Category: 6. Sports

Holders Bordeaux-Begles and last season’s finalists Northampton Saints have been drawn in Pool 4 for the 2025-26 Investec Champions Cup.

In May, Bordeaux defeated Saints 28-20 in Cardiff to lift their first Champions Cup title.

Premiership semi-finalists Bristol Bears, Scarlets, Top 14 side Pau and United Rugby Championship (URC) runners-up Bulls are also in Pool 4.

Three-time winners Saracens are in Pool 1 alongside record six-time champions Toulouse.

They are joined by Glasgow Warriors, Sale Sharks, Clermont Auvergne and South African side Sharks.

Premiership champions Bath, who won last year’s Challenge Cup, are in Pool 2 with Munster, Gloucester, Edinburgh, Castres and three-time winners Toulon.

In Pool 3, Leinster, who lost to Northampton in last year’s semi final, again are drawn in the same pool as Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle, who defeated the Irish province in back-to-back finals in 2022 and 2023.

Leo Cullen’s team squeezed past the Top 14 side 16-14 in last year’s pool stage.

Leicester Tigers and Harlequins are also in Pool 3, with Bayonne and South African side Stormers.

Each team will play four different opponents in the pool stage, but not teams from their own league, with fixtures still to be announced.

In the Challenge Cup, Ulster, who finished 14th in last season’s URC have been drawn in the same pool as Parisian rivals Racing 92 and Stade Francais in Pool 3.

Ospreys and Connacht have a kinder draw in Pool 1, which contains Georgian side Black Lion.

From Texas to Iceland – Natasha Anasi-Erlingsson’s football journey to the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 has been one of a kind.

A little more than 10 years ago, the defender never would have thought she would play at the European championships one day. At that time, the Texas-born footballer was pursuing her goals with the U.S. U23 squad and hoping to play in the National Women’s Soccer League.

When the deal fell through, she got an offer to move to Europe. The young player ended up in Iceland, a stark contrast from the warmth of Texas where was raised by parents of Kenyan descent.

“I looked for an agent and started looking at moves abroad. When the offer from Iceland came, initially I definitely found it a bit random. But after I did my research, I thought there was something really charming about it and I ended up taking the plunge,” she said in an interview with FIFA.com.

“The landscape and the weather here could hardly be any more different from Texas… But I came here with the mindset of just wanting to explore and have a great time. I was lucky too that the team I joined had a real family environment and took great care of me, so I settled in and enjoyed it right from the start.”

The now 33-year-old acclimatised quickly and ended up staying longer than expected. She married an Icelander and, in 2019, was granted citizenship and received her first call up to the national team.

“There was a brief thought of, ‘Am I really going to do this?’ But at the same time there was no hesitation at all,” said the mother-of-two. “My roots here are so deep now that I really do feel like I’m an Icelander.

“I’ve learned the language and my teammates are constantly praising me about how well I do with it. And I love that they all speak to me in Icelandic. Even if I ever struggle to get a word out, they just help me – they never switch to English. They’ve embraced me as an Icelander from the first minute I met them.”

Anasi-Erlingsson is the experienced spine that Iceland will be counting on as they play in their fifth consecutive UEFA Women’s EURO. The national team, coached by Thorsteinn Halldórsson, are seeking their first win at the EUROs since 2013.

Iceland kicks off the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 against Finland in Group A on Wednesday, 2 July in Thun, Switzerland.

Brentford held its most recent fan advisory board (FAB) meeting in June.

FAB meetings are a part of the club’s ongoing commitment to consulting and involving fans in key decisions and are a key element of the Premier League’s fan engagement standard.

The meeting was attended by club executives together with FAB members drawn from Bees United and Brentford Independent Association of Supporters (BIAS). The current FAB members are: Stuart Hatcher (co-chair), Don Tanswell, Chris Tate, Sharon Wright (all Bees United), Angelo Basu (co-chair), Dave Minckley, Matthew White and Allyson Woyak (all BIAS).

The FAB focuses on off-pitch matters and provides a sounding board for the club to discuss strategic issues with fan representatives.

A number of working groups focusing on specific topics and projects such as ticketing, food and drink, fan atmosphere and sustainability also report into the FAB, providing more detailed feedback to help steer the club’s decisions and policies.

In the most recent meeting, the FAB discussed the club’s plans to move to digital ticketing, including detailed implementation plans and how Brentford will help fans transition to the new technology.

The group also spoke about plans for fan consultation and involvement for the season ahead, including the suggested outline plan for the FAB meetings and ongoing working group meetings. Ahead of the meeting, an overview of the working group meetings was shared, totalling some 60 meetings over the last season.

Fan atmosphere was also on the agenda. The group discussed how fans and fan groups could help the team by improving the atmosphere during home games at Gtech Community Stadium. Plans are in place for the fan atmosphere working group to meet ahead of the new season.

Brentford staff also provided an update on the work that’s required to confirm that the club has met the requirements set out in the Premier League’s Fan Engagement Standard for the 2024/25 season.

The club is required to publish a fan engagement plan and other key documents such as a revised Supporter Charter ahead of the start of the upcoming campaign.

Read more about the points discussed at our recent FAB meeting

Get to know your fan advisory board members

FAB member Sharon Wright recently spoke to the club’s sustainability manager James Beale about why sustainability is so important to her and how she’s engaged with Brentford to support our efforts in this area.

If you’d like to find out more about the work that the FAB does or have any points that you’d like to raise with them, you can send an email to [email protected] or [email protected], or contact the club via email at [email protected] and your email will be passed onto the FAB members.

Top seed Jannik Sinner eased into the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday, brushing aside fellow Italian Luca Nardi in straight sets.

Unfazed by the searing heat, Sinner barely broke sweat in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 victory lasting just one hour and 48 minutes on Court One.

“I’m very happy to come back here to such a special place for me,” Sinner said.

“Playing an Italian is very unfortunate but one has to go through and luckily it was me.”

Sinner last week insisted his surprise decision to part with two of his coaching staff on the eve of Wimbledon would not affect his bid to win the tournament for the first time.

He opted to move on from Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist, as he looks for a new direction following his painful French Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.

READ | Elisabetta Cocciaretto stuns Jessica Pegula in first round of Wimbledon

The pair had been employed by Sinner since September 2024, helping him retain the Australian Open crown in January and reach the Roland Garros showpiece in June.

Asked if the decision might jeopardise his Wimbledon challenge over the next fortnight, Sinner was adamant it would be beneficial, with coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill still on his staff.

On the evidence of his dominant display against Nardi the world number one, who returned from a three-month doping ban in May, will be just fine regardless of the coaching shake-up.

“We worked a lot after Halle (grass-court tournament) on the serve and in important moments I felt I was serving very well,” Sinner said.

“First matches are never easy, so I’m very happy with the performance. It’s a new tournament, new challenges.

“If you don’t enjoy to play on these courts, I don’t know where you will enjoy. I will try to keep going.”

Sinner has won three of the past six Grand Slams, but the 23-year-old blew a two-set lead and wasted three match points as Alcaraz staged a comeback for the ages to win the French Open final.

Sinner has failed to reach the Wimbledon final in his four visits, with a last-four appearance in 2023 ranking as his best effort.

The Italian’s Wimbledon preparations were also dented by a shock last-16 defeat against Alexander Bublik at Halle.

Playing world number 95 Nardi for the first time, Sinner had little trouble dispatching the 21-year-old in his first Grand Slam match since that bitter defeat at Roland Garros.

AUSTRALIA – Ripper GC, one of 13 teams shaping the future of golf in the LIV Golf League, has announced a bold new partnership with Golf Australia’s MyGolf program – uniting under the shared mission of taking youth golf participation to new heights across Australia.

MyGolf is Australia’s national introductory golf program for children aged 5–12, providing a dynamic, game-based learning experience built around confidence, friendships, and life skills. Led by PGA Professionals, the program ensures youth participants receive world-class instruction and mentorship, laying the foundation for the next wave of Aussie golfers.

Over the past year, more than 40,000 kids participated in MyGolf programs, a record high and an increase of over 4,000 from the previous year. With 476 active locations nationwide, the program continues to grow rapidly and make golf accessible to more families than ever before.

Now, with Ripper GC signing on as principal partner for at least the next three years, the program enters an exciting new phase: MyGolf powered by Ripper GC. Participants will now be known as “Little Rippers”, reflecting the spirit and energy of the partnership.

Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said it’s an exciting time for Australian kids to get info golf.

“Golf Australia has seen enormous growth in MyGolf participation over the last few years and we have no doubt the program will take another step up with the support of Ripper GC,” Sutherland said.

“Ripper GC’s Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman , Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are passionate about creating opportunities for boys and girls to play and love golf. We are grateful for their commitment to inspire the next generation of golfers through MyGolf.

“MyGolf powered by Ripper GC is the perfect starting point for kids to get into golf. We can’t wait to see thousands more Little Rippers pick up a golf club.”

“The goal is simple, to get as many Aussie kids playing golf as possible,” said Ripper GC captain Cam Smith. “Everyone at Ripper GC and Golf Australia is committed to making that happen. We’re proud to be part of something that not only grows the game but creates opportunities for kids everywhere.”

The impact is already stretching beyond the fairways. Over 107,000 students engaged in the MyGolf Schools program, a 37% increase from last year. Female participation continues to rise as well, with nearly half of all participants in Tasmania being girls. Whether on the course or in the classroom, MyGolf powered by Ripper GC is shaping the next generation of golfers and making golf more accessible and exciting than ever before.

Find your nearest MyGolf powered by Ripper GC program here and sign up for Term 3 programs now.