Category sport-news

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland has died at the age of 24, the NFL franchise said on Thursday.

The second-year player’s cause of death was not revealed.

Kneeland scored the first NFL touchdown of his career in a 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone.

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The Cowboys said in a statement: “It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning.

“Marshawn was a beloved team-mate and member of our organisation. Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family.”

Kneeland missed six games of his rookie season in 2024 due to injury, but still played in 11 games with one start.

He had played in seven of the Cowboys’ games this season.

Dutch giants Ajax said Thursday they had sacked coach John Heitinga after a poor start to the season that has seen them rooted to the bottom of the Champions League table.

“Ajax is looking for a new head coach. In the meantime, Fred Grim will take over Heitinga’s duties,” the four-time European champions said in a statement.

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Heitinga signed a two-year contract in May but has not been able to mastermind a turnaround in the club’s fortunes.

His contract would be terminated, Ajax said.

The club’s technical director, Alex Kroes, admitted it was a “painful decision.

“We know it can take time for a new coach to work with a squad that has undergone changes,” said Kroes.

“We have given John that time, but we believe it’s best for the club to appoint someone else to lead the team.”

Kroes himself offered his resignation, but the board asked him to stay in place to offer some continuity.

The technical director is under contract until the end of the season.

“Should the club appoint a new technical director earlier, I will hand over my responsibilities at that time,” he said.

The final straw appeared to be yet another humiliating loss in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Ajax lost 3-0 at home to Galatasaray, a bruising defeat that came on the back of a 5-1 thrashing away to Chelsea.

A 4-0 loss to Marseille and a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Inter Milan add up to a miserable record in Europe of zero points, one goal scored, and 14 conceded.

Domestically, Ajax currently sits in fourth place in the Dutch Eredivisie, languishing eight points behind place-setters Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.

Ajax fans had jeered Heitinga at Stamford Bridge for his substitutions and the supporters appeared to have lost faith in their manager.

The Amsterdam-based club is still recovering from an extraordinary end to last season that saw them throw away the title from a seemingly impregnable position.

With only five matches to play, Ajax were nine points clear and seemingly cruising to the title.

But Ajax somehow contrived to hand the title to PSV Eindhoven, losing twice and drawing twice.

The season before, Ajax had suffered their worst-ever start to a campaign, at one point propping up the Eredivisie table.

Heitinga played at centre-back for Atletico Madrid, Everton and Fulham, retiring in 2016 after a brief second spell with boyhood club Ajax.

He played 87 times for the Netherlands but was sent off in extra time in the 1-0 loss to Spain in the 2010 World Cup final.

Ruben Amorim has told Manchester United to “focus on the future” following former Old Trafford star Cristiano Ronaldo’s withering assessment of his old club.

United are looking to rebuild following a woeful 2024/25 season, which saw them finish a lowly 15th in the Premier League and lose in the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.

Ronaldo insisted this week United manager Amorim cannot do “miracles” at a club that is “not on a good path”, saying “they need to change and it’s not only about the coach and players”.

But when Ronaldo’s comments were put to his former Portugal team-mate ahead of this weekend’s trip to Spurs, the United boss said: “Of course he knows and he has a huge impact in everything he said.

“What we need to focus (on) is in the future. We know that we as a club made a lot of mistakes in the past, but we are trying to change that. So, let’s not focus on what happened. Let’s focus on what we are doing now, and we are doing that.”

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Amorim said the changes being put in place were having positive results.

“We are changing a lot of things in the structure, the way we do things, the way we want the players to behave,” said the 40-year-old coach.

“We are doing that and we are improving, so let’s focus on the way we are doing things. We are improving, let’s continue and forget a little bit the past.”

United have lost their last four games against Spurs.

However, they head into Saturday’s match unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches, a sequence that includes a 2-1 win over champions and arch-rivals Liverpool.

Amorim, asked how United had changed since since being beaten by Spurs in the Europa League final in May, replied: “First of all, the characteristics of the players. So, we are a better team, we play better, we understand the game better. I think we are more confident.

“We reached that final confident that we could win because we were doing well in Europe, but in this moment we play with a different confidence.

“We manage the moments of the game better. But if you remember that game, they have that shot on the goal, they won the game.

“So, I expect a different game, that we can play better, but also to have a little bit luck to help us to win the game.”

FIFA has created a new annual award called the FIFA Peace Prize to be awarded for the first time during the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, world soccer’s governing body said Wednesday.

“Football stands for peace, and on behalf of the entire global football community, the FIFA Peace Prize — Football Unites the World will recognize the enormous efforts of those individuals who unite people, bringing hope for future generations,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

The announcement came before Infantino appeared at the America Business Forum in Miami, where US President Donald Trump and Argentine World Cup champion Lionel Messi were also speakers.

The recipient of the inaugural award was not revealed, but there was immediate speculation that it could go to Trump, an Infantino ally who is expected to be present at the December 5 draw at the Kennedy Center in the US capital.

READ ALSO: FIFA Dismisses Malaysia Appeals In Forgery Scandal

Trump, flanked by Infantino, announced from the Oval Office in August that the draw would take place at the Kennedy Center, where he installed himself this year as chairman in what he called a war on “woke” culture.

Since returning to office for a second term in January, Trump has insisted he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in resolving numerous conflicts around the world.

But the US president was snubbed by the Norwegian Nobel Committee last month as it awarded the peace prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

Novak Djokovic will take on Carlos Alcaraz in the group stage of the upcoming ATP Finals while Jannik Sinner could face a derby with Lorenzo Musetti during his title defence at the season-ending tournament.

Tennis icon Djokovic, a seven-time Finals champion, was confirmed on Monday as being among the eight contenders in Turin and has been drawn in the Jimmy Connors Group alongside top seed Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur.

The winner of a record 24 Grand Slams, 38-year-old Djokovic is currently hunting his second title of the year in Athens, where he beat Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets in the second round on Tuesday.

World number five Djokovic has made the semi-finals at all four Slams this season and in May he became the third player in the Open era to lift his 100th ATP title by winning in Geneva.

Alcaraz is bidding to win the Finals for the first time after another bumper year for the Spaniard which has included triumphs at the US Open and Roland Garros, the latter coming after an epic final victory against his arch-rival Sinner.

Sinner swept to the Finals title unbeaten last year and the world number one is aiming to retain his crown in front of his home fans in Turin after winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and three other titles this season.

The 24-year-old could face Musetti in the Bjorn Borg Group although Sinner’s compatriot needs to win the current tournament in Athens if he is to snatch the eighth and final slot from Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton will be Sinner’s other opponents in the group stage, which kicks off on Sunday.

The top two players in each four-man group will qualify for the semi-finals.

ATP Finals group stage draw:

Jimmy Connors Group: Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur

Manoozh Noori said she “wanted to die” when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. That meant she could no longer do what she loved most: play football.

Noori, 22, fled the country where the United Nations say authorities have implemented “gender apartheid” and has been playing in a team of Afghan refugee women taking part in a first-of-its-kind tournament in Morocco.

“I had asked myself: ‘Do I want to stay in this country with people who want to forbid women from studying, from playing football, from doing anything?’” Noori told AFP.

The Taliban authorities, who say that women’s rights are protected by Islamic law, have banned girls and women from schools beyond the age of 12, and also from most jobs and public services — and from playing sports.

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Noori had defied family pressure to represent Afghanistan professionally by playing for the country’s national women’s squad before a Taliban government returned to power.

She said she buried her trophies and medals in her family’s backyard and left the country for Australia.

Noori’s team, Afghan Women United, was formed between Europe and Australia, where other teammates have also been living since 2021.

‘A beautiful story’

The team played their first international matches at the FIFA Unites: Women’s Series late last month in Morocco — and Noori scored the team’s first goal in the opening game against Chad.

They went on to lose both to Chad and Tunisia, although they registered a big 7-0 win against Libya. But the tournament overall was a major win for the Afghan women.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who attended one of their games, described their participation as “a beautiful story” that the women were writing “for so many girls and women all over the world”.

Nilab Mohammadi, a 28-year-old striker and former soldier who also represented the Afghan national team, said football was “not just a sport — it represents life and hope”.

“There is no more freedom in Afghanistan, especially for Afghan women,” Mohammadi added. “But now, we are going to be their voice.”

Twenty-year-old midfielder Mina Ahmadi said “a dream was taken away from us” back home, “but when FIFA recognised us, it was as if a part of that dream came true”.

“This new adventure is a happy moment for us,” added Ahmadi, who is now studying medical sciences in Australia.

“It won’t stop anytime soon, because we will keep moving forward.”

‘Just to play football’

FIFA has yet to decide whether the refugee team can compete in official international matches as representing Afghanistan, but the players remain determined to get there.

Afghan Women United now have one goal: to have the squad recognised by FIFA as the Afghan national women’s team, since women in the country are not allowed to play the game.

“These women are incredible,” said Aish Ravi, a researcher on gender equity in sports who worked with several of the players when they first arrived in Australia in 2021.

“They are strong and inspiring,” she added. “They’ve had to overcome enormous adversity just to play football.

“This sport is more than a game,” Ravi said. “It symbolises freedom for them.”

Ahmadi said she dreamed of playing in Europe one day, but being far from home can prove difficult.

“It’s very hard to get used to a country where you didn’t grow up,” she said. “You miss your family and friends… But we have to keep moving forward.”