What to know about the 2026 World Cup one year out
The World Cup kicks off one year from now and will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
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Study: European Game Generated 38 Bln Euros in 2023-24 Season
Europe's soccer market grew by 8% in terms of revenue in the 2023-24 season to 38 billion euros ($43.46 billion) with England's Premier League generating the most, Deloitte said in a study published on Wednesday. In its Annual Review of Football Finance, Deloitte said the top five leagues -- Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A and Ligue 1 -- generated 20.4 billion euros in revenue, an increase of 4%. Premier League clubs had the highest revenue of Europe's top leagues at 6.3 billion pounds ($8.50 billion), Reuters reported. However, the traditional 'big six' clubs in England's top flight reported lower average revenue growth (3%) than other clubs that were in the Premier League in both the 2023-24 and 2022-23 seasons (11%). The study said the growth was largely driven by expansion of clubs' commercial offerings, which also led to the teams cumulatively generating more than two billion pounds in commercial revenue for the first time. "A focus on stadia development and diversification of commercial revenues led to growth across the European football market in the 2023-24 season," Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said. "However, clubs and leagues cannot afford to take their eye off the ball as new challenges, including an evolving regulatory landscape and changing fan behaviors, arise. "The pressure is mounting for more clubs to drive additional revenue at the same time as managing rising costs. "More so than ever, leaders and owners must recognize the great responsibility they have of managing these businesses, capturing the historic essence of a football club while honoring its unrivalled role as a community asset for generations to come." Clubs in Europe's 'big five' leagues reported an aggregate operating profit (0.6 billion euros) for a second successive season, while the aggregate wages/revenue ratio fell from 66% to 64%. WSL REVENUE SOARS Clubs in England's Women's Super League (WSL) jointly generated revenue of 65 million pounds in the 2023-24 season, a 34% rise. Each WSL club had a double-digit increase in revenue, while all 12 clubs reported over one million pounds in revenue for the first time, with an average revenue of 5.4 million pounds. "Through developing more robust fan engagement strategies, strong commercial deals and securing central distributions, WSL clubs unlocked a new phase of growth," Deloitte Sports Business group's knowledge and insights lead Jennifer Haskel said. "Plus, as the reporting and attribution of commercial revenue remains inconsistent between clubs, we may be scratching the surface on the value now being generated by the women's game."
Asharq Al-Awsat
11 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
WTA: Players Undergoing Fertility Procedures to Get Protected Ranking
Female players who choose to undergo a fertility protection procedure will be allowed to take time away from the sport and return to competitive action with a protected ranking, the governing body of women's tennis (WTA) said on Wednesday. The new rule aims to support women athletes to balance their family goals and career ambitions and comes three months after the WTA offered players up to 12 months of paid maternity leave for the first time. "The new rule means that players can now take time away from professional tennis for a fertility protection procedure such as egg or embryo freezing and safely return to competition with a protected ranking," the WTA said in a statement, according to Reuters. "Eligible players will receive a Special Entry Ranking (SER), which can be used to enter up to three tournaments, based on the 12-week average of their WTA Ranking from eight weeks prior to the start of their out-of-competition period." Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, has previously called for egg freezing to be recognized as a protected ranking activity and called Wednesday's announcement a "ground-breaking" move. "I'm incredibly proud of our sport in recognizing the importance of fertility treatments for female athletes. For any woman, the conversation of family life versus a career is nuanced and complex," the former world number three said. "The WTA has now created a safe space for players to explore options and to make the best decisions for themselves." The WTA also said players will benefit from paid maternity leave and grants for fertility protection through the WTA Maternity Fund.
Arab News
13 hours ago
- Arab News
Backups bring down the house, Pacers take 2-1 NBA Finals lead with 116-107 Game 3 victory
INDIANAPOLIS: Backup guards Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell helped Indiana's bench break out with 49 points as the Pacers topped the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107 on Wednesday to claim a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals. Thanks to 27 points from Mathurin and the kind of pyrotechnics the Pacers have grown to adore from reserve point guard McConnell, Indiana have the advantage in the best-of-seven series. Tyrese Haliburton provided heroics with 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds while Pascal Siakam added 21 points for the Pacers, who haven't lost back-to-back games since December. Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 26 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points. Chet Holmgren compiled 20 points and 10 rebounds but shot 0-for-6 from 3-point range. Game 4 is scheduled for Friday in Indianapolis. The Thunder trailed 110-102 with three minutes to go, but Alex Caruso tried to keep the Pacers from a premature celebration with a steal and breakaway into the open court. Two steps into the paint, Aaron Nesmith closed and forcefully brought both arms down on Caruso to prevent the shot attempt and take him to the floor. Following a review, no flagrant foul was called. Caruso made both free throws and Indiana's Myles Turner subsequently lost the ball out of bounds. However, Turner, who missed eight of his first 10 shots, came up with two blocks of Holmgren on the same possession to keep the lead at six. Indiana got another stop, and Siakam lit up the stadium for good with an easy basket that gave the Pacers a 112-104 lead with 69 seconds left. McConnell was seemingly everywhere, and he came up with massive defensive plays all game. He ripped off Caruso's bullet inbounds pass with two hands at point-blank range under the basket and pumped in a layup to tie the game at 95 early in the fourth quarter. Mathurin cashed a trey off a McConnell assist, putting the Pacers up 98-96. Haliburton entered for the first time in the fourth quarter, took a handoff at the top of the key, stopped, squared and splashed his fourth 3-pointer of the game for a 101-98 lead with 6:42 remaining. Indiana's Aaron Nembhard made a 12-foot jumper from the left elbow and the Pacers got it back after a missed 3-point attempt, taking a touchdown lead (107-100) on Obi Toppin's two-hand dunk off of a miss with 4:23 to go. Nesmith caught a skip pass on the right wing and drained a trey on Indiana's next possession for an eight-point lead. McConnell hit a running right-handed layup between two clutch buckets by Mathurin as the Pacers stayed close, down 93-91, with 10 minutes to play. Oklahoma City had surged ahead for its biggest lead of the second half — 89-84 — to end of the third. Williams hit a long 3-pointer came after an and-1 baseline dunk by Holmgren, who moved through the swiping hands of McConnell to finish. Williams played a lot of the game with the ball in his hands as the Pacers worked to keep Gilgeous-Alexander in check. McConnell leads NBA reserves in assists per game in playoffs (4.1).
