Sports

Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco, December 20, 2025. ABDELHAK BALHAKI / REUTERS Morocco carries a huge weight of expectation into their opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday, December 21, as the hosts, with star man Achraf Hakimi returning from injury, aim to see off stiff competition to claim continental glory. Senegal, reigning champions Côte d'Ivoire, Mohamed Salah's Egypt and a Nigeria side led by Victor Osimhen are among the biggest rivals for Morocco at the AFCON, which runs into the New Year with the final on January 18. Morocco, Africa's best team in the FIFA rankings in 11th place, kick off the tournament on Sunday at 7 pm GMT against minnows Comoros at the new 69,000-seat Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in ...

On the streets of Rabat, the capital of Morocco, on December 20, 2025, the eve of the opening of the Africa Cup of Nations. ABDEL MAJID BZIOUAT / AFP For the past six weeks, one question has been on the mind of every Moroccan supporter: Will Achraf Hakimi, who injured his ankle on November 4 during a Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, recover in time for the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) against Comoros on Sunday, December 21? "I feel ready, I did everything to be here," said the captain of the Atlas Lions, Morocco's national team, on the eve of the match at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat. "Whether I play or not, the most important thing is for Morocco to win." Seated next to him, he...

NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at a press conference at the Emirates NBA Cup Final, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on Dec 16, 2025. KIRBY LEE / IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS CONNECT The NBA and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced, on Monday, December 22, that they would begin prospecting teams and owners as part of their project of creating a pan-European men's basketball league. The two bodies said, in a statement, that they would "in January move forward in their joint exploration" of creating a new professional league in Europe by "engaging prospective teams and ownership groups in the process to join." "Our conversations with various stakeholders in Europe have reinforced our belief that an enormous opportuni...

Kylian Mbappé in Paris, on November 12, 2025. FRANCK FIFE / AFP Paris Saint-Germain were ordered to pay their former forward Kylian Mbappé up to €61 million in unpaid wages and bonuses by a French labor court on Tuesday, December 16. France captain Mbappé, who left PSG in June 2024 to join Real Madrid, had been claiming over €260 million in total from his former club. PSG in turn had demanded Mbappé pay them €440 million. Mbappé, 26, also claimed the Parisian club applied the wrong French legal classification to his contract, but that was rejected by the court. Read more Subscribers only Mbappé drops criminal complaint against PSG as talks take place behind the scenes The labor court said the final...

Chief Tournament Officer Manolo Zubiria, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and host Andres Cantor during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match schedule announcement, on December 6, 2025. JEENAH MOON / REUTERS World Cup organizers on Tuesday, December 16, announced a cheaper category of tickets after sustained criticism of the prices at the 2026 competition in the United States, Canada and Mexico. FIFA, the governing body of world football, said, in a statement, that it had created "Supporter Entry Tier" tickets fixed at $60 for all 104 matches, including the final. It said the plan was "designed to further support traveling fans following their national teams across the tournament." FIFA said that the $60 (€51) tickets would be reserved for fans of qual...

PSG's players celebrate on the podium after winning the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup final football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and CR Flamengo at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan on the outskirts of Doha on December 17, 2025. KARIM JAAFAR / AFP Back-up goalkeeper Matvei Safonov saved four penalties as Paris Saint-Germain edged out Brazilians Flamengo 2-1 in a shoot-out to win the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final in Qatar on Wednesday, December 17. PSG led through Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before Jorginho's spot-kick leveled for Flamengo as the game finished 1-1 after extra time. Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo defeated Mexicans Cruz Azul and African champions Pyramids last week to earn the right to face PSG and pushed the Eu...

Russian Timur Arbuzov (in white) and Japanese Kaito Amano (in blue) at the Grand Slam in Tokyo, December 7, 2025. TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP On the sporting stage, Russia has racked up meaningful wins, engaging in one of Vladimir Putin's favorite arenas: the geopolitics of soft power. Amid negotiations with Washington over a hypothetical "peace agreement" with Kyiv, the Russian leader seeks, away from politics, to end Russia's isolation and the Western sanctions imposed on Moscow after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Nearly four years later, this normalization is playing out through sports. "In this area as elsewhere, the Kremlin now goes beyond soft power and is resorting to 'sharp power': targeting the opposing camp to infiltrate informal spaces and spre...

The yard lines were freshly painted, and Y-shaped goalposts had just replaced the netted goals used for soccer, as it is called here. Dozens of people bustled in the corridors of Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz stadium, a logistical marvel whose roof opens like a camera shutter. The stadium was being transformed into the colors of the Falcons for Sunday Night Football, the weekly showcase of American football. Atlanta United FC also calls the stadium home, but here in the Deep South of the United States, touchdowns reliably draw more excitement than goals. In the hearts of Atlanta fans, Atlanta United still trails the city's big three: the Falcons, the Braves (baseball) and the Hawks (basketball). Many residents would even put college football – a local religion – at the very top. ...

McLaren's Lando Norris at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on December 7, 2025. JAKUB PORZYCKI / REUTERS Lando Norris claimed his first Formula One world drivers' title in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, December 7, ending Max Verstappen's four-year reign. The Briton finished third in the season-closer behind race winner Verstappen and the other title challenger, McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, to claim the crown by two points. After crossing the line his team engineer told him: "That's it mate, you are world champion, world champion!" "Thank you guys, you made a kid's dream come true," he replied. "I haven't cried in awhile, I didn't think I would cry but I did," Norris said on the podium in the desert night at ...

FIFA president Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump at the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw in Washington, December 5, 2025. EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS It was a moment so far beyond parody or satire that it was impossible to laugh. FIFA president Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump turned the 2026 World Cup draw, held in Washington, DC on Friday, December 4, into a spectacle for their own glorification. More than the make-up of the tournament's 12 groups, what stood out was Infantino presenting Trump with a "peace prize" – a staggering display of servility from the head of world football toward a head of state. On social media, Infantino wrote that Trump was being awarded "for his unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity throughout the ...