List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

Jordan Nobbs has insisted England are focused on “growing the women’s game” ahead of their World Cup opener, as a discussion with the Football Association over bonuses has been paused. Asked if the uncertainty ahead of the Lionesses’ push for glory has been difficult, the midfielder replied: “I don’t think it’s difficult. I think we’ve had a lot of these conversations, probably over the last however many years, just not everything’s always seen by the public. “I think together as a team we’re pausing the conversations to obviously focus on the World Cup, but we just want to keep growing the women’s game.”

“We’ve been fighting for this for so long,” Ali Riley said, smiling through the tears. The New Zealand captain had waited more than most, winless at her four previous World Cups, part of a run that stretched back even further than that. Without a victory in 15 attempts at the tournament, New Zealand entered their own World Cup with unwanted history hanging over them. Facing Norway in their opening match, that winless run was expected to continue. How Hannah Wilkinson’s goal changed that. In a stunning upset, New Zealand altered the narrative, providing the World Cup with its first shock that will ripple not just in Group A but throughout the tournament. With a victory in their most difficult game of the group stages, New Zealand can now set their sights higher and target a place in the knockouts. They will have momentum on their side when they face Switzerland and the Philippines. Such moments can change expectations, as well as perceptions. It had been noted before kick-off that while pre-tournament excitement and buzz was palpable in Australia, particularly in Sydney ahead of the Matildas’ opening game against Ireland, in New Zealand it was far more low-key. Compared to the neighbours, New Zealand hadn’t generated the same interest in terms of tickets sold across the country. A reason for that is because Australia can win the World Cup. As hosts, they are aware of the opportunity they have to change society, as shown by England’s historic win at the Euros last summer, and are inspired by the chance to provide the country its biggest sporting moment since Cathy Freeman and the 2000 Olympics. Having an international star like Sam Kerr creates hope that such an achievement can be possible. New Zealand aren’t there yet - but they will now believe they can make that change happen, as well. “We had a clear goal that we wanted to inspire young girls, young people in this country and around the world and I think we did that tonight,” the 35-year-old Riley said. A moment such as Wilkinson’s goal, which came after a fine breakaway and cross from the forward Jacqui Hand, can be the spark, and not just for them. There are eight teams who will be making their World Cup debuts over the next week, and with the same fundamentals of organisation and commitment that New Zealand showed in restraining Norway, they too will hope to close the gap to the established nations. New Zealand had the advantage of being a host country, even if preparations for their opening match would have been disrupted by the shocking news of a mass shooting in Auckland on the morning of the tournament. But in front of a sold-out crowd of over 42,000 at Eden Park, New Zealand lived up to the role of underdog hosts superbly. For a team who had gone 10 games without a win until beating Vietnam before the World Cup, they were motivated by the occasion and upset the odds. Norway had the star quality - in Ada Hegerberg, Caroline Graham Hansen, Guro Reiten and Frida Maanum - but New Zealand believed in the collective. Riley led the way as she marked Graham Hansen out of the game - there was only one moment midway through the first half where the Barcelona star found the space to burst away, but the defender tracked it, shutting down the cross. When Norway had other half-chances, New Zealand found the blocks they needed. It’s an upset that asks questions of Norway, of course, after their shambolic group-stage exit at the Euros last summer. Hege Riise was brought in to repair the damage, but Norway were still far too open and unorganised in defence, while lacking cohesion in attack. “There have been a lot of doubters because of the results we had, but we believed,” Riley said. Now others at the World Cup will feel that too. Read More Australia relief after Women’s World Cup opener reveals significance of Sam Kerr injury Women’s World Cup teams: Every squad and key players to watch What TV channel is the Women’s World Cup on? How to watch every match New Zealand squad stayed calm after hearing of Auckland shooting Australia relief after World Cup opener reveals significance of Sam Kerr injury Women’s World Cup teams: Every squad and key players to watch

Baseball fans were left open-mouthed as a scoreboard operator displayed a harsh breakup message for a woman named “Becky” on the big screen. The display at the Colorado Rockies ballpark was meant to show pre-game notes before the match – but instead a searing message for the operator’s presumably now former partner. “Using a stethoscope to listen to the heart, cardiologists can detect narrow valves, valve leakage, and/or abnormal rhythm,” the screen read. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It added: “Don't bother asking him to check YOUR heart though, Becky. “That crushed Titanic sub has more life inside it than that collapsed troll cave you call a chest cavity.” Social media was immediately ablaze with speculation as to who Becky could be. Suzie Hunter, a Rockies reporter, said: “Whoever runs the scoreboard at Coors Field is NOT OKAY." Fox Sports MLB analyst and podcast host Ben Verlander said: “Becky. We need to talk”. “This is one hell of a way to get fired,” wrote CBS Sports baseball editor Nick Stellini. In reality, there may not even be a Becky. The Rockies have been known to run a similar message on the board before. One Twitter user posted an image of the scoreboard referencing Becky on another occasion. “Most Coloradans experience ‘Sweater Weather’ up to six months of the year, starting in early September. “Except my ex-girlfriend, who probably needs a cardigan year-round because of her ice cube of a heart. Seriously, Becky... your insides are so frozen, at this point you should just change your name to Elsa.” Meanwhile, Baseball Twitter account Eephus Tosser posted four other instances of more-than-suspect “game notes”. “Moving at a normal pace, it would take 125 hours to walk 500 miles (and another 125 hours to walk 500 more). Baby, I love you, but I'll just go ahead and hop that Southwest flight to Calgary. XXOOXO,” read one message referencing the famous Proclaimers song. Another one said: “Humans spend about half their waking hours thinking about something other than what they're actually doing in the present. Some methods to pull yourself back into the here & now: -Breathe -Meditate -Do something physical - Just go ahead and check the hockey score, then get back to your Elvis Shake.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Australia got off to a winning start at the Women’s World Cup by beating Ireland 1-0 despite the absence of star striker Sam Kerr

Two people were killed and multiple injured in a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, just hours ahead of the opening match of the Fifa Women’s World Cup match. A gunman, 24, stormed into a high-rise construction site at 1 Queen Street in downtown Auckland on Thursday morning, around 7.20am local time. The man, who is believed to be a construction worker at the site, entered the building armed with a pump-action shotgun and moved through the building, firing bullets. After reaching the upper levels, he contained himself within an elevator shaft, where he fired more shots before being found dead a short time later. An officer was injured in the shooting, as well as four members of the public. Security was boosted before the opening Women’s World Cup game after the shooting which took place near the hotel of the Norwegian team, who were scheduled to play in the opening match later on the same day. Auckland has welcomed thousands of international players and tourists for the ninth Women’s World Cup which is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. On Thursday, New Zealand was taking on Norway in the opening. Officials from Eden Park, where the game is being played after an opening ceremony for the tournament, encouraged fans to arrive at the stadium early. “There will be an increased security presence within the precinct and across the venue. Additional traffic management measures are in place,” Eden Park said. Several players took to social media to report they were safe. “All seems calm, and we are preparing as normal for the match tonight,” Norway captain Maren Mjelde told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang during the police operation. Italy and the US team’s training was delayed as players could not get out of their hotel. A US Soccer spokesperson said the American players were just getting up for breakfast inside the hotel when the incident occurred. “Our security sort of immediately liaised with the local authorities and Department of State. We determined immediately that everybody was safe and accounted for and from then on we just had to wait it out,” Aaron Heifetz told reporters. Douglas Emhoff, the husband of US vice president Kamala Harris who is leading the presidential delegation to New Zealand for the opening ceremony of the World Cup, is safe, the US embassy said. Prime minister Chris Hipkins said the soccer tournament would proceed as planned, adding the shooting appeared to be the actions of an individual and that police were not seeking anyone else in relation to the incident. “There was no identified political or ideological motivation for the shooting and therefore no national security risk,” Mr Hipkins said during a televised media briefing. There would be no change to New Zealand’s security threat level although there would be an increased police presence in the city, he said. “Obviously we would prefer it not to have started in this way,” Mr Hipkins told journalists later in the day. “It will be acknowledged what happened today at the opening ceremony. And I will be going, it is safe to go and we continue to encourage the whole community to get behind this,” he said. Additional reporting by agencies. Read More Women’s World Cup 2023 LIVE: New Zealand stun Norway as Sam Kerr ruled out of Australia opener New Zealand shooting: Armed police guard construction site where gunman killed two Women’s World Cup opener ‘proceeds as planned’ despite fatal Auckland shooting Women's World Cup team from Philippines has American flavor Women’s World Cup to ‘proceed as planned’ after shooting in Auckland Cases of anti-Muslim hate ‘have more than doubled’ in a decade

Amnesty International has called on Jordan Henderson to speak out against human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia after Liverpool agreed a deal to sell their captain to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq. The 33-year-old has reportedly reached a verbal agreement on a contract worth £700,000 a week, with the clubs having agreed a £12million fee, the PA news agency understands. He would be joining up with former Reds teammate Steven Gerrard, who was appointed manager earlier this month. LGBT+ groups have warned the England midfielder that his reputation as an ally to the community could be irreparably damaged if he accepts the offer, having previously been a vocal proponent of inclusivity in the game. Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, while the state stands accused of a host of other abuses including placing harsh restrictions on women’s rights and the right to political protest. Critics including Amnesty have claimed that the regime of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman seeks to ‘sportswash’ the country’s international reputation by luring world football stars to the Pro League, with Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo amongst the most prominent players to have moved. “Coming shortly after Steven Gerrard’s move to Al-Ettifaq, this looks very much like more Saudi sportswashing as huge amounts of Saudi wealth continues to pour into the purchase of star players, new events and even the acquisition of entire clubs,” said Amnesty’s UK economic affairs director, Peter Frankental. “With every major signing Saudi Arabia is seemingly ratcheting up its sportswashing effort, with the overall strategy apparently one where Mohammed Bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia is increasingly associated with sport and entertainment, not repression and human rights abuse. “While Saudi sportswashing gathers pace, there’s been a sustained human rights crackdown in the country, with peaceful activists intimidated and jailed, as many as 196 people executed last year alone, and (dissident journalist) Jamal Khashoggi’s sickening murder covered up. “Jordan Henderson is of course free to play for whoever he chooses, but we would urge him to examine Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and be prepared to speak out about human rights violations in the country.” Henderson has been in Germany on Liverpool’s pre-season tour but was left out of the squad for Wednesday’s friendly against Karlsruhe. A deal is also believed to be close for midfielder Fabinho to join Pro League side Al Ittihad as the exodus of Premier League players moving to the country continues. Chelsea have sold three players this summer to Saudi clubs, with N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy having left west London, whilst a £30m deal was agreed on Wednesday for Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez to join Al-Ahli for. Frankental added: “On the one hand it would be deeply concerning if sporting figures like Henderson were expected to read from a script praising Saudi Arabia as part of their contractual commitments, but the real onus is on FIFA and other sporting bodies to ensure that Saudi Arabia’s growing involvement in sport doesn’t involve human rights violations. “If, as rumoured, we end up with a Saudi bid to host the World Cup in the 2030s FIFA must rigorously assess any bid according to proper human rights criteria, and we would urge FIFA to consider Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing as part of this assessment.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Gold Coast mayor says city is ready to host 2026 Commonwealth Games Amateur champion Christo Lamprecht makes bright start on his Open debut Jack Welsby says St Helens are ready for ‘biggest game of the season’

For a nation more than 7,000 miles from the United States, the Philippines boasts a women’s national soccer team with a decidedly American feel

The owner of Fulham Football Club’s owner has slammed the Saudi Arabian regime for throwing money at buying some of the world’s top footballers. Tony Khan, whose family bought the club in 2013 and who is also vice chairman, said: “It's amazing. I think, if you have enough money, you can get away with anything, including murder, and try to sign up all the top players in the world. “Certainly, they have approached a lot of great players. I'm very interested to see where this goes. For us, we’re definitely committed to keeping our top stars. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “We have a great team, we had a great season, one of the best seasons in the history of Fulham, and I'm really excited about this upcoming season.” Fulham owner, GM Tony Khan talks Transfer Day and the Jaguars' reshaped roster | NBC Sports Chicago www.youtube.com In 2018 Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident journalist, was assassinated. He entered the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey, but never came back out. US intelligence agencies concluded in 2021 that the Saudi government was behind the killing. Since then, oil-rich Saudi Arabia has cranked up the spending on football, partly via its state investment vehicle, the Public Investment Fund, which has taken over four clubs. Human rights groups including Grant Liberty have described the new strategy as “sportswashing”, a bid to use global sport to launder its reputation as the kingdom seeks to increase its soft power abroad. Players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, Ruben Neves and Jordan Henderson have agreed to move to the Saudi league in the last year, with the latter four leaving as part of a flurry of transfers into the country at the end of this football season. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has dipped into other sports too. The country partnered with WWE (Khan owns rival wrestling company AEW) for multiple shows last year, carried out an audacious takeover of the governing body of golf by launching the new LIV tour, and has hosted major Formula One events. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Boxer and OnlyFans model Daniella Hemsley will not take part in this week’s Kingpyn Boxing final after being barred for her topless celebration. However, the 22-year-old has released a statement denying she had been banned and claiming that she stepped down voluntarily. Hemsley flashed the crowd after winning her first boxing match over the weekend and faced criticism for doing so. Now, The Sun reports that Hemsley will not take part in the next stage of the competition. Kingpyn Boxing reportedly faced a statement that reads: "As we strive to bring fans the best influencer boxing events possible, we accept that Saturday’s post-fight incident may have offended some viewers and appreciate that this incident didn’t meet the standards expected from Kingpyn fight nights. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “We apologize fully to anyone upset during the broadcast. The fighter involved in the incident will not be appearing in the Final event.” Hemsley fought Ms Danielka, also known as Aleksandra Ola Daniel, on Saturday (July 15). After securing the win, Hemsley exposed her breasts inside the ring during the live TV coverage. Speaking after the fight, Hemsley claimed she had permission to do so. Speaking to Alpha Plug, she said: “I got approval from the promoter, and I was only going to do it if I won, and I did and I got over-excited, and yeah, why not?” Hemsley later wrote on Instagram: "I DID IT! Ola definitely didn’t have a walk in the park (her words), but Big respect, that was true WAR! "I also apologies [sic] to anyone who may have felt offended by my excitement, I did actually have tassels on but the sweat stuck them to my bra lol." She has since denied that she has been banned, posting on Instagram: “I just want to personally address the current media speculation. I am NOT banned from Kingpyn, I have made a choice to step down from the Finals fight to take some time away from the heavy training camps, recover some [injuries] and work on my business. “This is only the beginning of my boxing journey and I plan to be back and fighting again in the Autumn/Winter. “I adore all of my fans and thank you for all of the support and love. I see you all x x.” Promoter Eddie Hearn was one of the figures to criticise Hemsley, claiming that her actions had set women’s sport back years. “Unfortunately, we now live in a world where role models, or influencers, are not necessarily doing things that the older generation, which I class myself as, or parents would want your kids to see or think is acceptable,” he told Boxing Social. "I F**KING HATE IT!" - Eddie Hearn GOES MENTAL on Kingpyn Incident, Baumgardner & Matchroom Schedule www.youtube.com Daniella says she was given permission before the bout to do her celebration. Speaking to Alpha Plug after the fight, she said: “I got approval from the promoter, and I was only going to do it if I won, and I did and I got over-excited, and yeah, why not?” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The first professional franchise cricket league in the United States has been launched this month

A new U.S. pro cricket league has made its debut in Texas

Lionel Messi will make his Inter Miami debut Friday at DRV PNK Stadium, ushering in the next chapter of his career