Sports

With determination, pace, and four beautifully crafted goals, Germany's women won its friendly against Australia, thrilling not only the fans but also head coach Christian Wück. "You can see how fired up the girls are, how well they're already playing together, and that we have an incredible amount of talent on the field and on the bench," said a delighted Wück after his team's well-deserved 4-2 victory. Since there were several notable absences, including captain Giulia Gwinn and top scorer Lea Schüller, others had to step up and fill the gaps. And they did so with flying colors. Melissa Kössler made a strong case for herself as a striker by scoring her first two international goals. Center back Camilla Küver and Sjoeke Nüsken were also on the scoresheet. Mahmutovic seizes her chance...

At first glance, women's football is healthier than ever. A recent report by FIFPRO, football's global players' union, said worldwide revenue is expected to reach over $1bn (€894m) in 2027. The World Cup in Brazil, a first in South America, will be the last with 32 teams and is expected to be the most watched and biggest revenue-generating women's tournament ever. The good news continues with the U17 Women's World Cup in Morocco, where the tournament is being held every year for five straight years. Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, the United States and defending champions North Korea are all at the 2026 edition of a competition whose reputation continues to grow. "You can just see where the game is going, which is so exciting," US head coach Ciara Crinion told FIFA. "The level has just g...

For the last two years, the possibility of Formula 1 returning to Africa has looked more and more likely. With public and private support from star driver Lewis Hamilton and a growing fan base on the continent, the continued omission of Africa from motorsport's premium product looks increasingly unsustainable. After attempts to bring the sport back to the last location of a race in Africa –  the Kyalami racetrack in Johannesburg, South Africa –  failed, the wait continues. However, a recent meeting between South African Minister of Sports and Recreation Gayton McKenzie and Formula 1 Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali has reignited the belief that Africa will again have a race sooner rather than later. Money an issue, but not the only one The hefty contract fees required to host an F1 ...

After nearly 40 years of false starts, motor racing's premier sport is returning to Africa, after Formula 1 announced on Tuesday that Rwanda would soon host a Grand Prix. The race will be know as the African Grand Prix after a 10-year contract was signed between the parties. With no suitable track ready, Rwanda will build one in Bugesera, southeast of the capital Kigali. F1 said it will be ready "early in the next decade." The last time F1 raced in Africa was the South African Grand Prix in 1993. While there has since been plenty of talk of the sport returning to the continent, most often South Africa itself, nothing concrete had happened, until now. A race in every continent "Today is a landmark moment for Formula 1," F1 President and chief executive Stefano Domenicali said. "With Rwa...

It is a milestone, but it also has a bit of an aftertaste – due to Saudi Arabia's involvement. Professional women's tennis players are now eligible for paid maternity leave for up to 12 months. Those who have a child through surrogacy, adoption or the pregnancy of a partner is entitled to two months' maternity leave. In addition, allowances for fertility treatment are possible. The program announced by the World Tennis Association (WTA) applies retroactively from January 1 to more than 320 female players. It is "the first time in women's sports history that comprehensive maternity benefits are available to independent, self-employed athletes," the WTA announced. The prerequisite is that they have played a certain number of WTA tournaments within a certain time window. The WTA did not pr...

It was billed as "the most unique stadium in the world," a key pillar of Saudi Arabia's World Cup 2034 plans. But now Neom Stadium, part of the kingdom's ambitious aims to build a 170-kilometer-long (111miles) city in the desert known as The Line, looks set to be scrapped, with the broader project scaled back significantly. A recent Reuters report said the stadium, which according to the country's bid book was going to be "350 meters (1,148 feet) above ground" and have "stunning vistas, and a roof created from the city itself," would no longer be built for the tournament, where it was to host a quarterfinal and several other games. Observers of the gulf country saw this coming. "When I was in Saudi Arabia in December there were already plenty of signals that the whole Neom project was b...

They are the two players who have defined the last two decades. As football became ever more popular, commercial and dominant in the cultural and sporting landscape, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi remained its twin peaks. Along with that has come endless social media posts, stories and discussions about who is better. Does Messi's World Cup and two Copa America titles with Argentina trump Ronaldo's Euro 2016 win and two Nations League titles? Or does the Portuguese's greater number of goals mean more? How about their club honors? It is, essentially, a subjective argument and not one that can ever be resolved. It remains to be seen whether that's also true of the public spat between Ronaldo and his Portugal coach Jorge Jesus. On Tuesday, Messi scored a 126th goal in his 208th game fo...

Munich's bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics will be up against at least six candidates from Europe, Asia, and Africa. On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that, in addition to Germany, Hungary, Turkey, India, Qatar, South Korea, and South Africa all intend to bid for the Games. All are currently engaged in the "Continuous Dialogue" stage of the bidding process with the IOC. However, there could be further applicants, as the deadline for interested parties to submit a bid is October 31. The candidates are to present their plans virtually to the Future Host Commission in November. In March 2027, the IOC is to deliberate, analyze, and narrow down the field of applicants to a group selected to enter into the Strategic Dialogue stage. A subsequent Targeted Dialogue st...

Four games, three goals, two draws, one loss and one win. Jürgen Klopp would have hoped for better results from his first international break as Germany coach. But though the comfortable win over Serbia (2-0), draws against the Netherlands (1-1) and Greece (0-0) and a shock loss to Greece (0-1) in Germany leave them third out of four in their Nations League group, Klopp saw mostly positives. "Everyone showed what they're made of; everyone earned their place. We've shown signs that we can do some things better than people gave us credit for. I wanted to get something going, and I definitely saw that happen," he said after Sunday's 0-0 draw in Thessaloniki. For all the positivity of the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund coach, the four matches have, in reality, been a mixed bag for Ge...