Sports News

Former England international Anita Asante will be retiring at the end of the season following a 19-year career at the top of the women's game. The Aston Villa defender's final game is set to be against rivals Birmingham City in the Women's Super League.

The 36-year-old, who began her career at Arsenal before joining Chelsea and then moving abroad, has had a hugely successful career, winning 71 caps for England and representing Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Yesterday (April 25) marked the 200th day of the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay, with recent visits to nations and territories in the Americas and the Caribbean, including Belize, Guyana, Grenada, The Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados. The Relay officially began its 294-day long journey on 7 October and is currently visiting all 72 Commonwealth nations and territories, bringing cultures and communities together in the lead up to Birmingham 2022.

The Winners of the 2022 Laureus World Sports Awards have been unveiled at a digital ceremony hosted from Seville. Leading an illustrious group of sports stars honoured by the Laureus World Sports Academy are Formula One world champion Max Verstappen and Jamaican Olympic sprint queen Elaine Thompson-Herah, who have been named Laureus World Sportsman and Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year.

Basketball England’s #ProjectSwish campaign is back for 2022, enabling ballers up and down the country to invest in their local outdoor court. #ProjectSwish’s mission is to improve outdoor basketball facilities across England by getting people involved in one of three easy ways:

British Army athletes helped put the lead venue for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games through its paces last Wednesday. The UK Midlands Army Athletics Championships were staged at the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham. 

This was the first athletics event at the venue since its £72million redevelopment and was one of the designated test events for the stadium to receive the required safety capacity certificate.

Squash gold medallist James Willstrop and children from inner city Birmingham schools will be creating a drama on the squash courts at the University of Birmingham with a brand-new play, Outside The Box. As the region gets ready for the Commonwealth Games, Outside The Box premieres as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival at the end of May.

The eSkootr Championship (eSC) is proud to have reached carbon neutrality from inception, delivering on its aim of showcasing climate action, raising environmental awareness, and promoting best practice through sport.

eSC has worked to calculate and avoid emissions from the very beginning.

WBC champion Tyson Fury and challenger Dillian Whyte paid respect to each other, and even shared a handshake, as they met for the first time since their heavyweight bout was announced. The Britons will fight at Wembley Stadium in front of 96,000 fans tonight.

Fury, 33, will make a second defence of the title he won in February 2020. Whyte, 34, had kept a low profile since the fight was announced, frustrated with his split of the purse.

Elliot Giles, the fourth fastest British athlete of all time over 800m (1:43.63i), will step up in distance to line up an epic battle of the Brits over the 1500m at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday 21 May.

With 100 days to go until the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games begin, Paralympic swimmers and an Olympic diver tested out the facilities at the newly completed Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

The brand-new, state-of-the-art venue has been constructed in time for this summer’s major multi-sport event, where it will be in operation for all eleven days of sporting action.

The prestigious Emsley Carr Mile and Millicent Fawcett Mile races will take place at the Night of 10,000m PBs in Highgate on Saturday 14 May 2022.

The iconic Emsley Carr Mile race has run annually in the UK since 1953 when it was first won by Olympic silver medallist Gordon Pirie. Among the other legends of the sport to have won the race during its 69-year history are Haile Gebrselassie, Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett, Hicham El Guerrouj and many more.

Angela Okutoyi, a budding tennis player from Kenya, made history by being the first Kenyan girl to win a match at a junior grand slam event at the 2021 Australian Open.

It was the first time a Kenyan had competed in the Australian Open Juniors in 16 years, and it was just the second time a Kenyan female has competed in a Junior Grand Slam Tournament.

England bowler Anya Shrubsole, a key part of England's 2017 World Cup triumph, has retired from the international game.

The 30-year-old played 173 games for her country across all formats, claiming 227 wickets. She took six wickets in England's dramatic World Cup final win over India at Lord's in 2017.

With just six weeks to go until the opening game of this year’s Vitality Blast at Edgbaston, the Bears have confirmed members of a new off-field team to support the in-bowl experience and live stream for those tuning in at home.

BBC Asian Network radio and television presenter Noreen Khan will be one of the hosts stepping onto the field, whilst supporters can also watch six* of Bears Vitality Blast games at Edgbaston from home in a new match day programme hosted BBC Test Match Special commentator and stand-up comedian Aatif Nawaz.

Former Colombia captain Freddy Rincon has died after suffering severe head injuries in a car crash. The 55-year-old was driving a car that collided with a bus in Cali, Colombia.

Former Real Madrid midfielder Rincon scored 17 goals for Colombia and played at the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups.

The prestigious Emsley Carr Mile and Millicent Fawcett Mile races will take place at the Night of 10,000m PBs in Highgate on Saturday 14 May 2022.

The iconic Emsley Carr Mile race has run annually in the UK since 1953 when it was first won by Olympic silver medallist Gordon Pirie. Among the other legends of the sport to have won the race during its 69-year history are Haile Gebrselassie, Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett, Hicham El Guerrouj and many more.