• Championship playoff updates from the 8pm BST kick-off
• Bristol City 0-3 Sheff Utd | Read Football Daily | Email Yara

Coventry XI (4-2-3-1): Wilson; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva; Sheaf, Grimes; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Wright; Thomas-Asante

Subs: Collins, Latibeaudiere, Binks, Paterson, Allen, Mason-Clark, Simms, Eccles, Bidwell

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• US set to host in 2031, the UK in 2035
• Fifa approves strategy for Afghan women’s football

The Women’s World Cup will expand to 48 teams from the 2031 tournament onwards after the proposal was approved by Fifa Council on Friday, the Guardian understands.

The UK is set to host the event in 2035 and that tournament will now involve 12 groups of four teams and more than 100 matches, with the format mirroring the newly expanded men’s World Cup. It is understood Fifa took this decision after consulting the continental confederations and believe expansion of its most important tournament befits the rapid growth of the women’s game.

The World Cup increased in size from 24 to 32 teams for the 2023 event in Australia and New Zealand. It will again have 32 teams for the 2027 edition in Brazil. The eight venues for 2027’s event – including the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro – were confirmed earlier this week.

The United States is set to stage the 2031 tournament after there were no competing bids to stage either that or the 2035 event. The US and UK are yet to be formally ratified as the hosts but that is expected to be a formality.

The expansion of the Women’s World Cup could mean an increased number of host cities and stadiums will be required in the UK’s 2035 tournament plans. Alongside Wembley, Hampden Park and Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, it is thought as-yet unbuilt venues such as Manchester United’s new stadium and Birmingham City’s proposed new 62,000-seater home could both be in contention to host matches if built in time.

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• Updates from the latest round of Championship matches
• Mohammad Abbas interview | Email Tanya or post BTL

He may have been due a rest anyway but Latham and Webster in Warks team means no Michael Booth, their second-leading wicket taker (and tormentor of Harry Brook last week). Booth, Zimbabwe born, is qualifying for England but still an overseas player at present.

More on the PSL’s shift to the UAE.

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• ECB has reached out to BCCI after IPL halted
• PSL also suspended with UAE unwilling to step in as host

The England and Wales Cricket Board is open to hosting the remainder of the Indian Premier League in September after escalating cross-border tension between India and Pakistan prompted the suspension of the world’s most lucrative Twenty20 tournament on Friday.

In a chaotic 24 hours matches in both the IPL and the Pakistan Super League were cancelled or abandoned, schedules torn up and foreign players told to start packing and book flights home. The Pakistan Cricket Board announced that the last eight fixtures of its tournament were being relocated to the United Arab Emirates, only for the Emirates Cricket Board apparently to reconsider its decision to host because it was “wary of being perceived as an ally of the PCB”, leading to that tournament also being suspended.

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• Danish rider holds off Van Aert in bunch sprint to line
• Mikel Landa abandons race after crash late in stage

Denmark’s former world champion Mads Pedersen edged out Wout van Aert in a bunch sprint to win the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia in Tirana, but Mikel Landa was forced to abandon the race after a crash five kilometres from the finish.

Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was positioned perfectly by his teammates for the climax in the Albanian capital and held off Belgium’s Van Aert to become the first rider this year – and the first Dane – to wear the overall leader’s pink jersey. Venezuela’s Orluis Aular (Movistar) was third across the line.

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• School says Jordon Hudson still welcome at facilities
• Pablo Torre stands by reporting she was banned
• Hudson’s role with Belichick remains under scrutiny

The University of North Carolina on Friday denied reports that Jordon Hudson, the girlfriend of head football coach Bill Belichick, has been banned from its football facilities.

“While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities,” an athletic department spokesperson said in a statement. “Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick’s personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University.”

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• Briton wins 6-2, 6-2 to reach third round of Italian Open
• 21st seed Alexandrova withdrew hours before match

It was during her days of ­preparation for the Italian Open that Emma Raducanu decided her approach to clay-court tennis needed to change. Instead of making ­significant ­adjustments to her game to try and suit the surface, she would make the clay adhere to her own vision. She resolved to take the ­initiative and dominate her opponents from the front foot.

To her credit, she has effectively backed up those intentions in the heat of battle. Raducanu continued to build confidence and ­momentum in Rome as she produced one of her cleanest performances of the ­season to reach the third round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over the Swiss lucky loser Jil Teichmann.

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• American looking to increase stake beyond 80%
• NY Jets owner Woody Johnson also in frame to buy club

John Textor is attempting an audacious takeover of Crystal Palace but faces competition from the New York Jets owner Woody Johnson as the battle for control at Selhurst Park heats up before the club’s appearance in the FA Cup final next Saturday.

It is understood that Textor, who failed in his bid to buy Everton last year, has held talks with his fellow American shareholders David Blitzer and Josh Harris about buying their shares in Palace, which constitute about 36% of the club. That would take Textor’s stake to more than 80% and mean he would be able to complete a full takeover, a situation that could threaten the future of the long-serving chairman, Steve Parish.

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Maro Itoje has listened to Martin Johnson and Sam Warburton as he prepares his ‘tough men’ for Australia

Do you know what really stuck out as Maro Itoje sat chatting in the O₂ Arena after the British & Irish Lions squad announcement? His biceps. This year’s Lions jersey is tight enough on the shoulders and sufficiently short on the arms to make their already well-muscled captain look like Popeye on steroids. Say what you like about the Lions squad but they have chosen a strong leader.

It has worked for them in the past. Who can forget the pipe-smoking Willie John McBride and his classic response – “Do you think there will be many of them?” – when an angry hotel manager in South Africa threatened to call the police to arrest a number of 1974 Lions who had been enthusiastically “rearranging” the furniture. Legend also has it that Ian McGeechan picked the hulking Martin Johnson as his skipper in 1997 partly because of the intimidating effect he might have on the Springboks – and the referee – when he entered their changing room.

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Tottenham’s riches have underpinned Europa League progress but, win or lose in Bilbao, they need to be decisive about their manager to thrive at home

Take the emotion out of it. It is easier said than done. Tottenham Hotspur are not in the business of hoarding silverware and there will be a temptation to stick with Ange Postecoglou if they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final. The pressure on Daniel Levy to give Postecoglou another chance would be intense. It is not hard to see which way a chair with a history of populist moves would go.

Yet there is rarely much to gain from the impulsiveness of judging a manager on the basis of a one-off game that could be won on penalties or with a lucky late goal. The obvious cautionary tale is provided by United keeping Erik ten Hag after last season’s triumph in the FA Cup, only for the Dutchman to be sacked five months later. Serious clubs are supposed to be clinical. The mistake is often to look for wider meaning in a weird and illogical cup run.

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Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports

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The IPL is so closely intertwined with India’s politics that even cricket’s richest tournament could not continue at a time of crisis

It’s not often that two sets of people find themselves in the same situation on either side of one of the world’s most fractious borders.

When Friday dawned, amid swirling rumours of missiles wrecking neighbourhoods and falsehoods about pilots being captured, cricketers in India and Pakistan sensed that something was about to give.

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The 2025 Chester Cup success of East India Dock proved to be a big day in the careers of two of racing’s rising stars

Off and running in the 1.50 at Ascot …

Power Fizz soon in front, Columnist and Brave Mission close up … Power Fizz nicely settled on the lead, Brave Mission starting a challenge … final furlong, still Power Fizz, he’s drifting a little but he has a useful lead and he’s staying on well now to land the spoils …

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• Minnesota beat Golden State 117-93 in Game 2
• Green angry after fifth technical foul of playoffs

The Minnesota Timberwolves were stewing over their rough start in Game 1 against Golden State, a reaction coach Chris Finch was pleased to see.

Julius Randle had 24 points and 11 assists to help the Timberwolves capitalize on Warriors star Stephen Curry’s absence in a 117-93 victory Thursday that tied the second-round series at a game apiece.

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Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have given Football Daily plenty of ammunition over the years, but with both sealing their place in a European final on Thursday with comfortable victories in their respective semi-finals, this is not meant to be a snide missive about their latest achievements. Sure, Athletic Club can only recruit players from an area the size of Wales, were missing their first-choice centre-back Dani Vivian through suspension, their best three attacking players through injury (Inaki and Nico Williams, plus Oihan Sancet), were 3-0 down from the first leg and still gave United’s band of global internationals a frightful scare by taking a first-half lead at Old Trafford. But fair play to United, they roared back in the second half, and ended as comfortable winners, 4-1 on the night and 7-1 on aggregate. In reaching the final, Ruben Amorim has a real and tangible reason to be proud of his team, and it’s also nice to see Mason Mount being good at football again.

Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. Can I suggest that after Arsenal provide a guard of honour on Sunday, Liverpool repay the compliment twice to acknowledge the titles Arsenal would have won in the last two seasons if it wasn’t for the pesky ‘team with the greatest number of points is first’ nonsense?” – Dominic Hodgson.

One point that yesterday’s Football Daily omitted – Arsenal got further in Bigger Cup than rivals Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Manchester City. I rather suspect that Mikel Arteta would be mildly pleased if you now referred to the semi-finals as the new ‘Round of Arsenal’” – Mike Wilner.

Apologies to anyone who watched Salford (yesterday’s Class of 25, full email edition) in the Northern Premier back in the day, but Salford City? Salford City? The answer to the problems with football in that area of Manchester is Salford City? I’m no fan of FC United, to be honest (the angst is wearing), but if jaded millionaires really wanted to make a statement and pose an existential crisis to the club that made them and yet is tanking under a leveraged buyout, there was one obvious choice. But no, they went for the vanity-stroking path of high fives with Tom Brady and Ryan Reynolds in a dull Netflix documentary about the Championship playoff struggle. Tell me, one Salford fan, that you view United as an actual rival, and don’t just check your phone for updates about Josuha Zirkzee” – Jon Millard.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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• Crest ‘doesn’t translate well in today’s digital world’
• Supporters, who have a week to respond, may be upset

Newcastle have risked upsetting some supporters by announcing plans to redesign the club’s badge for the 2026-27 season.

With St James’ Park executives deciding the crest, that dates back to 1988, is overly elaborate and unsuited to global digital branding requirements, Newcastle are working with designers and consulting fans as they begin rebranding a symbol they believe has become outdated.

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• ‘They will push each other’ for places against Tottenham
• Manager will be careful with Mount and Maguire

Ruben Amorim expects ­Manchester United’s training sessions to be intense as his players compete for a place in the Europa League final against Tottenham.

United face Spurs at San Mames in Bilbao on Wednesday week after a 7-1 aggregate victory against ­Athletic Club. In three meetings with ­Tottenham this season, including one in the Carabao Cup, they have been beaten three times.

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• Four-year pause to grow top two divisions was on table
• Majority of fans, Sky Sports and some at FA opposed it

Teams will continue to be relegated from the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship beyond 2026, the Guardian can reveal, with the idea of temporarily removing relegation no longer being pursued.

The company that runs the top two women’s divisions in England, Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), had discussed a four-year pause to relegation to grow both leagues from 2026. That was one of a range of options that clubs and other stakeholders have been consulted on this season.

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• Sky Sports and TNT Sports want more for their money
• Chats at half-time or with substituted players proposed

The Premier League has asked clubs to give broadcasters the right to film inside dressing rooms or conduct in-game player interviews during live coverage from next season. A new domestic TV deal worth GBP6.7bn over four years begins in August and Sky Sports and TNT Sports want more for their money, with the league supporting their demands.

The league is understood to be consulting with clubs over enhanced access for rights holders and wants an agreement before its AGM next month. Some clubs are more open to allowing broadcasters to film in their dressing rooms, with certain managers resistant to letting cameras into what they regard as their inner sanctum.

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The coach is stepping away from a role in which he won five championships with the Spurs. He will be hard to replace, on and off the court

Raise a glass to Gregg Popovich, the gruff teddy bear who lifted the San Antonio Spurs into the NBA’s elite. After three decades on the Spurs’ sideline, he is stepping back from coaching to become the team’s president of basketball operations. It’s a back-to-the-future move for the 76-year-old: he was the Spurs’ general manager for eight years before he became the team’s coach. (“I’m no longer the coach, I’m El Jefe,” Popovich jokingly declared this week before unveiling a T-shirt with that Spanish title.) Altogether, Pop won five NBA championships from 1999 through 2014, a run that puts him among the greatest coaches in league history. But when it came to being the NBA’s unflinching statesman, he was in a league all by himself.

Popovich wasn’t just the NBA’s backbone. He was, perhaps, the most fearless truth teller in all of sport. Certainly no one was bolder when it came to taking on Donald Trump – whom Popovich has described as a “soulless coward,” a “pathological liar” and a “deranged idiot”. Popovich told beat reporters he was “sick to my stomach” after Trump’s 2016 presidential election win, a tipping point he likened to the fall of Rome. He slammed Steve Bannon’s appointment as chief White House strategist as a fear-mongering exercise. During the Spurs’ 2017 media day, Popovich launched into a 21-minute condemnation of Trump and the Maga movement after the president attacked NFL players and Nascar’s Bubba Wallace for their national anthem protests. “Our country is an embarrassment to the world,” Popovich said. “This is an individual that when people held arms during games, [he thought] that they were doing it to [dis]honor the flag. That’s delusional. But it’s what we have to live with.”

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The seamer on facing his former club Hampshire this week, family tragedy and his stop-start international career

“Yes, this is true,” says Mohammad Abbas, matter-of-factly, during a chat at Trent Bridge. The question concerns the time Manchester City supposedly asked for Pep Guardiola to be billeted in the penthouse at Hampshire’s on-site hotel before a match in Southampton – only to be told a more important guest was in town.

“I didn’t know about it at the time but our head coach told me the next morning that he had wanted my room,” Abbas says of Guardiola. “The Hilton emailed the Hampshire management to ask if it was possible but they were told no, I would be spending six months there. So that was what happened.”

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The Isle of Man team enlisted two young English stars to help regain the 4NCL title that they won in 2022 and 2023

The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) is a bedrock of British chess. Staged over 11 rounds and five weekends from October to May at Midlands hotels, with teams of eight in the top division and six in divisions two to four, it attracts players from club level to grandmaster, many of whom do not compete in any other national event. Its organisation, by the English Chess Federation chief executive, Mike Truran, and a hardworking team of arbiters, is consistently excellent.

As expected, the 2024-25 season ended last Monday with a close 11th round match between the favourites and defending champions, Wood Green, and the winners for the two previous years, Manx Liberty. The outcome was a rarity. All eight games were drawn for a 4-4 scoreline, although most were hard fought and Manx missed a winning endgame chance.

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Australia is no country for old men so the exclusion of Owen Farrell and selection of Henry Pollock will help the cause

At long last, significant smoke has also emerged from the British & Irish Lions’ chimney. Maro Itoje will be leading a 38-strong squad to Australia and a couple of the names on the list would raise any cardinal’s eyebrows. Henry Pollock and Marcus Smith will be heading down under with their head coach, Andy Farrell, clearly keen to make an immediate impact next month.

Farrell has chosen a hefty cohort of 15 Irishmen alongside 13 Englishmen, eight Scots and two Welsh representatives, but the inclusion of the 20-year-old Pollock sends a clear signal to Australia that the 2025 Lions will be neither geriatric pussycats nor obsessive slaves to conservatism. The squad should contain enough flexibility to cope with most eventualities and sufficient talent to be highly competitive.

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Have you been following the big stories in football, rugby, snooker, Formula One, cricket, golf, horse racing and GAA?

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From rocks being thrown at cars to spectators being given the red cards, readers share their experiences of the most shocking scenes at children’s soccer games

The first manager my son had, when he was seven, got the parents together and told us how shouting could affect our sons’ development and behaviour, not only as players but as human beings. Usually, I don’t behave so badly. The worst I’ve done is to complain to the referee and I’ve sworn once or twice. But mostly I’ve been civil. There was one time, though, when a game was interrupted because the other team had fielded ineligible nine-year-old players. There was a lot of swearing and shouting from managers and dads. My wife decided enough was enough and took our son from the field to go home. He was the team’s only keeper so without him there was no game and several of the other team’s dads taunted us, shouting: “Are you running?”, “Are you scared?”. My wife ignored them and headed for the exit but one of the dads pushed her. Another guy punched me from behind and I completely lost it and punched back. Both teams were expelled from the tournament.
Andre Pereira Leme Lopes, 53, Brazil

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There are high stakes at St James’ Park, City could yet nab second and will Forest cope with playing on the front foot?

Antonee Robinson has been one of the best full-backs in the league this season. He flies up and down the left flank, defends well and whips in crosses. However, the Fulham defender was not at his sharpest during his side’s defeat by Aston Villa last weekend. He found it difficult to contain Morgan Rogers and his crossing was not up to its usual high standards. The concern is whether Robinson, who had missed Fulham’s previous game, is in peak physical condition. It has been a long campaign but Marco Silva needs the USA international to be ready to go when Everton visit Craven Cottage on Saturday. Robinson’s raids are a key part of Fulham’s attacking setup. Jacob Steinberg

Fulham v Everton, Saturday 3pm (all times BST)

Ipswich v Brentford, Saturday 3pm

Southampton v Manchester City, Saturday 3pm

Wolves v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

Bournemouth v Aston Villa, Saturday 5.30pm

Newcastle v Chelsea, Sunday noon

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The world No 5 has established himself at the top and, with Andy Murray’s strength coach now part of his team, has sights set on more success in Rome

Across Jack Draper’s monumental run in Madrid, as he demolished everything in his path to reach his first clay-court final at one of the biggest tournaments in the world, it was particularly striking to hear his beaten foes reflect on the qualities that make him so strong. Although they all departed the court overwhelmed by the 23-year-old, each seemed to struggle with different aspects of his game.

Midway through their second-round match, Tallon Griekspoor could be heard ranting about how little time he had on the ball due to the British No 1’s relentless aggression. Lorenzo Musetti, who has rivalled Draper since their childhood days on the junior circuit, said he was desperately trying to keep the ball from his opponent’s wicked topspin forehand. Others highlighted Draper’s destructive first serve, his excellent defence or his ability to consistently land returns deep.

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Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Philippe Auclair reflect on Arsenal being knocked out of the Champions League by PSG

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: ultimately it proves quite comfortable for PSG, who win their semi-final tie 3-1 on aggregate. Arsenal have chances early on that they fail to make count, thanks largely to another incredible Gianluigi Donnarumma performance. After that PSG find their feet and Fabian Ruiz’s goal puts it beyond reach. Inter await in the final.

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The Copa do Brasil is back after a nine-year break but there are concerns about Brazil’s top flight before a first World Cup in South America

After a nine-year hiatus, fans of Brazilian women’s football will once again be able to support their clubs in the Copa do Brasil. The cup will bring together 65 clubs from the three divisions of the national women’s football league, starting with a preliminary round on 21 May and concluding with the final in November. It is a return that has long been requested by the women’s football community in Brazil in order to expand the calendar for lower-division clubs and gives high-profile teams such as Flamengo, Corinthians and Santos another opportunity to compete for silverware.

However, all is not rosy on the Brazilian club scene only two years before Brazil are to host the Women’s World Cup for the first time. There have been a few years of growing sponsorship and visibility in the top tier, the Brasileirao A1, but this season has exposed the challenges facing the game.

This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is back in to its twice-weekly format, delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday.

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Arsenal dominated the start of the match, as they knew they had to, but without a genuine centre-forward it was all in vain

How to lose a game of football part 94: losing while appearing to win, advanced level. It will be tempting to see in the opening 27 minutes of this Champions League semi-final second leg a perfect little miniature, an executive summary of a team and a mini-era, out there under the hard white lights of the Parc des Princes, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal pinned and wriggling on the wall.

The club’s supporters will feel the pain more keenly because for the first 26 of those 27 minutes this was a slick, luminous, dominant Arsenal away performance. They flooded the midfield, controlled the ball, won it back aggressively. Martin Odegaard squirrelled about, all malevolent invention. Arsenal had 75% possession, six shots and 10 crosses. They were all over this game, arms on both lapels, pressing PSG back against the edge of things.

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A 79-17 defeat for the 2020 champions set the alarm bells ringing and the ‘embarrassed’ chairman is pulling no punches

How swiftly the sporting wheel can turn. Less than five years ago Exeter were the Double-winning darlings of English club rugby, their fairytale rise ranking alongside Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen and Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang as the most romantic success stories in British team sport.

And now? Second bottom of the Premiership table, 79 points conceded at Gloucester last time out, coaches being summarily jettisoned, the chairman storming into the dressing room. The one thing everyone in Devon can agree on is that the season’s end cannot come quickly enough.

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Tour de France winner in 2018 is building for a final assault on the great race before a farewell in Cardiff

“Bike racing is all I have ever known,” says Geraint Thomas of the 19-year professional career that will end this summer with one final Tour de France and a farewell appearance in the Tour of Britain.

While many of his peers are relishing a Tadej Pogacar-free Giro d’Italia that starts on Friday, the 2018 Tour winner has opted against three weeks in Italy, favouring one last ride in July’s French hothouse.

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Lewis Hamilton took a swipe at Ferrari in Miami showing again how broadcasting team chats enlivens races

“Have a tea break while you’re at it” was Lewis Hamilton’s sarcasm-drenched reply to his Ferrari team as they dallied over making a strategy call at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. It was the stuff of soap opera, enlivening what was in racing terms a McLaren walkover at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Broadcasting team radio is one of the best innovations in the modern era of F1 and for all that it is considered a serious tool by drivers and teams, it is always at its best when vituperative or funny. Better still, both at once.

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Union captain Lisa Heiseler, who has been at the club since she was 13, talks about promotion to the Frauen-Bundesliga

“I can’t describe how I feel,” Lisa Heiseler says as she reflects on a momentous weekend for Union Berlin Women. Just three days after her side secured a historic promotion to the Frauen-Bundesliga, the captain is clearly still processing everything that has happened to her and her teammates.

27 April 2025 will be a date for ever etched in the memories of Union Berlin’s women’s team and their supporters. A 6-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in front of more than 14,000 jubilant fans at the Stadion An der Alte Forsterei saw Ailien Poese’s side secure promotion with three games to spare, one that will see them play in the top echelon of German football for the first time and at the first time of asking.

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Our cartoonist on intense motivational techniques and banter in north London before European semi-finals

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• David’s new book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now

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Head coach must decide if his son commands a place, the back-row blend and whether a left-field pick is required

As Andy Farrell prepares to name his British & Irish Lions touring squad it is worth reflecting on the events of 12 years ago. Then as now, the destination was Australia and Farrell was an important cog in Warren Gatland’s management team. It was also the last time the Lions actually won a series, the solitary occasion they have ticked that illustrious box this century.

Do you remember who, ultimately, made the difference in the all-important final Test in Sydney, with the best-of-three series poised at 1-1? None other than the strong-scrummaging Alex Corbisiero, who had been omitted from the original squad and owed his presence to an ankle injury sustained by Ireland’s Cian Healy early in the tour.

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Booing and flashpoints are commonplace in a sport further along on a journey that others are taking to varying degrees

Let me tell you the moment I realised Boris Johnson was fucked. It was late 2021 and there had been some talk about parties in Downing Street during Covid, but in these febrile siloed times, when the entirety of human existence has blurred into a single personalised scrolling feed, who even knows what constitutes “the news” any more? Who knows what fragments of reality ever emerge from Westminster’s furiously spinning vortex of unintelligible jargon: prorogue, backstop, Aukus, Slapps? What is a Morgan McSweeney and what time does it start?

But then came the magical night, a few days before Christmas, when the darts crowd turned. As Florian Hempel swept to a routine first-round win against Martin Schindler (bit of an upset, to be honest, but you never write off Flo at the Palace), Alexandra Palace rocked to strains of “Boris is a cunt”. Fans held up signs reading “Work Event”, drew pictures of cheese and wine and gleefully held them up to the cameras. And you realise, with a piercing we’ve-lost-Cronkite clarity: oh wow, he’s fucked.

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Full-back did it all for his boyhood club and is off to a new reality where his game will face increased scrutiny

Before basking in the acclaim and adulation of the Kop when No 20 was sealed two Sundays ago, Trent Alexander-Arnold headed for the suits. There was a warm embrace between the Liverpool star and Michael Edwards, chief executive of football at Fenway Sports Group, and another with Richard Hughes, the man who initiated contract talks with Alexander-Arnold’s brother and agent prior to starting as the club’s new sporting director last summer and has faced a losing battle on that score ever since.

They all knew it was ending but there were evidently no hard feelings. Liverpool feel they did everything they could to persuade Alexander-Arnold to stay. They offered a new deal that reflected his status as the finest full-back in the Premier League and one of the best in the world. They not only offered success, Arne Slot’s team delivered it. But they could not offer a new experience to a player whose stated aim is to win the Ballon d’Or and wants “that legacy of being the greatest right-back to have played football. I have got to reach for the stars”.

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Concept may help revolutionise global horseracing but downplaying the thoroughbreds misses the point

It was a case of eyes down for marketing buzzword bingo on Monday morning as news emerged that a dozen leading riders, including Frankie Dettori, Ryan Moore, William Buick and Yutaka Take, have signed up to compete in a new international jockeys’ league from 2026. Up to 10 six-race fixtures will be staged annually at some of the sport’s most famous tracks around the world.

According to various reports, the “revolutionary” new competition will, its organisers claim, have “a franchise-based league structure” designed to turn riders into “global icons” and engage a “fresh audience” for racing. The jockeys involved will own equity in their team, act as the “team principal” for their franchise and, if all goes to plan, will be competing for a share of a $15m prize fund within two years.

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New research has shown there was a positive impact during London 2012 but the legacy effects appear to be short-lived

Does hosting an Olympics really improve our wellbeing? If so, by how much - and for how long? Are we really happier when Team GB win gold medals? And are the lofty claims of politicians that London 2012 would make us healthier borne out by the facts?

While the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, was banging the drum for the capital hosting the Olympics in 2040 last week, academics at the LSE, Harvard and in Germany were answering these questions – and quietly busting a few myths about the legacy of 2012.

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With the pandemic in the rearview mirror it was clearly a boost for Fifa and Saudi Arabia but harmed grassroots sport and player welfare

Sound the trumpets, beat the drum, let loose the buttock-rockets of hope. One of the strangest and most unsatisfying things about the Covid-19 pandemic, among a great many deeply strange and unsatisfying things, is that it never actually had a shared end date or ceremonial send-off.

Jarringly so, because this was a period in the national life built around a rigid roster of public events. The numerical rules. The weekly banging of pots in honour of people you secretly consider to be serfs. Such unlikely figures as Matt Hancock appearing in public every day in order to say inauthentic-sounding things about public health, all the while resembling the doomed subcommander of an imperial space galleon who keeps announcing that he’s got the situation under control, sir, just as the bridge behind him is cleaved in two and he’s sucked out into a skull-popping deep space inferno.

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Have you been following the big news in football, boxing, snooker, motor sport, rugby union and cricket?

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Thalia Holmes, 20, defeats Richie Kelly, 63, in final after former RAF technician misses a win (can you find it?)

BBC Two’s Monday evening show Chess Masters: The Endgame reached its final this week amid a continuing debate between experts, who found it patronising, and social players, novices and children who enjoyed its light touch and focus on personalities. The series was placed in a testing environment, the 8pm slot, sandwiched between the intellectual heavyweights Mastermind and University Challenge.

Viewer numbers, as supplied by Broadcast, peaked in the first week at 890,000, then gradually dipped to a low of 535,000 on Easter Monday before rebounding to 655,000, a 5.5% share of the viewing audience, for the final week.

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