UEFA is set to close a loophole on Wednesday allowing clubs to spread the cost of big transfer fees over lengthy contracts. Chelsea have caught the eye over the last two transfer windows by signing players on long deals, including £107million January recruit Enzo Fernandez on an eight-and-a-half-year contract. The Blues have done so in order to spread the cost of the transfer fee over a greater period of time and comply with UEFA’s financial regulations, something which is currently permitted. However, it is understood UEFA’s executive committee will update the regulations when it meets on Wednesday. It is expected there will be no limit on the length of a contract, but the cost of any transfer fee will have to be spread over a maximum of five years. The PA news agency understands the Exco will not re-examine UEFA’s policies on multi-club ownership when it meets this week, despite it becoming an increasingly contentious and controversial issue in the game. However, UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) is meeting this week to examine individual cases where there could be a conflict under existing multi-club ownership rules in its competitions next season. PA understands the CFCB is looking at Brighton and Belgian club Union St Gilloise, who have each qualified for next season’s Europa League and are both owned by Tony Bloom, and also Toulouse and AC Milan, who are owned by US-based investment firm RedBird Capital. A decision from the CFCB is expected towards the end of the week. Away from financial matters, the Exco will decide on which venue will host the 2025 Women’s Champions League final. The Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon is understood to be up against the Vodafone Stadium in Istanbul for the right to host. The 2024 and 2025 Europa Conference League final hosts will also be decided. The OPAP Arena, home to AEK Athens, is expected to host one of them while the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland, will stage the other. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Former Australia international Christian Leali’ifano will start at flyhalf for Samoa when it opens its Rugby World Cup campaign against Chile in Bordeaux on Saturday

Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino confirmed Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi will not feature against Orlando City on Sunday, after suffering setbacks to previous injuries during Wednesday’s match vs Toronto FC.

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Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix following Saturday’s rain-hit qualifying session in Montreal. Verstappen has won five of the opening seven rounds and even a wet-dry-wet track in Montreal could not slow the Dutchman down. Nico Hulkenberg took advantage of the sodden track to take second spot for Haas, 1.2 seconds behind Verstappen, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third. Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell in the other Mercedes, while Lando Norris claimed seventh for McLaren. Verstappen has been in a class of one this year and the Red Bull man kept his composure in changeable conditions to take an impressive pole. Verstappen was quickest out of the marks in Q3 before Oscar Piastri’s shunt on the exit of the second corner led to a red flag. The session was delayed for eight minutes and – with the intensity of the rain increasing – no one would threaten Verstappen’s time. Hamilton had briefly held third spot, but the seven-time world champion was usurped by Hulkenberg just as the red flag arrived for Piastri’s collision with the wall. Sergio Perez’s string of poor races continued after he was eliminated in Q2 and starts Sunday’s round from 12th place. Perez, who trails team-mate Verstappen by 53 points, started last in Monaco after he crashed out of qualifying and then was only 11th on the grid last time out in Spain. Here, the Mexican again begins a race outside of the top 10 after he failed to get a clean lap together and faces losing even further ground to Verstappen. On an afternoon of surprise results, Charles Leclerc was also knocked out in Q2. The Monegasque, who, too, performed badly in Barcelona – qualifying 19th and taking the chequered flag in 11th – was denied an early switch by Ferrari to dry rubber. When the brief changeover to slicks arrived, Leclerc could not do enough to progress to Q3, yelling in frustration over the radio. “The tyres are not ready,” he said. “Come on!” Earlier, qualifying was red-flagged after a handful of minutes when Zhou Guanyu temporally broke down in his Alfa Romeo. The Chinese driver managed to get going again, limping back to the pits, with the session restarted after a seven-minute suspension. Zhou was able to continue in Q1, but he finished 20th and last. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian Grand Prix finally gets started Max Verstappen closes in on ‘amazing achievement’ of matching Ayrton Senna Lewis Hamilton plays down talk of imminent new Mercedes deal

Left-hander Blake Snell lowered his major league-leading ERA from 2.60 to 2.50 and struck out eight in six scoreless innings as the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 6-1

The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has showcased the strides made in women's football on the field in recent years -- while exposing the lack of woman coaches...

Barcelona are potentially without one of their most important players for Real Madrid clash next month.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists there will be no stopping as the club continue to grow their global influence. The Premier League and European champions sit at the heart of a worldwide network of 13 clubs known as the City Football Group. As well as City, the CFG operates clubs in locations including New York, Melbourne and Yokohama, and this year brought Brazilian outfit Bahia into the fold. CFG intends to invest considerably in all of those operations, including players, coaches, facilities and academies. Khaldoon told the club’s media channels: “It’s always about growth. You grow, you pause, you get things in order, and then you start the next step, one step at a time. We’re not going to stop. “We’re going to keep going and we’re going to keep investing and we’re going to keep growing value, and we’re going to keep bringing happiness to every community and every club we have in the world, and hopefully we’ll keep bringing success in every club and team we have around the world. “It’s been a great journey over the last 15 years but I’m excited about the future and it’s about now, the next 10, 15 years too.” Manchester City have been the greatest success story having won seven Premier League titles since 2012 and this year they became only the second English side to win the treble. The club’s latest new infrastructure project is now in the pipeline with plans recently submitted to increase capacity at the Etihad Stadium to more than 60,000. The expansion is part of a £300million development which also includes the construction of a hotel, shops and food and drink outlets as well as a new 3,000-capacity covered fan zone. Khaldoon says it will also not be the last improvement at the stadium. “It’s very exciting,” he said. “Every year there’s always something new, every year, because there’s always a need to improve and evolve and grow. We don’t stand still. We never stood still. “Every couple of years we will do something, whether it’s the Tunnel Club, whether it’s the new stands, whether it’s the seating. “And now we’re going to have a wonderful, wonderful development around it that’s going to just enhance the whole area, is going to be great for the fans and it’s going to bring, I think, positive revenue for the club. “We’re always in growth mode, we’re never in contentment and pause and ‘let’s just milk the asset’. “This is about building value and growing value, and it’s about reinvesting consistently into this club.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Heavy rain set to delay start of final day of first Ashes Test England’s Lauren Bell raring to go in Ashes opener after ‘special’ Test debut Alice Capsey and Alice Davidson-Richards released from England Test squad

The modern era for Las Vegas sports begins when the NHL awarded the city an expansion franchise in 2016

Not a great look.

Rugby Australia face the daunting task of finding a new Wallabies coach after their disastrous experiment with Eddie Jones...