Category Sports News

In the 2025-26 League Cup group stage, Derek McInnes’ Heart of Midlothian will take on Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline.

In the first round of the competition, Hamilton, Dumbarton, and Stirling Albion were all drawn against the Pars, which was managed by the former Celtic and Hibernian boss.

In the final 16 of the League Cup’s final 16 last year, Hearts fell to Championship side Falkirk, who had not won since 1962-63.

Along with Kelty Hearts, East Fife, and Brora Rangers, two Scottish Premiership teams, Kilmarnock and recently promoted Livingston, are in Group H.

St. Mirren, the only team from the top six of the Scottish Premiership table at this time, is Scott Brown’s Ayr United team in Group D.

Due to their competitiveness in Europe, Celtic, Rangers, Hibernian, Dundee United, and Aberdeen are exempt from the group stage.

Eight pools were divided up for the draw, including the Premiership’s four teams, the Lowland League’s Brora Rangers, the Highland League’s top team, and Brechin City, the Highland League’s runners-up.

The matches will begin on July 12/13 with further fixtures on July 15/16, 19/20, 22/23 and 26/27.

On the weekend of August 16/17, the team that tops each pool and the three best runners-up will be joined by the teams from Europe in the last 16.

The quarter-finals will take place on September 20/21, the semi-finals on November 1 and the final on Sunday, December 14 at Hampden.

Group A

Queen’s Park, Cove Rangers, Spartans, Brechin, Queen’s Park, Falkirk.

Group B

Ross County, Partick Thistle, Edinburgh City, Stranraer, Queen of the South, and Partick Thistle are just a few examples.

Group C

Dundee, Airdrie, Alloa, Montrose, and Bonnyrigg Rose are all in.

Group D

Forfar, Arbroath, Arbroath, St. Mirren, Ayr United, Arbroath, Annan Athletic, and Ayr United.

Group E

Dunfermline, Hamilton, Dumbarton, Stirling Albion, Hearts.

Group F

Inverness CT, Elgin City, East Kilbride, Rovers of Raith, St. Johnstone, and Rovers of Raith.

Group G

Motherwell, Greenock Morton, Peterhead, Clyde, Stenhousemuir, and others.

Group H

Plans for a British team to compete in the Olympics for the first time in 128 years have come a long way.

For the first time since 1900, when GB won gold in Paris, cricket will be played at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

Before becoming a full member of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), the organization would first need to be officially recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the British Olympic Association (BOA).

A principle agreement with the ICC has been reached, according to sources who have spoken to BBC Sport.

Northern Irish players will be able to play cricket for the United Kingdom through a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Harry Brook, England’s ODI and T20 captain, said: “That would be pretty cool to be able to compete in the Olympics and win an Olympic gold medal.

“But it’s a very far distance. There are still miles to go.

In a T20 format, six teams from the men’s and women’s categories will compete in LA.

Although the ICC has not made any announcements regarding the qualification process, it has been agreed that England’s men’s and women’s teams will work together to qualify for Team GB.

Ajla Tomljanovic, from Australia, defeated Jasmine Paolini, who had previously advanced to the third round of the French Open.

Tomljanovic was beaten by the fourth seed in a 6-3, 6-3 victory over the second-seeded seed at Roland Garros last year.

Paolini won his eighth straight match after lifting the WTA 1, 000 title earlier this month in Rome.

The Italian won Olympic gold in the women’s doubles in Paris along with compatriot Sara Errani, rising to the top of the WTA rankings after reaching the final of both the French Open and Wimbledon.

Paolini responded, “It’s a different feel, I guess, because I played a few matches here last year and again at the Olympics, so I am a little more used to this court.” I’ve never played here before.

Paolini received the first break to go 3-1 up after Tomljanovic made a number of unforced errors in her first match against Philippe Chatrier since she lost to Iga Swiatek in the previous year’s final.

She kept that cushion so she could comfortably wrap up the first set before moving on to the third game.

Paolini kept her composure by breaking again at 5-3 as Tomljanovic battled to close the gap.

The defending champion will face Yulii Starodubtseva of Ukraine or Anastasia Potapova of Russia.

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen defeated Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-2, 6-3 earlier on Wednesday to advance to the third round.

After a disappointing first two months of the County Championship season, Lancashire parted ways with men’s head coach Dale Benkenstein.

After being demoted from the top flight last season, the South African, 50, moves to Lancashire seventh in Division Two.

The only club in either division to have lost a championship game this summer is them.

In a club statement, Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, Mark Chilton, said, “We feel this is the right time to make a change.”

Will Porterfield, Craig White, and Karl Krikken serve as the interim men’s head coaches, replacing former Red Rose pitcher Steven Croft.

For the first time since 2019, Lancashire, the nine-time champions, are playing second-tier cricket after finishing ninth last season in Division One.

However, they started poorly, and Leicestershire, who are Division Two leaders, lost by an innings and three runs in three days.

At the halfway point of the Championship campaign, the Red Rose were 73 points adrift of the East Midlands county.

In Benkenstein’s nearly 18-month tenure, Lancashire lost by an innings in the fifth time.

After the Grace Road game, Benkenstein said there was a discrepancy within the organization about whether giving young players time to develop or winning. In his final interview with BBC Radio Lancashire, Benkenstein stated that there was no clarity about this.

He also acknowledged that the team had glaring flaws, though.

Lancashire “mutually consented” to Benkenstein’s departure on Wednesday in line with expectations that the club should be attempting to challenge for immediate promotion, as has happened on numerous occasions where they have previously been relegated.

Glen Chapple, who had left the club at the end of the 2023 season, was replaced by Benkenstein as the club’s surprise replacement.

Benkenstein’s side finished second in Division One before Division Two after two seasons as head coach of Gloucestershire.

When he took over Lancashire, which had last year struggled against the best counties, he inherited a team that was in transition.

However, they have performed a division below average.

The club apologised to its members just two weeks prior for the way the season had begun, and captain Keaton Jennings resigned from his four-day role to take the place of Australian batter Marcus Harris.

The Adare Manor 2027 Ryder Cup will be held on September 17 through September 19 as per a confirmation.

Between September 13 and September 16, four “build-up days” will be held, according to Ryder Cup Europe, before the matches start on Friday, September 17.

After winning the 2006 edition of the biennial contest over the USA at the K Club in County Kildare, Ireland will host it for the second time.

In 2019, County Limerick’s Adare Manor was chosen as the host town. Before going through extensive renovations in 2017, it hosted the Irish Open in 2007 and 2008.

The Ryder Cup will celebrate its 100th anniversary at the venue in 2027, which will be its 46th year.

The anticipation of July’s Open Championship (at Royal Portrush) and Rory McIlroy’s victory at the Masters last month, according to DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), have already heightened the interest in golf on the island of Ireland, according to DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings.

As Ireland prepares to host golf’s greatest team competition for the second time in 2027 as the Ryder Cup celebrates its 100th anniversary, “this announcement will increase that excitement.”

Irish Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media, and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, stated: “It truly stands out internationally as a golfing destination because of the passion of Irish people.”

The beautiful village of Adare will be the focus of Ryder Cup week, according to the sporting industry. I’m confident that all who attend will want to come back to Ireland once more and that the local community and Limerick’s population will make this event a wonderful success.

The Bethpage Black in New York will host the Ryder Cup this year on September 26 through 28.

Following his 161 – 112 victory in Rome in 2023, Luke Donald will once again command the top spot in Europe. Keegan Bradley will assist the American team.

Starting strokes for the Tour Championship’s season-ending tournament have been eliminated by the PGA Tour.

Since 2019, the format allowed players who had the most FedExCup points to begin the tournament on par with 10 points.

All 30 players will tee off at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on level par for the event this year, though.

The FedExCup is a three-week long points competition that culminates in the Tour Championship and concludes with the Play-Offs.

The second-place player would begin with eight under, third with seven under, fourth with six under, and fifth with five under.

The remaining 25 players would be divided into five groups, with their starting score determined by their rank.

The Player Advisory Council led a thorough investigation, according to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, in response to what our fans demanded: the most competitive golf in the world, played for the highest stakes, in the most straightforward and engaging format.

The PGA Tour stated it was “studying the qualification system for the future,” and there are other changes, such as a new course setup that is meant to “encourage more risk/reward moments.”

Colin Morikawa finished in second place, Scottie Scheffler finishing four shots clear of Colin Morikawa in the Tour Championship last year.

Last year, American Scheffler described the FedEx Cup play-off format as “silly.”