Sports, in brief

Fifpro, the worldwide union for professional footballers, surveyed about 800 women who play in the top league of their country. [1][2]

Money coming into women's football is expected to rise from about $581m in 2024 to more than $1bn in 2027, the report says. [1]

Average monthly club pay has tripled since 2017, to $2,601. [1][3]

But the player in the middle of the pay list earns $1,669 a month. A small number of much higher earners pull the average up. [2]

Pay depends heavily on region: average pay is $6,450 a month in North America and $480 in Africa. [1]

In 10 Eastern European countries, average pay is below the national minimum wage. [1][3]

49% of the players are thinking of leaving football earlier than planned. Of those, 59% give money as a reason and 46% give stress. [3][2]

Only two-thirds are paid for all 12 months, said Alex Culvin, Fifpro's director of women's football. Many have seven- or nine-month contracts and must find other work for the rest of the year. [1]

57% have struggled with their mental health, and half of those got no support from their club. [1][3]

Fifpro wants rules every league must follow on pay, facilities, staff and health. Only eight of the 30 national leagues it studied have a working-conditions agreement with a players' union. [3]

One thing has improved. In 2017 nearly half of those thinking of quitting said wanting a family could drive them out; now it is 19%, after FIFA, world football's governing body, brought in maternity rules in 2021. [1]

At the top, the game looks different. The US and Spain, the world's two best-ranked teams, both coached by women, play again on Tuesday, and US coach Emma Hayes said women still struggle to get coaching jobs. [4][5]

Why it matters. Watch whether FIFA or national leagues adopt the minimum pay and contract standards Fifpro asks for, since only eight of the 30 leagues it studied have a union agreement today. [3]

The Independent Football Regulator, created by a UK law to oversee English men's football, publishes its long-awaited State of the Game report on Tuesday. [18] According to the Guardian, the 250-page draft finds that 94% of the top 116 clubs make a loss. [18] It will recommend tighter controls on costs, and an eight-week public consultation starts this week. [18] The final version follows in the spring. [18]

Why it matters. The Premier League has offered the English Football League, the three divisions below it, 180 million pounds a year for 10 years, and the EFL wants 207 million. [18] The regulator can impose a deal if the two cannot agree, so both are likely to use the report as evidence. [18]

The DP World Tour, Europe's main men's golf tour, said on Monday that players who join LIV Golf in 2027 cannot be its members. [19][6] Only its members can play for Europe in the Ryder Cup, the team contest against the United States, held next year at Adare Manor in Ireland. [6][20] LIV is in bankruptcy after Saudi Arabia's state fund stopped paying for it, and needs players signed by 25 October. [6] Its events offered prize money of at least $25m in its first five seasons, and LIV 2.0 is likely to offer $10m or less. [19]

Why it matters. About 15 LIV players with European status, including Tyrrell Hatton and Tom McKibbin, must now pick one tour by 16 November. [6] The BBC says the tour objects to LIV giving players a share of ownership, and that the move likely also strengthens its hand in alliance talks with the PGA Tour, America's main tour. [6]

England's men's cricket team named a record 39 central contracts on Monday: 30 full deals, up from 26, and nine development deals that top up a player's pay from his county. [14] The retirements of Ben Stokes and Mark Wood left more money to share out, the Guardian reports. [14] Stephen Fleming starts as Test head coach in South Africa this winter. [14] Brydon Carse keeps his deal, though the Cricket Regulator, which enforces English cricket's conduct rules, has charged him over a nightclub incident in August. [21]

Why it matters. A bigger list lets England control how much its players bat and bowl, around set windows for two short-format leagues, the Indian Premier League and the Hundred. [14] Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith got only one-year deals, which Rob Key, England's director of cricket, says is meant to get the best out of them. [14]

England batter Ollie Pope withdrew from the draft for the first Afghanistan Premier League, a short-format competition due in the United Arab Emirates later this year. [7] An English player needs a No Objection Certificate from the England and Wales Cricket Board to play in it. [7] The board has refused to arrange series against Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, and its chair has condemned the Taliban's treatment of women and girls. [7] Rob Key said it was legally hard to stop players going, and that he personally would not go. [7]

Why it matters. Pope was the only centrally contracted England player in the draft. [7] Former England batter Dawid Malan stays in, and said a cricketer also has to pay his rent. [7]

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 on Monday and lead the National League semi-final, a best-of-seven series, by two games to none. [22] William Contreras hit a tying home run and then drove in the winning run. [22] Brewers relief pitchers threw five perfect innings, the most perfect innings by a bullpen in one post-season game. [23] Teams 2-0 down in this round have won the series 8 times out of 59. [24]

Why it matters. The Dodgers spend $433.1m on players, more than the Brewers, Rays and Guardians together, and that gap sits at the centre of baseball's fight over a salary cap. [17] The Athletic reports the Dodgers are considering benching Shohei Ohtani, who has three hits in 20 at-bats this post-season. [25]

A Chicago Bulls shirt Michael Jordan wore in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $14m in a private sale, Hunt Auctions said on Monday. [26] It is the most ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia. [26][15] Among sports items, only the shirt Babe Ruth wore for his 1932 'called shot', sold for $24.1m in 2024, has cost more. [15] Jordan's Game 3 shirt from the same series sold for $12.3m two weeks earlier. [15]

Why it matters. The buyer is Ron Firman, a Miami property investor, and the auction house now calls Jordan items an asset class like famous art. [26] Separately, a restored 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card passed $1m at Heritage Auctions. [27]

James Madison University, in Virginia, said on Monday it will leave the Sun Belt for the American, another college sports conference, by 1 July 2028. [28] ESPN reported that the Sun Belt plans to vote this week on raising the fee a school pays to leave, which sped up the move. [28] James Madison expects to pay a $5m exit fee and a $23m fee to join, from privately raised money. [28]

Why it matters. The American gets a 14th full member, and the Sun Belt loses a school that joined it only in 2022, when it moved up a level. [28]

Presidents of the SEC, one of US college sport's biggest 'power' conferences, voted on Monday to use one standard contract for paying athletes, effective at once. [8] The Big Ten, another of those conferences, already does the same. [8] Schools may share up to $21.6m with athletes this year under the House v. NCAA court settlement, which since July 2025 lets schools pay athletes directly, and athletes received nearly $1.8bn last year. [8] An earlier SEC draft barred players under contract from talking to other schools. [8]

Why it matters. Signed contracts let schools chase players who leave early: Arkansas sought $200,000 from quarterback Madden Iamaleava after he left. [8]

Disney, which owns ESPN, will show the Super Bowl on 14 February on ESPN, ABC, Disney+ and several other versions, including the Manning brothers' commentary and a Pat McAfee show. [16] Every version counts toward the official audience measured by Nielsen, the TV ratings firm. [16] The US record is 127.7 million viewers, for the 2025 game on Fox. [16] Disney says its adverts are sold out, most reportedly at $8m to $9m for 30 seconds. [16]

Why it matters. Adding channels serves Disney's stated aim of a record audience. [16] ESPN is also still negotiating with commentator Troy Aikman, paid $18m a year, whose deal ends after this season. [29]

The Atlanta Dream plan to host their WNBA Finals games at Gateway Center, a source told Front Office Sports. [30] It seats about 3,500 and is the smallest arena in the WNBA, the US women's basketball league. [30] Their bigger home, the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, is booked on those dates for a concert and two games of the Atlanta Hawks, the city's NBA team. [30] The Finals against the Golden State Valkyries start on 17 October. [30]

Why it matters. The Hawks, not the Dream, run State Farm Arena. [30] The Valkyries moved a concert to keep their own dates, because their owners also own and run their arena. [30] Atlanta's fans averaged about 9,700 a game in the bigger arena in these play-offs. [30]

World Team Tennis, a men's and women's team event last held in 2021, returns in December with three teams in New York, Florida and Toronto. [31] It is the first tennis event to give players equity, a share of ownership, and has signed 15 stars including Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz. [31] Gauff also owns part of the Florida team. [31] It moved from mid-summer to December to stay clear of the main tennis season. [31]

Why it matters. Two other new events, golf's TGL and basketball's Unrivaled, signed stars the same way and are now valued at $1bn and $650m. [31]

Twenty-five Premier League players played all 360 minutes of four internationals during the three-week break, BBC Sport found. [12] Five England players, including Declan Rice and Cole Palmer, pulled out of the squad before it. [12] Maheta Molango, head of the PFA, England's players' union, wants a mandatory three-week summer break. [12] A sports psychologist said no single body controls the calendar, so nobody can enforce one. [12]

Why it matters. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk played 55 club games last season and is on a similar pace again. [12]

Arsenal's Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi hurt their ankles in a training session held straight after Saturday's 2-1 win over Leeds. [13][32] The session was for players who had not played enough minutes in the game. [32] Both miss Tuesday's Champions League game against Lille, and Hincapie's injury looks worse. [13] Manager Mikel Arteta said he would not change the routine. [13]

Why it matters. Arteta said players who sit out lose their rhythm, which is why the extra session exists. [13]

Australia set South Africa 421 to win the first Test, a five-day match, in Durban and had them at 102 for four at the close of the fourth day. [33][34] Matt Renshaw, back after three years out, followed his first-innings 190 with quick runs before Australia declared. [34] South Africa must bat through the final day to draw. [34] Bad light cut each of the first three days short and cost more than 60 overs. [35]

Why it matters. A rule change a week earlier lets teams agree before a Test to use the easier-to-see pink ball, but neither side asked for it in Durban. [35] Former South Africa bowler Shaun Pollock said it would have meant 45 more overs. [35]

Alexander Zverev of Germany is sure to finish 2026 as the top-ranked man after Carlos Alcaraz lost 7-5 7-6 to Belgium's Zizou Bergs at the Shanghai Masters on Monday. [36] Jannik Sinner, the current No 1, is out for the year with a knee injury. [36] Zverev won the French Open and the US Open this year, his first Grand Slam titles. [36] He is the first German man to end a year on top. [36]

Why it matters. Sinner and Alcaraz shared the top of men's tennis for two seasons, and Zverev rose while both were injured. [36]

Al-Nassr's Asian Champions League game in Riyadh started an hour late on Monday after a missile was fired at the city. [9] The Houthis, an armed group in Yemen backed by Iran, have hit Riyadh's airport several times. [9] A Saudi-led military coalition said it destroyed the missile, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a 3-1 win over Neftchi Fergana of Uzbekistan. [9] WWE says its 7 November show in Riyadh goes ahead, with backup plans. [10]

Why it matters. Formula One's last two races, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, also depend on the region; this year Saudi Arabia's race was cancelled and Bahrain's was moved to Malaysia. [11]

The world artistic gymnastics championships start on 17 October in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. [37] A Russian gymnastics official told Forbes that only 38 of the 61-member team had visas by 12 October, and only four of those were athletes. [37] Without the missing visas, Russia's women cannot enter the team event. [37] The Russian federation says World Gymnastics, the sport's governing body, has not answered it. [37]

Why it matters. Defending all-around world champion Angelina Melnikova is among those still waiting. [37]

British Cycling withdrew Matt Richardson from its team for the track world championships in Shanghai, which run from 14 to 18 October. [38] The Times reported that he is under investigation for misconduct, and British Cycling gave no reason. [38][39] Richardson, 27, switched from Australia to Britain after the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he won two silvers and a bronze. [38] He was expected to race for three medals. [38]

Why it matters. He was seen as central to Britain's plans for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. [39]

Saracens, an English rugby club, sacked Totoa Auvaa, a 21-year-old academy player, after an incident in St Albans at the weekend. [40][41] In June, in a London nightclub, Auvaa threw a punch at England cricketer Gus Atkinson that missed and hit an England security guard. [40] England stood Atkinson and captain Ben Stokes down for a Test, and Stokes later retired from international cricket. [40] Police are looking into an alleged assault early on Sunday. [40]

Why it matters. Saracens had not punished him for the June punch, but he was on a final warning after other drinking incidents. [40]

Willie Mullins, one of the most successful racehorse trainers, was fined 1,100 pounds and his horse Final Demand lost its second place in a race at the Cheltenham Festival in March. [42] The horse had mepivacaine, a local anaesthetic, in its body, and Mullins had not declared it. [42] A panel of the British Horseracing Authority, which runs racing in Britain, said there was no suggestion Mullins or his staff knew. [42] Cheltenham was fined 5,000 pounds because camera footage of the stables was not kept. [42]

Why it matters. The panel could not find out how the drug got into the horse. [42]

Coventry City beat Newcastle 4-1 on Monday for their first home win in England's top division in 25 years. [43] It was their second win in a row and lifted the newly promoted club out of the bottom three to 14th. [44] Jack Rudoni scored a penalty, and Ellis Simms and Stephen Mfuni added late goals. [44] Newcastle would have gone fourth with a win. [44]

Why it matters. Frank Lampard's side are level on points with Manchester United after six games. [43]

Andy Burnham, the UK prime minister, had one formal meeting with Manchester City's chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, while he was mayor of Greater Manchester, his old office said. [45] It was in October 2021, at a UK government investment summit. [45] Burnham promised the details after he was criticised for comments he made when the club was found guilty of breaking Premier League money rules. [45] An independent commission found City used sham sponsorship deals to put more than 830 million pounds into the club. [45]

Why it matters. Louie French, the Conservative shadow sports minister, said the statement was far from full transparency. [45]

Dale Vince, owner of Forest Green Rovers, said Peterborough United made an illegal approach for his manager, Robbie Savage, who joined them on 2 October. [46] Vince said he first refused permission, and Peterborough then talked to Savage directly. [46] Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony said the process was fully correct. [46] Forest Green have not said whether they have complained to the Football Association. [46]

Why it matters. Savage won 3-1 at Leicester on Saturday and has his first home league game this weekend. [46]

Britain's Callum Smith, 36, will fight Dmitry Bivol for three world light-heavyweight titles in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 12 December. [47] The UK government advises its citizens against all travel to Russia. [47] Bivol holds the WBA, IBF and Ring belts, three of boxing's world titles. [47] Smith lost to Artur Beterbiev in 2024, in his first try at a unified title. [47]

Why it matters. British heavyweight Joe Joyce also fought in Moscow in July, and lost. [47]

Olympic champion Lauren Price will defend her WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight titles against Michaela Kotaskova of the Czech Republic in Cardiff on 20 November. [48] Talks for a fight with Claressa Shields, the undisputed heavyweight champion, broke down, Price said. [48] She has not fought since April. [48]

Why it matters. Price says a win could set up a much bigger fight early in 2027. [48]

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, CBS Sports reported on Monday. [49] He was hurt in Saturday's 17-15 win at Oregon, then ranked 13th. [50] UCLA are 5-0 under Bob Chesney, the first Bruins coach to win his first five games. [50] His replacement, Ty Dieffenbach, had never played at the top college level before. [49]

Why it matters. UCLA were picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten and are now one of its two unbeaten teams. [50]

The Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans changed the terms of their trade of receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. [51] Houston now gets Harrison and a 2027 sixth-round pick, and Arizona gets a 2027 second-round pick and a seventh. [51] First reports had Arizona getting the sixth-round pick and Houston the seventh. [51] The deal still waits on Harrison's medical check. [51]

Why it matters. Arizona gets slightly less for the fourth pick of the 2024 draft than first reported. [51]