Sports quiz of the week: US Open golf, F1 and a niche world championship
The Ferrari drivers savour winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024; Kagiso Rabada celebrates the wicket of Usman Khawaja; Arsenal Women fans hold up their scarves in support of their team. Composite: Guardian Picture Desk; Eurasia;;
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
21 minutes ago
- Times
Prem Rugby: New logo, away ends and US matches in Premiership rebrand
Premiership Rugby will rebrand its league as Prem Rugby next month as part of a slate of innovations aimed at driving more interest in the English game. The renaming is one of several plans to revamp the league, including: • A trial of playing matches on Thursday nights; • A push for more 'big games' at top-class stadiums, some of which could take place in the United States; • More use of 'away ends', building on the two-match trial this season; • Employing Deloitte and The Raine Group to draw up plans to restructure the top flight. The name of the overriding organisation will remain Premiership Rugby, but from July 23 the league will be known as the Gallagher Prem. This aligns with the second-tier Championship, which has also shortened its name to Champ Rugby before next season. The Premiership has been known as such since 1997, having been called the Courage League after the English rugby pyramid was established in 1987. The leaders at Premiership Rugby first revealed they wanted to change the name of the league in May last year on The Ruck podcast from The Times. After an extensive rebranding exercise that has taken two years and included consultation with players, including the Bath prop Beno Obano and the Northampton Saints full back George Furbank, Premiership Rugby has settled on its shortened name as it wants to 'talk how fans talk' and 'unashamedly celebrate intensity, physicality, grit and extreme athleticism' in the game. Its new logo will be coloured orange to signify 'intensity'. Revealing the new name, Premiership Rugby's chief growth officer, Rob Calder, said: 'This is not formal, corporate or traditional. It's got grit, just like our competition. It's a physical contest that showcases power, pace and incredible skill under pressure, so we are unashamedly going to talk about physicality, intensity, extreme athleticism and the grit of top-flight rugby. 'This is about big hits, it's intense, it's full contact and its unflinching. We know this works as we've spoken to the players, and the things they've said in the process are: 'Promote the players. Show the game, the aggression, the gladiatorial nature of the game, and give the brand the intensity to match.' ' To help players build their personal brands, the league is creating a centralised social media app for them to share footage and pictures. While the rebrand will be announced at Saturday's sold-out Premiership final at Twickenham between Bath and Leicester Tigers, both in the stadium and live on TNT Sports, the official switch will occur on July 23. Next season's opening game will take place on Thursday, September 25, as a one-off trial. The Prem wants to avoid a clash with the Women's World Cup final, which is on Saturday, September 27 and is likely to feature England's Red Roses at Twickenham, so its opening round will have one match on the Thursday and the other four across Friday, September 26 and Sunday, September 28. This season two 'away ends' were trialled, when Harlequins went to Leicester and Gloucester went to Saracens, and the league wants to facilitate more of those next year. Fans would not be segregated, but away supporters would have the option to sit together. Premiership Rugby is also encouraging clubs to put on more 'big games' at larger stadiums. Harlequins play two of these, one at Christmas and the other in spring, both at Twickenham, while Saracens have their 'showdown' in March and Bristol Bears started their 'big day out' in Cardiff this May against Bath. The Times understands that Sale Sharks have previously investigated using Bolton Wanderers' 29,000-seat Toughsheet Community Stadium for a league game. It will not happen next season, but the league wants to take matches to the US in the build-up to the 2031 men's World Cup over there. Officials are confident that they can do so, having built the number of sell-outs over the past three seasons from 13 to 18 to 30 this term. The Premiership previously played two ill-fated matches stateside in 2016 and 2017. In 2016 London Irish faced Saracens in New York, and then Saracens played Newcastle Falcons in Philadelphia the following year, but neither game was sold out. 'We've had US games before and they've been flash in the pans, in the wrong area, wrong stadiums with the wrong teams,' Premiership Rugby's chief executive, Simon Massie-Taylor, said. 'It needs to lead to something. It's about maxing out what we've got domestically first, which is why sell-outs are so important. That needs to continue for these big games to exist, and then you start moving beyond your shores.' In terms of the league's structure, the Prem will remain a ten-team league next season, but executives are looking to add 'expansion' teams. To investigate what the league could look like in future, Premiership Rugby has employed both the New York-based bank Raine and the consultancy firm Deloitte. Their remit is to look only at the structure of the league within England, though, rather than trying to start an Anglo-Welsh or British and Irish domestic league. Ultimately they will take recommendations to the Premiership Rugby board by the summer, which should lead to the franchising of the top flight and an official end to promotion and relegation, as The Times has reported. Raine and Deloitte helped the ECB with the sale of the Hundred franchises, which is set to earn £520million for English cricket. There is confidence at Premiership Rugby that the bottom side in 2024-25, Newcastle Falcons, will be taken over by Red Bull this summer, so they will be able to compete in next season's league. If they are, the Falcons are likely to incorporate the Red Bull brand in their name — for example, renaming themselves Red Bull Newcastle. TNT Sports, the league's broadcaster, which has a commitment to show the Prem until 2031, also wants to add more data and technology to its coverage, including showing player heartrates and the pressure exerted at scrums. It believes it has the technical ability to show fans that information already, but needs the buy-in of the clubs and players to do so. Ultimately the Premiership believes that it is emerging from several lean years, in which Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish went bust, and the league has cut its cloth with fresh confidence. Its chairman, Martyn Phillips, said: 'Three or four years ago we were in a hole, but we battened down the hatches to get the Premiership back on course. This feels like a significant day for us. We're in a good spot, but have by no means cracked it.' Jokingly, he added: 'We're out of intensive care, maybe even out of hospital, and we're not keen to go back there.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Saturday's briefing: Liverpool agree club-record deal for Florian Wirtz
Liverpool agreed a club-record deal with Bayer Leverkusen for playmaker Florian Wirtz. The much-anticipated move could break the British record, with the Germany star set to join his former team-mate Jeremie Frimpong at Anfield. Elsewhere, Thomas Frank reacted to his move to Tottenham, while Matheus Cunha spoke of his desire to help turn around Manchester United's fortunes. Wirtz capture close Premier League champions Liverpool are set to pay up to £116million to sign Wirtz after Leverkusen finally settled on a fee. The Reds had two bids rejected, the last one of £113m, which would have seen £100m paid up front with performance-related add-ons, but have finally got the deal over the line. Liverpool will still pay an initial £100m – comfortably surpassing their own record outlay – but the performance-related add-ons, if achieved, would make it a potential British record. Liverpool's overall outlay could surpass the £115m Chelsea paid Brighton in 2023 for Moises Caicedo. Striker Darwin Nunez was the Reds' previous record signing in 2022, although they have not paid the full £85m as he has not met all the requirements for certain add-ons to be due. Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is next on Liverpool's list, which could take their summer spending close to £200m. Frank gets to work Tottenham are prepared to rival Manchester United for Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo this summer after the appointment of Frank, the PA news agency understands. Spurs announced former Brentford boss Frank as their new head coach on Thursday night on a three-year deal. One of Frank's first moves in charge could be to try and tempt Mbeumo to follow him across London. The Dane declared 'a big piece of my heart' would always remain at Brentford in an emotional message posted on their official website. 'The time has come for me to move on. But, even as I leave, I know I have left a big piece of my heart at Brentford, not just at the football club but with the community and, of course, the incredible and loyal supporters,' said Frank. 'I want to extend my profound gratitude to the club for giving me the chance to pursue my dreams and for everyone involved who made the journey such a memorable one.' Dream move for Cunha Matheus Cunha is delighted to have joined his 'dream' team and determined to help Manchester United bounce back from their worst season in 51 years. The 20-time English champions are in the midst of a rebuild under Ruben Amorim, having limped home 15th in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final to fellow strugglers Tottenham. The Red Devils' issues did not deter Brazil international Cunha, who completed his eagerly-anticipated £62.5million switch from Wolves on Thursday. 'It is the most common phrase that you can say at this moment, but this is the dream come true,' he told MUTV. 'Maybe outside, I think maybe my decision, they don't understand. But when you have always dreamed to play here, it's easier to pick this decision. 'For me, no-one else is like United. Of course, I know it's been a hard season for everyone. I think my decision shows what this club is for me and what I believe this club can be.' Mikey eyes more silverware One player hoping to impress Frank is Spurs youngster Mikey Moore, but the teenager's immediate focus is ending an unforgettable breakthrough campaign with another European trophy. The highly-rated 17-year-old made 19 appearances in all competitions for his boyhood club, with five of those coming in the Europa League. The winger was on the bench for the final in Bilbao and three weeks on has more continental glory in his sights as England kick off their bid for Under-19 European Championship glory. 'It was a top experience – some of the best times of my life on that Wednesday night,' Moore told PA. 'Hopefully going on to win another medal and another trophy with these boys here would be a brilliant feeling and experience for everyone. 'There's some top players. We think we can go on and hopefully win the tournament. It's been a good little build-up but excited to get into the games now.' What's on today? The Club World Cup gets under way on Saturday night at the Hard Rock Stadium, with Inter Miami playing in their home city against Egyptians Al Ahly in Group A. Moore will hope to star when England Under-19s begin their Euro campaign against Norway in Romania.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Emma Raducanu: I need to manage back injury in lead-up to Wimbledon
Emma Raducanu admitted she would need 'proper and careful management' of her back pain before Wimbledon after her Queen's Club campaign came to a tame end against Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals. The gap in level between Raducanu and the very best players in the world was evident once again at the HSBC Championships on Friday. She was outclassed by the world No5 Zheng 6-2, 6-4, her 12th defeat in 13 matches against opposition ranked inside the top eight. Raducanu's back injury flared up once again midway through the match when she required an off-court medical timeout for treatment and painkillers. Frankly, though, even if she had been fully fit, it would have been tough to overcome the power of Zheng, the Olympic champion, who hit 21 winners to Raducanu's nine. It would be a stretch to claim that Raducanu is a serious injury doubt for Wimbledon in a little more than two weeks' time, but clearly it is not ideal that she is struggling to shake off an issue that has persisted for some time now. She has suffered two separate back spasms in the past three weeks. 'It's been lingering for the last few weeks, and I have had back issues before,' Raducanu said. 'I think it's just a vulnerability of mine. I know I need to take good care of it. I'm not overly concerned that it's something serious, but I know it's something that's very annoying and needs proper and careful management. 'I have been struggling with my back since Strasbourg [last month], and it's just been something that's been on and off. I have been managing it pretty well over the last few weeks, but I guess as the week goes on and I have played five matches now, even if two were doubles. I think it just tests it out and I just felt it as the load goes up.' It is likely that this has brought an end to the chance of a seeding for Raducanu at Wimbledon. Her last opportunity to earn ranking points before the deadline of June 23 is at next week's German Open in Berlin, but she is not sure if she will be able to compete so soon after Queen's. She is at a projected No36, with seedings going to those inside the top 32. 'I don't know,' Raducanu replied when asked if she would play in Berlin. 'I need to think about that and see how it settles and recovers over the next few hours.' Raducanu was bidding to reach her first semi-final since this time last year at the Nottingham Open, but there were signs midway through the opening set that she was feeling some discomfort in her back. Zheng took advantage by repeatedly applying pressure with her hard-hitting serve and groundstrokes for a 4-2 lead. Struggling to impose with her serve, Raducanu conceded a second break for the set when she hit a forehand into the net despite Zheng slipping on the other side. A tournament physio then appeared to work on Raducanu's back before she headed off court for a full medical timeout. The delay in play appeared to disrupt Zheng's momentum and she hit a double fault to gift a break to Raducanu in the first game of the second set. The painkillers had also clearly kicked in as Raducanu was now moving freely on the court before breaking serve once again for 3-0. The resurgence did not last long, however. Zheng claimed one of the two breaks back and Raducanu failed to hold on to her 4-2 lead, with a double fault allowing her Chinese opponent to level at 4-4. As if serving had not been challenging enough because of her back pain, gusts of wind were also proving a nuisance with a thunderstorm slowly approaching west London. Serving to stay in the match at 5-4 down, Raducanu hit a seventh double fault to give Zheng three match points at 0-40. Although Zheng missed three consecutive returns, she eventually converted a fourth match point when Raducanu hit long. 'It was a tough match,' Raducanu said. 'I think Qinwen played really well and served well. She took one of my bigger strengths away, which is my return. That was difficult. She found some good spots when she needed to. She played a high-level match, as well. 'I had a lot of joy playing here at Queen's. I think the crowd was amazing. The support the whole way through for every match, that was really enjoyable for me. To get some matches on the grass is very different to the clay. To start to adapt to this surface, I think I can take what I need from this week and move forward.' There was a shock result in the second quarter-final when the 37-year-old German qualifier Tatjana Maria defeated the 2022 Wimbledon champion and world No11 Elena Rybakina. Maria, who is ranked No86 in the world, outfoxed her opponent with some clever slicing and dicing for a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) victory and now goes on to play the Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who battled back to defeat Russia's Diana Shnaider 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. The draw for next week's men's event at Queen's takes place on Saturday. Carlos Alcaraz is expected to take his place as the top seed after his French Open triumph last week, while the No2 seed Jack Draper is already on site practising. Main draw wild cards have been given to Dan Evans, Billy Harris and Cameron Norrie.
