Jamie Vardy leaving Leicester after 13 years and club hail their ‘greatest ever player’

Jamie Vardy leaving Leicester after 13 years and club hail their ‘greatest ever player’
Jamie Vardy is leaving Leicester following their relegation from the Premier League, ending the striker's 13-year stay at a team he famously helped to win the English title in 2016 at preseason odds of 5,000-1. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 24 April 2025
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Jamie Vardy leaving Leicester after 13 years and club hail their ‘greatest ever player’

Jamie Vardy leaving Leicester after 13 years and club hail their ‘greatest ever player’
  • The 38-year-old former England international will depart at the end of the season
  • “I want to keep playing and do what I enjoy most: Scoring goals,” he said

LONDON: Jamie Vardy is leaving Leicester following their relegation from the Premier League, ending the striker’s 13-year stay at a team he famously helped to win the English title in 2016 at preseason odds of 5,000-1.
The 38-year-old former England international will depart at the end of the season, Leicester said on Thursday in a statement in which the club described Vardy as its “greatest ever player.”
The announcement came two days after Vardy took to social media to express his “anger and sadness” at a season he called a “total embarrassment,” with Leicester having been consigned to relegation with five matches still to play.

Vardy, who intends to continue playing, will go down as a Premier League great, having scored 143 goals — placing him No. 15 on the competition’s all-time list. He once netted in a record 11 straight games in Leicester’s improbable title-winning campaign that will be remembered as one of the great underdog stories in sporting history.
“Nine years ago, we did the impossible — we won the Premier League,” Vardy said in a video message on Instagram in which he also recounted winning the FA Cup in 2021 and reaching the Champions League quarterfinals in 2017. “Those memories will last a lifetime.”
Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha described Vardy, who joined from lower-league team Fleetwood Town for 1 million pounds (now $1.33 million) in 2012, as a “unique” and “special” player.
“He holds a place in the hearts of everyone connected to Leicester City, and he certainly has my deepest respect and affection,” Aiyawatt said. “I am endlessly grateful for everything he has given to this football club.”
Vardy has five games left for Leicester. His final home match will be on May 18 against Ipswich.
Leicester have just 18 points from 33 games and are in next-to-last place.
“My only regret, and I’m devastated about this, is that I’m not saying goodbye on the back of a much better season,” Vardy said. “This isn’t the way I wanted my career here to finish.”
Vardy insisted “this isn’t retirement.”
“I want to keep playing and do what I enjoy most: Scoring goals,” he added. “Hopefully there’s one or two more for Leicester before the end of the season and many more in the future.
“I might be 38 but I’ve still got the desire and ambition to do so much more.”


Report: PIF’s LIV Golf investments nearing $5 billion

Report: PIF’s LIV Golf investments nearing $5 billion
Updated 36 sec ago
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Report: PIF’s LIV Golf investments nearing $5 billion

Report: PIF’s LIV Golf investments nearing $5 billion
  • Money in Sport had previously projected an increase in the PIF investment of $5 billion by the end of 2025

NEW YORK: LIV Golf’s investors are reaching into their pockets again for funding, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund nearing $5 billion in spending on the three-year-old league.

LIV Golf Investments, the parent company for worldwide LIV Golf operations, has increased its authorized share capital twice this year, once in mid-January and once late in April, for a total of $674.3 million, according to the Money in Sport newsletter on Monday.

This brings the total spend to $4.58 billion, with $1.9 billion of that coming since January 2024.

Money in Sport had previously projected an increase in the PIF investment of $5 billion by the end of 2025.

With a reference to $82 million in revenue from January to October 2024, PIF’s filing included the first time a consolidated revenue figure for LIV Golf has been publicly disclosed.

The filing shows the latest authorizations come with three conditions: a minimum number of events this season, a minimum revenue and a finalized TV deal with Fox Sports.

LIV Golf has made significant changes this year, including Scott O’Neill replacing Greg Norman as CEO in addition to altering its team format to make all players’ scores count in every round.

LIV Golf’s first event in the US of 2025 brought record viewership for the league, with 484,000 people tuning in to watch Marc Leishman’s triumph in Miami on April 8.

Unfortunately for the Saudi-backed league, that was still less than a third of the number of people who opted to watch a standard PGA Tour event the same day.

“I think we all hoped it would have been a little bit further along, and that’s no secret,” American golfer Brooks Koepka said ahead of the LIV Golf Miami tournament at Trump National Doral on April 2.

“No matter where you’re at, you always hope everything is further along. But they’re making progress, and it seems to be going in the right direction.”


Zhao’s title success at world championships shines light on snooker’s growth in China

Zhao’s title success at world championships shines light on snooker’s growth in China
Updated 3 min 21 sec ago
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Zhao’s title success at world championships shines light on snooker’s growth in China

Zhao’s title success at world championships shines light on snooker’s growth in China

TAIPEI: Once considered a saloon or rec-room past-time by many, snooker has long been serious business in the UK and much of the rest of the world. Now, it seems, it’s China’s turn in the spotlight.

Zhao Xintong’s crowning as Asia’s first world snooker champion has put the focus on the growth of the sport in China in a relatively short time.

“There’s a new superstar of the game,” said Mark Williams, 50, the three-time world champion from Wales who lost to Zhao in the final of the World Snooker Championship, held in Sheffield, north England, on Sunday. “It could be huge for the sport.”

Brought to China by foreign traders in the 19th century, snooker suffered during the early Communist period, when all pastimes seen as individualistic, bourgeois and foreign were frowned upon. The first ranking event to be held in Asia was the Hong Kong Open in 1989. The following year China hosted the Asian Open.

The death in 1976 of Mao Zedong, opened the doors for the sport and snooker has now moved from smoky backstreet parlors and outdoor shopfront street-side tables — amazingly kept level by the bricks they sat on — to swanky halls and practice venues.

Former world No. 1 Ding Junhui blazed the trail for Zhao and others like him, even as enthusiasm for the sport may be waning somewhat among a younger generation infatuated with e-sports and smartphone games.

Zhao himself may be the best thing to happen to China-British relations in recent years, with ties under pressure over trade and China’s curtailment of democracy in the former British colony of Hong Kong. The 28-year-old now lives and trains in Sheffield, and enjoyed strong support from the British fans at Sunday’s final.

Raised in the bustling industrial center of Shenzhen, Zhao picked up a cue at age eight and, somewhat surprisingly for education-obsessed Chinese parents, received strong support from his parents, who built him a practice room at home.

That didn’t fully shield him from the shadier side of the sport, however. He was banned for 20 months as one of 10 Chinese players implicated in a match-fixing scandal. Zhao owned up to knowledge of what was happening, although he said he wasn’t directly involved. He returned to the sport in September 2024 as an amateur. requiring him to battle his way back up the ranks.

Boost for the game in China

Dubbed “The Cyclone,” Zhao now stands at 11th in the world rankings and his combination of youth and talent is being celebrated across the country.

His expressions of disbelief at his world title was witnessed by millions of television viewers in China, with many praising him in online posts as the “pride of China” who “brought tears to one’s eyes.”

“It’s worth celebrating in China,” said Tong Jianfeng, 29 and long-time fan of the game. “Through the whole process, Zhao Xintong played smoothly. His precision is impressive.”

Huang Siyuan, also 29, agreed, “It didn’t come easy. I feel proud for Chinese billiards.”

Wang Heng, the manager and founder of Beijing Xinrui Billiard Academy, located in Tongzhou, just outside the capital, said Zhao’s success will be positive for the domestic game.

“I believe this will make Chinese players very confident because they would realize the world championship is no longer something difficult to break,” he said. “They will be more and more sure of themselves.”

‘On a pedestal’

There may already be more Zhao’s in the works. At this year’s world championships, 10 Chinese players qualified for the main draw and six made it into the final 16 — the highest ever.

“Now this will give them (children in China) power and in the future many Chinese players can do this,” said Zhao covered in confetti and a Chinese flag after taking the title.

International recognition will be crucial to the sport’s continued growth, according to Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

“The one thing we do know about China is that snooker is treated like any other major Olympic sport, it is on a pedestal, it does get major broadcast hours and it really is supported by government and education systems,” Ferguson told The Associated Press.

“The sport is extremely well-respected. To have a world champion is really just incredible.”


Bayern keeper Urbig eyes another title after winning Bundesliga

Bayern keeper Urbig eyes another title after winning Bundesliga
Updated 18 min 26 sec ago
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Bayern keeper Urbig eyes another title after winning Bundesliga

Bayern keeper Urbig eyes another title after winning Bundesliga
  • The 21-year-old could end up collecting a second title with second-tier club Cologne
  • Urbig made 10 appearances for them this season

BERLIN: Bayern Munich keeper Jonas Urbig celebrated his first Bundesliga title on Sunday with his team sitting eight points clear at the top with two games left to play.
But the 21-year-old, who is first choice at Bayern with Manuel Neuer injured, could end up collecting a second title with second-tier club Cologne.


Urbig made 10 appearances for them this season before his January transfer to Bayern. Cologne are second in the standings, a point behind leaders Hamburg SV with two matches remaining.
“I am in very good contact with the lads and I would be extremely happy if Cologne win the second division title,” Urbig said.
Only two players have previously achieved this feat, Pasi Rautiainen with Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen in the 1980/81 season and Frank Hartmann in 1986/87, with Bayern Munich and Hannover 96.


Saudi Arabia to host Youth National Teams Championship during summer

Saudi Arabia to host Youth National Teams Championship during summer
Updated 06 May 2025
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Saudi Arabia to host Youth National Teams Championship during summer

Saudi Arabia to host Youth National Teams Championship during summer
  • Eight Gulf football national teams will be divided into two groups
  • The tournament marks the first age-category competition held under the supervision of GCFF

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will host the first Youth National Teams Championship between Aug. 28 and Sept. 9 with the participation of eight Gulf teams, the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation announced on Tuesday.
The new tournament will see participating teams divided into two groups, each consisting of four teams.
Each group’s top two teams will advance to the semifinals, according to a media statement, which added that the details regarding the draw dates will be announced soon.
The tournament marks the first age-category competition held under the supervision of the AGCFF.
It is also a step aimed at supporting and progressing the base of youth tournaments and reinforcing the focus on promising young players as the core foundation of the future of Gulf football.
The AGCFF is a regional sports organization dedicated to organizing and developing football in the Arabian Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Oman and Yemen. It has been best known for organizing the Arabian Gulf Cup, one of the region’s most prominent sporting events.
The idea of establishing the federation began with preparatory meetings held in 2015 under the name Gulf Football Federation. In May 2016, it was officially founded under the name Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation, reflecting its close connection to the oldest sports tournament in the region, the Gulf Cup.


Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’

Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’
Updated 06 May 2025
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Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’

Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’
  • The match was due to be played on Sunday, May 18, but will now take place on Friday, May 16
  • Monchi, president of football operations at Villa, took to X to say the change in match date “is not what we wanted” and represented “the least damaging alternative”

LONDON: Aston Villa officials have expressed their unhappiness with the Premier League for bringing forward a match against Tottenham by two days to help Spurs maximize preparation time for a potential appearance in the Europa League final.
The match was due to be played on Sunday, May 18, but will now take place on Friday, May 16 — five days before the title match in the Europa League in Bilbao, Spain.
Tottenham lead Bodø/Glimt 3-1 from the first leg of the semifinals, with the return match on Thursday in Norway.
The fixture rearrangement gives Villa — a team chasing Champions League qualification — two fewer days to prepare for Tottenham, which might also choose to play a stronger lineup now there is more time to recover for a possible European final.
It also will affect travel and logistical arrangements for some Villa fans.


Monchi, president of football operations at Villa, took to X to say the change in match date “is not what we wanted” and represented “the least damaging alternative.”
“Our fans didn’t deserve (it),” he wrote on the social network site, “but we tried hard to keep the match to protect the most important for us: YOU and OUR TEAM.”
Damian Vidagany, Villa director of football operations, went further in a long post on X, saying there was a “clear prejudice” toward Villa fans and bemoaning the fact that his club “didn’t feel this support” over their last two European campaigns — in the Europa Conference League last season and the Champions League this season.
“European football is not only demanding for English clubs just on the verge of the finals,” Vidagany wrote.
Villa are in seventh place in the Premier League and in a battle with five other teams to secure the remaining four Champions League qualification spots on offer. Liverpool, the already crowned champion, have already qualified.
While it is commonplace in other countries, there has been no precedent for the Premier League moving games to benefit clubs playing in Europe.
Manchester United are also in the Europa League semifinals and hold a 3-0 lead over Athletic Bilbao from the first leg in Spain last week.
United will be playing a Premier League game on Friday, May 16, too — against Chelsea. So United and Tottenham would have the same amount of preparation time should they both reach the Europa League final.