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Fans’ glocally motivated activism can amplify their voices, but it can also put them at risk of punishment from their clubs and the wider industry. This threat, coupled with a White House that has no hesitancy in targeting perceived enemies, may explain why some teams act quickly to quell fan protest.

It’s not difficult to understand why some fans might feel the need to protest their club, especially when ticket prices are increasing or a club is pursuing business strategies that clash with the interests of their supporters. In a recent study, researchers found that while fan protests are often characterized as destructive, they can also be constructive and transformative.

In the case of Sevilla, fans are unhappy with president Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco and several board members for making poor decisions that have hurt the team financially. They’re urging the board to fire them.

A group of Sevilla supporters threw pieces of paper onto the pitch during their match against Atletico Madrid in an attempt to get their message across to the club’s president and board. A spokesman for the group tells the AP that they want Carrasco and other members fired.

One way that journalists can help support these fans’ efforts is to tell stories about their protests that humanize the people involved and legitimize their causes. In an experiment that compared different kinds of news coverage of a teenage football fan protest, researchers found that stories that humanized the teenager whose death sparked the protest led to more positive attitudes toward the protest and the protesters than stories that dehumanized them. These effects held regardless of participants’ political beliefs.

Gender equality in sports is a key issue in the fight for gender parity. Although Title IX and other policy initiatives have made great strides, the pay gap remains a barrier for female athletes. In the US, for example, male football players make forty times more money than their female counterparts. Megan Rapinoe, the captain of the world cup winning women’s US football team, has been one of many high-profile voices fighting for equal pay.

However, the challenges and barriers that female athletes face in sport are complex and influenced by broader social contexts in which stereotypes, biases, and discrimination still exist. Athletes and sports managers/teachers/coaches agreed on the existence of gender inequality in sport and identified strategies and tools to address it: increasing investment, awareness, and education; creating policies and legislation; fostering women’s leadership and role modeling; developing mixed and inclusive sports projects.

It was also found that there is a direct relationship between sports participation and attitudes towards gender equality in sport. The more an individual participates in sport, the more likely he/she is to support gender equality. This is in line with the findings that show a direct link between social movement action and supporting GE in sport (98-100).

This study suggests that it is important to listen to female players’ opinion when designing and implementing policies for gender equality in sports. This is especially important since they are the ones who witness gender inequalities on a daily basis.

Authentic athlete endorsements are one of the most effective marketing strategies, capitalizing on personal connections and vast reach to drive sales, shape cultural trends, and enhance public perception. However, successful sponsorships require careful planning and execution, leveraging digital tools to maximize reach and engagement, and aligning athletes’ personal brands with core brand messaging and ethos.

Athletes generate powerful emotional connections with their audiences, as fans both admire and resonate with their achievements and struggles. This natural connection lends a sense of authenticity to endorsements, and consumers view them as genuine recommendations rather than overt advertisements. For example, Nike’s “Dream Crazier” campaign with tennis superstar Serena Williams generated high engagement rates by sharing her personal narrative and highlighting her commitment to equality, which aligned with Nike’s own mission.

While compensation is an essential element in any sponsorship agreement, it must be carefully balanced to ensure sustainable relationships. Legal professionals can help to structure agreements with a mix of fixed fees and performance incentives, while incorporating terms that address NIL reporting, agent fee limits, intellectual property protections, and other risks.

Ultimately, success in athlete sponsorships is measured by the impact on brand reputation and performance. Brands should track metrics such as audience engagement, conversion rates, and brand sentiment to assess the effectiveness of campaigns. In addition, they should consider the long-term impacts of sponsorships by tracking consumer loyalty and lifetime customer value. By understanding the impact of athlete endorsements, brands can optimize and adjust future campaigns to meet their goals.

The global spectacle of Formula 1 is a dynamic battle of speed, strategy, and engineering excellence. Twenty drivers, two from each team, compete in a demanding calendar of Grand Prix races and shorter sprint events. Each race counts as a championship point, and each moment on the track can dramatically alter the standings. The driver and team who collect the most points win the championship, which has enormous financial implications for teams through prize money distribution.

The system of awarding F1 points has evolved over the years, with changes in priority balancing driving excellence and competitiveness. The current scoring system awards a maximum of 25 points to the winner of a Grand Prix and a sliding scale of points for each position behind, with tenth place receiving one point. In addition, points are awarded for sprint races and the number of fastest laps. The team with the most points, determined by adding the total of each driver’s points, wins the Constructors’ Championship.

In 74 seasons of F1 racing, it has never been the case that two drivers finished with equal numbers of points. If this were to happen in 2025, a tiebreaker would be applied according to the formula for deciding world champions.

It’s also worth noting that, unlike in other sports, F1 teams earn points not just for their drivers’ finishing positions but for how they perform as a team. This means that a driver may need to sacrifice their own finish position in order to help their teammate, and this can often be seen at the shortest races when strategies are based around maximising team points rather than winning by the narrowest margin.

Athletes, fans and the teams that support them rely on social media to stay connected and engaged. And, in the case of athletes, to promote their brands and themselves. Social media gives sports organizations and athletes the ability to connect with fans in a two-way conversation that can reach global audiences. This provides an opportunity to build brand loyalty and increase ticket sales, merchandise sales and sponsorships.

The 2020 Sprout Social Indexopen_in_new found that consumers cited watching and following sports as their favorite reason for using social media, followed by celebrating personal milestones and holidays at the same time. Whether they’re at the stadium or watching from home, sports fans want to feel like insiders. They want to see the behind-the-scenes, post-game emotion, and the story of their favorite team and athletes. This content also serves as a form of authentic marketing, which is more trusted by fans than any paid promotion or endorsement.

For many athletes, fans are critically important to their careers, especially among Gen Z and millennials. Increasingly, these fans are the main source of revenue for both athletes and their teams, with ticket and merchandise sales, broadcasting contracts, and sponsorships bringing in most of a team’s income.

As such, it’s important for athletes to think carefully about their social media use and how they manage their online presence. Having clear goals and engaging with followers in a meaningful way can help them to build their personal brands, boost fan engagement, and manage negative publicity. Athletes can also benefit from the training some colleges and universities now offer about appropriate content sharing.

NEW YORK — The World Series went back to its roots this year, playing on home turf for the first time since 1952. And if the Astros can keep up their current pace, they’ll be playing in their third World Series in a row.

A year after the Astros broke a long playoff drought with their first World Series win, they’re set to become only the third team in Major League Baseball history to repeat as champions. It’s been quite a run for the franchise, and the team is only getting better as the years go by.

Corey Seager, who took home the World Series MVP award in 2020, joined Reggie Jackson as the only players to win the trophy with two different teams. He also became the youngest player to ever win the award in a World Series, edging out the record of 20 years established by Reggie Jackson.

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge sent one deep into the Bronx night and gave the Dodgers hope of a comeback in Game 5. The two-run home run off Jack Flaherty sent Yankee Stadium into a bobbing sea of bedlam. But the Dodgers roared back in the eighth inning with a pair of sacrifice flies by Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts, both coming off of errant throws by the Yankees.

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The World Athletics Championship, officially the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, is the world’s premier annual track and field athletics competition organised by IAAF. Held every two years, it is the highest level of senior international outdoor athletics competition other than the Olympic Games and is regarded as one of the most important sports events in the world.

Move over Noah Lyles, there’s a new world 100m champion in town; Oblique Seville has blasted past the American and his compatriot Kishane Thompson in a Jamaican one-two with Seville taking silver and Thompson bronze. Boosted by the support of his countryman Usain Bolt, the 24-year-old Seville ran 9.77s to win, taking 0.07 off his personal best from his semi-final run.

It’s a Jamaican one-two in the women’s 100m, too as Tina Clayton and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden make it a clean sweep of medals for the host nation on the second night. Jefferson-Wooden arrived in Tokyo as favourite after winning the bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics and running the fastest three times of the year.

There’s also a first-ever medal for Uruguay, with Julia Paternain finishing third in the women’s marathon. Originally from Uruguay, Paternain moved to the UK aged two and won back-to-back English schools 3,000m titles before securing her first major championship medal in Tokyo with her impressive finish.

World Test Championship is the ICC’s tournament for the best teams in the longest format of the game. It lasts two years and sees nine of the game’s leading test-playing nations compete in a series of bilateral Test matches. Each series consists of three to five Tests and the team that wins the most matches earns a berth in the final. Each match in a Test series is worth points (12, six, or four), with penalties for slow over rates. The point system was introduced by the ICC as a way to add context to bilateral Test cricket and encourage the playing nations to focus on building stronger Test squads.

In 2025, South Africa ended a 27-year hoodoo and triumphed over modern Goliaths Australia to win the World Test Championship final at Lord’s. The win marked a historic achievement for the Proteas and earned them the respect of the entire cricketing world, whose billions paid their tributes on social media.

The final of the ICC World Test Championship was held on Sunday at Lord’s between current holders Australia and South Africa. The iconic venue replaces the Rose Bowl in Southampton and the Oval in London, which hosted the previous two WTC finals.

Defending champions Australia were tipped to win the final and they did not disappoint, thrashing South Africa by an innings and 217 runs. However, the Proteas fought back hard to level the scores and clinched victory in a gripping finish. The result pushed the Temba Bavuma-led side to the top of the ICC Test Rankings.

The 2025 NFL draft is underway in Green Bay, Wisconsin. And, for the first time since the league expanded to 32 teams, every team owns a pick heading into the three-day event.

On the first day of the draft, Tennessee Titans owner John Henry made it clear he wanted to address the team’s quarterbacking issues by selecting Miami Hurricanes signal-caller Cam Ward with the top pick.

After that, things began to get a little more unpredictable. The New York Giants moved up a spot to select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, and the Cleveland Browns traded back into the top 12 to take two-way star Travis Hunter.

A few more surprises followed as the San Francisco 49ers took LSU offensive tackle Jonathan Taylor with the fifth pick, and the Atlanta Falcons drafted Ole Miss defensive end James Pearce Jr. with the sixth selection. Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals used their other top-10 pick to take Alabama safety Tae Campbell, who will give an already-strong young defense a boost up front with his ability to play multiple positions. The New Orleans Saints also went big and grabbed Texas offensive guard Taliese Banks with the ninth pick, a player who can provide depth at left tackle after the Saints cycled through several starters last season on that side of the line. He’ll immediately compete with free-agent addition Xavier Legette for playing time.

The Champions League is the pinnacle of European club football. The prestigious competition was established in 1955, and initially only champions of Europe’s strongest domestic leagues qualified to take part in the tournament, but after some experimentation with multiple groups and knockout rounds, the format was changed in 1999 to allow also league runners-up to qualify for the group stage.

Since then, only five clubs have won more than one title. Real Madrid have the most, with fifteen titles, while Bayern Munich and Barcelona have won ten each. The other top teams include Liverpool, Manchester United and Internazionale (a.k.a. Inter Milan; Italy).

In 2023, Real Madrid dominated the tournament to win their fourth treble in a row. Jupp Heynckes’ side had a great mix of experienced players like Dani Carvajal, Nacho and Luka Modric with the emerging generation of ‘Galacticos’ including Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni.

That team was also blessed with the emergence of Lionel Messi, who won the Champions League Player of the Season award for his 12 goals across the campaign, including some crucial strikes in big moments to turn around games against Manchester City and Arsenal.

The miracle of Istanbul will be forever etched on the memories of this Manchester United team, who were trailing 3-0 in the second leg at home to Juventus and 2-0 on aggregate in the final at Wembley, but fought back through goals from Roy Keane, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. The team’s defensive line was led by the rock-solid Edwin van der Sar and Nemanja Vidic, while goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek pulled off some of the greatest saves in Champions League history to keep them in the final.