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Portia Woodman-Wickliffe to retire from sport after Paris Olympics

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A New Zealand rugby legend is set to retire. Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, one of the world’s most famous players, announced on Monday that she would retire from international rugby after the Olympic sevens tournament in Paris.

“After 12 incredible years representing New Zealand at sevens and 15s, the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris will be my last time playing in the black jersey,” she said in a statement from the New Zealand Rugby Union.

The 32-year-old winger, who comes from a family of international players – her father, Kawhena Woodman, and her uncle, Fred Woodman, played for the All Blacks – has one of the greatest achievements in world women’s rugby. She has won the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2013 and 2018, and the World Cup 15s in 2017 and 2022 with the Black Ferns, as well as Olympic silver (in 2016 in Rio) and gold (in 2021 in Tokyo).

“Rugby has given me more than a career” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Twice named best player in the world (2015 for rugby sevens and 2017 for 15s), she holds the record for the number of tries scored in the World Cup (20) and in rugby sevens matches (256).

“Rugby has given me more than a career, it has given me a second whanau (extended family in Maori) with my sisters, opportunities to see the world and experience things I would never have had. There will be a last dance with my sisters in Paris,” she said.

In 2018, she ruptured her Achilles tendon and returned to her boots after a long recovery to help her country win Olympic gold in Tokyo. She later admitted that the injury still left her with weakness in her calf.

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Champions League schedule and results, 2024-2025 season

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What is the 2024-2025 Champions League schedule? The new tournament format, which now includes 36 teams compared to 32 previously, promises more confrontations from the start of the competition. Find the complete schedule of matches and their results updated in real time in our table below.

During the league phase scheduled between September and December 2024, each club plays eight matches against different opponents, selected based on their UEFA ranking.

Then, the top eight teams in the rankings will advance directly to the round of 16, while teams ranked 9th to 24th will have to go through play-offs in January 2025. These knockout matches will begin in February, with the grand final scheduled for June 2025. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

For French clubs, including PSG, AS Monaco, Lille and Stade Brestois, the challenge will be to stay in the race for direct qualifications and avoid early eliminations.

The final of the competition will take place in Munich on May 31, 2025. We will then know the successor to Real Madrid where Kylian Mbappé now plays.

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Halftime show: Fifa is planning an event like in football at the next World Cup final

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In American football, the halftime show has long been part of the event. Appearances during the break have not been an issue in football so far – but that will change at the next World Cup.

Anyone who goes to the toilet or refills chips during half-time at the next World Cup final will miss something: As the world football association Fifa announces, from the next World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico there will be a half-time show in the final. What exactly the association is planning is still very vaguely worded in the announcement. FIFA is probably planning a musical performance modeled on the Superbowl in American football: This so-called half time show is probably the biggest stage that musicians have had so far. In recent years, megastars such as Coldplay, Rihanna and Bruno Mars have appeared at halftime.

FIFA wants to organize a halftime show together with an aid organization

Global Citizen acts as co-organizer. The aid organization is committed to combating extreme poverty around the world. “FIFA has made it its mission to promote football in all countries of the world and thereby have a positive influence on society,” explains the controversial FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Through this partnership, FIFA, together with Global Citizen, will unite the world of sports and entertainment to actively contribute to a better world. “We are committed to a series of joint actions that promote access to the game and encourage fans to advocate for positive change in their local communities,” Infantino continued. However, the association leaves it open exactly how a halftime show during the World Cup final should support Global Citizen or combat poverty in the world. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

“Eventization” of football is met with rejection in Germany

If FIFA presents an act as big as the NFL at the Superbowl, the football halftime show would actually immediately be in the same league as its US counterparts. In the USA, the show is one of the absolute highlights of the football final. It remains to be seen whether such a show will be received so positively by football fans who are more used to a simpler presentation of their sport.

In Europe and especially in Germany, the organized fan scene is extremely critical of the additional commercialization and “eventization” of sport. A resonant example is Helene Fischer’s act before the 2017 DFB Cup final. The artist was booed so mercilessly and loudly during her short appearance that her singing on the television was difficult to understand at times.

Source: FIFA press release

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Ugo Humbert-Arthur Fils, duel for a title in Tokyo between a calm player and another who doesn’t give up

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Difficult to find two courses as dissimilar as those of Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils at the ATP 500 in Tokyo, but the rectilinear trajectory of the first will still cross the fractured line of the second, in the final, this Tuesday. Despite losing his first set of the week, Humbert (19th in the world) qualified without too much difficulty by beating Tomas Machac (54th) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. After having fought like a madman to eliminate Taylor Fritz and especially Ben Shelton, Son went through two tie-breaks with forceps to subdue Holger Rune. One wanders, the other suffers, but we will be treated to a happy ending. Even with a seven-hour time difference with France, this is a pleasure that we won’t shy away from.

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