2021 cycling event, The Tour 21, has now sold out with 25 amateur cyclists signed up to ride the full Tour de France route, one week ahead of the professionals from Saturday 19^th June – Sunday 11^th July this summer. The team, led by ex-England, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Nottingham Forest footballer and blood cancer survivor Geoff Thomas, aim to raise over £1,000,000 for national blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia.

Cure Leukaemia, which was announced as the first ever official Charity Partner of the Tour de France in the UK in October last year, recorded a £1,500,000 fundraising shortfall in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and The Tour 21 team, which was increased from 20 to 25 riders after this event’s postponement last summer, aim to help the charity address this shortfall in funding by completing all 21 gruelling stages of the world’s most famous and prestigious professional cycling event 150 days from now.

All funds raised by The Tour 21 team will be invested in the national Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) which has been solely funded by Cure Leukaemia since January 2020. TAP is a network of specialist research nurses at 12 blood cancer centres located in the UK’s biggest cities and a facilitatory hub based at the Centre for Clinical Haematology in Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. This network enables accelerated setup and delivery of potentially life-saving blood cancer clinical trials to run giving patients from a UK catchment area of over 20 million people access to treatments not currently available through standard care.

Cure Leukaemia Patron Geoff Thomas, 56, said: “I am delighted that we have a full team of 25 cyclists signed up and committed to not only taking on this gruelling challenge but also to raising vital funds to help blood cancer patients across the UK. COVID-19 decimated charity fundraising in 2020 and Cure Leukaemia were no different and that is why we, as a team, have an even greater responsibility to go beyond the initial £1,000,000 target for the event.

“I am confident that with the team we have assembled we can do just that not only giving these amateur cyclists the experience of a lifetime but also ensuring vital blood cancer clinical trials can continue to benefit patients across the country. This will be my 5^th and final Tour de France cycling challenge since I was declared in remission from chronic myeloid leukaemia in 2005 and I am determined to ensure that this is the most successful and memorable of them all.”

Cure Leukaemia Chief Executive James McLaughlin continued: “Clearly 2020 was an extremely tough year for the charity and we are so grateful to Geoff and his team for taking on such a monumental challenge both on and off the bike. I know all the riders are going to do all they can to raise £1,000,000 which will help to ensure the sustainability of the TAP network across the UK and the blood cancer clinical trials it delivers. 

“We have all seen the leading role that clinical trials are playing in securing the accelerated approval of the COVID-19 vaccines and such clinical trials are equally vital for the thousands of blood cancer patients across the UK to ensure they can access pioneering new treatments with the aim of bringing us ever closer to a cure for all forms of blood cancer.”

Her father is one of the biggest names in American sport - but Trinity Rodman wants success on her own terms. The 18-year-old is the daughter of Dennis Rodman, the iconic NBA Hall of Famer who is as well known for dramas off the court as brilliance on it. And she is making a big name for herself as a footballer. She just became the youngest player drafted in the history of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Rodman, a USA Under-20 international forward, was the second overall pick in the draft, as she was snapped up by Washington Spirit. Afterwards, she talked about "paving my own path" and being "excited to be known as Trinity Rodman and not just Dennis Rodman's daughter". But she does appreciate her father's influence, saying that "he was an amazing athlete and I got those genes from him".

Rodman has already made a significant impact on the US football scene. In February and March, she impressed as the USA won the Concacaf Women's Under-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic, scoring nine goals - including two in the final as Mexico were beaten 4-1. She ended the year as one of three nominees for the US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year, losing out to Under-20 national team captain Naomi Girma when the results were announced in December.

In between, she enrolled at Washington State University and was scheduled to play for their college team, the Cougars, over the autumn season. But it was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and so she did not get a chance to turn out for them.

Rather than wait for the spring season, Rodman decided to declare for the draft and start her professional career - skipping college. The risk paid off. "To even just be in the draft with my situation and my age is insane," she said, "but to be number two to an amazing team is out of this world, like I couldn't ask for anything more."

The English Premier League (EPL) has said it hopes to start permanent concussion substitution trials from January. It follows football's lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (Ifab), approving trials in 2021.

The new rule means permanent substitutions can be made if a player suffers a head injury, even if all replacements have already been used. To avoid potential abuse of the rule, opposition teams will also be able to make a change at the same time.

However, Premier League clubs have voted against the use of five substitutes for a third time, despite Ifab's confirming an extension to the rule. Instead, the number of top-flight players allowed on the bench has increased from seven to nine. This measure will come into effect from matchday 14, which begins on Saturday.

"With player welfare the Premier League's priority, clubs agreed in principle to introduce additional permanent concussion substitutions following approval of the trial by the International Football Association Board yesterday," the Premier League said.

"The Premier League will look to implement protocols which will allow a maximum of two concussion substitutes to be used per team, with the opposition side able to use the equivalent number. The additional concussion substitutions may be made regardless of the number of substitutions a team has made already."

Speaking before the latest decision not to allow five substitutes, Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said he was "surprised" top-flight clubs had not approved the change. He also said clubs still competing in the FA Cup would be allowed to make five substitutions. "I think when we started off at Ifab level, we fully expected all of the leading leagues to sign it off for the reason of a very congested season with a lack of pre-season."

Speaking about permanent concussion substitutes, he added: "I think we have to state clearly why permanent substitutes are better. We had a concussion expert group pulled together by Fifa and Ifab to look at this and their view is very firmly that it's safer."

Concussion substitutes were set to be introduced at the football competitions of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before it postponed until 2021 because of coronavirus. The ability to gather a more accurate diagnosis of head injuries has been in the spotlight after several members of England's 1966 World Cup-winning team were diagnosed with dementia.

Stiles and Jack Charlton, who both died earlier this year, had dementia, while Sir Bobby Charlton's family recently revealed he had been diagnosed with the disease. Former Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen also recently explained how he had felt the effects of a concussion he sustained playing for Spurs for the following nine months.

Birmingham cricket star Amy Jones says that competing for gold for Team England at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be “a real light at the end of the tunnel” after a period of lockdown which has seen the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup postponed. 

Jones grew up in Sutton Coldfield and has more than 90 international caps for England as well as playing county cricket for Warwickshire. She is one of the stars of Birmingham 2022’s latest campaign, celebrating elite athletes with a link to the West Midlands. She will appear on billboards across the region from this week as the build up to the Commonwealth Games continues.

Women’s T20 cricket is part of the Commonwealth Games programme for the first time in Birmingham, and Jones says it is an absolute dream come true to be able to compete in her home city: “With how things are at the moment, I think it will just be a real light at the end of the tunnel and something for everyone to look forward to. I think it’s a brilliant opportunity for the city; all eyes will be on Birmingham for that period of time. I’m proud to be from Birmingham, and having such a global event coming to the city will just be brilliant.”

Birmingham 2022 will be the first time Jones and her England teammates will have competed as part of a multi-sport team, something that she says will add to the already special occasion as he adds: “It’s something that will be extremely special. We’ve never really been part of a bigger team, and being around that whole Team England squad of athletes is something that we’re really looking forward to.”

Amy Jones says the Commonwealth Games will be a chance raise the profile of women’s sport in general and women’s cricket in particular, and she welcomes the decision to award more medals to women than men at Birmingham 2022: “I think it’s the first global event to do that which is a really special occasion and just shows how far women’s sport has come. It’s really nice to see women’s sport being rewarded with more medals, and hopefully we just broaden the reach and attract more and more young girls to take up sport in general.

“Every athlete wants to inspire, and the more people that can see us and see what we do and see how much fun we have when we’re out there, if that comes across to young girls maybe watching cricket for the first time, I think that is hugely important.

“As a team we always try and engage with people that come and watch us and really just make it an experience that makes them want to come back and watch again. Hopefully that will be the case in 2022.”

The current world’s top eight women’s T20 cricket nations are all eligible to compete at the Commonwealth Games (Australia, England, New Zealand, India, South Africa, West Indies*, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), promising an extremely high quality tournament.  England qualify automatically as hosts, with the top six highest ranked sides as of 1^st April 2021 also qualifying directly. The eighth spot will go to the winner of a qualifying tournament.

The Birmingham 2022 cricket competition will be held at the iconic Edgbaston cricket ground, home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club. And Amy Jones, who plays for Warwickshire, says that will make the competition even more special: “I first started playing for Warwickshire at under 13 level so it was really where I learned how to play cricket; it’s definitely a special place for me personally. I’ve only been able to play out on the main pitch a handful of times, so just to be able to play out there is one thing, but to represent England out there will be unbelievable, and I’m sure the support we’ll get there will be great as well.”

Amy Jones features in Birmingham 2022’s latest campaign, featuring elite athletes who have an association with the West Midlands. She says it’s an honour to be part of the campaign: “It’s incredible, I don’t think it will have sunk in until I’ve seen a billboard or my family walk past and see it. It’s definitely a bit crazy to be honest but it’s something I’m hugely proud of and I feel very lucky to be one of the athletes that’s up there. It’s definitely something that I’ll not forget.”

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 TikTok has today partnered with the British Basketball League and Basketball England to launch the #BritishBasketball hashtag challenge and showcase the best of British basketball.

In what is the first ever basketball focused campaign on TikTok in the UK, the BBL and Basketball England are inviting basketball lovers to share their best basketball tricks, skills and content on TikTok. TikTok Creators will have access to exclusive behind-the-scenes content from professional clubs like Sheffield Sharks, Leicester Riders, London Lions, Glasgow Rocks, Plymouth Raiders, Bristol Flyers and Surrey Scorchers.

"Our team have been using TikTok to share basketball content to a new audience and we've been encouraged to see it getting a great response," said Basketball England Marketing and Communications director Anthony Jepson.

"We’re excited to be working with TikTok to showcase #BritishBasketball and the talent in the BBL to people not only in the UK but across the world. From the hustle of training to the thrill of gameday, TikTok allows us and our clubs a unique and direct way to share with our fans and communities. We’ve also loved seeing great basketball content shared by fans and creators from the basketball community and cannot wait to see what they share on the hashtag to celebrate the sport we love!,” said Selina Conroy, British Basketball League's Head of Communications

Professional players including Mike Tuck, Jamell Anderson and Tayo Ogedengbe will also be sharing exclusive content to highlight what it's like being a pro basketball player in the UK.

"We're seeing great videos being shared by fans, content-makers and teams across the sport and would encourage everyone who loves the game in Britain, whether your thing is NBL, BBL, the national teams or up-and-coming young talent, to use the hashtag to celebrate it," Jepson said.

With more than 31 billion video views, #basketball has cemented itself as one of the most popular sports on TikTok and #BritishBasketball is on the rise with numerous clubs from the BBL joining the platform.

Dick Pound, the longest serving member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), remains uncertain whether the Tokyo 2020 Games will go ahead. It comes after organisers said they will be ready to host the rescheduled Games - despite the city declaring a state of emergency over Covid-19. Pound said: "I can't be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus." The rescheduled Games are set to take place between 23 July and 8 August.

He added that competitors should be high up the priority list when it comes to getting vaccinated, and also suggested that organisers could make it a condition for them to declare they have received the jab before entering Japan. The IOC earlier stated athletes would not be obligated to do so, but added: "At the same time, the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee are fully aligned in their commitment to have as many foreign participants as possible vaccinated before the Games.

"Athletes are important role models, and by taking the vaccine they can send a powerful message that vaccination is not only about personal health, but also about solidarity and consideration for the wellbeing of others in their communities." Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said there was a "sense of crisis" as he announced emergency Covid-19 plans. Organisers said: "This declaration offers an opportunity for Tokyo 2020 to plan for a safe and secure Games this summer."

Tokyo recorded 2,447 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday and the latest measures primarily target restaurants and bars, which will be asked to stop serving alcohol by 7pm local time and close an hour later.mCosts for the Games have increased by $2.8bn (£2.1bn) because of the measures needed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. And a recent poll by national broadcaster NHK showed that the majority of the Japanese general public oppose holding the Games in 2021, favouring a further delay or outright cancellation of the event.

Japan has secured rights to at least 540 million doses of vaccines from several Western developers - more than enough for its 126 million population - but the distributor of one of those, Moderna Inc, believes its vaccine is unlikely to win approval in Japan until May owing to requirements for local clinical trials. It would leave a tight vaccination schedule, with the Olympics set to start two months later.

Japan has a requirement for local clinical trials before requesting approval for a vaccine and a trial of the Moderna vaccine, which has already won approval in the United States, Europe, Canada and Israel, is due to start this month. Masayuki Imagawa, the head of the Japan vaccine business for Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, told Reuters it would probably take several more months to complete the trial and said securing approval in May was "the best-case scenario".

Meanwhile, the founder of the charity Sporting Minds, Callum Lea, says the uncertainty over Tokyo 2020 has resulted in an increase in mental health concerns among elite athletes. "We saw quite a big spike in March and April when the first lockdown was in full force, and we've seen another spike in the past month," Lea said. "For Olympic athletes their opportunity comes around once every four years and they could be at the peak of their careers, and a lot of them will know that this is their only chance, or their last chance.

“It is always different for every individual - you have some who will be able to cope with it OK and others who are extremely worried and will start to think that this is the opportunity they have built towards their whole life, and it is slowly starting to slip away."