SOCCER
Ronaldo to run for CBF
Former Brazil striker Ronaldo is to run for the presidency of the country’s soccer confederation, the 48-year-old said on Monday. Ronaldo, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, would run as a candidate in the Confederation of Brazilian Football (CBF) elections to replace current president Ednaldo Rodrigues in 2026. He told Globo Esporte he wanted to recover the “prestige and respect that the Selecao [Brazil’s national team] always had and today nobody else has.” He also said he expects to sell his stake in Spanish top-flight side Real Valladolid so it would not be an obstacle to his candidacy.
CYCLING
MotoGP rider joins Lidl-Trek
Former MotoGP rider Aleix Espargaro is to join cycling outfit Lidl-Trek next year having only retired from motorcycling last month, the team announced on Monday. Spaniard Espargaro clinched three MotoGP race wins during a 15-year career on the motorbike. The 35-year-old begins his Lidl-Trek contract on Jan. 1 and would join the side as an ambassador for unspecified “prestigious” cycling races. “After a back injury forced me to give up running I turned to cycling for recovery and training. Over time, it became more than just preparation — it became my passion,” Espargaro said. His new teammates include former Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart, Belgian veteran Tim Declercq and 2019 road race world champion Mads Pedersen.
SOCCER
Women’s Euro purse doubled
Prize money for the UEFA Women’s European Championship would more than double compared with the previous edition, with the 16 teams sharing 41 million euros (US$42.98 million), UEFA said on Monday. Each federation would get a minimum of 1.8 million euros for playing at Euro 2025 in Switzerland and is obliged to share at least 30 percent of the money among the players, UEFA’s executive committee decided on Monday. The men’s Euro tournament last year had a total prize fund of 331 million euros, from overall revenue of about 2.4 billion euros.
GOLF
PGA to pay Ryder players
US golfers would be paid to play in the Ryder Cup for the first time after the PGA of America on Monday unveiled a program that would give each team member a US$200,000 stipend and US$300,000 to distribute to charity. The PGA of America said no players had asked to be compensated, but the issue of pay for play in the prestigious event has reportedly been a source of tension within the US team in previous editions.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Covington decries bout call
Colby Covington on Monday decried that his UFC bout against Joaquin Buckley on Saturday in Tampa, Florida, was stopped in the third round due to excessive bleeding from a cut above his right eye. However, UFC legend Chael Sonnen, who was in Covington’s corner during the fight, said on his YouTube channel that Covington was “busted open so bad that the doctor has to look at it three times.” Covington (17-5 MMA) had a different perspective after his first bout in a year. “I was just getting warmed up in that fight,” he said on his YouTube channel. “I think it was tied up 1-1 [in rounds], and I was starting to wear on him.”
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
The CTBC Brothers from Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) on Friday announced they reached an agreement with the team’s shortstop Chiang Kun-yu (江坤宇) to extend his contract by 10 years in a deal that could worth up to NT $147.88 million (US$4.5 million). Including a NT$10 million incentive bonus, the 24-year- old’s new contract stipulates that his monthly salary will be NT$660,000 starting this year, increasing to NT$1.2 million from the fifth year of the deal. Chiang’s new agreement also comes with a caveat in the form of a “player option” where he would have the choice to become a free
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