When Michel Platini revamped the European Championship, turning the finals from a tough, lean 16-team tournament in 2012 into a flabby, 'roll up, anybody's welcome' 24-side affair in 2016, it was not surprising he ran into a blizzard of rebukes.
India's new soccer league with its cast of celebrity owners, experienced foreign managers and a sprinkling of high-profile players will kick off on Sunday, igniting hopes of waking the country from its football slumber.
All that's transpired on and off the cricket pitch on Monday.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal and World number five Kidambi Srikanth were among the nine Indian shuttlers who entered the quarter-finals of the singles events at the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Lucknow.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
England shocked five-time reigning champions Australia 3-1, while Belgium defeated Pakistan 2-1 in their Pool A matches on the opening day of the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
2019 became a 'Year to Remember' in Indian sports for trailblazing performances in Olympic disciplines
Roger Federer's straight sets victory over Richard Gasquet in the Davis Cup final against France on Sunday not only made Switzerland only the 14th nation to win tennis's prestigious trophy, but also completed the final piece in the Swiss's puzzle.
Australian number one Bernard Tomic has appointed Croatian Velimir Zovko as his new co-coach while his father John serves the remainder of a ban for assaulting his former training partner.
Professionalism will be pitted against passion when defending champions India square off with Bangladesh in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, in Birmingham on Thursday.
As the year 2016 draws to a close, vote for the best Indian sportsperson of the year.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Ramkumar Ramanthan scored a fluent win after Yuki Bhambri eked out a straight set victory to hand India a commanding 2-0 lead against New Zealand on the opening day of the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie, in Pune, on Friday.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.
Having escaped the 'group of death', it is now do-or-die for the United States and Australia after advancing to the knockout round of the Women's World Cup on Tuesday.
National badminton coach, Pullela Gopichand, on Wednesday expressed happiness at the performance this year of Indian shuttlers and termed Kidambi Srikanth's feat of winning four Super Series titles as 'phenomenal'.
Prospective FIFA presidential candidate Harold Mayne-Nicholls will decide whether to run against embattled incumbent Sepp Blatter in the New Year, the Chilean said on Thursday.
Veteran midfielder Sardar Singh was on Friday dropped from India's 18-member squad for next month's Hockey World League Final, while the fit-again Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra made comebacks.
India's campaign in the Asian Games gymnastics ended, on Friday, without a medal after Dipa Karmakar finished fifth in the women's balance beam event final in Jakarta.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
First-timers Bosnia joined holders Spain, England and Russia in grabbing Europe's remaining automatic spots for the 2014 World Cup finals on Tuesday as the last round of group matches ended in joy, despair and shattered nerves.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
In playing terms, both are the leaders of their teams but they take very different approaches to their role. While Bale is widely acclaimed as an inspiration for his national team, Ronaldo's influence on Portugal is the subject of debate. Gareth Bale is constantly encouraging his team mates and is described by his manager as "the most down-to-earth boy you could meet."
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Frisday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
'All is forgiven dear Tiger, wear your red shirt on day four and come back home to the Winner's Circle now.'
A high-intensity training for last three weeks has boosted his confidence and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap says he is looking to maintain the rhythm as he sets out to achieve his dream of winning an Asian Games medal in Incheon.
Everton have been handed the dubious distinction of being the 'dirtiest' Premier League team after a study on the all-time cards and fouls by www.dirtyteams.co.uk.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza was spotted in the 17th Asian Games village in Incheon on Wednesday.
Croatian wunderkind Borna Coric offered emphatic proof of his potential when he crushed Rafael Nadal in the Swiss Indoor tournament on Friday before local hero Roger Federer cruised into the last four.
Crowned the world number one, Saina Nehwal celebrated her numero uno status with a straight-game demolition of Japanese Yui Hashimoto, while Kidambi Srikanth too saw off Xue Song of China to reach their maiden finals at the Yonex Sunrise India Super Series.
Serge Gnabry continued his impressive scoring run for Germany, netting in second-half stoppage time for his ninth goal in his 10th international, completing Germany's eighth consecutive win over Northern Ireland.
Indian Grandmaster P Harikrishna started his campaign by outclassing Eric De Haan of Holland in the first round of the Masters' section of Tradewise Gibraltar Chess festival at the Caleta in Gibraltar.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
