Sports News

The British Basketball League (BBL) have revealed new changes to the format of the BBL season ahead of the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

The new season will begin in September with BBL Championship action, with each team now facing each other four times (2H, 2A), playing 36 games across a 28-week league season.

In 2021-22, world football made a strong comeback from the pandemic. However, the effects of the pandemic are still being felt by some clubs more than others. According to the numbers presented by SportsLens.com, Barcelona suffered the most significant losses in matchday revenue due to the absence of crowds in stadiums.

Safebettingsites.com social media analysis concludes that the International Cricket Committee (ICC) had the largest Instagram following for a sports federation as of January 2022. The site has provided data showing that the ICC had 21.3 million Instagram followers. That’s over ten times more than the second-placed IF.

Mainbrace, a Cornish spirits brand known for its multi-award-winning rum and gin range, has announced a long-term partnership with British sailors, Saskia Tidey and Freya Black. This is a natural partnership for Mainbrace, whose story is inspired by and based around the spirit of the sea and whose brand is driven by its courage, teamwork and friendship values.

The Afro-Caribbean Engagement [ACE] Programme, has officially relaunched in ‘second-city’ Birmingham following the overwhelming success of its inaugural launch last year. Delivered by Warwickshire County Cricket Board [WCCB] on behalf of the ACE Charity and the ECB, the programme focusses on increasing awareness and access to Cricket through Black communities and grass-root cricket clubs.

The British Basketball League has launched its Ambassadors programme, which will see players and staff across the league promote the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle to thousands of school children in local communities across the UK.

The project has been launched as part of the BBL’s ‘Inspires’ initiative, where key members of each of the league’s 10 clubs will visit schools in their local community to tell their stories about their pathway to becoming a professional athlete.

Wolverhampton’s own Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Hugh Porter MBE, has been unveiled as one of the Batonbearers for the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay.

Hugh, one of Britain's greatest former professional cyclists, was nominated to carry the Queen’s Baton to recognise his lifelong commitment to the sport.

Gleneagles, the iconic Scottish hotel and global luxury destination, has elevated the service it offers golf enthusiasts at its PGA National Golf Academy with the installation of Toptracer Range, an interactive and social experience for all levels of player.

Minjee Lee won the US Women’s Open by four strokes over Mina Harigae at Pine Needles to win the largest pay-out in the history of women’s golf at $1.8 million.

Lee led throughout the final round and shot even-par 71 in significantly tougher conditions compared to the past three days to finish 13-under 271 coming close to the tournament record of 16 under set by Juli Inkster in 1999 at Old Waverly.

The pools for the beach volleyball tournament that will be held at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games have now been confirmed after the draw was officially completed earlier this month. The matches which will be held in a purpose-built venue at Smithfield, in the centre of Birmingham, will take place from 30 July with both the men’s and women’s medal matches being held on Sunday 7 August.

The Women's End2End Relay is a hiking challenge stretching the length of the UK from Lands End to John O'Groats. Women from across the nation will help carry the baton across 2,028km and 3,6970m of elevation, launching on the 17th June 2022 in Land's End and finishing 74 days later in John O'Groats.

Sadio Mane did not let speculation surrounding his future at Liverpool affect him on international duty as he hit a hat-trick to become Senegal's record goalscorer. His goals secured a 3-1 win over 10-man Benin in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier and saw him surpass Henri Camara, moving on to 31 goals from 86 appearances.

Wales overcame another monumental effort from Ukraine to qualify for their first World Cup since 1958 on a night of high emotion and drama in Cardiff.

Having beaten Scotland in an emotionally draining semi-final four days earlier, the Ukrainians - with the backdrop of their country's war with Russia - were deeply impressive once again but fell just short in their attempt to reach only a second World Cup in their history.

The eSkootr Championship (eSC) has been awarded the triple Silver level of achievement in Measuring, Reducing and Offsetting greenhouse gas emissions by the UN’s Climate Neutral Now initiative.

The Climate Neutral Now initiative, which is led by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), encourages companies and organisations to understand their carbon footprint and make measurable improvements to reduce it, offsetting any unavoidable emissions through trustworthy carbon credits.

Birmingham 2022 is hosting the 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay – a journey which brings together and celebrates communities in every corner of the Commonwealth ahead of Birmingham 2022. The Baton has already begun its epic journey across the Commonwealth, where it will have visited Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean, and the Americas, it will return to England in July 2022 for the final countdown to the Commonwealth Games.

“In a blog I posted on social media channels last week I reflected on the fact that it was the 37th anniversary of the Heysel Stadium disaster, where 39 Italian football supporters were killed prior to Juventus’ European Cup Final with Liverpool,” says Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat, Frank McKenna PC OC ONB QC.