Category Sports News

The inquest into the death of former boxer Ricky Hatton has been opened and adjourned.

The 46-year-old, who won world titles at light-welterweight and welterweight, was found dead at his home in Hyde on 14 September.

South Manchester Coroner’s Court, in Stockport, heard that Hatton was found by his manager Paul Speak.

The court was told by Alison Catlow, of Greater Manchester Police, that Hatton was last seen by his family on 12 September and appeared well.

The following day he did not attend an event as expected.

On 14 September Speak, who was in court to represent the family, attended Hatton’s home to pick him up for a flight to Dubai.

Hatton, who was known as The Hitman, was found unresponsive.

Senior coroner Alison Mutch said they are awaiting the final cause of death, but it was indicated as hanging.

No family were in attendance.

Tributes poured in from the sporting world following news of Hatton’s death, with Amir Khan remembering him as “one of Britain’s greatest boxers” and Tyson Fury saying he was a “legend”.

Hatton was one of Britain’s most popular fighters, building a loyal following with more than 30,000 supporters travelling to Las Vegas for his title bout with Floyd Mayweather in 2007.

England striker Michelle Agyemang and nine Premier League stars are in the running for honours that recognise the best young players in Europe.

Agyemang has been nominated for the Golden Girl award, while the Premier League contingent are on the 25-player Golden Boy shortlist.

The awards, created by Italian newspaper Tuttosport, are given to the best under-21 footballers each year, with Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal becoming last year’s Golden Boy winner. Vicky Lopez, also of Barcelona, is the Golden Girl holder.

The likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Wayne Rooney are previous winners of the men’s award, while Germany’s Jule Brand and Colombian Linda Caicedo have taken the women’s award.

For a player to be considered in 2025, they must have been born on or after January 1, 2005, and belong to a squad in one of Uefa’s top 25 leagues.

Despite remaining eligible by age, Yamal, 18, is not named among the nominees because a player cannot win the award twice.

The nine Premier League nominees are Arsenal left-back Lewis-Skelly and midfielder Ethan Nwaneri, Tottenham Hotspur midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, Chelsea forward Estevao and defender Jorrel Hato, Manchester United defender Leny Yoro, Manchester City full-back Nico O’Reilly and Liverpool centre half Giovanni Leoni.

O’Reilly, 20, was named in the senior England squad for the first time for the recent internationals but has yet to make his debut for Thomas Tuchel’s team.

Defender Dean Huijsen, who joined Real Madrid from Bournemouth in the summer, is also nominated.

A leading contender for the Golden Boy award is Paris St-Germain forward Desire Doue, who finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or vote after winning the Champions League with his club side.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham is also a nominee after helping Sunderland reach the top flight via the play-offs before a move to the Bundesliga. Brother Jude of Real Madrid won the award in 2023.

Agyemang was a Euro 2025 hero for England, with the 19-year-old coming off the bench to score vital late equalisers against Sweden and Italy in the knockout stage as the Lionesses went on to successfully defend the trophy.

Those notable contributions earned her the Young Player of the Tournament award.

She joins Chelsea midfielder Wieke Kaptein and Manchester City midfielder Iman Beney on the 10-player shortlist for the women’s award.

Award winners are decided by a poll of 50 selected sports journalists from across Europe.

Golden Boy 2025 nominees:

Golden Girl 2025 nominees:

Bradford Bulls have been promoted to Super League for 2026 and will replace Salford Red Devils after they were awarded the highest Grade B status under the sport’s grading system.

It means the Bulls, a dominant force during the 2000s, will return to the top flight after an 11-year absence filled with financial troubles and a stint in the third-tier League One in 2018.

Iconic head coach Brian Noble returned to the club during 2025 and steered them to third in the Championship but they were knocked out in the play-offs at the semi-final stage by eventual Grand Final winners Toulouse.

Their grading moves them up from 16th in 2024 to 10th in 2025, surpassing the scores of existing Super League sides Castleford Tigers and Huddersfield Giants, who came 11th and 12th respectively.

Gradings are conducted by media giant IMG under Rugby League Commercial’s ‘Reimagining Rugby League’ initiative, which assesses clubs based on performance, on and off the field.

Salford, who have been plagued with financial issues before and after a takeover earlier this year, received a lower B grading putting them 15th in the rankings, having finished bottom of Super League during a tumultuous season with the late payment of wages and a mass player exodus.

Salford lost most of their first-team players over the course of 2025, and fielded line-ups filled mainly with youth-team prospects as they conceded 1,129 points in 27 league games at an average of 41.8.

Their failure to attain the necessary grading points means their short-term future is unclear and also means that if they do continue in 2026, they will play outside of Super League for the first time since 2008.

Earlier this year, Super League’s 12 current clubs voted to expand the competition to 14 teams from next season – the first time the league will have operated with that number since 2014.

Friday’s decision will be made by a panel chaired by Lord Jonathan Caine as well as two non-executive RFL directors Abi Ekoku and Dermot Power, RFL chief executive Tony Sutton, interim head of legal Graeme Sarjeant, RL Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones and Super League (Europe) board member Peter Hutton.

Treble-winning Hull KR lead the 2025 rankings with a total score of 17.85 out of a maximum of 20 – the highest score achieved by any club since the grading system was introduced in 2023.

The Robins, who followed up their Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ Shield honours by beating Wigan in the Super League Grand Final, lead the rankings ahead of Leeds (17.28) in second and last year’s highest-ranked club St Helens (16.74) in third.

Hull KR’s rise is impressive, given they were sixth in the initial indicative rankings in 2023 and fifth last season.

Saturday’s beaten finalists Wigan (16.37) drop to fourth despite reaching a third consecutive Grand Final while Leigh (16.33), Warrington (16.26), Catalans (16.11), Wakefield (15.47) and Hull FC (15.06) close out the Grade A clubs – the latter regaining that status having climbed from 10th last season.

Bradford (14.81), Castleford (14.66) and Huddersfield (14.65) round out the top 12 teams, with Championship Grand Final winners Toulouse finishing 13th (13.25) ahead of second-tier League Leaders’ Shield winners York (13.04).

Salford edge out London Broncos who are placed 16th with a score of 11.65, however the Wimbledon-based side are joined in their Grade B status by Featherstone (9.75), Barrow (9.62), Widnes (9.39), Sheffield (8.47), Batley (8.16), Halifax (8.15), Doncaster (7.85) and Oldham (7.51).

Hunslet (6.87), Dewsbury (6.74), Workington (6.57), Swinton (6.54), Whitehaven (6.23), Rochdale (5.52), Goole (5.46), Midlands Hurricanes (4.89) and North Wales Crusaders (4.88) make up the Grade C teams.

Clubs were awarded points – and a grade – based on five categories: fandom, performance, finances, stadium and community, with a maximum of 20 points on offer.