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The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games are officially under way after a vibrant opening ceremony split across four locations.

Milan’s iconic San Siro stadium was the primary venue, with elements of the ceremony also taking place in Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo.

Despite concerns over the logistics of a multi-location ceremony, it was an impressive production that went off without a hitch.

Two Olympic cauldrons were lit – one in Milan and the other in Cortina – with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli performing a rousing rendition of Nessun Dorma as the torch entered the San Siro.

That followed a jubilant ending to the athlete’s parade, with the Italy team the last to be brought out to huge cheers in all four locations.

Figure skater Lilah Fear was the Great Britain flagbearer in Milan, with bobsledder Brad Hall given that honour in Cortina.

Italy aside, the warmest welcome was reserved for the Ukrainian athletes, while Team USA were also loudly cheered.

Before the parade, creative director Marco Balich’s show was based around the principle of ‘armonia’ – meaning union, connection, agreement – with “a narrative aimed at uniting territories, people and values within a shared vision”.

It featured sections labelled ‘Italian beauty’ and ‘fantasia’, with a tribute to fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died aged 91 in 2025.

Meanwhile, American singer Mariah Carey – one of the world’s best-selling female artists – was decked out in a sparkling white outfit as she performed a version of Volare.

“We stand ready to make Olympic history again, inspired by the values that unite all of us: excellence, friendship and respect,” said Giovanni Malago, president of the organising committee for Milan-Cortina 2026.

“The co-ordination of so many different bodies in the pursuit of one dream has been a powerful expression of this country’s ability to deliver such a complex project.

“I have never been as proud to be Italian as I am tonight.”

It was left to International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry to declare the Games open.

As the first female IOC president, it is the first time the Olympics have been officially opened by a woman.

“This is why we all love the Games. Because through you, we see the very best of ourselves,” she told the athletes.

“You remind us that we can be brave. That we can be kind. That we can get back up, no matter how hard we fall.

“The spirit of the Olympic Games is about so much more than sport. It is about us – and what makes us human.

“This is the magic of the Olympic Games: inspiring us all to be the best that we can be, together.”

Michael Carrick has dropped the first hint he is keen on remaining as Manchester United head coach beyond the end of the season.

Carrick has tried to avoid any talk about his long-term future at Old Trafford since he was appointed as Ruben Amorim’s temporary successor on 13 January.

Unlike Amorim, it is not Carrick’s way to go looking for headlines or discuss with the media sensitive issues that his bosses would probably prefer were kept in-house.

That is why Carrick’s answer seemed significant as he was asked about United’s plans for the summer and how involved in them he would be.

“Nothing’s changed, to be honest,” he said.

“I’m fully aware of the role I’m doing here and the responsibility I’ve got. We want to be successful, and I want the club to be successful beyond the end of the season – if that’s me, if that’s somebody else.

“At this stage, I can’t control that and we’ll see what happens, but it’s certainly about trying to improve the team and making Manchester United stronger. Results over a short period of time don’t change that.

Asked for his thoughts on what would happen if United’s current run of three straight wins since he took over from interim boss Darren Fletcher last month continued, Carrick adopted a neutral stance.

“I’m loving what I’m doing. I’m here,” he said. “I feel at home here, but I fully understand the situation, so I’m not getting too carried away.”

United have pledged to take their time to assess all suitable candidates to replace Amorim, although a well-placed source with first-hand knowledge of appointing managers and coaches at club and international level has told BBC Sport signing a deal with a World Cup manager prior to the tournament was “a huge risk”, for a number of reasons, including negative publicity from the country involved.

Meanwhile, Carrick confirmed Denmark international Patrick Dorgu could miss 10 weeks with the hamstring injury he suffered in the win at Arsenal last month.

Carrick has also revealed a Football Association (FA) connection between his brother Graeme and Steve Holland led to the former England and Chelsea assistant boss joining him at United.

Holland’s arrival as part of a coaching team that also includes former England international Jonathan Woodgate, former United defender Jonny Evans and the club’s under-21 coach Travis Binnion has been viewed as a masterstroke.

Graeme Carrick was involved in junior player development at St George’s Park around the same time as Stockport-born Holland was joining Gareth Southgate working with England’s under-21 side over a decade ago.

“When talks were progressing and it looked like I might be coming in, I had conversations with my brother and we ended up mentioning Steve,” said Carrick.

“He knew him from the FA and I have come across Steve a number of times.

“I was fully aware of his experience and quality and we clicked straight away.

The NFL’s bid to capture the attention of the world’s sports fans appears to know no bounds.

America’s biggest sports league had already confirmed it will make its debut at two of the world’s most iconic stadiums next season – Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana and the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Then on Thursday, it used its biggest week of the year to announce that two of its most iconic franchises will be playing there.

With most activities for Super Bowl week being held in San Francisco, Thursday’s news that the 49ers will be heading to Australia created a buzz in ‘The City’.

Then a few hours later it was revealed that the Dallas Cowboys – known as ‘America’s Team’ – will head to Brazil for the NFL’s first game in Rio.

“Introducing one of the league’s most iconic teams to the Maracana Stadium marks a powerful milestone in the continued growth of the sport worldwide,” said Luis Martinez, general manager of NFL Brazil.

The Cowboys’ opponent and date for the game are yet to be confirmed. The 49ers will face the Los Angeles Rams, with the game expected to take place near the start of the season in September.

The NFL’s international presence has expanded dramatically over the past couple of years.

Five international games during the 2024 season increased to seven in 2025, and nine will be played abroad in 2026.

That has included expanding into Brazil, Spain and Ireland, with Australia and France new territories for 2026, when there will also be a return to Mexico.

Next season there will be games in London (three), Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Munich, Paris and Rio.

“We’re in several new markets, we’re excited by that,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell this week.

“It’s the ambition that we have to be a global sport, but it’s also the demand that we’re having. We’re hearing from cities all over the world that want to host these games and they really want to get more American football.”

Goodell has mentioned venturing into Asia while Abu Dhabi is one of the cities where the NFL has conducted a site visit to examine the possibility of playing a game there.

This week he reiterated that his ultimate goal is to play 16 international games each season, meaning each of the NFL’s 32 teams would play overseas once a year.

Two west coast teams were expected to make the journey for the NFL’s first game in Australia, to minimise the impact of travel.

And the Rams have been handed an encounter with divisional rivals the 49ers, who have also been regular Super Bowl contenders in recent years, so it makes for an appealing match-up.

After being named this season’s Most Valuable Player in San Francisco on Thursday, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said: “It seems like a long flight, and I hope my back’s not too sore afterwards, to be honest with you.

“But I am excited about it, it’s a really cool opportunity. Playing an unbelievable team like the 49ers is going to be a huge challenge. It’s a fun rivalry so I think the fans in Australia are going to get a great game.”

David White, interim executive director of the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA) said this week: “Our members appreciate the global stage. They understand the excitement that the games are generating around the world.

Before this season’s game at Wembley, for example, the Jacksonville Jaguars flew out to London early in the week, while the Rams arrived the day before the game and returned to LA immediately after their 35-7 win.

“Some teams will stay near the practice site, some will have lengthy commutes for the players after that travel, when they’re getting over jet leg,” said White. “It depends which team they play for, so it’s the lack of standardisation that feels arbitrary.

“The game requires a certain amount of rest, preparation and restoration in order for players to be safe, so all of that needs to be accounted for if we’re going to talk about [travelling] even further away or having more international games. That’s a matter of negotiation.”

The NFL’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the NFLPA allows up to 10 regular-season games to held overseas per season.

The Minnesota Vikings became the first team to have two international games in the same season in 2025, playing in Dublin and London on successive Sundays, and linebacker Jonathan Greenard said he “would not like to do back-to-back [again]”.

But White said players gave a “good deal of positive feedback because of the way they went about it. That is the trick.”

He added: “It is possible that 16 games worldwide gets to be too much, but that’s for the players to decide once they have all the information.

“We do have some sense of what makes a positive experience when travelling internationally, and we’re collecting data.

Leicester piled more misery on Newcastle’s season with a 28-19 Prem Rugby Cup victory on the night that Red Bulls head coach Alan Dickens confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season.

Dickens’ pre-match announcement comes after weeks of speculation that Scotland coach Gregor Townsend will take charge at Kingston Park following the conclusion of the 2027 World Cup.

On the pitch at Welford Road, four tries were enough for the Tigers to record a bonus point win that extends their lead at the top of Pool B to eight points with two matches remaining.

In atrocious conditions at kick-off, it did not take long for Leicester to go in front, as Josh Manz went over in the first minute.

Newcastle responded with two scores of their own 10 minutes later through Micky Rewcastle and Tom Cardell, only for Hanro Liebenberg to restore the hosts’ advantage.

Will Wand extended the Tigers’ lead in the second half, before the sides traded tries again – Harrison Obatoyinbo briefly reducing the deficit before Izaia Parese put Leicester up by nine once more.

The home side were perfect from conversions, three coming from the boot of James O’Connor and one from Tom Whiteley. Ethan Grayson, meanwhile, added four points to the visitors’ tally.

Saudi Pro League is ready to offload Cristiano Ronaldo for £43m, Chelsea set to rival Tottenham for Dusan Vlahovic and Sergio Ramos offers his services to Marseille.

The Saudi Pro League is ready to offload Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo for £43m, but Manchester United are not interested in bringing the 41-year-old to the club for a third time as it stands. (The i paper – subscription required)

Chelsea are set to rival Tottenham for Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, 26, who is out of contract at Juventus at the end of the season. (Football Insider)

Free agent Sergio Ramos, 39, has offered his services to Marseille after boyhood club Sevilla rejected the chance to sign the former Spain defender. (Radio Marca – in Spanish)

Fulham have returned to the negotiating table with PSV and are hopeful of completing a deal for 23-year-old USA striker Ricardo Pepi in the summer. (Teamtalk)

Chelsea are willing to let Benoit Badiashile, 24, depart in the summer with AC Milan, Juventus and Marseille keeping tabs on the France defender. (Caughtoffside)

Manchester City are lining up Nottingham Forest and England midfielder Elliot Anderson, 23, Brentford‘s Italy Under-21 right-back Michael Kayode, 21, and Feyenoord and Netherlands Under-21 right-back Givairo Read, 19, amid confidence that manager Pep Guardiola will stay at the club for another year. (The i paper – subscription required)

Arsenal will compete with AC Milan for 31-year-old Leon Goretzka after Bayern Munich confirmed the Germany midfielder will leave in the summer on a free transfer. (Calciomercato – in Italian)

The agent of Newcastle and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali, who is a summer transfer target for Arsenal, says a decision about the 25-year-old’s future will be made at the end of the season. (Tuttosport – in Italian)

Newcastle are keeping tabs on Liverpool‘s Curtis Jones, 25, as a potential replacement for Tonali, but Tottenham and Aston Villa are also tracking the England midfielder. (Teamtalk)

Napoli remain interested in free agent Raheem Sterling, 31, but will only sign the England winger if he substantially reduces his 19m euros (£16.4m) salary. (Calciomercato – in Italian)

Liverpool and Manchester United are the latest Premier League clubs to register an interest in RB Leipzig’s 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande. (Football Insider)