2 h. ago For the age of Amorim, this Manchester derby feels like a decisive moment

Against a backdrop of internal strife, facing their sky blue rivals provides a struggling team with chance to rebuild the brandThis brave overhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, this collection of generic spires with a massive plastic handkerchief chucked over the top. Three weeks on from first sight of the conceptual drawings for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s stately pleasure dome, also known as the proposed Manchester United Stadium Soccer Product Hub, there is still a sense of double-take about the whole thing.Early impressions of the new ground ranged from a defunct Venusian mercury mine, to Dubai Butlin’s, to a pointed corporate monument to our divided world. Welcome to the Staff Lunch Arena, embodiment of the 21st-century conviction that if you just stopped buying so many sandwiches and also fired the tea lady you could probably afford a vast and unattainable house. Continue reading...

Politics

33 h. ago US and UK World Cup bid success boosts hosts but does little for global game | Tom Garry

Tournaments in 2031 and 2035 are likely to be great events but will be hosted by those who need them the leastThere is an abundance of reasons why staging the 2031 and 2035 Women’s World Cups in the United States and UK respectively offers cause for delight. The countries have well-established and emotionally invested fanbases, a genuine buy-in to the women’s game and huge, modern stadiums to choose from. These two summer parties will surely eclipse anything women’s sport has seen and the countries, having invested in the women’s game more than any others in modern times, have frankly earned this.Yet the news that the US and UK are bidding unopposed to host these tournaments is also sad for the women’s game from a global perspective. The US’s NWSL and England’s Women’s Super League are the two most-watched women’s leagues in the world with the largest average attendances and the most professionalised facilities for players and therefore, while many will agree that means they deserve...

Politics

37 h. ago Australia v South Korea: women’s international friendly – live

Updates from the Matildas’ clash with Korea Republic in SydneyKick off at Allianz Stadium is 8pm local/6pm KSTAny thoughts? Get in touch with Martin on emailHello and welcome to live coverage of the women’s international friendly between Australia and South Korea at Allianz Stadium in Sydney. The Matildas are seeking a return to form in back-to-back friendlies against their Asian rivals after a horror campaign at the SheBelieves Cup but will have to do so without some of their leading players.Australia lost all three matches at the tournament in the United States in February and have now slumped to a 20-year low in the Fifa world rankings at No 16. But they have no time to lick their wounds with the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup on home soil now less than 11 months away. Continue reading...

Society

50 h. ago Alex Scott breaks silence as UK scores Women's World Cup 2035 bid

Football Focus host and former England player Alex Scott has hailed the UK's sole bid to host the 2035 Women's World Cup tournament

Politics

53 h. ago New Manchester United stadium could stage games at 2035 Women’s World Cup – FA

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the UK had submitted the only ‘valid bid’ for 2035.

Sport

60 h. ago UK set to host FIFA Women's World Cup after Gianni Infantino statement

There has only been one "valid bid" for the 2035 tournament according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, coming from the Home Nations

Politics

61 h. ago UK to host Women's World Cup for first time ever in 2035 as rivals drop out to leave England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as sole bidders

The UK will host the Women's World Cup for the first time ever in 2035 after a rival bid from Spain, Portugal and Morocco dropped out.

Politics

61 h. ago UK to host World Cup as FIFA chief Gianni Infantino says 'one valid bid'

The UK is set to host the 2035 World Cup after FIFA president Gianni Infantino called the nation's interest in hosting the finals as the 'one valid bid'

Politics

61 h. ago UK almost certain to host Women’s World Cup 2035 as ‘one valid bid’

Fifa president Gianni Infantino described the UK as ‘one valid bid’ for the finals, with the USA set to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup

Politics

61 h. ago UK poised to host 2035 Women’s World Cup and US lands 2031 tournament

Fifa president Infantino says UK is the ‘one valid bid’US may host in 2031 alongside other Concacaf nationsThe United Kingdom appears certain to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup after Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, announced it is the sole bidder for the tournament.Infantino confirmed in an address to Uefa’s annual congress in Belgrade that the UK had a clear path to staging the event. He also named the USA, probably alongside other Concacaf members, as the only candidate for the 2031 edition. Fifa intends to expand the Women’s World Cup to 48 teams, mirroring the new look of the men’s competition, from 2031. Concacaf covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Ruby Tui: ‘I was trying to grow women’s rugby – I had no idea the effect my story would have’

The Rugby World Cup winner on her journey from traumatic childhood haunted by domestic violence and alcoholism to being a Black Ferns superstar“Oh, mate, absolutely,” Ruby Tui exclaims from the other side of the world when asked if she will be in England for the women’s rugby World Cup this August. “It’s not even a question, bro. I’ll be there supporting my team or I’ll be in my team. Whatever it is, there’s no way you can miss the World Cup 2025.”We’re deep in an interview that began at seven o’clock on a sleepy Monday morning in England, and eight o’clock that evening in New Zealand, and Tui is flying. The most charismatic woman in world rugby has lit up the past 40 minutes with her powerful personal story and electrifying presence. It’s a reminder of how she did the same in November 2022, at Eden Park in Auckland, soon after New Zealand’s Black Ferns had beaten England 34-31 in the greatest game in the history of women’s rugby. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Mikaela Shiffrin closes tumultuous season with 101st World Cup win

American star ends injury-hit season with slalom victoryRecord-extended win comes at Women’s World Cup finalsGermany’s Dürr finishes seconds, Slovenia’s Slokar thirdMikaela Shiffrin capped one of the most emotionally and physically grueling seasons of her storied career with a vintage performance on Thursday, winning the slalom at the Women’s World Cup finals in Sun Valley for her record-extending 101st career World Cup victory.The 30-year-old American skied with precision and poise on a bumpy, technical course, posting the fastest time on the first run and holding her nerve on the second to finish in a combined time of 1:45.92. Her margin of victory – 1.13sec over Germany’s Lena Dürr – was her largest in a slalom this season. Slovenia’s Andreja Slokar rounded out the podium in third. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Afghanistan women players fight to compete in World Cup qualifying after fleeing Taliban rule

Afghanistan’s women’s football team fled from their country after the Taliban takeover of 2021

Sport

1 week ago Fifa close on recognising Afghanistan women’s team but players say it is too late

Team closer to representing country four years after exilePlayers express frustration at Fifa’s slow progressFifa has cleared the way for the exiled Afghanistan women’s national team to represent the country but has been criticised for moving too slowly, four years after players fled the country when the Taliban returned to power.Football’s global governing body said it was committed to supporting players outside Afghanistan and would organise training camps, provide staff (including qualified coaches and technical and medical staff) and coordinate friendly matches. Continue reading...

Sport

1 week ago Fifa closes on recognising Afghanistan women’s team but players say it is too late

Team closer to representing country four years after exilePlayers express frustration at Fifa’s slow progressFifa has cleared the way for the exiled Afghanistan women’s national team to represent the country but has been criticised for moving too slowly, four years after players fled the country when the Taliban returned to power.Football’s global governing body said it was committed to supporting players outside Afghanistan and would organise training camps, provide staff (including qualified coaches and technical and medical staff) and coordinate friendly matches. Continue reading...

Sport

1 week ago Sir Jim Ratcliffe sent new Man United stadium warning with 'unique' £760m point

Latest Manchester United news as Everton's £760m stadium designer sends United a warning about 100,000-seater designs

Events

1 week ago Record 275,000 tickets sold for Women's Rugby World Cup 2025

The event is now the most successful tournament ever following unprecedented sales across the eight host venues in England

Sport

1 week ago The Guardian view on Manchester United’s stadium plans: put the fans first | Editorial

A £2bn new arena for Britain’s biggest football club will bring regeneration to the surrounding area. But matchgoing supporters are right to be circumspectVisitors to Salford’s Lowry art gallery this summer will be able to enjoy a new take on one of the greatest paintings about sport. Depicting thousands of supporters bent purposefully towards a 1950s football stadium, LS Lowry’s Going to the Match has become part of the iconography of the national game. As part of its silver jubilee celebrations, the gallery is staging an immersive experience of the painting, including a nostalgic soundtrack evoking the sounds of a lost world.So much for the past. Barely a mile away from the Lowry, at Manchester United’s Old Trafford base, it is the ghosts of football’s future that are being summoned up. To great fanfare, this month the club unveiled computer-generated images of Lowryesque hordes approaching the new £2bn stadium it hopes to build by 2030. Continue reading...

Sport

1 week ago Chelsea's touting problem and Man United apology shows Man City aren't alone in ticket battle

As Manchester City fans raise concerns over ticket and atmosphere issues at the Etihad Stadium - clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United are dealing with exactly the same concerns.

Sport

2 w. ago Fran McGhie shines as Scotland hold on to edge out Wales in feisty thriller

Scotland 24-21 WalesSix tries and two red cards in Six Nations openerTwo red cards, six tries, a nip-and-tuck scoreboard and a traditional Scottish deluge falling from the sky. This had pretty much everything and Scotland were the team left standing with a win, but only just, in a pulsating encounter. These sides meet again in August, in Pool B of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, and judging by the skill, physicality and entertainment on show in Edinburgh, that appointment in Salford will be unmissable.Sarah Bonar, Emma Orr and Leah Bartlett scored tries for Scotland while Helen Nelson kicked a penalty and three conversions – every kick proving important in the final reckoning. Carys Phillips, Abbie Fleming and Gwenllian Pyrs were try-scorers for Wales, who started and finished strongly, but ultimately paid for missing 35 tackles. Credit, too, for the silky attacking skills and forward muscle of Scotland, for whom the wing Fran McGhie was a constant threat. Continue reading...

Politics