Former Brazil striker Ronaldo has been invited to take a leading 2014 World Cup role and a formal announcement is expected in the coming days, a local organising committee (LOC) source told Reuters on Tuesday.
West Ham United edged closer to a Premier League return with a 3-0 home win over Cardiff City on Monday, completing a 5-0 semi-final aggregate triumph to ease into the Championship (second division) playoff final.
Atletico Madrid have one foot in the final of the Europa League after a Radamel Falcao double fired the 2010 winners to a 4-2 semi-final first leg win at home to La Liga rivals Valencia on Thursday.
Here are some of the best photos from around the world in the month gone by.
Brazil's government authorized an emergency transfer of 2.9 billion reais (US $850 million) on Tuesday for the cash-strapped state of Rio de Janeiro to help pay for infrastructure projects and security for the Olympic Games in August.
Brazil great Pele played down his feud with Brazilian FA chief Ricardo Teixeira on Tuesday, saying the most important thing was that his country stage a memorable World Cup in 2014.
Thousands of supporters walked to the stadium from the city centre before the Premier League game, which was preceded by two minutes' silence for the Thai billionaire. Vichai died in a helicopter crash after City's last home match two weeks ago.
A total of 23 athletes from five sports tested positive for banned drugs in re-checks of 265 samples from the London 2012 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.
China captain Zheng Zhi was handed a four-match suspension by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on Friday following his failure to lead his Guangzhou Evergrande team mates into a post-match handshake with match officials last weekend.
Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia has revealed that a "deal" with his six-year-old daughter propelled him to win a record second gold medal in the Paralympics.
FIFA has dismissed allegations made by a British Broadcasting Corporation programme against three executive committee members, saying Swiss authorities had already investigated and the case had been closed.
There was double joy for India at the Rio Paralympics on Saturday, as high jumpers Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Singh Bhati won gold and bronze. Thangavelu scripted history, becoming the first Indian para-athlete to win a gold medal in the men's high jump-T42 final, on Day 2 of the Games at the Olympic Stadium.
Real Madrid have agreed to sign French defender Raphael Varane from Lens on a six-year contract, the Spanish club said on Monday.
Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho will miss this month's Champions League semi-final first leg against Barcelona through suspension.
Yet Milan's defensive frailty was punished when Konstantinos Fortounis scored from the penalty spot in the 81st minute to give his side the win that left them second in Group F on 10 points.
Chelsea will be without Ricardo Carvalho for at least four weeks after the Portugal defender damaged ankle ligaments in Wednesday's 5-0 win over Portsmouth, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
A superb shootout save by Portugal's Rui Patricio allowed Ricardo Quaresma to be the hero again as his spot kick against Poland sent them into the Euro 2016 semi-finals 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 finish following extra time.
Hungary and Portugal reached the Euro 2016 knockout stages after a rip-roaring 3-3 draw in which Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice and became the first player to score at four European Championship finals on Wednesday.
Manchester City to beat second-tier Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 and reach the FA Cup quarter-finals but Jose Mourinho's problems piled up as his Tottenham Hotspur side were bundled out in a penalty shootout by Norwich City.
Portugal played out a goalless draw against Austria after captain Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in their Euro 2016 Group F match at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cricketers such as Virendra Sehwag and Mohammad Kaif congratulated the athlete for his stupendous feat at Rio.
Brazil's Neymar and Colombia striker Carlos Bacca have been provisionally suspended for one match.
The AFA thanked 58-year-old Sampaoli and his assistants, who have also left their positions, for their services.
Police shot a mugger near the stadium where the Rio Olympics opening ceremony took place and a woman was killed close to another Olympic site, police said Saturday. The violence on Friday highlighted the task facing an unprecedented force of 85,000 soldiers and police deployed to secure the Olympics. Rio police said in a statement that a man was mugging people near the Maracana stadium when he was intercepted by one of the police officers sent from another area of Brazil to Rio as part of the huge reinforcements.
A confident Rohan Bopanna will take on Thomaz Bellucci in the opening match of the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie between India and Brazil in Chennai on Friday.
Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas called for patience from the club's demanding fans after the La Liga giants failed to sparkle in Saturday's laboured 1-0 win over Osasuna.
Angel Di Maria kept Real Madrid on the heels of La Liga leaders Barcelona as they survived a red card for Ricardo Carvalho to beat Sevilla 1-0 at home on Sunday.
Real Madrid extended their dominance over city rivals Atletico and maintained their one-point lead at the top of La Liga when Ricardo Carvalho and Mesut Ozil scored in a comfortable 2-0 home win on Sunday.
It's indeed a hard habit to kick. But if you don't stop smoking right away, you might experience infertility.
Arsenal joined Manchester United and Liverpool on the FA Cup scrapheap on Sunday when Ricardo Fuller's double helped Stoke City to a 3-1 fourth round victory at the Britannia Stadium.
Brazil's Gabriel Jesus made one goal, scored another and was sent off in the second half as they beat Peru 3-1 to win the Copa America for the ninth time.
A United States federal judge on Friday dismissed criminal charges against five guards of Blackwater security firm, who were accused of killing 17 civilians in Baghdad in an incident that sparked widespread criticism of the army's use of private contractors. US district judge Ricardo Urbina threw out the case not on merit but on the way the prosecutors had handled it by wrongly using defendants' 'statements compelled under a threat of job loss'.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Wednesday refused to commit if medallists of the ongoing Rio Paralympics will be conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award -- the highest sporting honour in the country. An Olympic medallist directly qualifies for the Khel Ratna award during an Olympic year but Goel said there is no such policy in place for the paralympians.
The city of Rio de Janeiro cancelled the construction contract for the Olympic tennis centre on Thursday, just 200 days before the start of the games, fining the consortium responsible for delays and breach of contract for the mostly finished venue.
A goal by striker David Villa earned Spain a 1-0 win over neighbours Portugal and a World Cup quarter-final place after an entertaining match on Tuesday in which the Portuguese also created several chances.
Sania ousted from Qatar Total Open.
Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo, who was killed in the Colombian air crash last month, was posthumously named Brazil's Player of the Year after a vote by fans.
Fernando Alonso delighted his legions of Spanish Formula One fans on Wednesday with the quickest time in testing on an emotional debut for Ferrari. The double world champion, who was cheered on by an astonishing 36,000-strong weekday crowd at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit, played down suggestions of being the early favourite in the title race, however.
Chelsea got their hands on the first trophy of the English season on Sunday when they beat Manchester United on penalties to win the curtain-raising Community Shield after a lively Wembley encounter had ended 2-2.
Bolsonaro has 55 per cent of the votes against 45 per cent for Fernando Haddad from the left-wing Workers' Party.
