight countries. These are the five full members of the ACC — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan — plus three that emerged from a qualification process. They are the UAE, Hong Kong and Oman. Teams have been divided into two groups of four, the top two teams from each group qualifying for a single-group Super Four stage. 

It has never been made clear which country or countries would host the tournament. In July 2024, the ACC’s Invitation for Expression of Interest indicated that India would be the hosts. Later reports suggested that India and Sri Lanka would be joint hosts. Now, rumours are rife that the tournament may be cancelled or switched to a neutral venue. More extreme suggestions are to expel Pakistan from the tournament and disband the ACC, replacing it with a different composition that excludes Pakistan.

Security is, of course, the overriding concern and in the current febrile atmosphere where trust between the parties is broken, this will be difficult and expensive to provide.

The Indian team’s coach, Gautam Gambhir, is reported to have said “that India should refrain from playing against Pakistan till terrorism is stopped and something is done.”

This view seems to gel with those of Rajeev Shukla, the vice president of the Board for Control of Cricket in India, who recently declared that bilateral cricket with Pakistan “would never happen.”

Currently, the prospects of the two countries playing cricket against each other are not very propitious. India’s stance is hardening by the day and the Asia Cup would appear to be in jeopardy.

Matters are made more complicated by the fact that the ACC’s current president is Mohsin Naqvi, who is also chair of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan’s interior minister. At the time of his election as ACC president in February 2022, he said that he was “committed to working with all member boards to accelerate the game’s growth and global influence, together unlocking new opportunities, fostering greater collaboration and taking Asian cricket to unprecedented heights.”

Harold Wilson, a former British prime minister, is widely credited with saying, nearly 62 years ago, that “a week is a long time in politics.” This epithet can certainly be applied to the situation in which Naqvi finds himself, given his initial aspirations.

In the past week, the already sticky relations between Pakistan and India have worsened significantly. How difficult it must be for him now to balance the presidency of the ACC with statements as interior minister about how Pakistan might react to any acts of aggression by India.

While pondering the deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan and their unfortunate impact on international cricket, I received an email from a Pakistani whom I met at the Chiang Mai International Sixes in 2023. Syed Usman Javaid led a team, called the Doosras, to play in the tournament. After talking with him, it was clear that the team was not like a usual cricket team in Pakistan. It is a community, character and leadership-building initiative that welcomes people from all backgrounds.

The trip to Thailand was the Doosras first international venture and I featured their experience in a column titled “Amateur Cricket Shows Game Can be Force for Good.” In his email, Usman informed me that, after the Thailand trip, the Doosras initiated a five-month training and fitness program for team members — with the incentive of a tour to Sri Lanka at the end. This took people who could not run 300m at a stretch to compete and complete 10-kilometer races at the Islamabad night marathon.

In 2025, the Doosras have their eyes set on Nairobi, Kenya, where they aim to take part in the Rhino Cup in June to help raise funds for Rhino preservation. This will also involve work with a local NGO to use cricket for character development, creating connections with people in Kenya and playing three one-day games. Amid all the current political wrangling on the subcontinent, it is heartening that altruistic motivations can prevail.

Some distance from the subcontinent, it was a surprise to learn of a bold move by New Zealand Cricket to become the first national governing body to invest in an overseas T20 franchise. This will be in the Major League Cricket in the United States, which is expected to expand from six to eight teams by 2027. One of these is to be launched by True North Sports Ventures, which is majority owned by MLC co-founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, the league’s former chief executive.

The investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers is among the private equity investors in the venture and NZC is a foundation investor. It will provide high-performance support and expertise, operational support and expertise in cricket infrastructure and turf management. Toronto and Atlanta have been mentioned as possible venues. If the former is chosen it would represent an expansion into a Canadian market that already has its own T20 franchise.

NZC is very conscious that it has already lost several of its leading players to franchise cricket and may be in danger of losing others. It has always punched above its weight in international cricket but a player drain would endanger that ability. The MLC initiative is a strategic move to aid the sustainability of NZC by diversifying its revenue streams, expanding its global brand and providing controlled opportunities for its players and coaches.

An expanded MLC will lead to an increase in the number of matches played and, possibly, a longer duration of the competition in an already crowded calendar. In 2025, the month-long MLC will start earlier than in the two previous editions. This is an attempt to occupy a slot between mid-June and mid-July that does not clash with The Hundred in England and Wales in August and the Caribbean Premier League between mid-August and mid- September.

In pursuing its objective of expanding the game’s reach, cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council, has chosen not to regulate or control the number of franchise leagues. At the same time, the participation of the two countries with the greatest power to attract audiences in international events is in jeopardy. In turn, this has serious implications for the ICC’s future revenue generating abilities.

In the face of the reality of challenging issues faced at the apex of cricket, it is always comforting to be reminded that, at grass roots level, the game is played and followed for the purposes of human enjoyment and development, as is the case with the Doosras.


Osaka inspired by Agassi’s comeback as she embraces clay court grind

Updated 08 May 2025
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Osaka inspired by Agassi’s comeback as she embraces clay court grind

  • “I’m okay playing on Court 16 if I have to anyways. The reason I came back wasn’t to play on center courts all the time, it’s because I really enjoy the game“
  • Osaka beat Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan 6-1 7-5 last week in the final of the L’Open 35 de Saint-Malo

Four times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said this year’s clay court swing feels different as she enters it with momentum, having picked up wins and confidence in the recent weeks.
Osaka beat Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan 6-1 7-5 last week in the final of the L’Open 35 de Saint-Malo, a WTA 125 tournament, to win her first clay-court title at any level. It was also her first WTA title since becoming a mother in July 2023.
“I wanted to rack up experience on clay. I didn’t really have too much of an ego playing that tournament,” Osaka told reporters after defeating wild card Sara Errani 6-2 6-3 in the first round of the Italian Open on Wednesday.
“I’m okay playing on Court 16 if I have to anyways. The reason I came back wasn’t to play on center courts all the time, it’s because I really enjoy the game.”
Osaka said her decision to drop down to play in Saint-Malo was inspired by American great Andre Agassi, who rebuilt his career in the late 1990s by competing on the ATP Challenger Tour.
“I remember reading (Agassi’s) book. There was a moment where... he was saying he was flipping his own scoreboards. Someone came and yelled, ‘Image is everything!’ I would say that section of the book crossed my mind more,” she said.
The former world number one has often struggled on clay, having never gone past the third round at the French Open, where she is set to feature in the main draw later this month. Osaka plays ninth seed Paula Badosa in the Italian Open on Thursday.
“I feel like clay is very strength-reliant,” Osaka said.
“It’s something that I prioritized this year and I think it’s working. I’m going to keep pushing forward that way. I’ll let you know what happens in Roland Garros.”


Bayern’s Kompany ready to catch some z’s after Bundesliga title win

Updated 08 May 2025
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Bayern’s Kompany ready to catch some z’s after Bundesliga title win

  • The Belgian, in his first season at the club, said the constant preoccupation with the next match during the season did not really allow him to really enjoy the simple pleasures

BERLIN: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany wants nothing more than a good night’s sleep after his team won the Bundesliga title last week with two matches left to play.
The Belgian, in his first season at the club, said the constant preoccupation with the next match during the season did not really allow him to really enjoy the simple pleasures.
“Sleep, really sleep,” Kompany said in a club interview when asked what he was most looking forward to after the title win.
“You constantly have the pressure of the next game. You achieve something but then you have to start building for the next achievement.”
It was by no means an easy domestic season for Bayern and Kompany, with the club facing stiff competition from last year’s champions Bayer Leverkusen, who also eliminated the Bavarians in the German Cup.
Bayern were also eliminated by Italy’s Inter Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals.
“Sometimes you have these moments with the family during the year, but then your head is somewhere else,” Kompany said.
“Now in the next few weeks I will leave some of that behind. But you can only do that after winning.”


FIFA picks 8 host cities for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil

Updated 08 May 2025
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FIFA picks 8 host cities for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil

  • Infantino: From stunning beaches to cosmopolitan cities, the world will experience the energy, color and warmth that only Brazil can offer
  • The host city selection process started in August of last year

SAO PAULO: Football’s international governing body has confirmed eight host cities for the 2027 Women’s World Cup to be held in Brazil.

FIFA announced the venues for the month-long tournament on Wednesday but hasn’t decided yet where the opening match and the final will take place.

All eight sites were among the 12 used for the men’s World Cup in 2014: Rio de Janeiro (Maracana Stadium), Sao Paulo (NeoQuimica Arena), Belo Horizonte (Mineirao Stadium), Brasília (Nacional Stadium), Fortaleza (Arena Castelao), Porto Alegre (Beira-Rio Stadium), Recife (Arena Pernambuco), and Salvador (Arena Fonte Nova).

“From stunning beaches to cosmopolitan cities, the world will experience the energy, color and warmth that only Brazil can offer,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

Some members of Brazil’s soccer confederation have said they want to hold the opening match at Sao Paulo and the final at the 78,000-seat Maracana, as it did in the 2014 World Cup.

Curitiba, Manaus and Natal, all venues for the men’s World Cup, were not included in the women’s tournament bid book. Belem was also left out.

The host city selection process started in August of last year. At the 2014 World Cup, players, fans and coaches criticized the choice of 12 host cities for a tournament that was widely spread across the country.

For this tournament, set for June 24-July 25, 2027, almost all host cities are either on the Brazilian coast or close to it, with the exception of the capital, Brasilia, and Belo Horizonte, two of the nation’s most populous cities.

Brazil will host the women’s tournament for the first time. Brazil is a five-time World Cup champion in men’s football but has never won the women’s global title.


PIF continues to transform women’s golf as title partner of revamped global series

Updated 08 May 2025
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PIF continues to transform women’s golf as title partner of revamped global series

  • Renamed PIF Global Series comprises 5 tournaments
  • $13m prize pool among highest outside of the Majors

RIYADH: Golf Saudi and the Public Investment Fund announced on Thursday a revamped global series that spans five women’s golf events on the Ladies European Tour, reinforcing the PIF’s long-term commitment to female sport.

The newly named PIF Global Series will feature the five tournaments across three continents in 2025, with each event having a novel format that features team and individual competitions.

There is a prize purse of $2 million for each of the four tournaments, among the highest in women’s golf.

The PIF Saudi Ladies International has been added to the 2025 roster of tournaments, strengthening the series’ position as a key fixture alongside the regular LET schedule and Major competitions.

The PIF Saudi Ladies International offers a prize purse of $5 million, one of the largest in women’s professional golf.

Alanoud Althonayan, head of events and sponsorships at the PIF, said the company “continues to be a catalyst for the growth of women’s sports, committed to delivering long-term transformative impact by inspiring and empowering female athletes at every level.

Noah Alireza, CEO of Golf Saudi, said: “We are humbled to have this partnership with PIF that aspires to grow the women’s game locally in Saudi Arabia and around the world.

“We have witnessed significant growth in local interest through hosting international tournaments, with over 6,000 individuals registering for our free ‘GoGolf’ lesson program.”

Alexandra Armas, CEO of the Ladies European Tour, said: “These tournaments are well-supported by our members through their end-to-end event experiences and competitive environments.

“This partnership with PIF continues to raise the level of competition and commitment to the women’s game, to ensure our players have the best possible opportunities to develop and succeed on the world stage.”

England’s Charley Hull, Golf Saudi ambassador, said: “Golf Saudi and PIF have proven to be real game changers for women’s golf, once again backing up their commitment to creating equal opportunities and raising the bar for the players.

“I love playing either as an individual or in a team, so I can’t wait to tee it up at series events throughout the year and hopefully inspire more and more young people into golf around the world.”

The five events comprising the PIF Global Series are:

PIF Saudi Ladies International: Riyadh Golf Club, Riyadh (Event was played in February and won by world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul)

Aramco Korea Championship: New Korea Country Club, Seoul, South Korea (May 9-11)

PIF Championship: Centurion Club, London (Aug. 8-10)

Aramco Houston Championship: TBC, Houston (Sept. 5-7)

Aramco Shenzhen Championship: Mission Hills, Shenzhen, China (Nov. 6-8)