Month: November 2025

The World Test Championship is a two-year competition to determine the best test cricket team in the world, with a special trophy awarded. The tournament was launched in 2021 to increase the importance of Test cricket and give teams a better chance to win against quality opposition. The current champions are South Africa, who beat Australia in the 2025 final at Lord’s.

The current World Test Championship structure sees each full member country play three series – either five or eight matches – against other countries in their group, with the top two progressing to the final. This is a change from the previous system, in which a full round-robin format was used with each team playing all the other nations six times.

Teams are awarded points for each match they win (12 points), draw (6 points) or lose (0 points). They are also ranked on a percentage basis based on how many total points they won out of the number of points contested, taking into account their performance at home and away. Teams will also be awarded bonus points if they maintain a minimum required over rate in their innings.

It was a fairytale ending at Lord’s on Saturday as Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma guided the Proteas to victory in the Ultimate Test, overcoming modern Goliaths Australia to win the 2025 WTC Final and lift the famous mace. Hall of Famer AB De Villiers led the tributes on social media from his homeland, while the billions who watch cricket from near and far marvelled at the way the Proteas rode out a storm in the final session to claim victory.

Athlete endorsements offer a unique opportunity for brands to forge an emotional connection with consumers. Athlete endorsements are most effective when they align with a brand’s values and are authentically integrated into the company’s identity. This enables brands to stand out amongst competitors and create differentiation in the market.

Endorsement contracts must clearly define performance deliverables and attribution metrics. Compensation is often structured as a combination of fixed fees and performance incentives. In addition, contracts may establish limits on geographic scope and product categories (e.g., athletic shoes vs. lifestyle apparel).

Long-term athlete endorsements offer the potential for deeper integration and a more genuine representation of brand identity. This allows for an opportunity to create a narrative around how the brand is woven into the athlete’s life story. Athlete-brand partnerships can also facilitate collaboration on new products and creative initiatives.

Athlete endorsements involve a significant amount of legal risk and need to be carefully structured to protect against the unexpected. Endorsement agreements should include indemnification provisions, morality clauses, and termination/restructuring rights. In addition, it is critical to address evolving regulatory standards and digital media dynamics in contract negotiations and drafting. Legal practitioners must collaborate with marketing teams to incorporate valuation analytics, negotiation strategy, and stakeholder roles into the contract drafting process. This helps ensure that the agreement reflects current conditions and anticipates future trends in the NIL and professional markets. This approach also supports more effective and cost-efficient legal management of NIL and celebrity agreements.

As October’s international window comes to a close, the countdown for next summer’s World Cup is in full swing. Here’s how nations around the globe are doing in their qualifying attempts.

In Europe, the top 12 in the UEFA Nations League will qualify automatically for the finals, while those finishing lower than that will have to take part in intercontinental playoffs. There are also paths for teams to reach the finals via FIFA’s ‘play-off system’, which involves the best runners-up in each confederation’s group.

Several big-name nations are in contention to reach the World Cup finals via this route, with four routes left open in Conmebol and one in Asia. Despite dropping a point against Israel, Norway are top of their group after Erling Haaland’s sixth hat-trick of the qualifiers.

Elsewhere in the continent, Jordan are in pole position to make the finals after a 3-0 win over Kyrgyzstan. The victory pushed them up to second in Group B, ensuring they will join Iran (24 points) in the finals from Round 3. Uzbekistan (16 points) have already qualified from their group, while Qatar, Iraq and Oman are out.

Just two direct qualification spots remain in Asia, with the runner-ups of each group progressing to the fourth round. In this phase, the groups are redrawn into two groups of three teams who play single round robin matches, with the winners and runners-up advancing to Round 5. The winners from each group will go through to the final two places at the World Cup. Suriname and Jamaica are vying for these spots in their group, with both sides managed by former Netherlands goalkeeper Stanley Menzo. Huddersfield defender Radinio Balker is among the players in the Suriname squad.

The Masters leaderboard shows the top 50 players, plus ties, who advance to the final two rounds at Augusta National Golf Club. This year, the cut line fell at 2 over, and there were a number of notable names who missed out.

Justin Rose held on to the lead at The Masters on Friday as he shot a one-under 71 in his second round. The Englishman, who is attempting to win the green jacket for a third time, has won eight rounds at Augusta during his career. He had birdies on the first three holes, as well as the par-5 13th hole, in his bogey-free round.

Rory McIlroy bounced back from a poor finish to the first round with the lowest second-round score at Augusta, a 6-under 66. The one-time major champion is tied for the lead with Corey Conners and Scottie Scheffler, while Bryson DeChambeau and Ludvig Aberg are also chasing him down.

McIlroy is seeking to exorcise the demons of Augusta and complete his career Grand Slam. He will tee off in the final group alongside Rose and DeChambeau on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. You can follow the action live from Augusta with our new Masters leaderboard, and check out our all-new PLAY hub for puzzles, games and more. The Masters is a tournament for invitation only, and participants are selected from among those who have won a major championship in the past five years, or have finished in the top 10 of a regular season major. The Masters is a tradition that dates to 1922.

The World Athletics Championship is the world championships in track and field athletics organized by World Athletics (formerly International Association of Athletic Federations). Along with the Olympic Games, it forms the highest level of senior international outdoor competition in the sport.

The milestone 20th edition of the World Athletics Championship will serve as the season finale to an exciting summer for track and field athletes. With a number of intriguing storylines, there’s plenty to discover as the world’s best athletes gather in Tokyo for the milestone event that marks the first time the championships have been held in Japan since 1983.

Jeannette and Rob discover that Saint Lucian sprint sensation Julien Alfred will be looking to make history in the men’s 100m final. And in The Vault, Karsten Warholm will be hoping to rebound after a disappointing run at the Paris Olympics.

The defending world champion over 400m hurdles is also coming to the championships with a lot of confidence. However, he faces a tough challenge from the likes of runner-up Rai Benjamin of the USA and Brazilian Alison dos Santos, who both broke the world record in this event earlier this year.

The first three days of the championships have been disrupted by extreme heat in Tokyo. Temperatures are expected to peak at 34C on Wednesday and the organisers have moved up some races’ start times in order to ensure athletes’ safety. The organisers said in a statement: “We have taken this decision in consultation with the World Athletics Health & Science Department. This is the best way we can ensure the athletes’ health and safety.”

A key feature of international sports are the competitions between teams from different countries. These can be at a national level, for example the World Cup football tournament or the Olympics, or between multiple nations as in the case of cricket and rugby league (World Cup) and baseball (World Series).

Hosting major events like the Olympics and football World Cup can boost a city or country’s reputation internationally. The Olympics and FIFA have explicit rules that recognise that hosting a major event should lead to sustainable improvements in the host city. This is why it is important for cities to lobby the organisers of these events to make sure that the bids are realistic and that they will be able to deliver on their promises.

However, even positive policies can only go so far. As Zohreh Abdollahkhani from the University of Trondheim points out, if the organisation governing an event is located in Europe, there’s little it can do to hold Western governments accountable for human rights abuses committed in their region.

There are also a variety of other international sporting events, from the Universiade – an international university sport event for students – to Six Nations rugby. These can give an insight into the sports culture of a country, which can be a good way to immerse yourself in local life when studying or interning abroad. For example, a visit to Florence would not be complete without witnessing calcio fiorentino – a violent mix of soccer, rugby and MMA.

Sports can be a crazy and wild ride for spectators, especially when things don’t go exactly as planned. From “pommel horse guy” earning a bronze medal and a spot on “Dancing With the Stars” to Dwyane Wade’s statue reveal, this year has been full of head-scratching sports moments that have left fans in stitches and awe.

Despite its reputation as the beautiful game, soccer has its fair share of strange and unbelievable sports moments. One such occurrence was when a dog managed to save a goal in a crucial moment during a soccer match, leaving players and fans alike in awe of the canine’s incredible reflexes.

The famous 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, known as the Battle of the Sexes, went far beyond a regular game of tennis and became an iconic sporting event that was hailed for its wide-reaching impact on gender equality. In addition to tennis, 2024 has seen its fair share of unforgettable sporting events in everything from darts to heavyweight boxing. From a 16-year-old kid from northern England to a 58-year-old returning former heavyweight champion, here are the viral sports moments of 2024 that got everyone talking.

The World Series, the pinnacle of baseball competition, is a place where legendary moments are born. The best of these moments are the ones that reverberate down through baseball history and give us a glimpse into the pure joy and passion that this game embodies.

From Carlton Fisk’s dramatic walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series to the first perfect game in MLB history, these are the moments that have stood out in the annals of the Fall Classic.

This year’s World Series has provided its fair share of memorable moments as well. Freddie Freeman’s game-winning shot in the 18th inning of Monday’s marathon Game 3 was a stunning display of power and persistence that will go down in World Series lore.

FOX Sports photographer Zeke Hernandez was in the right place at the right time when he captured the moment on camera. The photo of Hernandez’s finger pointing in the direction of the ball as it was flying to the plate is one of the best World Series pictures in history.

Shohei Ohtani had a game for the ages in Game 3 of the World Series, and he’s on a short list of players to have done so. He doubled and homered in the same game, and he made a huge impact on his team’s offense despite a calf injury he claimed was nothing more than a cramp. He is one of the most special talents this game has ever seen.