The Guardian

Burnley relegated in 2022 after Everton breached PSR Everton ‘angered’ by verdict and have appealed Burnley have won a landmark legal case against Everton for breaching Premier League financial rules, with the Merseysiders ordered to pay nearly £40m in compensation. It is the largest financial penalty ever imposed on a Premier League club. The verdict by a Premier League independent disciplinary …

It was Morocco in 2022, Croatia in 2028 and Costa Rica in 2014. Which team will make an unexpected run in 2026? By WhoScored Every World Cup needs a dark horse: the team no nobody quite planned for that disrupts the natural order and is remembered more vividly than the finalists. Morocco did it in 2022 , beating Spain and Portugal on their way to becoming the first African side to reach the semi-…

Stokes weighing up future following late-night incident Atkinson also left out with Root to captain team Joe Root will captain England in next week’s second Test against New Zealand after Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were left out of the squad for breaking the team curfew as they celebrated victory in the first game of the series on Sunday night. Stokes, the team’s full-time captain, is being give…

Alexis Putellas leads a host of stars expected to arrive in the WSL but smaller clubs will still struggle to keep pace The whistle has blown on the 2025-26 season for the vast majority of women’s teams around the world, and attention now turns to the hullabaloo of the transfer window and another summer of rising wages, transfer fees and agents fees. This summer’s activity is likely to see the gap…

From marvelling at teenage wonderkids to tracking the world’s largest coffee pot, our team of writers outline their expectations for the jamboree in North America Spain and Portugal in the final, with Spain winning. I’ve played our Bracketology game 20 times and gotten 20 different paths but Spain always end up winning. Alexander Abnos Continue reading...

Football’s staying home for the belt-tightening Beeb, while ITV and Gary Lineker’s popular podcast present from glitzy studios in New York It is the biggest World Cup in history, and perhaps the most unpredictable. How will England and Scotland fare in the heat? Who drew Curaçao in the office sweepstake? And, crucially, will anyone notice that the BBC is broadcasting this giant sporting spectacle…

The World Cup did not save South Africa. But for one second, it showed us the country we wanted to be Before Siphiwe Tshabalala’s rocket from his left foot , before Peter Drury’s iconic commentary, before the wall of noise from thousands of vuvuzelas and before Shakira’s Waka Waka, there was Philip. From the moment Sepp Blatter pulled out an envelope with the words “South Africa” inside on 15 May…

A run-through of the teams, key players and talking points ahead of the biggest Women’s T20 World Cup to date – and perhaps the most open Continue reading...

Updates from the final day’s play at the Oval Day three report | Mail Tanya or comment BTL Bransgrove , the man behind Hampshire’s move to the Rosebowl and subsequent development, has stepped down as chairman, after GMR Global Pte Ltd completed the full acquisition of Hampshire Sport & Leisure Holdings Limited. Kiran Kumar Grandhi, the chairman of GMR, who also own IPL franchise Delhi Capitals, t…

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning , Jonathan Liew and Philippe Auclair to preview Groups I-L Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email . On the podcast today; our third and final World Cup preview. Continue reading...

Olympic gold medallist diver reflects on the financial and emotional challenges since retiring from the sport and teaming up with his hero Tom Daley “It’s like I’ve already got an open wound and you’re stabbing me in it,” Matty Lee says as, deep into our second hour at a beautiful old Edwardian swimming pool in Leeds, we turn to Kirsty Coventry’s recent comments that athletes should not be paid a…

As a lifelong Knicks fan, the Public Enemy frontman knows how much New York craves an end to its 53-year NBA title drought I didn’t see the Knicks win their second championship in 1973 because I had to go to bed. That night, the Knicks beat the LA Lakers, but clinching game was on the west coast and it was a school night. I couldn’t watch it. I was 13 and in seventh grade. Back then things were d…

News and buildup as World Cup countdown continues Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | Mail Tom Some reading for you all to catch up on: Jacob Steinberg on England’s need for attacking alternatives that aren’t built entirely around Harry Kane. Continue reading...

Artan was due to be first Somali referee at World Cup ‘I promise you that I will attend the next one’ The World Cup referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the United States arrived on Wednesday in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where he was received by a crowd of supporters and officials. Omar Artan was due to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making Fifa’s …