Ronaldo says he is playing his ‘last European Championship’
Portugal superstar is playing at the Euros for a record sixth time and has helped his country reach the quarterfinals
Updated 02 July 2024
AP
HAMBURG, Germany: Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed this year’s European Championship will be the last of his career.
The Portugal superstar, who is 39, is playing at the Euros for a record sixth time and has helped his country reach the quarterfinals — where Kylian Mbappe and France await in Hamburg on Friday.
Speaking to Portuguese public broadcaster RTP after the penalty-shootout victory over Slovenia on Monday, Ronaldo said: “It is, without doubt, my last European Championship.
“But I’m not emotional about that. I’m moved by all that football means — by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm for seeing my supporters, my family, the affection people have for me.”
Ronaldo, who is one of the most prolific scorers in football history and has a record 14 goals at European Championships, said his main motivation now was “making people happy.” He was reduced to tears during the Slovenia game after having a penalty saved in extra time.
“It’s not about leaving the world of football,” he said. “What else is there for me to do or win? It’s not going to come down to one point more or one point less.”
Injures are adding up at Wimbledon and determining the outcomes of matches
Taylor Fritz’s fourth-round opponent, Alexander Zverev, slipped on an unworn patch of green grass in his previous match
“It’s unfortunate, obviously,” de Minaur said. “You never want to see this”
Updated 10 July 2024
AP
LONDON: There's no single explanation, of course, for all of the injuries to players in the latter stages at Wimbledon this year. This much is certain: The timing could hardly be worse.
The man Novak Djokovic was supposed to face on Wednesday, Alex de Minaur, withdrew hours before their scheduled quarterfinal because he jarred his hip at the end of a victory two days earlier.
“I'm devastated,” de Minaur said. “The problem with me going out and playing is that one stretch, one slide, one anything, can make this injury (recovery) go from three to six weeks to four months. It’s too much to risk.”
Taylor Fritz’s fourth-round opponent, Alexander Zverev, slipped on an unworn patch of green grass in his previous match. That caused a bone bruise — and maybe worse — that Zverev complained left him on “one leg” in his loss to the American at what the two-time major finalist characterized as a wide open opportunity to grab a first Grand Slam title.
Danielle Collins' last Wimbledon appearance before retirement ended with tape wrapped around her hamstring, the work of a trainer during the American’s fourth-round loss to 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova. Collins chalked it up to failing to “think about every little step that you take.”
“There's been a ton of injuries on the grass. Left and right, it seems like people are going down. I am, I guess, frustrated that I feel like I was focusing on my tactics and kind of what I needed to do to play at a high level. Usually, I feel like, on other surfaces you’re not having to think so critically about your movement,” Collins said. “The one second I take my mind off of it, not think about every little thing I’m doing with my footwork, it ends up happening.”
The falls keep happening. The injuries are adding up.
“It’s unfortunate, obviously,” de Minaur said. “You never want to see this.”
He called his mishap “more of a freak injury,” related to the “excessive amount of force” used to slide on grass.
Madison Keys, the 2017 U.S. Open runner-up, was in tears when she stopped because of a hurt leg at 5-all in the third set of a Week 2 match against Jasmine Paolini, who reached Thursday's semifinals.
Emma Raducanu, who won the U.S. Open three years ago, withdrew from mixed doubles — which was supposed to be Andy Murray's last event at Wimbledon — because of a sore wrist, then needed a medical timeout later that day after falling in the third set of a singles loss.
No. 17 Anna Kalinskaya cited a bad wrist when she quit in her fourth-round match against 2022 champion Elena Rybakina. No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov retired from his fourth-round match against Daniil Medvedev with a leg problem.
“It’s normal for the second week at Wimbledon to be feeling niggling things on your muscles, because it’s tough — the grass, getting down low, coming into the net. It's more on the muscles than the joints on the grass," 2003 Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis said. "So I’m sure lots of people will be feeling it now with little things here and there.”
Count Djokovic among those who think part of the issue is that all of the rain during the tournament — so much that the mixed doubles final was shifted from Thursday to Sunday, and play began a half-hour earlier than usual on most courts Wednesday — has made the grass more slick and the footing less sure.
So has shutting the retractable roofs at Centre Court and No. 1 Court, the only two arenas with that luxury during wet weather.
“Once you close the roof, you know that the grass is going to be more slippery. So there’s more chances that players will fall. Unfortunately, some of the falls have caused some of the players to withdraw,” Djokovic said.
“It's part of this surface. You can’t really change that," added the seven-time champion at the All England Club. "I mean, it’s grass. It’s a live surface, and it reacts to different conditions.”
The pattern began at grass tourneys that preceded Wimbledon.
Marketa Vondrousova retired from a match in Berlin after hurting her right leg there. When she showed up at Wimbledon, she became the first defending champion in 30 years to lose in the first round and acknowledged: "I was a bit scared because of my leg.”
The woman who beat her last week, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, stopped at Wimbledon because of a back issue in the third round against Krejcikova.
Frances Tiafoe pulled out of the Queen's Club tournament before Wimbledon after spraining a ligament in his right knee when he took a tumble. Tiafoe played at the All England Club with a black sleeve over his knee and made it to the third round before losing to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic tore the meniscus in his right knee during a match at the French Open, had surgery and returned to competition less than a month later. Ironically, he thinks it's possible that might have helped him stay upright this fortnight.
That's because, years ago, Djokovic was one of the first players to regularly slide on grass the way they do on clay. He has cut down on those movements this time at Wimbledon, being extra careful to avoid risking falls.
“It’s probably part of my, I guess, different kind of movement on the court that I’ve been really experimenting with because of the cautiousness — because of the knee and everything that was happening prior to the tournament,” Djokovic explained. “The first couple rounds, I was still not maybe willing to go (for difficult) balls and slide and make splits.”
Other theories include: More and more baseline play on grass, and less serving-and-volleying, creates longer points and extra running, which translate into a greater likelihood of slips; less comfort on grass because players tend to grow up practicing and competing on clay or hard courts; and a brief grass portion of the schedule that doesn't allow for accumulating a lot of experience on the turf.
Then there's the general wear-and-tear of a season.
“Listen, tennis is a very physical sport at the moment. For sure, the rallies are longer. Matches. Scheduling. Finishing late,” 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis said. “It’s very demanding on the body. ... A lot of things are changing that (contribute) to players getting injured.”
NEOM renews partnership with Asian Football Confederation to 2029
Updated 10 July 2024
ARAB NEWS
RIYADH: Collaboration between Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-project NEOM and the Asian Football Confederation will run until 2029 after a partnership deal between the two was renewed.
Under the terms of the arrangement, NEOM will continue to serve as the official global partner of the AFC national team and club competitions and be the presenting partner of the first pan-Asian AFC Women’s Champions League.
The agreement aims to promote inclusivity in sports and support the development of women’s football across Asia, a press release stated.
The two parties first signed a four-year partnership in 2021, which encompassed major AFC national team competitions, including the 2022 World Cup and AFC Asian Qualifiers featuring the continent’s top 12 football nations, as well as Asia’s flagship national team competition, the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.
“NEOM’s partnership with the Asian Football Confederation provides us with a valuable platform to collaborate with a global football leader, creating opportunities and positively contributing to the development of sport across Asia,” Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said.
“Sport is a key component of Saudi Vision 2030’s ambition to develop a healthy society with strong social bonds and the extension of our partnership with the AFC supports NEOM’s aspirations to become an innovative hub for sport and its goal to have one of the most physically active societies globally,” he added.
Supplied
The release further stated that the partnership aims to reinforce NEOM’s presence in Asian football, marked by AFC’s revamped club tournaments.
The newly introduced AFC Champions League Elite Finals will see NEOM as the Official Global Presenting Partner of the eight final matches being played in Riyadh in 2025.
NEOM will also be the Presenting Partner of the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League, promoting the top 12 women’s clubs from across Asia.
This agreement builds on the foundations laid over the past four years as Saudi Arabia prepares to host prestigious football competitions such as the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027.
The partnership between NEOM and the AFC has led to the creation of “Champions of Progress,” an initiative designed to use the global platform of football to drive positive change across the region. This undertaking will focus on activations and developing the next generation of talent across AFC competitions.
Supplied
“This partnership renewal further reinforces the appeal of the AFC’s competitions to engage with the millions of passionate fans of Asian football and we look forward to creating more historic moments with NEOM to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes,” the AFC General Secretary, Datuk Seri Windsor John said.
The collaboration with the AFC is expected to significantly contribute to the livability of NEOM’s residents and the project’s dynamic economy, the release added.
NEOM further stated that it aims to become one of the world’s most physically active societies, with its residents engaging with AFC events and enabling a grassroots development program targeted at youth across Saudi Arabia.
The partnership has already supported NEOM’s initiatives, such as the Shuhub Community Program, which has engaged 10,000 young people around the Kingdom to date.
Through this collaboration, NEOM has provided local boys and girls from football community groups with opportunities to participate in AFC matches as player mascots, center circle children, and the first-ever trophy handover children at the AFC Champions League 23/24 Final.
Novak Djokovic moves into Wimbledon semifinals after Alex de Minaur withdraws
Novak Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti on Friday for a berth in the final
Updated 10 July 2024
AP
LONDON: Novak Djokovic got a free pass into the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday when his quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur, withdrew with a hip injury.
De Minaur, an Australian who was seeded ninth at the All England Club, announced he was pulling out of the tournament hours before he and Djokovic were scheduled to play each other at Center Court.
This match would have been de Minaur’s first quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon. He made it that far at the French Open last month, too.
Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti on Friday for a berth in the final.
The second-seeded Djokovic has won seven of his men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon.
First premium MMA league featuring top African athletes, with all events held across the continent and available via leading regional media partners
MMA superstar Francis Ngannou to serve as PFL Africa chairman
Helios Sports and Entertainment Group invests to become strategic partner in PFL Africa
PFL Africa will be continent’s most accessible sports league across linear, digital and mobile platforms upon 2025 launch
Updated 10 July 2024
Arab News
LAGOS: The Professional Fighters League announced the launch of PFL Africa, which joins PFL Europe and PFL MENA as part of a network of regional leagues with the aim of creating a “Champions League of MMA.” PFL Africa will introduce a thrilling regular season, playoffs and championship sport-season format featuring top African fighters with all events hosted on the continent.
In a groundbreaking partnership, Helios Sports and Entertainment Group has made an investment and will hold a stake in the promotion, of which MMA superstar Francis Ngannou will serve as chairman. The newest PFL regional league will launch in the second quarter of 2025 across linear, digital and mobile platforms.
“The Professional Fighters League is excited to announce PFL Africa, the third international fight franchise as we continue on our path to becoming the Champions League of MMA,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray.
“Africa is home to some of the greatest fighters in the world, including our league Chairman Francis Ngannou, and some of the greatest fans in the sport. PFL Africa aims to serve the great fans with premium content while strengthening the PFL global footprint in what has for too long been an underserved market. Alongside our great investment and broadcast partners, we cannot wait to kick off PFL Africa league action in 2025.”
Ngannou said: “I am excited and honored to serve as chairman of PFL Africa, a league that will shape the very foundation of African MMA. As we have seen, there is a great wealth of talent in Africa just waiting to be given a global stage. I am so very proud to give back to my homeland and to provide great content to a region with such a passionate and diverse fanbase.”
Tope Lawani, co-founder and managing partner of Helios Investment Partners, commented: “African talent has had disproportionate success on the global MMA stage, and MMA currently has a scarcity of events despite significant demand, creating a huge opportunity for growth as young Africans consume more digital content on their devices.
“We are looking forward to partnering with the PFL, a world-class organization, and with Francis Ngannou, who is a manifestation of the success of African talent on a global stage. HSEG is a committed partner of choice for global blue-chip sports and entertainment properties in Africa such as the PFL.
“This marks our fourth investment following our successful partnership with ... NBA Africa, our investment in global entertainment company The Malachite Group with a portfolio that includes Afro Nation and Piano People, and our investment in Zaria Group, a multi-purpose venue management business. We see several areas of direct synergies between PFL Africa and HSEG’s existing unique portfolio and we are excited by the opportunities such collaboration can bring to the continent.”
PFL is the only organization in MMA with a sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30 percent of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight class. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport, with more international leagues in development. It leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, artificial intelligence scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience. PFL is available on ESPN/ESPN+ in the US, DAZN in Canada and Europe, and is broadcast and streamed in 160 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.
Simone Biles and LeBron James are among athletes expected to bid ‘adieu’ to the Olympics in Paris
Add in that Andy Murray will be retiring after the Paris Games and that Rafael Nadal may bid goodbye to tennis too
Updated 10 July 2024
AP
PARIS: Icons of their sports. Voices for equality and social justice. Elite performers.
Simone Biles and LeBron James lead the list of athletes likely competing at their final Olympics.
Add in that Andy Murray will be retiring after the Paris Games and that Rafael Nadal may bid goodbye to tennis, too, and the stage is set for some emotional, high-profile goodbyes.
Here’s a look at some of the top competitors expected to say “adieu” to the Olympics — or their sport in general — in the French capital:
Simone Biles
At 27, Biles is the oldest American woman to make an Olympic gymnastics team since the 1950s. Having returned from a two-year break last summer, Biles can add to her career haul of seven Olympic medals — four of them gold — when she competes at the Bercy Arena.
LeBron James
At 39, James is about to become the first US men’s basketball player to compete at the Olympics in three different decades. To get an idea of what stage he’s at in his career, consider this: When James and the US team opened their Olympic training camp in Las Vegas, his son, Bronny, was making his pro debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in the California Classic summer league.
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal
Murray’s goodbye to Wimbledon didn’t go the way he had hoped. The British player is hoping for a better result in the Olympic tennis competition on the red clay of Roland Garros, home of the French Open. Paris will mark Murray’s fifth Olympics, having won back-to-back singles golds in 2012 and 2016. While Murray has indicated that he plans to end his career after the Olympics, Nadal’s status is less clear. But playing the Olympics at the site where he won 14 French Opens — and where there’s a statue of him outside Court Philippe Chatrier — will be special no matter what Nadal does next. Nadal has won Olympic gold in both singles (in 2008) and doubles (in 2016) and will team up with Carlos Alcaraz for doubles in Paris.
Shelly-Anne Fraser Pryce
Jamaican sprinter Fraser-Pryce has announced that the Paris Games will be her fifth and final Olympics. The 37-year-old Fraser-Pryce, who has won eight Olympic medals, wants to spend more time with her husband and 6-year-old son, Zyon. Fraser-Pryce will run against Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100 meters.
Gianmarco Tamberi
One of the biggest showmen in track and field, the Italian high jumper Tamberi wants to go out on top by defending the gold medal that he shared with his good friend Mutaz Barshim in Tokyo. Both Tamberi and Barshim have indicated this will be their final Olympics.
Sarah Sjöström
At age 30, Swedish swimming standout Sjöström will be competing in her fifth Olympics. A winner of four medals at the Olympics, Sjöström is focusing on one individual event for Paris. She’ll race the 50-meter freestyle — an event she holds the world record in — plus three relays. Sjöström made her Olympic debut in Beijing in 2008 at the age of 14.
Tom Daley
Daley was Britain’s youngest athlete in 2008 at 14. Three years ago in Tokyo he won his first Olympic gold with partner Matty Lee in 10-meter synchronized and now he’s back for a fifth Olympics. Daley drew attention for knitting between dives in Tokyo as a way of relaxing.
Mikkel Hansen
With his shoulder-length hair and headband, the powerful left back Hansen is one of the most familiar faces in Danish sports. A three-time men’s world player of the year, a record he shares with longtime rival Nikola Karabatić, Hansen is considered one of the best handball players ever. He led Denmark to gold in Rio and then silver in Tokyo.
Teddy Riner
The French heavyweight judoka Riner is one of host France’s top medal hopes. He’s looking to add to his haul of five Olympic medals, including three gold. He’s also won a record 11 golds at worlds.
