Author: Admin

Categories
football Sports News

Serena Williams to Purchace a New LA-Based Women’s Football Team

A group including Serena Williams will fund a new Los Angeles-based women’s team to launch in time for the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League season.

Tennis great Williams joins several other high-profile women, including Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, in founding the female-majority group.

The team name and home venue are yet to be decided, but the ownership group has called itself ‘Angel City’.

There is currently no California-based team in the NWSL.

NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird says the league has “long sought” an LA-based team, which already has a “massive” interest in women’s football.

Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of tech company Reddit, is part of the ownership group. The couple’s two-year-old daughter Olympia is also listed as an owner.

Among the group too are 14 former US national team players, actresses Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner, Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain and America Ferrera, plus investors from the technology and media sectors.

“We come together with a collective passion for bringing about change,” added the consortium’s co-founder and president Julie Uhrman, who is a media and gaming entrepreneur.

“Change for our players, change for our fans, and change for our community. Change that begins today.

Categories
football Sports News

Montpellier intrested in Karius

French Ligue 1 club Montpellier have expressed an interest in signing Liverpool keeper Loris Karius.

The 27-year-old German terminated a loan spell at Besiktas in May when he was nearing the end of a two-year loan stint with the Turkish side.

If Karius had joined Besiktas on a permanent basis, then the deal would have been worth about £6m to the Reds.

Montpellier have yet to make a bid for the player, who joined Liverpool for £4.7m from Mainz in 2016.

Karius last played for Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final loss to Real Madrid.

Categories
football Sports News

Defeat to Man city leaves watford in relegation zone

Watford were plunged into the relegation zone in the wake of Nigel Pearson’s surprise sacking as they were hammered by a Raheem Sterling-inspired Manchester City.

The defeat, coupled with Aston Villa’s win over Arsenal on Tuesday, means the Hornets’ battle to stay up will go to the final day of the season on Sunday, when they visit Arsenal.

Pearson became the Hornets’ third managerial casualty of the campaign on Monday, leaving Under-23 coach Hayden Mullins and his assistant Graham Stack in charge for their final two games.

And they could hardly have had a tougher first assignment than against City, who completed the double over them with this win, at an aggregate score of 12-0 – a joint top-flight record for one team against another in a single season.

Sterling took the game away from the home side before half-time, firing in a rising shot to open the scoring before doubling the advantage by following up his own saved penalty – awarded for a foul on him by Will Hughes.

Phil Foden added a third after Ben Foster had parried a Sterling shot before Aymeric Laporte nodded in from Kevin de Bruyne’s free-kick.

City’s fourth straight league win could have been even more emphatic but Gabriel Jesus had an injury-time header ruled out for offside.

This could well be important to Watford, with goal difference potentially a crucial deciding factor going into the weekend.

The defeat leaves the Hornets 18th, level on points but a goal worse off than Villa, with both three points ahead of 19th-placed Bournemouth.

Villa’s last-day opponents West Ham, on 37 points, are not yet safe from the drop, although a point from their game in hand at Manchester United on Wednesday will secure survival.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Arsenal lose to Aston villa as they sit fifth

Aston Villa’s players must prepare for a “cup final” after showing “courage” to secure a priceless win over Arsenal and move out of the Premier League relegation zone with one game to go, says boss Dean Smith.

Trezeguet beat Emiliano Martinez with a powerful first-time finish after Tyrone Mings had diverted a corner into the Egypt international’s path to lift Villa out of the bottom three for the first time since 28 February.

Villa moved above managerless Watford, who had started the day 17th before a heavy 4-0 home defeat by Manchester City, on goal difference.

The Midlanders’ second win in three games sets up a dramatic final day at the bottom of the table on Sunday, which Villa will begin level on points with Watford and three points ahead of Bournemouth – with two of those three teams likely to go down.

Meanwhile, 16th-placed West Ham, who also play on Wednesday, still require one point to secure safety, although their goal difference ought to keep them up.

Villa’s last game is away to West Ham and if they win – providing Watford do not win by a margin two or more goals greater than they do – Smith’s men will secure another season in the top flight, having spent much of it in the bottom three.

“We had seen Watford play earlier and get beat. We knew we had to get a win to even catch them up,” Smith told BBC Sport. “By getting the win it puts our fate in our own hands.

“There was a lot of character and a lot of courage from the players. It was a massive performance and I am proud of the players for that but now we have to recover and get ready for our cup final.

“We’re working hard to maintain our status and the last three results have shown that.”

A 10th league defeat means Arsenal, playing in their first match since reaching the FA Cup final, will finish outside the top six for the first time in 25 years.

They can come no higher than eighth after a disappointing performance by Mikel Arteta’s side, Eddie Nketiah going closest to equalising with a header which hit the post.

However, the Gunners will still have a big say in the relegation battle when they host Villa’s rivals Watford on Sunday.

During the match, a banner reading “Back Arteta Kroenke Out’ was towed by an aeroplane over Villa Park in reference to Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke.

Categories
football Sports News

Deeny denies dressing room fight

Troy Deeney has denied reports a fight broke out in the Watford dressing room during half-time in Friday’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham.

The Hornets sacked head coach Nigel Pearson on Sunday and are one place and three points above the relegation zone ahead of Tuesday’s match against Manchester City, live on Sky Sports.

“I just want to put out there, there was no fight at half-time,” the 32-year-old Watford captain said.

“It’s 2020. We don’t do that anymore. You know, certainly with all the cameras and everything, you’d certainly see a lot more if that was the case.

“The gaffer didn’t put his hands on anybody. He was just frustrated and had a firm talking to, so no one was fighting, no one was punched, no one was even tickled. I don’t know, whatever way there was: no hands thrown, let’s just put it that way.”

3:25 Watford interim head coach Hayden Mullins tells Sky Sports News he did not see Nigel Pearson’s sacking coming and only found out he was taking temporary charge on Sunday afternoon

Deeney said the timing of Pearson’s dismissal caught him off guard with interim boss Hayden Mullins due to take charge of the side for their final two games, against City and Arsenal.

“It’s strange obviously, we didn’t see it coming. I think you get to a point in football where you’re not surprised anymore but I would say that this one certainly, you know, took me back a bit,” Deeney said.

Categories
football Sports News

Dier signs new Tottenham deal

Eric Dier has signed a new contract at Tottenham until 2024.

Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho had been hopeful of extending the player’s deal earlier this month and the club have now confirmed the negotiations have been completed.

Dier, 26, had featured prominently for Spurs since the Premier League resumed last month, but saw his run ended by a four-match suspension for confronting a fan after a match in March.

“I am really happy to continue here and commit to this new journey we’re on,” he told Spurs TV. “It’s crazy to think that I have been here for six years now. I have enjoyed it a lot. It’s a fantastic place to be.

“The club gave me my opportunity in England and it has given me so much since then,” he said.

“We’ve had some great times together but I want to have even better times and I still feel there are a lot of things I need to achieve here before it’s over.”

Categories
Rugby Sports News

World Rubgy considering placing ban on Transgender women

World Rugby could ban transgender athletes from playing women’s rugby because of safety concerns.

It would be the first international sports federation to prohibit transgender women from competing.

World Rugby said it had undertaken a review of its “rugby-specific transgender guidelines” in light of the “latest peer reviewed research”.

It said it was committed to “ensuring a safe and inclusive playing environment at all levels of the game”.

In a statement to BBC Sport, it added: “The latest peer reviewed research confirms that a reduction of testosterone does not lead to a proportionate reduction in mass, muscle mass, strength or power. These important determinants of injury risk and performance remain significantly elevated after testosterone suppression.

“This presents a clear safety risk when transgender women play women’s contact rugby and this position is reflected within draft guidelines that are currently out for stakeholder consultation prior to the World Rugby Council considering the matter later this year.

“Rugby is an inclusive and welcoming sport and World Rugby is fully committed to continuing to work with relevant groups to explore appropriate participation pathways for transgender athletes and is funding further research into the safe participation of all players in rugby. This is in addition to extensive non-contact participation avenues that are available to everyone at union level.”

A decision is expected to be made when unions vote on the proposals at a World Rugby Council meeting in November.

The possible ban was first reported in the Guardian which has seen World Rugby’s leaked 38-page draft document.

Categories
cricket Sports News

Mens T20 Tournament postponed

The men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia later this year, has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The tournament was due to take place between 18 October and 15 November.

An edition will be held in October and November 2021 and another in 2022.

“The decision gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups,” said International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Manu Sawhney.

“Our members now have the clarity they need around event windows to enable them to reschedule lost bilateral and domestic cricket.”

It has not been announced whether the 2021 tournament will be held in India as planned, and the 2022 competition in Australia, or the Australia edition will be moved to 2021 and India to 2022.

The ICC also announced that the 2023 50-over men’s World Cup in India will move from February and March to October and November.

It says it will “continue to evaluate” the situation before deciding on the 2021 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand in February, with planning continuing as scheduled.

The men’s 2021 T20 tournament will finish on 14 November, and England are set to start their Ashes tour of Australia later that month.

Melbourne, which was scheduled to host seven games including the final, went back into a six-week lockdown on 9 July after a spike in coronavirus infections.

All travellers entering Australia currently need to undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

Test cricket returned in England on 8 July with all the players and people involved in the game in a bio-secure bubble but the ICC deemed that unworkable with 12 different nations involved.

England are playing a three-Test series against West Indies – who arrived in England four weeks prior to the first Test in Southampton to meet isolation restrictions – before playing series against Ireland and Pakistan in late July and August.

They are also hoping to play a limited-overs series in September against Australia, who named a preliminary 26-player squad last week in a “positive albeit not definitive step”.

The postponement means the Indian Premier League, which was due to start on 29 March, may take place in the vacant window later this year, while England’s tour of Sri Lanka that was called off in March may also be rearranged.

The next Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in South Africa in 2022.

Australia won the 2020 edition in one of the last major sporting events before lockdown.

Categories
football Sports News

Pep takes shots at Arsenal

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he respects Arsenal on the pitch – but “not much off the pitch”.

City had their two-year European suspension overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) on 13 July.

City are understood to believe Arsenal were a chief instigator behind a collective request by eight Premier League clubs for Cas not to allow a delay to the ban pending appeal.

As the case was decided before the end of the season, no delay was needed.

Some senior figures within the game are annoyed City had their punishment for Financial Fair Play regulation breaches reduced, while the club are angry at the behaviour of some of their rivals.

Last week, Guardiola demanded an apology and told clubs to stop “whispering” about City behind their backs.

Chelsea, Burnley, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and Wolves were the other seven top-flight clubs involved in the collective approach to Cas.

Categories
football Sports News

WOLVES MOVE INTO SIXTH PLACE

Wolves eased past a hapless Crystal Palace to maintain hopes of playing Europa League football next season.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side move back above Tottenham into sixth place and victory at Chelsea in their final Premier League game on Sunday will guarantee a better finish than last season.

Daniel Podence scored his first goal for Wolves since joining from Olympiakos in January by nodding in from close range to finish off a lovely team move and Jonny Otto added a second with a quick spin and shot.

Palace barely threatened with Andros Townsend’s long-range free-kick and Wilfried Zaha’s weak shot both comfortable for goalkeeper Rui Patricio

Roy Hodgson’s side have tailed off badly since the restart and cannot finish higher than 13th place