SOCCER
Man City duo honored
Manchester City duo Phil Foden and Khadija Shaw on Tuesday were voted the men’s and women’s player of the year in English soccer for last season at the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) awards. The 24-year-old Foden helped City win a fourth consecutive Premier League title, scoring 19 times and providing eight assists. Shaw was the top scorer in the Women’s Super League (WSL) as the Jamaican forward netted 21 goals, although City lost the title on goal difference to Chelsea. Foden and Shaw also won the equivalent award from the Football Writers’ Association, which is voted on by journalists. The PFA winners are selected by professional players. Chelsea attacking midfielder Cole Palmer was voted the men’s PFA young player of the year, with Manchester United midfielder Grace Clinton winning the women’s prize after her performances on loan at Tottenham Hotspur last season. Palmer was second only to City’s Erling Haaland in the Premier League scoring charts with 22 goals and also had more assists than any other Chelsea player, with 11. Haaland won the men’s player of the year award last year. Clinton contributed four goals and four assists in 20 WSL appearances.
Photo: AP
SOCCER
Villarreal sign ’keeper
Villarreal have signed Brazilian goalkeeper Luiz Junior from Portuguese club Famalicao on a six-year deal, the La Liga side announced on Tuesday. The clubs did not disclose the transfer fee, but Spanish media reported that Villarreal paid about 12 million euros (US$13 million) for the 23-year-old. “At an impressive 1.93 meters, he is quick between the posts, he is able to dominate aerial duels and has excellent reflexes — all of which make him a very talented goalkeeper with a big future,” Villarreal said in a statement. Luiz Junior made 140 appearances for Famalicao since joining their academy at the age of 18. He is to replace Filip Jorgensen at Villareal, who joined Chelsea last month on a seven-year contract.
CRICKET
BCB names new president
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday named former captain Faruque Ahmed as president after the resignation of Nazmul Hassan, a close ally of ousted Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Nazmul, who also served as Bangladeshi minister of sports during Hasina’s 15 years in office, wrote to the BCB to resign, board chief executive officer Nizam Uddin Chowdhury told reporters. “His wish was granted,” he said. Chowdhury said that Faruque was elected by the board’s directors and “took charge immediately.” Nazmul had been BCB president since 2012, serving multiple terms, with his last tenure scheduled to end next year. Faruque briefly captained Bangladesh in the 1994 ICC Trophy in Kenya and played seven one-day internationals. He retired from the national team after the Cricket World Cup in 1999. He also held the position of national chief selector from 2005 to 2014.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
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