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The Qatar FIFA World Cup is finally up and running with the Gulf nation opening its door with this tournament set to go down as one of the most talked about and controversial World Cups in history.

The build-up to the first tournament to be held in a Muslim country in the Middle East has been overshadowed by a number of controversies, but all 32 competing nations have been told to "focus on the football", but players have been urged to use their influence to speak up about the issues in the country.

Oxfordshire developer David Wilson Homes has donated a set of mini footballs to a nursery in Grove to inspire children to kick off the World Cup in style.

The nursery at Millbrook Primary School – which is located close to the housebuilder’s upcoming development at Monks Farm – received 25 of the footballs ahead of one of the world’s most eagerly-awaited sporting events, set to begin in Qatar.

Not many Black players have represented Athletic Bilbao - or have many Basques played for an African national team, but former Spain international Inaki Williams is bucking the trend as he stands on the verge of a World Cup debut with Ghana. The forward won his sole senior cap for the country of his birth in 2016 but with none since, a trip to the West African country earlier this year prompted a family-inspired change of allegiance.

With 100 days to go until the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, world 1500m champion Jake Wightman has confirmed he will race at the Utilita Arena on Saturday 25 February 2023.

Wightman has enjoyed a landmark 2022 track season as he added European 800m silver and Commonwealth 1500m bronze to his ever-growing collection, following his triumph in Eugene where he superbly beat the Olympic champion, the Norwegian, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, to the gold medal.

In the aftermath of Manchester United's thrilling 2-1 injury-time victory at Fulham, Erik ten Hag allowed himself to reflect on the developments at Old Trafford since he became manager in the summer.

"We are now united," he said. "We have togetherness, in the dressing room, with the staff, the directors, the whole club, and the fans.

Officials from the Ivory Coast government signed a formal hosting agreement for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with the Confederation of African Football (Caf), with the signing being significant as it all but ensures that the next finals, which will actually take place in 2024, will be held in the West African nation.

European Athletics have announced that Birmingham will host the European Athletics Championships in 2026 following a successful bid process with UK Athletics (UKA). Working in partnership with Birmingham City Council and UK Sport, UKA had high hopes of hosting Europe’s most prestigious European athletics competition, seven years on from staging the hugely successful European Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow in 2019.

Frenchman Aymard Vernay has clinched the inaugural eSkootr Championship after a day of dramatic racing at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France. He finished third in the final race to claim the top prize in the world’s first electric scooter racing series. The 28-year-old held his nerve to beat Italian Sara Cabrini in the Riders’ title battle by just four points.

Keely Hodgkinson is set to return to the scene of her brilliant British Indoor 800m record next year when she lines up in the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final at the Utilita Arena on Saturday 25 February.

The 20-year-old World, Olympic and Commonwealth 800m silver medallist, European Champion and British record holder both indoors and outdoors, smashed the British Indoor 800m record at the 2022 event clocking 1:57.20, the fastest time indoors for 20 years.

Spanish rider Marc Luna has taken a brilliant victory in the penultimate round of the eSkootr Championship (eSC) in Marseille and now heads the points table going into tomorrow’s season finale showdown.

The Murphy Scooters ace came through a series of exciting heats to win the 10-lap final at the Paul Ricard Circuit in southern France earlier this afternoon. He holds a slender one-point advantage over Frenchman Aymard Vernay (Racing Citizens) with former points leader Anish Shetty (Carlin) a further two points behind in third.

The upcoming FIFA World Cup has recently attracted a lot of negative attention because of its host nation, Qatar. There have also been multiple calls for boycotting the tournament.

However, when it comes to English football fans, not many agree with the view. According to the numbers presented by SafeBettingSites.com, only 18% of football fans in England want their national team to boycott the tournament.

The University of Wolverhampton hosted its first West Midlands regional tournament in partnership with AoC Sport last week, with hundreds of students competing in a range of sports on campus.

AoC Sport is the membership organisation for colleges, leading the development of sport and physical activity in 16+ education.

The second edition of the Laureus Sport for Good Index has been unveiled, highlighting 29 brands that are leading the way globally in delivering positive social or ecological impact through sport.

The Laureus Sport for Good Index 2022 features world-renowned brands across six different industry sectors and included the likes of Patagonia, Ecotricity, Rexona and Lego.

A group of 66 athletes have been nominated for membership to join the UK Athletics Olympic World Class Programme (WCP) for 2022/23. The Olympic WCP is UK Sport’s National Lottery funded initiative supporting the delivery of success at named milestone targets, namely outdoor track World and European Championships, and the Olympic Games with Budapest 2023 and Paris 2024 the next major events on the athletics calendar.

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