Sports News

The shirt Diego Maradona wore when he scored the much vaunted 'goal of the century' for Argentina against England at the 1986 World Cup has sold for a record £7.1m. It is the highest price ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia.

Former England midfielder Steve Hodge put it up for auction 36 years after he swapped it with Maradona following the famous quarter-final in Mexico. After Maradona died in November 2020, Hodge said the shirt was not for sale.

The eSkootr Championship (eSC) has confirmed that Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg will enter his very own race team into the inaugural season of the new series. His team will be called 27X by Nico Hulkenberg.

The German racing driver, whose career in F1 spans 13 seasons, has been following eSC’s developments since its inception.

Olympic relay bronze medallist Daryll Neita (GBR) will join fellow Briton Dina Asher-Smith (GBR) in the women’s 100m at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League on Saturday 21 May, a stacked field that also features Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah (JAM) and Tokyo medallists, Shericka Jackson (JAM) and Gabrielle Thomas (USA).

The world’s top one-lap hurdlers, including Jessie Knight (GBR), and Tokyo silver medallist, Dalilah Muhammad (USA), will do battle in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League, on Saturday 21 May, the second meeting of the 2022 Wanda Diamond League series. Briton’s Knight, fresh from a successful indoor season competing in the 400m, will also feature as she returns to the one-lap hurdle event.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games athlete’s medals have been unveiled. The gold, silver and bronze medals all feature a design that symbolises the road and canal network in the West Midlands, organisers said.

They have been designed by three students from Birmingham School of Jewellery and made by a firm based in the city's Jewellery Quarter.

With just over four weeks to go until the opening game of this year’s T20 season, the team are gearing up for an exciting set of match days, beginning on Thursday 26 May when the Bears take on Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Edgbaston.

It was announced that Mino Raiola, the agent who represented some of football's most high-profile players, has died. The Dutch-Italian's stable of players included Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir will open her season over 1500m at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League on Saturday 21 May in an exciting head to head with training partner and Olympic 800m fourth-place finisher Jemma Reekie.

Muir, the reigning European champion and World Indoor medallist (2018), clocked a sensational 3:54.50 in the Tokyo final to improve her own British 1500m record.

Edgbaston Stadium celebrated the return of the Ramadan Midnight Cricket League by staging an Iftar that brought together local cricketers, coaches and Club staff to enjoy the community spirit of Ramadan before the cricket got underway. The Ramadan Midnight Cricket League was developed through the Warwickshire Cricket Board’s (WCB) Chance to Shine Street Programme in 2021 with free sessions for 16–24-year-olds taking place 10pm-midnight every at the Edgbaston Cricket Centre.

Former world indoor champion Andrew Pozzi will line up against reigning Olympic champion Hansle Parchment and former Olympic champion, and fellow-Jamaican, Omar McLeod in the 110mH at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday 21 May.

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.