Month: August 2025

The international qualifiers are where the battles for places at the next World Cup are fought. Typically, teams are drawn into groups and play each other twice (home and away) to decide the group winners. The top two sides automatically qualify, while runners-up enter play-offs for the remaining places.

Often, the best team will win, but ties can be decided by extra time and penalty shootouts if needed. Occasionally, especially when one entrant lacks the facilities to host matches, the matches will be staged in neutral countries.

There are 31 places to fight for in the tournament, with each of FIFA’s six continental zones hosting their own qualifying competition. Those are Africa, Asia, North and Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Oceania.

Each competition is run by the appropriate continental governing body. The top-ranked nations qualify automatically, while the second-placed teams are entered into inter-continental play-offs.

DR Congo, South Africa, Cape Verde and Algeria all currently lead their groups. Other notables include 2022 semi-finalist Ghana, Mohamed Salah’s Egypt and African champions Ivory Coast.

Qualification in Europe is usually held in a full found-robin format, with each team playing the others home and away. The winning team automatically qualifies for the tournament. The runners-up are then placed into four paths of single-match play-offs to determine which side will compete in the next phase of the competition. If a team cannot play its two play-off matches due to political instability, it will be replaced by another eligible team.

The Masters leaderboard is one of the most important parts of following this tournament, because it tells fans who’s winning and who’s losing. Keeping track of the top players allows fans to experience every twist and turn of The Masters in real-time.

The 2025 Masters is in the home stretch, and the action is heating up at Augusta National. There’s plenty of drama at the top of the leaderboard as Rory McIlroy surged back from a disastrous start to make his presence felt, while Bryson DeChambeau is in hot pursuit. Even defending champion Scottie Scheffler isn’t safe as he hovers at the edge of contention.

Throughout the course of The Masters, fans have been able to witness some incredible shots. The moment that will live on in green jacket lore is Tiger Woods’ delicate chip from the 16th hole, where time seemed to stand still as his ball hung on the edge of the cup.

Despite making a triple-bogey on the 18th hole, McIlroy is in a position to win his fifth major title and cap off his career grand slam. He made a birdie on the 10th to move within two strokes of the lead, and then drilled a putt from 15 feet on the 13th to move within three. If he can keep up this pace, the Northern Irishman could make it a three-way race to the green jacket at The Masters.

The World Athletics Championship is one of the largest sporting events on the planet. It’s the biggest championship in track and field, only eclipsed by the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games. It attracts some of the top athletes in the sport, including Olympic champions and Wanda Diamond League winners. It also has a unique mascot that changes with each edition and the host city. This year, in Budapest, Hungary, it’s Youhuu the sheep, a symbol of the country that has 1.3 million of them.

The inaugural event was held in 1983 in Helsinki, Finland and since then it’s grown into a global showcase for athletics. The Championships is open to all the IAAF’s 213 member federations and is where many of the most significant and lasting world, area and national records have been set. The best athletes in the sport descend on one city for a week of action, culminating in the men’s and women’s individual titles being awarded. There’s been plenty of high drama over the years, from Carl Lewis’s triple gold to Femke Bol falling within sight of the line in the final of the mixed 4x400m relay.

British athletes are well represented at the next edition in Budapest. In the long distances, 2024 Olympic bronze medallists Keely Hodgkinson (Trevor Painter, Belgrave Harriers) and Jemma Reekie (Jon Bigg, Kilbarchan) are in action, as is former European Indoor champion and Commonwealth silver medallist Dina Asher-Smith (Blackheath & Bromley). Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet) will double up in the 100m and 200m, as will fellow Briton Romell Glave (Michael Afilaka, Brighton Pheonix). Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Aston Moore, Liverpool) and Josh Kerr (Danny Mackey, Edinburgh) have received wild card selections to compete in the 800m.

Whether it’s cheering along with the crowd at your home team’s World Cup match, feeling the whine of Formula 1 engines in your chest, or watching a hockey goal in sudden death overtime, there is something special about international sports. International sporting events can bring together a wide variety of people from different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. They can be a powerful force for bringing communities together and supporting local businesses, all while helping to promote the values of a sport and its athletes.

Nevertheless, there is no escaping that international sport is often fraught with power imbalances: where you come from plays a major role in how far you can go in the game. This is a reality that can be seen in the history of international competition, dating back to the ancient Olympic Games in which city states would put aside their internal struggles to compete.

The modern Olympics continue to draw competitors from around the globe, though the event is structured in a way that delineates participation by cultural elements: language, as with the Francophone Games; ethnicity, as with the Maccabiah Games for Jewish athletes; and occupation (with the Universiade for university students). There are also events based on gender, such as the World Outgames for LGBT athletes.

International sports governing bodies, such as FIFA and the IOC, are responsible for setting the rules of their respective sports at the global level and disseminating them worldwide. They are also tasked with choosing which sports should be included in the Olympic Games and which should be excluded, with the latter grouped under the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.

The sports world is constantly transforming, and the boundaries between what we watch in our living rooms and what happens on the field is slowly blurring. Whether it’s an athlete’s reaction to a heartbreaking loss or an inspiring moment that brings a team together, these viral sports moments capture the world’s imagination and spread like wildfire on social media. In this era of instant feedback and Twitter, these micro-moments can define an athlete’s legacy, build bridges to new fans, and create global communities of team loyalty.

While some viral sports moments happen by chance, leagues and teams can also leverage their own content to go viral or at least trend online. This can be done in the form of memes, highlight reels, or even influencer posts geared towards the sports community. This type of content can help athletes and teams connect with fans in real-time, boost brand awareness, and create a sense of community among their audience.

Viral moments from sports can be awe-inspiring, heartwarming, or downright wacky. This summer, we saw “pommel horse guy” win a bronze medal and a spot on “Dancing With the Stars,” and we watched as Olympic shooter Chloe Kim became a social media icon thanks to her off-field antics and a viral dance video. Outside of the Olympics, we saw a bunch of head-scratching and awe-inspiring moments like Rachael Gunn’s breakdancing skills, Ilona Maher rumbling over Aussies, or the bizarre stance of Turkish shooter Sevval Ilayda Dikec.

Champions League is the pinnacle of club soccer, one that has seen a number of dramatic moments and even more remarkable achievements over its rich history. It is a competition that has helped to steer billions of euros in prize money, global broadcast rights and sponsorship deals to the highest earners in world football.

It was born in the heart of the 1950s, a creation that emerged from the imagination of visionaries. Gabriel Hanot, editor of the French newspaper L’Equipe and his colleague Jacques Ferran were looking for a competition that could showcase the best clubs in Europe beyond their domestic leagues.

That competition is now known as UEFA Champions League and has become the most coveted trophy in world football. It can be held permanently by a team if it wins five or three times in a row and has become almost as revered as the FIFA World Cup trophy.

In its current form, 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four and the top two in each group progress to the knockout stage. There, the field is whittled down through a round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals (both two legged) until a single game final takes place at a stadium selected prior to the tournament draw.

The group phase is played through the autumn, while the knockout stages begin after a winter break. During the group phase, the teams are placed into separate groups via a random draw and teams from the same country cannot be drawn against each other. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, however, a draw is made that does not take into account associations (with the exception of the first leg).

Esports tournament news is a fascinating world in which millions of fans follow teams and players through high-stakes games that often span days or months. These eSports competitions are dedicated to specific video game franchises, offering huge prize pools for the prolific teams that manage to win.

ESports are a global phenomenon that rivals traditional sports in terms of revenue, audience size and popularity. Millions of people watch them online and attend live events, while top players are hired by the highest-paying teams to compete in prestigious leagues and tournaments.

The most popular eSports feature a variety of different genres, from multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games to first-person shooter (FPS) and fighting games. Some of the most iconic eSports include Riot’s League of Legends, Dota 2’s International and Intel Extreme Masters series, Counter-Strike and Valorant, among many others.

These eSports tournaments can be hosted by a wide range of organizations, from a game developer to gaming associations and broadcasters. They can also be overseen by a governing body that acts as the overall leader in eSports regulation on a national, regional or global basis.

Whether you are a professional gamer or just a fan who enjoys playing, you have a lot to gain from keeping up with eSports. The more you know, the easier it is to stay up-to-date with all the latest news and developments in this dynamic gaming world. Moreover, it is important to remember that these events are not only about video games; they have a positive impact on our lives as well.

Combat Sports are a group of specialized athletic disciplines that focus on offensive techniques for scoring points, knockouts or submissions. While defense is also important, scoring systems often incentivize athletes to be more aggressive and proactive in their fighting style. This makes for dynamic, spectator-friendly fights. Combat athletes must also undergo rigorous training regimens that are specifically designed to enhance physical performance, technical prowess and strategic understanding.

Many modern combat sports such as boxing, wrestling and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) incorporate various techniques from several martial arts modalities. For example, a MMA fighter may use the striking techniques from Muay Thai and the grappling techniques from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to develop a well-rounded skill set for competition.

People from all walks of life participate in combat sports. In addition to the elite-level competition, millions of individuals worldwide practice combative sports recreationally [1]. While these activities provide a great outlet for energy and offer health and wellness benefits, they are not intended as self-defense.

Despite the violent nature of these activities, martial artists are some of the nicest people around. It is largely due to the fact that they have all started from scratch, humbled and worked their way up. They have a deep respect for those who have come before them and a desire to help others along the way.

If you are interested in getting involved in a combat sport it is essential to choose a discipline that you love and want to practice. You must have fun, as this is how you will be consistent and make progress!

Formula 1 transcends mere racing – it’s a global spectacle of speed, strategy and engineering excellence where a fraction of a second can make all the difference. But it isn’t just about the cars, drivers and teams – the determining factor are the F1 standings, the real-time indicator that fuels passionate discussions, predictions and enthusiasm across dedicated fanbases.

Calculating these standings requires precise coordination and meticulous data management across a global calendar of races and shorter, preliminary events called Sprints. But it’s not just about the numbers – a driver or team’s position on the standings reflects their performance and how close they are to the champions’ title.

For each Grand Prix, the top ten drivers receive points – with the winner receiving 25 points, then 18 for second place and so on down to 10th place, which is awarded just one point. Previously, drivers could also receive an extra point for setting the fastest lap, but that was removed ahead of 2025 as part of a wider series of rule changes.

The standings also reflect the Constructors’ Championship – with each team being scored on their performance with two drivers. Since the constructors’ competition began in 1958, Ferrari are the most successful team with 16 titles, followed by Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull – each with nine. But it isn’t just the best-performing teams that win, as there have been 12 occasions when a Drivers’ Champion has been from a different team to the Constructors’ Championship winners.

The US Open starts Sunday Aug 24 and runs through Sunday Sept 7 and is the last Grand Slam of the season. The US Open is known for unpredictable drama, thrilling matches that run late into the night and is also one of the most popular tennis events in the world.

The tournament is held annually at Flushing Meadows in New York City. It was first played in 1881 as the National Championship and is one of five Grand Slam tournaments that are part of the Open Era, a system of major tennis tournaments which began in 1968.

Ticket availability and prices may change over time (it’s difficult to predict exactly what the ticket situation will be until the tournament begins). For example, it is common for tickets on Ticketmaster to go up in price in the days leading up to the opening day of the tournament, but then decline. In addition, the tournament typically only releases a small percentage of face-value “standard” tickets at once and then trickles more out in the weeks/months following. As a result, some fans end up purchasing tickets on resale sites such as Stubhub instead of on Ticketmaster.

There will be an additional day of main draw action this year, bringing the tournament to 15 total days. This will bring it into line with other Grand Slams, which now start on a Monday (the Australian Open did so a few years ago). The move also gives players more opportunity to recover between events, as the US Open will no longer be the only tournament that concludes on a Sunday.