afpf-conference-Latest News About the World Test Championship

For sports teams and players, social media is now a necessity for engagement with fans year round. The power of the platform allows athletes to build a unique personal brand and connect with audiences all over the world, establishing them as household names. However, it can also be a double-edged sword: Use it properly, and you will boost your profile, increase opportunities, and attract more sponsors; misuse it, and your reputation can take a hit, your career may flounder, and you could lose valuable team endorsements.

Athletes can also use their profiles to advocate for social causes and engage in activism, enhancing their profile with followers and showcasing authenticity and values-driven leadership. The likes of LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and Megan Rapinoe have used their platforms to highlight issues such as racial injustice and women’s equality, amplifying their personal brands and influencing public perception.

Social media also enables athletes to broadcast live sporting events and share real-time commentary with fans directly. In a recent YPulse report, 70% of sports fans ages 13 to 37 said they no longer need to watch scheduled broadcasts or read daily news articles in order to follow their favorite teams, instead opting for social media to stay up to date.

Athletes can connect with their audience in real-time, and interact with fans by sharing exclusive content and hosting Q&A sessions. This level of direct engagement makes fans feel more connected to their teams and their favorite players, creating loyalty that is difficult for leagues and teams to replicate with traditional broadcasting methods. However, social media can present unique challenges for athletes, with many struggling to balance the demands of their professional and personal lives with the need to maintain a polished online image. It’s important that coaching and mental health resources focus on educating athletes on how social media can impact them, helping them recognize the difference between healthy engagement and harmful overuse.

The Champions League is a competition among the world’s best soccer clubs. It takes more than talent to win, though; it also takes heart and a little bit of luck.

It used to be that only teams who won their national championship qualified for the tournament, but UEFA decided to revamp it in 1992 and introduced a group stage. From 2003-04 through 2024-25, thirty-two teams were split into eight groups of four and played each other twice home and away, for a total of six games each. The team that scored more goals over the two legs—or in other words, aggregate goals—advanced to the next round.

After the group phase, the tournament continued in a knockout format, with quarter-finals and semi-finals (both two legged) before the final at a neutral venue chosen prior to the season. The final is traditionally held in late May or early June.

Currently, the top eight clubs in each of Europe’s top tiers automatically qualify for the group stage. The remaining clubs participate in a four-round qualifying tournament, with champions from associations that have higher coefficients receiving byes to later rounds and the remaining places granted to winners of a three-round playoff tournament between ten and eleven clubs from associations ranked fifth through to fifteenth.

The top eight from the league phase—in addition to the defending champions—are seeded in the knockout play-off draw, and will be drawn against one of the clubs that finished ninth through to 16th, which were placed in a separate, two-legged play-off.

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of athlete retirement news. Super Bowl hero Nick Foles hung up his jersey, and women’s sports pioneer Alex Morgan played her final game for the San Diego Wave.

Those who are retiring can find it challenging to transition into retirement, particularly those who have devoted much of their lives to their sport. Research shows that top-level athletes often identify with their former careers and feel a strong connection to the community they built in their respective sports. It’s difficult to break that bond, and those that struggle may end up losing motivation for exercise or even regressing into their old training habits.

Fortunately, retired athletes can make the transition easier by staying in touch with their sport peers. This maintains a connection, and it’s also important for them to keep their parents, partners and coaches involved in this process. These outsiders can help them find a sense of identity in life after sport, which will be a key factor in their success in this new chapter. Additionally, it’s recommended that these retirees pay off their debt and invest in income-producing assets to ensure they can cover their expenses. This will help them avoid paying early Social Security taxes, which could put them in the red before they reach their full retirement age of 62.

The World Test Championship is an annual competition for the world’s top teams in Test cricket. The winner of the tournament will be crowned champions of the world, with each match counting towards a team’s ranking.

A win will earn a team 12 points, while a draw will get a team 4 and a tie will give a team 6 points. A team will also receive a bonus point if they win by an innings margin of more than 80 runs. The final of the World Test Championship is held at the end of each season.

The ICC awarded England the right to stage the next three editions of the final after staging the 2025 showpiece at Lord’s. The venue will be the same for each of the finals to be played, and it is a mark of the ICC’s faith in the country after a successful run of Test matches that included the 2025 triumph.

From 1920 through 1952, Canadian teams dominated Olympic ice hockey. They won 37 games, lost one and tied three times. They scored 403 goals while allowing only 34. The sport became a regular event in the Olympics after that, and it has evolved over the years, with women’s hockey added in 1998 further diversifying the Olympic program.

When the puck dropped on the semifinal game against the Soviets at Lake Placid in 1980, more than 10,000 people jammed into Blyth Arena. They had heard of the “Miracle on Ice,” but no one in that crowd, not even a hard-staring coach like Herb Brooks, expected anything quite so dramatic. But midway through the second period, Bill Cleary took a pass from his brother Roger, darted toward the Soviet zone and drilled a shot past goalie Nikolai Puchkov.

With the score 4-3 and ten minutes to play, the U.S. team looked ready to crumble under the weight of its mounting deficit. But then Mike Eruzione picked up a loose puck in the Soviet zone, used a defenseman for a screen and shot the puck home to make it 5-3.

The Soviet/Russian/United States dynasty would not last long, but the collapse was a foregone conclusion that had been hinted at by the media before the 1988 Calgary Games. It was a logical outcome of the political changes ushered in by Perestroika, as more than two hundred top players jumped ship and sought jobs abroad.

World Athletics Championship is the world’s highest level of senior international outdoor track and field competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Together with the Olympic Games, it forms the core of athletics’ global competition programme. Separate World Championships are also held by World Athletics for other outdoor events, including marathon running and race walking, as well as indoor competitions for middle-distance running and jumping.

The 2025 edition marked the twentieth time that athletes from all over the world have gathered in a single city to determine the very best in each discipline. Several athletes clinched double gold, including American sprinter Noah Lyles, who won the men’s 100m and 200m, and Faith Kipyegon, who secured the women’s 1500m and 5000m titles. Meanwhile, the men’s and women’s 4x100m teams from Russia and Kenya were both crowned champions in record times, while Spanish duo Maria Perez and Alvaro Martin won the 20km and 35km race walks.

Among the great highlights from past World Championships was Carl Lewis’s triple success at the inaugural event in 1983 in Helsinki, which saw him claim the 100m, long jump and 4x100m golds. The same year, Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova became the first woman to clear 2.09m in the high jump and broke Bob Beamon’s 23-year-old world record.

The 2019 World Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar from 28 August to 5 September. The full qualification system has been published alongside a new ‘Road to the Ultimate’ online tool, designed to help athletes, media and fans track their journey to next year’s historic championship that will offer a record-setting prize pot of US$10 million.

The Masters is always a tough tournament, but when the weather gets involved, it’s even more difficult. Wind and rain add to the challenge, with flags whipping and trees rustling across Augusta National. But even in the most trying of conditions, a golfer can still produce some remarkable shots. This is especially true of short holes, where the virtues of courage and accuracy often trump sheer power. We’ve compiled a list of some of the finest short holes in golf, where the nerve of a player is tested more than their skill.

The Fried Egg Golf staff recaps one of the wildest final days at a major that’s been known for its crazy finishes.

Justin Rose maintains his grip on the green jacket at The Masters after shooting a 1-under 71 in Round 2. The one-time major winner leads by three shots over Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau.

McIlroy moves up the leaderboard after a nervy start to his round. After finding the rough on the first tee, he fluffed his drive on the second hole and made double bogey. But after that, he looked much more in control as he shot six-under par on Friday to sit two shots back of the leaders.

The Masters cut line is currently at two over, meaning that 53 players will advance to the weekend. The top 50 players and ties will be guaranteed a spot in the final two rounds of golf, with those outside the cut receiving a free green jacket.

From a 16-year-old darts player to a 58-year-old returning heavyweight champion, 2024 saw a wide range of head-scratching sports moments. Here are some of our favorites.

A viral moment in sport is an unforgettable one that captures the world’s imagination. Whether it’s a football player’s infamous “Butt Fumble,” or Billie Jean King’s high-stakes tennis match against Bobby Riggs, which became known as the Battle of the Sexes, these memorable moments have left fans talking for years to come.

Even sports that are considered to be some of the most traditional, such as soccer, have their share of bizarre and strange moments that leave fans in awe and wondering what the heck just happened. One such moment occurred in Argentina when a soccer player fired a shot that appeared to be destined for the goal until an agile canine dived to save it.

While these incredible moments are certainly a sight to behold, they’re also great reminders that no matter how much you train, there’s still the chance that your day could take an unexpected turn for the worse. We’ve rounded up some of the craziest, most head-scratching sports moments that went viral this year. From pommer horse guy earning a bronze medal and a spot on Dancing With the Stars to Dwyane Wade’s statue reveal, these sports micro-moments have captured our attention and our hearts.

Esports tournaments are a global phenomenon, revolutionizing the way gamers follow and engage with video games. These high-stakes events feature top teams from popular games competing in world-class arenas and streams, watched by millions and backed by major brands.

The esports landscape is huge, with many different genres of video games and competitions for each. For example, League of Legends and CS:GO are two popular esports with their own major championships and a wide range of smaller leagues and events.

These tournaments are often organized by the publishers of a video game, which are responsible for its production and distribution. They also manage the esports ecosystem, which includes leagues and events for their games.

Publishers are a critical part of the esports ecosystem as they provide financing and support to tournament organizers, as well as ensuring the game’s availability through retailers and streaming platforms.

For example, Fnatic is one of the most recognizable names in esports thanks to their dominance in League of Legends and CS:GO. The UK-based organization has won multiple major titles and is the most successful esports team worldwide, including winning the first-ever League of Legends World Championship in 2011. Astralis is another dominant force in CS:GO, winning three major events and several minor ones through disciplined gameplay and innovative strategies.

The 2025 esports calendar is incredibly busy with international leagues and events for multiple titles. Check out our month-by-month guide to see the most important upcoming tournaments and events for your favorite video games.

International sports are events that involve teams representing multiple countries, the most notable examples being the Olympic Games and the football World Cup. While there are many factors influencing the decision to host major sporting events, the main reason is usually economic. Hosting an event can be seen as a “seal of approval” by the world, and can help to boost a city’s economy. For example, London’s 2012 Olympics saw a huge increase in tourism.

The economic impact can also have social implications. For instance, cities with high rates of poverty may benefit from hosting the Olympics or other major sporting events. This can improve their image and raise their standard of living, reducing inequality in the country. In addition, hosting an event can bring in more jobs and attract investment from the wider world.

International sport has undergone a process of globalisation, which has increased its presence in the world and has changed its meaning. For example, the Olympic Games were originally held in Ancient Greece and only included men until 1900, when women were allowed to compete. The Olympics have also expanded to include many different disciplines.

The governing bodies of international sports are called International Federations (IF). They manage and monitor the everyday running of the world’s various sporting disciplines. The IFs must guarantee the regular organisation of competitions and respect for fair play. In addition, they must ensure that the statutes and practice of the national federations of their sport are in compliance with the Olympic Charter.