Ramla Ali, a boxer who became British champion without her family's knowledge after fleeing civil war in Somalia, has signed a professional deal with Matchroom Boxing.

The 31-year-old, who says she is still aiming to be the first Somali boxer to go to an Olympics, is due to make her professional debut in October.

She started boxing in her early teens after arriving in London as a refugee. "I want to become a world champion," she said. "I hope in doing so people will develop a better view of Somalia."

Ali was a toddler when her family fled the Somali capital Mogadishu in the early 1990s after her elder brother was killed aged 12 by a mortar while playing outside during the civil war.

When the family arrived in London as refugees, having lived in Nairobi in Kenya, Ali was picked on at school for being overweight.

She went to the local gym and tried a boxercise class, but did not tell her family as she thought they would disapprove of the sport for a Muslim girl. When she won the British and English titles in 2016, Ali - who initially represented England before switching to Somalia in 2017 - told her parents she was going out for a run.

Ali, whose mother now supports her boxing, is trained by her husband Richard Moore and will compete at super-bantamweight. She says she "would still love to go" to the postponed Olympic Games, currently scheduled to begin on 23 July 2021, but uncertainty caused by coronavirus made her anxious to compete before then.

"I wanted to get a head start in my professional career so now is the best time to turn pro," Ali added. "I just want to get in the ring and I feel like I can do that sooner being a pro rather than waiting around for an Olympic Games that might not come.

"The Olympic dream is still there but I'm excited to begin my journey in the professional ranks."

Promoter Eddie Hearn said: "Ramla's story is incredible and inspiring. She has gone through so much to get to this point.

"Ramla joins an unrivalled Matchroom stable that boasts some of the very best female fighters on the planet and she is in the perfect place to fulfil her dream of becoming Somalia's first world champion."

As part of UK Coaching Week 2020, UK Coaching has announced a new public-driven awards initiative to recognise those coaches who delivered sport and physical activity during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.

Through UK Coaching Heroes, the great British public will be able to nominate coaches who implemented great coaching ideas and made a considerable difference to others despite the adversity we faced because of the pandemic.

One such coach, dubbed the nation’s PE teacher, Joe Wicks, delivered 18 weeks of his fitness show ‘PE with Joe’, helping millions of parents and children stay active whilst schools were closed and raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the NHS.

Nominations are open until the 11 October. Then from the 26 October - 8 November, the public will be able to vote for their favourite coaches from the shortlist of finalists.

Two supporters of the initiative are charities Coach Core Foundation and Dallaglio RugbyWorks – the former delivering inclusive and impactful sports coaching apprenticeships across the UK for 16-24 year olds not in education or employment and the latter offering young people of secondary school age (either excluded or on the verge of exclusion from mainstream education) a chance to succeed and progress onto further education, employment or training. Both charities will benefit from any voluntary donations made through the nominations or public vote process.   

UK Coaching’s Director of Coaching Emma Atkins, said: “As part of this year’s campaign, we wanted to implement a unique way in which coaches could be celebrated and recognised by the public for the unparalleled role they’ve had in helping communities stay happy and healthy in this coronavirus era.

“UK Coaching Heroes is for those of us who have benefitted from great coaching during lockdown to show our appreciation for what coaches have done for us and our wider communities. We have seen coaches go online to keep us connected, active and healthy, and have seen coaches step up to run around their local neighbourhoods to ensure those shielding from COVID-19 have food parcels and other everyday essentials.

“There is also a wonderful opportunity to donate money to two amazing charities, who are ensuring that young people, who are often in vulnerable situations, can excel through coaching apprenticeships and development programmes that will help them succeed in life – and ensure the next generation of great coaches!”  

RugbyWorks’ Managing Director Sarah Mortiboys, said: “We’re delighted to support this activity because we know through our interventions that coaching and mentoring can have a great effect on the lives of young people. By creating person-centred relationships with our young people through rugby, we’re helping them to develop resilience, personal responsibility, an understanding of mental well-being and keeping them engaged in learning and education.

“Any donation to RugbyWorks will help us to support a young person in England or Wales achieve a positive and productive future.”

Coach Core’s Chief Executive Officer Gary Laybourne, added: “At Coach Core, we understand that coaching is a very powerful way of upskilling and developing young people of all ages both professionally and personally, whilst also ensuring they become real assets to their local community. Through our programmes, we use apprenticeships to help target deserving young people living and working in some of the UK’s most challenging areas onto a fantastic, long-term career pathway and then put them back into their own communities so that they can become fantastic, inspiring young coaches helping to change people lives.

“As we all know, coronavirus has had a huge impact on the sport and physical activity sector, with substantial decreases in employment for young people in particular really starting to affect our own programmes. If people could keep us in mind for a donation whilst they are nominating so we can continue the work we do, we would be extremely grateful.

Thank you.”  

UK Coaching Heroes is looking for nominations of people who have:

• Connected people utilising sport and physical activity and had a positive impact on people’s well-being
• Created an environment where people felt empowered and motivated either to get active or to stay active during the covid-19 lockdown
• Made a difference and had an impact on others (eg family member, friend, participant).

UK Coaching Week – which empowers athletes, coaches and the public to celebrate great coaching – this year centres on the need to ‘Support Your Coach’, kicking off with the #GreatCoachingPledge that will call on the nation to give some of their own time, sharing thanks and support for the coaching community.

Following the Government announcement on September 22 that fans will not be allowed back to sporting events, the BBL (British Basketball League) are currently assessing the impact this will have on professional basketball in the UK.

The UK is a great sporting nation and the positive impact that sport has on communities and on physical and mental health can be seen at all levels from grassroots through to elite levels.

As such, it is no exaggeration to say that the impact of this decision will be deeply felt by all 11 BBL clubs and the communities they operate in.

They say that they recognise that the Government is taking these measures in the interests of the nation’s health and we fully support them in that.

However, to remove the possibility of such a vital source of income only a week before they were due to start their season means they have no option but to call on the Government for immediate support at this crucial time.

“The viability of the league, the only professional men’s basketball league in the UK, is predicated on the ticket income as thousands of fans show their support each week,” a spokesperson said.

“And without this support we are in danger of losing clubs who work in the heart of their communities, as well as the current and future generations of talented sportspeople.”

To inspire the world in Tokyo and change the world with Laureus

Eliud Kipchoge, the world’s greatest marathon runner and the first athlete to break the two hour mark for a marathon, has become the newest Laureus Ambassador.

The announcement was made on the second anniversary of one of his greatest athletics feats, when he ran the fastest time ever in a marathon in Berlin in 2 hrs 1 min 39 secs – breaking the previous record by 78 seconds, the biggest improvement on the marathon world record in 51 years.

Eliud, the latest in a long line of distinguished Kenyan long distance runners, and a winner of the Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award, also famously became the only athlete to run a marathon in under two hours, recording 1hr 59mins 40secs, in Vienna in October 2019. It was a landmark achievement, though not an official world record because it was not in open competition.

In an interview with Laureus Academy Member and Olympic legend Michael Johnson on Laureus.com, Kipchoge confirmed his intention to compete in the marathon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics next year, even though he would be 36.

“I was really looking forward to running in the Tokyo Olympics. Unfortunately COVID-19 changed the world and health and safety is the first priority,” said Eliud. “I am really looking forward to running next year. It will be an honour to be there next year, I am fit and will do everything I can to make the Kenyan team and represent my country.”

He says he is also looking forward to competing in the re-arranged London Marathon on October 4. “I am happy to be coming back to London for a very different and exciting race. I have prepared as best I can under the circumstances, I think I am ready. We will miss all the fun runners and the crowds. In my mind we will still run together. Actually that is an extra motivation to run a great race.”

In addition to his sporting targets, Eliud is now a member of the Laureus Family whose goal is to use the power of sport to change young people’s lives for the better. He joins a group of more than 200 Laureus Ambassadors and 69 Laureus World Sports Academy Members, all of whom work to support Laureus Sport for Good. Since its inception, Laureus has improved the lives of six million young people in over 40 countries and currently supports more than 200 community sports-based programmes.

Eliud, who has won 12 of the 13 marathons he has entered, said: “I am feeling truly glad to be an Ambassador for Laureus. I will be joining great sportsmen and women of this world to share good ideas about sport. On the other hand I will be involved to see how Laureus is helping foundations that benefit the human family. Laureus uses sport to bring communities and individuals together. This will be even more important in the future as we try to rebuild our world for the better. I am really happy to be an Ambassador.”

Olympic legend and Laureus Academy Member Edwin Moses said: “I am delighted to welcome Eliud to Laureus. I know he is passionate about his beliefs and I know he will put in the same amount of commitment to helping us in our work with disadvantaged youth around the world as he does in his marathon running. What he has achieved is frankly amazing. The very first Laureus project, launched 20 years ago, was in Nairobi and it’s great to have Eliud on our team to help us with our work there and in Africa.”

Laureus Sport for Good was created 20 years ago in the aftermath of a remarkable speech by Nelson Mandela at the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000. He declared: ‘Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.’ President Mandela became the first Patron of Laureus.

In the interview with Michael Johnson on Laureus.com, Eliud revealed: “Nelson Mandela inspires me. This quote hangs on a poster by my bed in Kaptagat, as a motivation and as a reminder for me. Actually when I see that poster, I remember that running is also about inspiring others and encouraging people to believe that nothing is impossible. Sport can join people together, it is something that connects the world, and also makes us equal.”

Within six months of its creation Laureus was supporting its first programme in one of the poorest areas of Naorobi: MYSA (Mathare Youth Sports Association). Disease was widespread and AIDS was a serious problem.  The programme pioneered the use of football as a tool to encourage co-operation and raise self-esteem in the young people of the community. 

Over 14,000 youngsters play in over 90 football leagues, where success is measured not just by the goals scored in matches, but by the work the young people do in cleaning up the slums.

Young people who have been involved in Mathare since the beginning have become role models and youth leaders in their community. Laureus still supports this programme – after 20 years.

Footballer Lionel Messi can register his name as a trademark after a nine-year legal battle, the EU's top court has ruled.

The European Court of Justice dismissed an appeal from Spanish cycling company Massi and the EU's intellectual property office, EUIPO.

The Barcelona footballer first applied to trademark his surname as a sportswear brand in 2011.

But Massi argued the similarity between their logos would cause confusion. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that the star player's reputation could be taken into account when weighing up whether the public would be able to tell the difference between the two brands.

In doing so, it upheld a ruling by the EU's General Court in 2018 that the footballer was too well known for confusion to arise.

Massi, which sells cycle clothing and equipment, was successful in its initial challenge to the Barcelona striker's application. But it lost out when Lionel Messi brought an appeal to the General Court, which ruled in his favour.

Messi, 33, who wears the number 10 shirt, has been crowned world football player of the year a record six times and is the world's highest-paid soccer player, according to Forbes. It puts his total earnings for 2020 at $126m (£97m).

In August, he made headlines by sending a fax to his club declaring his intention to leave.

But when Barcelona responded by insisting that any team that took him on would have to honour a €700m (£624m) release clause, he changed his mind, saying he did not want to face "the club I love" in court.

Hannah Cockroft enjoyed a dream afternoon at the British Wheelchair Athletic Association Grand Prix in Stoke Mandeville as she revised the world records in the women’s T34 100m (16.71), 200m (30.09), 400m (55.98) and 800m (1:49.85).

Last weekend would have marked the end of the Tokyo Paralympics Games, however, with a year to go until the Games kick off in 2021, Cockroft showed her class as she sliced significant margins off her previous bests.

One of the largest improvements came in the 800m as she pushed to a magnificent PB of 1:49.85 which improved her previous best of 1:55.73 set back in 2017.

The remarkable times were reflected across the field as Sammi Kinghorn followed in 1:49.88, Melanie Woods sealed a huge improvement as she crossed the line in 1:53.87, while Kare Adenegan also recorded a two second lifetime best, setting 1:57.47. There were also PBs for Lizzie Williams and Fabienne André (Jenny Archer; Weir Archer Academy – T34) – 2:07.53 and 2:16.66 – in the standout race of the day.

After regaining the T34 100m world record on her way to the World Para Athletics Championship title in November last year, Cockroft took a further 0.06 seconds off that mark, lowering the global best to 16.71 (+1.6 m/s). Sammi Kinghorn won the race in a time of 16.29 which was only 0.08 seconds off her lifetime best.

Over the 400m, it was a similar outcome to the race at the Müller British Athletics Championships as Cockroft came out on top against Kinghorn and did so in a huge personal best.

55.98 was the time recorded which reduced her previous best from 57.48, a big improvement over the one-lap distance. Kinghorn crossed the line in 56.58. The 200m world record was particularly sweet for the 12-time world champion as she revised her best from 2015, clocking 30.09 (-1.1) a 0.42s improvement. Again, Kinghorn won the race in 29.75.

After her successful day on the track, the five-time Paralympic champion said: “There was no pressure, no expectations, it was all about going out there and doing what we love to do.

“I think that really helped me going into the 800m. Obviously Sammi was there. I always look to Sammi as being the one to chase down – I’m not normally in front of her. We said whoever gets to the line first (after 400m) takes the pole and whoever tires, we will just go around them. We both wanted to go for it and see what we could do. I’m pretty sure the whole women’s 800m field got PBs. It was a great race – we just powered through. It was pretty impressive!

“I didn’t even look at the clock (at the halfway stage) to be honest. Sammi started pulling out at 300m in, so I was kind of watching how she was moving out. Normally the clock would be the first thing I would look at, but I didn’t even look up. So, we kept going. I was holding over 18 mph on the back straight, so I was thinking ‘this is pretty quick’. At 200m to go, Sammi was telling me I had to kick so we just went. It helped me to have someone there to push me.”

Reflecting on the 2020 season and looking ahead to 2021, she added: “That’s it for me this year. I have no more races, so I’ll be taking a week off now. Everything is still unknown – we didn’t know if we would get any of these races in over the last few weeks. So, me and Nathan (Maguire) will get back into training. We have really committed over lockdown. We built a gym in the garage, we found new road routes and at no point have we stopped. We have eliminated any excuse that we could have given ourselves. I am really glad that it has paid off.”

“No one has ever had this situation before – no one has had to train during a pandemic or lockdown before. Everyone on the track today will have been in the same situation, guessing over the last few months. Should I be training, should I be resting, should I be sprinting or doing long distance. We are just glad the things we chose were the right ones, thankfully.”