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WELLINGTON: New Zealand Rugby is "really confident" of adding Pacific teams to Super Rugby in time for the 2022 season despite concerns over their financial viability, a senior NZR official said on Thursday (Mar 25). World Rugby said on Wednesday it will spend £1.2 million (US$1.64 million) annually over three years to help facilitate the entry of Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika into the competition, subject to NZR Board approval and key conditions being met. "We’re really confident. We’re not there yet but

This will be the 18th occasion that a Grand Prix has been held at Losail International Circuit and the 14th under floodlights. This will be the 15th successive year that the track has hosted the season opener, although in 2020, only Moto2™ and Moto3™ races were held as the MotoGP™ race was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Qatar is the seventh different Asian country to host a Grand Prix (all solo classes) along with Thailand, Turkey, Japan, Malaysia, China and Indonesia. Losail

FUKUSHIMA: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch relay set off from Fukushima on Thursday (Mar 25), beginning a four-month countdown to the Summer Games, delayed from 2020 and the first ever organised during a global pandemic. Organisers hope that the relay will sweep away persistent doubts about the event. The nationwide relay, like the Olympics themselves, will be vastly different from previous editions, with spectators banned from cheering and kept away from the launch ceremony and first leg over COVID-19 concerns. Fans will be

ISTANBUL: Veteran captain Burak Yilmaz netted a hat-trick as Turkey saw off a late rally from the Netherlands to secure a 4-2 home victory on Wednesday (Mar 24) at the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign. Yilmaz opened the scoring in the 14th minute of the Group G match with a deflected shot followed by a penalty 20 minutes later at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium to put the Turks 2-0 up at halftime. The game looked to be effectively over when Hakan

PARIS: France kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign in unconvincing fashion as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Ukraine on Wednesday (Mar 24). Antoine Griezmann put the world champions in front in the first half with a brilliant strike, only for defender Presnel Kimpembe to hand the visitors a point with an own goal after the break. The result left Didier Deschamps's side and Ukraine level with Finland and Bosnia in Group D after they drew 2-2 in the

LEUVEN, Belgium: Belgium shrugged off an early scare to see off Wales 3-1 and make a winning start to their World Cup qualifying campaign on Wednesday. Harry Wilson gave Wales a surprise 10th-minute lead in their opening Group E match at Den Dreef in Leuven but the top-ranked Belgium came from behind to win the game with goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Thorgan Hazard and Romelu Lukaku. It continued the dominant performances in qualifying competition for Belgium, who won all 10 group games

In the last decade, Lyon's dominance in women's football has been nigh on complete. Since 2011, the French club has been involved in nine Champions League finals, winning the competition seven times. Anita Asante, who currently plays for Aston Villa in the Women's Super League (WSL) and works as a pundit for the UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL), explains how Lyon's ability to continually bring in new talent has been key to success. "I think they've always had that consistency and that continuity,"

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was reduced to tears in his first media conference since returning to Sweden international football squad while explaining his son's reaction to his call-up. The normally stoic 39-year-old, who is making a return to international football after first retiring in 2016, became emotional as he described how his 12-year-old son Vincent became tearful when he left home to rejoin the squad after a five-year absence. "Vincent cried when I left him," Ibrahimovic said in the press conference, sitting alongside Sweden coach

The Netherlands team hope that this week's start of the World Cup qualifiers in Europe will highlight the plight of migrant workers in Qatar and help to improve their working conditions. "A lot of attention is now focused on whether we should go there if we qualify," coach Frank de Boer told news conference on the eve of his team's opening Group G match against Turkey in Istanbul, amid growing controversy at home over Qatar's hosting of the 2022 finals. "It is right

LONDON: Stefanos Tsitsipas is keeping expectations low heading into the Miami Open but said the absence of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the tournament gives players like him a better chance for success. The 22-year-old Greek, who is ranked fifth, reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open last month and the final of the Mexican Open on Saturday, in a solid start to what he hopes will be his breakthrough year. "It is an opportunity, I won't lie," he told

Manchester City will install over 5,000 rail seats at the Etihad Stadium, the Premier League club said, a move that will allow spectators to stand safely during matches next season. The seats, which are designed to lock into a folded position and give fans space to stand, would be installed over the summer in the lower tier of the South Stand, City said. Standing at grounds in the top two tiers is banned but clubs have looked to find a middle ground, with

On the sidelines of this week’s Milipol Qatar summit, the President of Huawei Middle East reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting the realization of the Qatar National Vision 2030 through its contribution to the country’s growing digital economy and major events like the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The executive praised the country’s strong progress on digital transformation under the Qatar Smart Program (TASMU) whilst empowering cross-sector collaboration, data sharing, and encouraging innovation across the country’s digital ecosystem. When it comes

Sevilla grabbed a dramatic last-second equalizer in Saturday's La Liga clash against Valladolid -- and the goal came from the unlikeliest of sources. Losing 1-0 and desperate to try and salvage at least a point from the match, Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine 'Bono' Bounou ran the length of the pitch to join the attack for his team's final corner of the game. After a mix up in the Valladolid defense, the ball found its way to Bono eight yards from goal and the Moroccan

Jose Mourinho said Tottenham's dressing room is divided by "selfish" players and agents who have their own relationships with the press. Mourinho was speaking after a vital win in the chase for a top-four Premier League finish. Spurs responded to an embarrassing Europa League exit at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb with a 2-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday, courtesy of goals from Carlos Vinicius and Harry Kane. Captain Hugo Lloris had criticised the underlying culture at the club in a stinging

Finn Allen has been called up for the first time as part of New Zealand's 13-man T20 International (T20I) squad to take on Bangladesh in the three-game series, starting this Sunday at Seddon Park in Hamilton. The 21-year-old opener was the stand-out player of this season's Dream11 Super Smash, amassing a league-leading 512 runs at an average of 56 and an incredible strike-rate of 193 - featuring a table-topping 56 fours and 25 sixes. The former New Zealand Under-19 representative is one of

Rahkeem Cornwall blasted a maiden Test half-century and dominated an eighth-wicket partnership of 90 with Joshua da Silva to lift the West Indies to 268 for eight in their first innings, a lead of 99 runs, at the close of the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Monday. Outstanding seam bowling by Suranga Lakmal, who claimed his fourth five-wicket innings haul in 64 Tests, had restricted the home side to 171

The six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has been ruled out of the season opener Qatar Grand Prix, the organising committee said on Monday, as he continues to recover from the surgery. Marquez got himself fractured in his right arm on July 19 2020 when he fell in the first Grand Prix of the previous season, an injury that needs three bouts of surgery. The last surgery he underwent was in the month of December. He came back to the training sessions at the

Steven Gerrard said he was surprised by England coach Gareth Southgate's decision to drop Trent Alexander-Arnold from the squad for their World Cup qualifiers and described the Liverpool defender as the "best English right back in the country". Steven Gerrard said he was surprised by England coach Gareth Southgate's decision to drop Trent Alexander-Arnold from the squad for their World Cup qualifiers and described the Liverpool defender as the "best English right back in the country". Alexander-Arnold was left out of Southgate's 26-man

Marcus Rashford has travelled to England HQ despite foot injury; he missed training on Monday and will be assessed by FA doctors; Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham also arrived on Monday after German authorities reviewed their coronavirus risk regulations Marcus Rashford joined up with the England squad on Monday despite missing Manchester United's FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Leicester due to a foot injury. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after Sunday's game that the club's medics were in discussion with their counterparts at

Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at Juventus beyond this season, the club's managing director Fabio Paratici said after a 1-0 defeat to Benevento. Ronaldo, who joined the Italian side on a four-year deal for a reported $117 million transfer fee in 2018, is the top scorer in Serie A so far this season with 23 goals. He also recently scored the 770th goal of his career to move ahead of Pele's tally of goals scored in official matches. "He's the best in the world