2016 is at the halfway stage and the year has already seen some stunning sporting wins, underdogs emerging triumphant on the biggest stages of them all.
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris next month with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up.
Banned former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he feels the soccer World Cup underway in Moscow is a little bit like "my World Cup" because he has been so well received on his visit to Moscow.
The Senegal international, 26, joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2016 for 34 million pounds ($43.8 million) and has scored 40 goals in 89 games for the Anfield club.
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Brazilians brought a soccer fan's raucous attitude to the Rio Games on Monday, wildly cheering their own athletes, booing and mocking opponents -- and creating uncomfortable moments for Olympic athletes unaccustomed to no-holds-barred partisanship.
The third Lusofonia Games, slated to be held in Goa in November, have been postponed to January due to the slow progress of infrastructure work. The Games of 'Lusophone' (Portuguese-speaking countries) will now be held from January 18 to 29, 2014.
Iceland joint-coach Heimir Hallgrimsson likened his team to an army on Sunday heading for a "win-win" second-round battle with England at Euro 2016. Iceland are the smallest country at the tournament with a population of just 332,000, the size of a city such as Leicester whose club won the English Premier League title this season.
FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein's election team informed police after being approached by an individual who said he could deliver 47 votes at Friday's election, they said on Tuesday.
The three sides who have bossed the ball the most in Russia, Spain, Germany and Argentina have all said "do-svidaniya" before the quarter-finals.
The favourites to win next year's World Cup in Russia were given navigable paths to the last 16 with the coaches of Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Spain having reason to feel reasonably optimistic after Friday's draw.
FIFA presidential candidate Luis Figo will hope to convince delegates at this week's Asian Football Confederation Congress that a vote for him would boost the region's chances of more places in future World Cup finals.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
A headed goal in second-half injury time by Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal a much-needed 1-0 win over Denmark in their Group I Euro 2016 qualifier on Tuesday.
Coach Bernd Storck says Hungary want to prove their first European Championship appearance in 44 years is no fluke when the former powerhouses meet neighbours Austria in their Group F opener on Tuesday.
>The World Cup captain was a remarkable species: Always trying, pushing, lifting, harassing, delivering; the kind who would unhesitatingly jump into the deep end to save the day. They're all gone now, says Dhruv Munjal.
The mesmerising moments that made the 2018 FIFA World Cup a blockbuster worldwide.
Wednesday evening's dramatic Euro 2016 group stage finale concluded an engrossing opening round that was tight and tense to the last as the expanded new-look European Championship passed its first test.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter shrugged off Luis Figo's accusation he had turned world soccer's ruling body into a dictatorship.
Back in the thick of action, former Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi will be in his element now
Iceland's run to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 showed that a Nordic island known for its volcanoes and pioneering geothermal power has the potential to generate plenty of its own talented footballers too.
France striker Kylian Mbappe went off nursing a shoulder injury as they beat Uruguay 1-0 with an Olivier Giroud penalty in a rematch of their World Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
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Neymar has given the ball away 84 times at this tournament
Messi memes quickly sprung up on the internet.
'At the Asian Games I had a dream, to stand on the podium and have the tri-colour hoisted.' 'I missed one thing in Jakarta -- the national anthem being played.' 'I hope to make it happen at the Olympics by winning gold.'
Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas left Real Madrid on Saturday after 16 seasons as an iconic figure at the Bernabeu.
Sepp Blatter, Luis Figo, Michael van Praag and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein have bid to stand for FIFA president.
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England's 2-1 defeat by Iceland at Euro 2016 may have looked like one of the worst reverses in their history yet in many was it was a perfectly logical result.
India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the sole Indian sportsman to figure on Forbes' list of the world's most valuable athlete brands, a list that has been topped by American basketball player LeBron James and includes golfer Tiger Woods and tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
As the countdown to 2018 starts, it's time to rewind those moments in sport that stood out this year.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Indian football saw a big jump in the FIFA rankings on Thursday, rising 24 places to go up to 147 spot.
Scandal-plagued FIFA may have avoided its current problems if Russia and Qatar had not been chosen as hosts of the next two World Cups, President Sepp Blatter said on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
UEFA elects a new president on Wednesday whose main task will be to stop what European officials say is an inexorable slide towards a breakaway football Super League open only to wealthy clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester City.
