■SOUTH AFRICA
FIFA increases prize pot
The winners of next year’s World Cup final in South Africa will collect a check for US$30 million, FIFA said on Thursday. The losing finalists will receive US$24 million and all participating teams will receive an extra US$1 million to cover their preparation costs. FIFA Secretary-general Jerome Valcke said the total prize money available to the 32 finalists would be US$420 million, up 61 percent from US$261.4 million in 2006. The semi-finalists get US$20 million, the quarter-finalists US$18 million, second-round losers US$9 million and those eliminated at the group stage US$8 million. Valcke said FIFA would also provide US$40 million for clubs whose players took part in the tournament. “Every club who has a player at the World Cup will receive US$1,600 per day, per player,” Valcke said.
■ENGLAND
Pompey players not paid
Premier League strugglers Portsmouth announced on Thursday that their players had not received wages for the second time this season. The south coast club, who are bottom of the table, issued a statement confirming that not all their squad had received last month’s salary on time. A similar situation took place two months ago when players were paid their September wages late. “A proportion of their wages will be paid tomorrow [Friday], with the club’s new owners working towards paying the remainder over the next few days,” the statement said. Portsmouth attributed the September payment delay to problems arising from the takeover of the club by former owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim. There were hopes at Fratton Park that such difficulties were a thing of the past, however, after Al-Fahim was brought out in turn by Saudi Arabian businessman Ali Al-Faraj.
■ENGLAND
Walcott to miss Stoke game
Arsenal suffered a fresh setback on Thursday when it was announced England winger Theo Walcott had suffered a hamstring injury and would miss today’s Premier League match against Stoke City. Walcott, 20, played in the second half of the 3-0 loss to Chelsea on Sunday before, with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger selecting reserve players, missing out on the Gunners’ League Cup defeat by Manchester City on Wednesday. Arsenal’s Alex Song is suspended for the Emirates Stadium fixture against Stoke, but fullback Bacary Sagna is set to return after an ankle injury.
■SPAIN
League votes on tax protest
La Liga was voting yesterday on whether to suspend matches next weekend to protest a government plan to eliminate a tax break for high-income players. The governing Socialist party wants to eliminate the so-called “Beckham Law” that allows foreign players who earn more than 600,000 euros (US$905,000) to pay only 24 percent tax. If the proposed change goes through, those players would pay 43 percent.
■FRANCE
Player jailed for hitting ref
An amateur player was jailed on Thursday for two weeks and fined 3,801 euros (US$5,728) for knocking out a referee in a seventh division game last weekend. Ten minutes from the end of the game between Bocognano and Ghisonaccia, Bocognano player Marcello Cherchi reacted to being shown a second yellow card for a dangerous tackle by punching referee Joel Plantecoste in the face. Plantecoste was left unconscious on the pitch and had to be hospitalized until Wednesday, before filing a complaint with police.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
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