Factbox on Rafael Nadal, who beat Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 on Sunday to win a record-extending 13th French Open title:
The year is coming to an end and overall, it's been one hell of a year! We have had our share of ups and downs and we look forward to a better 2020. While we count down the days to the new year, let's also reflect on those who gave us strength to stand up in what we believe, the courageous who didn't bow down and the ones with gumption who inspired us to be better. We, Rediff.com, have selected 26 personalities, who we think are worthy of the title -- HERO OF THE YEAR -- and we want you, dear readers, to choose your hero!
The first leg, originally scheduled to be held at the Red Bull Arena in Germany, was shifted to Budapest after German authorities denied Liverpool entry into the country due to COVID-19 protocols.
Mesut Ozil quit Real Madrid to join Arsenal because he realised he no longer had the confidence of Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, the Germany playmaker said.
Venus Williams has pulled out of the upcoming Brisbane International after suffering a 'setback' in training
Australia and New Zealand were handed the right to host the 2023 Women's World Cup soccer tournament by a comfortable margin after a vote by the FIFA Council on Thursday. Their joint proposal beat a rival bid from Colombia to host the tournament which is being expanded to 32 teams.
Nigeria's ban from international soccer has been fully lifted after court actions against members of the federation were dropped, soccer's governing body FIFA said on Friday.
The International Olympic Committee does not plan any "drastic" decisions about the Tokyo 2020 Games, saying on Tuesday it remains fully committed to the event being staged in four months time despite the global spread of the coronavirus. The IOC said in a statement following discussions with international sports federations that changes would need to be made to the qualifiers due to the impact of the virus but it plans to go ahead with the July 24-Aug 9 Olympics.
Fans allowed for the mega final as UEFA said that each club would receive 6,000 tickets which are expected to go on sale from today, May 13. The final capacity for the match has yet to be confirmed.
US authorities are investigating corruption at FIFA, soccer's global governing body, while Swiss prosecutors have announced their own criminal inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bids awarded, respectively, to Russia and Qatar.
'The protocol arrived for resuming the season and it is very similar to the one that was agreed for training. On Thursday, we'll decide if and when to resume'
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi were declared joint winners of the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award in Berlin on Monday, with the voting tied for the first time in the awards' 20-year history. Mercedes driver Hamilton won his sixth world championship in 2019, with 11 race wins and 17 podium finishes, while Messi was crowned the world's best player for a record sixth time when he won the Ballon d'Or. American gymnast Simone Biles, who became the most decorated gymnast in world championship history when she won her 25th medal last year, won her third Sportswoman of the Year gong after winning the award in 2017 and 2019.
La Liga side Valencia have said more than a third of their playing and backroom staff have tested positive for the coronavirus but that all cases were currently asymptomatic.
Denmark's Superliga to resume on May 28 says Danish League Association
The semi-official news agency Tasnim said an unspecified number of women had entered the Azadi (Freedom) Stadium to watch Persepolis seek to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Japan's Kashima Antlers and claim their first continental crown.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said it had blocked accounts at several banks in Switzerland after police arrested some of the most powerful figures in global soccer on Wednesday in US and Swiss corruption cases.
Germany's Bundesliga can restart games from the second half of May following the coronavirus stoppage, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday. Merkel's announcement had been widely expected as part of measures to begin easing the country's lockdown aimed at halting the spread of the virus.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday suggested that Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona become the next FIFA president.
Napoli did not travel to Turin for the match on October 4, saying their local health authority (ASL) had told the players to stay at home after two members of their squad tested positive for COVID-19.
Floyd Mayweather tops the Forbes list of best paid athletes for the fourth time in seven years, followed by soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, there was a softening in tone over eventual cases where league seasons may be cancelled -- an outcome UEFA had been quick to oppose.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Djokovic may never feel the affections of the crowd savoured by Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal but his record of 16 Grand Slam titles is proof that tennis is no popularity contest.
Brazilian soccer great Zico formally declared his candidacy for the FIFA presidency on Wednesday but admitted there would probably need to be a change of rules in order to make his run viable.
Novak Djokovic endured a fierce challenge to his Melbourne Park reign before overhauling Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to clinch an eighth Australian Open crown and reclaim the world number one ranking. While Rafa Nadal rules Roland Garros with 12 titles, Djokovic holds sway in the title match at Rod Laver Arena having never lost a final in Melbourne Park.
A payoff of at least one million euros ($1.11 million) for Belgium soccer manager Marc Wilmots could be a problem and the national federation does not have the means to hire a big name to replace him, the federation's head said.
German police arrested a man on Friday who is suspected of planting explosives targeting the bus of soccer team Borussia Dortmund last week, the office of the German federal chief prosecutor said.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
'We can see kids wearing a Barcelona or Spain jersey. I want to see them wearing a Pune Football Club or Dempo jersey.' The All India Football Federation's Technical Director Scott O'Donnell tells Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi about his plans for Indian soccer.
Twice Olympic champion swimmer Cate Campbell captured the mood of many of Australia's Tokyo hopefuls when she spoke of the virus 'shattering' dreams and visions of the future. Keesja Gofers, part of the Australian women's water polo team that had already qualified for Tokyo, said the decision was 'devastating' for all athletes competing around the world.
Women have enjoyed some hard-won gains in elite sports in recent years, with pro leagues starting up in a number of countries and growing support for their fight for pay parity.
The tie will be played on a hard court indoor surface with the roof closed.
The unprecedented shutdown of world sport in response to the coronavirus spread that has infected more than 134,000 people and killed around 5,000 also prompted organisers to postpone the Formula One motor races in Vietnam and Bahrain. The start of the lucrative Indian Premier League has also been postponed until April 15 as a "precautionary measure", the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.
Ronaldo, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time and plays for the Italian club Juventus, has maintained he is innocent.
The former president of the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF), Keramuddin Keram, was banned from football in June for life after FIFA's ethics committee found him guilty of abusing his position and sexually abusing female players.
'Our psychologists and physiotherapists are also at the disposition of the health service workers'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Argentine football great Diego Maradona said on Wednesday he wants to fight the "mafia" responsible for the corruption scandal that has rocked FIFA, but he stopped short of saying he wants to be the next president of global soccer's governing body.
Tennis great Billie Jean King says the financial fallout from the coronavirus shutdown has exposed the unfairness of the sport and that it is important for the top players to lead the cause for change. The tennis season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown will continue at least until mid-July, depriving lower-level players, who depend solely on tournament winnings, of the chance to earn a living.
US Open champion Martin Kaymer sank an eight-foot birdie putt at the first extra hole to beat Bubba Watson in the four-man PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda on Wednesday.
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