Sports, in brief

FIFA, which runs world football, opened bidding on Thursday for the right to show the 2030 men's World Cup on US television. [1][2]

Bidders have 30 days, and they may also bid for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia. [1] Bids are due on 19 November, and FIFA hopes to pick a buyer by the end of the year. [1][2]

FIFA says it would prefer one company to show every game in both English and Spanish, but it will not insist on it. [1][2]

In 2026 the rights were split. Fox showed the games in English, and Telemundo, a Spanish-language channel owned by NBC, showed them in Spanish. [1][2]

Fox paid $485m for 2026 without a contest. FIFA gave it that discount after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar moved to the winter and clashed with Fox's American football games. [1]

The 2026 tournament, held in the US, Canada and Mexico, then set US records. The final between Spain and Argentina drew about 66.4 million US viewers across Fox, Telemundo and streaming. [1][3]

Adverts on Fox and Telemundo brought in $1.19bn during the tournament, 170% more than the $441.9m of 2022, according to Guideline, a firm that tracks advertising. [1]

Front Office Sports reads FIFA's wish for one buyer as good news for NBC, which owns Telemundo. [2] It reads it as bad news for Fox, whose Spanish channel, Fox Deportes, is much weaker. [2]

Fox and Telemundo were not given a private window to renew before FIFA went to the market, FIFA's chief business officer, Romy Gai, said. [2]

Other likely bidders include Disney, whose ABC network showed the World Cup for 20 years before Fox, and Netflix, which holds the US rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cups. [2][1]

The 2030 games will be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, six to nine hours ahead of US viewers. [1] Sportico expects smaller US audiences than in 2026 as a result. [1]

FIFA has not decided whether to keep the drinks breaks it added in 2026, which gave Fox extra slots to sell adverts. [1][2]

Why it matters. Bids are due on 19 November, and the next test is whether NBC bids for English and Spanish together, and whether Fox can keep the English-language rights it has held since 2018. [1][2]

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the US regulator of futures markets, told Novig and ProphetX this week not to list sports bets they had approved for themselves. [4] Novig's bets on small moments, such as who scores first in a basketball game, could be rigged, the CFTC said. [4] ProphetX's bets on 'scorigami', a final score never seen before, do not meet the law's definition of the contracts it may sell. [4] ProphetX says it agreed to hold them back while the CFTC looks again. [4]

Why it matters. These apps sell bets as financial contracts, which keeps them out of state gambling rules, so this regulator is the one that can stop them. [4][5] It is writing final rules for the whole industry, and sources told Front Office Sports that DraftKings and FanDuel were warned they risk the same. [4]

Three baseball owners backed a hard limit on what each team can spend on players this week, plus a minimum each must spend. [11][12] The Brewers' Mark Attanasio said 'ditto' to the Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner, who supports the owners' whole plan. [11] Mat Ishbia, who owns about 40% of the White Sox with his brother, said the minimum helps players. [12] The plan sets the limit at $245.3m and the minimum at $171.2m, which is more than 12 teams pay now. [12]

Why it matters. The players' union opposes a cap, and owners are expected to lock players out when the current agreement ends in December. [11] Scott Boras, the best-known players' agent, says teams should sign players before that happens. [13] Jeff Passan, ESPN's baseball reporter, told Front Office Sports that a long lockout costing games is becoming more realistic. [14]

Disney will show this season's Super Bowl on ABC, ESPN, its Disney+ streaming service and several other channels at once. [15] The local stations that carry ABC sell some of the adverts in the game, and one station group's boss estimates their Super Bowl advert money could fall 35%. [15] Disney+ cannot show those stations' local adverts. [15] Last season's Super Bowl drew 125.6 million viewers. [15]

Why it matters. The stations pay Disney a fee partly because they used to have the game to themselves. [15] Disney says streaming big events is normal. [15] The stations' board is discussing the losses, and it is not clear whether they will be paid anything back. [15]

Sri Lanka scored 430 to beat England in a one-day match in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, the second-highest successful chase in this kind of cricket. [7][58] Only South Africa's 438 against Australia in 2006 is higher. [7] England's captain, Harry Brook, had made 202, the fastest double hundred in one-day cricket, from 114 balls. [8][9] It was the first ever by an England player in a one-day international. [8] The two teams scored 859 runs between them. [7]

Why it matters. England have lost twice in a row in the three-country series in Pakistan. [7] Brook said his innings had no value to him because England lost. [7] He is the second batter, after Chris Gayle, with a triple hundred in a Test, a double in a one-day match and a hundred in a 20-over match. [10]

South Africa beat Australia by an innings and 31 runs in the second Test in Gqeberha, South Africa, on Thursday, the rain-delayed fifth day. [18] The three-match series of Tests, games lasting up to five days, is now 1-1, with the last in Cape Town. [18][19] Australia were bowled out for 99 and had to bat again straight away. [18] They made 295, with 121 from Travis Head and 166 balls of defence from Scott Boland, but fell short. [18][19]

Why it matters. Australia's coach, Andrew McDonald, said he could not defend the 99. [19] Nic Maddinson, the ninth player to open the batting since David Warner retired in 2024, may lose his place before Cape Town. [19]

Bournemouth, 15th in the Premier League, beat AC Milan, seven times champions of Europe, 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday. [20][21] Milan's goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, was sent off after 27 minutes for pushing an opponent in the face. [20] Bournemouth scored two penalties and a late free-kick. [20] It was only Bournemouth's third game ever in a European competition. [21]

Why it matters. English clubs earn more than 1.37bn pounds a season from TV rights, about as much as Spain, Italy, Germany and France's top leagues together, the BBC reports. [21] That money lets English clubs outspend most clubs abroad, and Bournemouth were among Europe's 30 richest clubs last season. [21] Bournemouth play Manchester United on Sunday. [20]

Celtic led Celta Vigo, a Spanish club, through Mika Baur at home on Thursday, then conceded twice in about three minutes and lost. [22] It was Celtic's third defeat in three Europa League games, leaving them 35th of 36 teams. [22] Hearts, also from Scotland, lost 2-0 in Turkey to Trabzonspor, with Mohamed Salah scoring a penalty and setting up the second goal. [20] Brighton drew 0-0 with Jablonec, a Czech club. [20]

Why it matters. Celtic beat Hearts 7-1 in the Scottish league, and the BBC calls home results a poor guide to how they do in Europe. [22] Celtic have scored three goals and let in nine in Europe. [22]

Ruti Aga, an Ethiopian runner who won the Tokyo Marathon in 2019, has been banned for six years. [23][24] She tested positive in March for methylprednisolone, a banned steroid that eases pain. [23] She sent investigators a prescription from a clinic that did not exist, signed by a family member who is not a doctor. [25][26] The Athletics Integrity Unit, the sport's anti-doping body, gave two years for the drug and four for tampering. [23][24]

Why it matters. Tampering with evidence and misleading investigators cost her twice as long as the drug did. [25] Aga did not answer the charges, so the ban came without a hearing, and it runs from 10 September. [24][25]

FIFA will give each of the 32 teams at next year's Women's World Cup in Brazil $2.5m to prepare, the same as teams at this summer's men's tournament. [27] That is more than double the old amount, and the total rises from $31m in 2023 to $80m. [27] Every player will also get a business-class or chartered flight and her own hotel room. [27]

Why it matters. Travel and rooms caused rows at past tournaments. [27] The prize money for the tournament has not yet been set. [27]

The World Series starts on Friday between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. [16] Milwaukee is the smallest TV market in baseball, and the two teams have the fourth- and 11th-smallest payrolls. [16] Fox, which shows the series, hopes recent gains carry over: the Brewers' semi-final against the Dodgers drew 7.53 million viewers, up 60% on last year. [16] Last year's World Series averaged 15.7 million. [16]

Why it matters. The Brewers' 24-year-old pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, paid $788,000, starts Game 1. [67] He threw 1,115 pitches at 100 miles an hour or faster this season, nearly double the old record. [67]

NBC's two opening-night NBA games on Tuesday averaged 6.4 million viewers, the most ever for the start of a season. [17] That was 14% up on last year's 5.9 million. [17] LeBron James's first game for the Philadelphia 76ers drew 7.7 million. [17] It is NBC's second season of the NBA's $77bn TV deal, which also includes ESPN and Amazon's Prime Video. [17]

Why it matters. The new deal dropped TNT and added NBC and Amazon. [17] In 2024, on TNT, the opening doubleheader drew 2.95 million, counted a narrower way. [17]

Kalshi and Polymarket, US apps where people bet on events, have pulled back from many countries that treat them as gambling. [6] Kalshi has left China, India, Brazil and Nigeria, and Brazil forced it offline in April. [6] Australia told internet providers to block Polymarket last year. [6] Kalshi is valued at $22bn and Polymarket at $15bn. [6]

Why it matters. At home, both rely on the US futures regulator treating their bets as financial products. [6] Matchbook, an Irish rival, is willing to be licensed as a betting company abroad and calls that a big advantage. [6]

The Pittsburgh Steelers cancelled a weekend fan event at a bar in Paris's Bastille area on Thursday, after weeks of protests in France. [28][29] Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, the NFL's first regular-season game in Paris, will go ahead at the Stade de France. [59] The protests began a month ago over schools and grew into anger over living costs and fuel. [30] Nearly 2,400 people were arrested last Saturday, The Athletic reports, citing the New York Times. [30]

Why it matters. The NFL says none of its own events are affected and it is working with French authorities. [28] The league is playing a record nine games abroad this season. [30]

CBS signed JJ Watt, a former NFL player, to a new multi-year deal as its main American football commentator on Thursday. [31] He replaces Tony Romo, who was dropped after an arrest for drunk driving. [31] That leaves one fewer job for Troy Aikman, whose ESPN contract of $90m over five years has had no formal offer to renew. [31] His partner, Joe Buck, signed for six years and $108m. [31]

Why it matters. Aikman's main options are now Amazon's Prime Video and Netflix, Front Office Sports says. [32][31] He turns 60 in November. [31]

The NFL is discussing letting TV viewers see and hear its video replay reviews, possibly this season, a source told Front Office Sports. [33] College conferences such as the Big Ten already do this. [33] The Big Ten opened its reviews to viewers after a replay crew added a second to the clock in a Michigan game, which then won on the last play. [33] The NFL runs its reviews from a centre in New York. [33]

Why it matters. Officiating is under scrutiny this season over the number of penalties being called. [33] Roger Goodell, the NFL's commissioner, said on Wednesday that the count of fouls is not the right way to judge referees. [33]

College Sports United, a political group that can spend without limit on adverts, has formed to push the Protect College Sports Act, a bill to set national rules for college sport, through the US House of Representatives unchanged. [34] Any change would send the bill back to the US Senate, and it must become law before a new US Congress sits in January. [34] Its backers are boosters of smaller college sports schools. [34] The House is expected to take it up in November. [34]

Why it matters. It is believed to be the first such group built only for college sport, says Front Office Sports, which spoke to its leader, Alex Fulton. [34] Another group backing the bill has already spent about $10m on adverts. [34]

The 2027 Tour de France will start in Edinburgh on 2 July, the organisers said in Paris on Thursday. [35] The men's race crosses Scotland, England and Wales, with stages to Carlisle and Liverpool and one ending in Cardiff. [35] The women's race starts in Leeds on 30 July. [35] The UK government has set aside 65m pounds for the six British stages. [35]

Why it matters. The men's race covers 3,479km and finishes in Paris on 25 July. [35] The UK sports minister, Stephanie Peacock, said the visit will put women's cycling in the spotlight. [35]

Lewis Hamilton, 41, says he wants to keep racing in Formula One until the planned African Grand Prix in Rwanda in the early 2030s. [36] F1 signed a 10-year deal with Rwanda last week for a track not yet built. [36] Amnesty UK called the race sportswashing, using sport to polish a government's image. [36] Hamilton said people should 'approach it with humility'. [37]

Why it matters. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda's neighbour, has accused Rwanda at the International Court of Justice of breaking treaties on genocide and torture. [37] Its foreign minister asked F1 for guarantees that no money comes from minerals taken in war. [37]

Apex, a Lisbon investment firm, has agreed to put $7.6m into Belenenses, a Portuguese football club owned by its members, for up to 49%. [38] The members keep control, and Apex gets two of five board seats. [38] In 2012 the club sold control to a fund to cover debts, and the fallout ended with fans restarting it in the lowest regional league in 2018. [38]

Why it matters. The deal needs the club's president to win re-election on Saturday and then 75% of members to approve it. [38] Belenenses has won five promotions since 2018 and is now in Portugal's third division. [38]

Every NBA game can now be streamed, but what it costs depends on where a fan lives. [39] A New Orleans Pelicans fan can follow the team for about $9 a season, while some New York Knicks fans need more than $200 of services. [39] Each team's local rights still stop at drawn borders, and 11 teams now show all their local games free on ordinary TV. [39]

Why it matters. Watching every national game without cable takes about $280 of ESPN, Prime Video and Peacock. [39] Local TV gave NBA teams 10% of their income last season. [39]

Megan Schutt, one of the top 10 wicket-takers in women's cricket, has been banned for two matches by Cricket Australia. [40] She broke the team's rules on prescription medicine once, out of competition, and not to help her play. [40] She served the first match on Thursday, when Australia's 20-over game against New Zealand in Sydney was washed out. [40] Schutt apologised. [40]

Why it matters. Her second missed game will be for the Adelaide Strikers on 31 October. [40] Cricket Australia said the ban covers all international and domestic cricket. [40]

Joe Fraser of Great Britain won bronze in the all-around, the six-apparatus event, at the World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam on Thursday. [41] He is only the third British man to win a world all-around medal. [41] Japan's Daiki Hashimoto won his fourth world title in a row. [41] A day earlier, Britain's men finished fourth in the team final. [41]

Why it matters. Fourth place meant the team missed a place at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. [41] They get another chance at next year's World Championships. [41]

The Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots 30-24 on Thursday night, ending the Patriots' three-game winning run. [42] Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, outplaying Drake Maye, picked two places after him in the 2024 draft. [42][60] The Bears were also flagged for an illegal forward handoff, the first such penalty in 16 years. [43]

Why it matters. The rule bars handing the ball forward to a lineman, a blocker who is not allowed to carry it that way, so the trick play cost five yards. [43] The Bears are 5-2 and the Patriots 4-3. [42]

Bruno Fernandes will stay Manchester United's captain and will not be punished for criticising the manager, Michael Carrick, after the 4-1 defeat at Como. [45] His house in Cheshire was burgled while he was in Italy, though his family were not at home. [46] United have won two of 11 games this season, their worst start since 1986. [68]

Why it matters. The Guardian reports that Unai Emery and Julian Nagelsmann are the board's top choices if Carrick is sacked. [68] Carrick is expected to stay in charge for Sunday's game against Bournemouth. [68]

Joe Cordina, a former world champion from Cardiff, has agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao, 47, on the Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua bill on 11 December. [47] The promoter, Eddie Hearn, said it is not yet certain the fight will happen. [47] Tickets for Fury-Joshua at Cardiff's Principality Stadium sold out in an hour, and Netflix will show it. [47]

Why it matters. It would be Pacquiao's first fight in the UK. [47] Cordina was cleared of assault charges at a trial, which opened the way. [47]

Netflix will broadcast 'Beat Luke Littler' live from Manchester on 30 October. [48] Twenty-four amateurs will each play Littler, the 19-year-old two-time world darts champion, in one game of 501. [48] Anyone who beats him wins 501,000 pounds. [48] They include Fallon Sherrock, the first woman to win a match at the professional world championship, and Mitchell Lawrie, 15. [48]

Why it matters. Phil Taylor, who won 16 world titles, helped pick the players. [48]

World Athletics has backed a new World Treadmill Championship, where runners log 5km on a treadmill for a $100,000 prize pool. [49] Anyone can enter free at an official centre until 24 January. [49] The best quarter in each age group go on to regional rounds, with world finals in Italy next March. [49] Twenty countries take part so far. [49]

Why it matters. World Athletics' president, Lord Coe, said it can bring young people into running. [49] One club founder said it lets women keep training safely through dark winter evenings. [49]