The Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad for the European Team Championships has just been announced. The first division match at the Championships, held in Silesia, Poland on the 23-25 June 2023, will see Great Britain and Northern Ireland go up against 15 other countries across the three days of competition.

UK Athletics has selected a full team with the aim of achieving the highest team placing possible at this Championships, whilst providing development opportunities for a number of athletes.

The British Basketball League (BBL) have announced the appointment of Elliot Stein as the League’s new Commercial Director. He joins the BBL with exceptional experience within the sports business sector, having most recently held the position of Director of Business Development at B+A. During this time he cultivated relationships with clients such as Nike, Pinterest, Foot Locker, Ubisoft, Meta and many more, where Stein was intrinsic in generating new business and increasing revenue.

The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan and Britain’s Eilish McColgan will go head-to-head in an intriguing women’s 5000m at the London Athletics Meet on Sunday 23 July. Double Olympic gold medallist – and recent TCS London Marathon champion – Hassan returns to the track after her fine form on the roads to set up an exciting 5000m contest at the London Stadium.

She has been one of the most successful endurance athletes in the sport’s history, winning global medals in distances ranging from 1500m up to 10,000m, with her triple medal-winning display at the Tokyo 2020 Games [gold in the 5000m and 10,000m, and bronze in the 1500m] further cementing her place in the athletics hall of fame. Her recent success on the roads, with a superb and popular win at the London Marathon in April, further showed her versatility across the distances.

Spanish sporting sensation Marc Márquez, is a self-described natural competitor. In the past 10 years, he has won 59 MotoGP races, and claimed six titles in the premier class. Before that came 26 wins in the feeder 125cc (now Moto3) and Moto2 classes, resulting in a world championship title in each. His limitless appetite for competition was an unstoppable force, until an injury in the first race of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship series threatened to end his career at its peak. “Since I was a kid, it was never enough,” said Márquez.

Warwickshire Cricket is celebrating Pride Month by organising the country’s first ever national LGBTQ+ cricket tournament. Teams representing five professional county clubs – Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Middlesex and Northamptonshire – will compete in a round-robin event at Sutton Coldfield CC on Sunday (11 June).

There are only two LGBTQ+ cricket clubs in the UK – including Lapworth-based Birmingham Unicorns – and it’s hoped the inaugural competition will encourage participation across the Network. Warwickshire and the Unicorns have developed a strong partnership since the side formed in 2020 and squad members have benefitted from coaching sessions at Edgbaston’s indoor centre from Bears’ staff and players.

Young footballers are kicking their half term holiday into touch to lead a green energy project which is building their own employability skills while future-proofing their community club. The 15 teenagers are spending their school holidays working on engineering solutions to tackle their club’s sustainability challenges thanks to an innovative collaboration.

The youngsters, aged 12-14, are building wind turbines and solar panels, and looking at irrigation options as part of investigating what solutions will work best for their club. The ‘Greener than Green’ project at Cleator Moor Celtic Football Club in Cumbria has been made possible by a range of diverse businesses, from one-person start-ups to major multinationals, collaborating with the community to help give the young people skills which will help them find future employment.