With the renovation of Barcelona's Camp Nou already under way, the Catalan giants will host the first Clasico of the season against bitter rivals Real Madrid on matchday 11 (Oct. 29) at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium. Both teams will meet again at Santiago Bernabeu on matchday 32, on the weekend of Apr 21, 2024.
* The International Boxing Association's (IBA) recognition as the global body for the sport was stripped on Thursday (Jun 22) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to its failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues. The IOC's extraordinary session, held online on Thursday, rubber-stamped an executive board recommendation by 69 votes to one to withdraw the IBA's recognition.
* Top seed Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the quarter-finals of the Queen's Club Championships after he beat Jiri Lehecka 6-2 6-3 on Thursday (Jun 22) but third seed Taylor Fritz was knocked out by Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz is playing on grass for the first time this week since his fourth-round exit at Wimbledon last year and he is slowly getting to grips with the unfamiliar, faster surface.
* AS Roma head coach Jose Mourinho has been suspended for their next four matches in the Europa League after the Portuguese boss directed abusive language at referee Anthony Taylor while the club was fined, Europe's soccer body UEFA said on Wednesday (Jun 21).
* Southampton have appointed Russell Martin as their new manager on a three-year contract with the former defender leaving his role at Swansea City, the south-coast club said on Wednesday. Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season and the 37-year-old Englishman has been tasked with bringing them back to the top flight from the second-tier Championship.
* Ilkay Gundogan will join Barcelona on a free transfer from treble winners Manchester City, the BBC and Sky Sports reported on Wednesday. Gundogan will leave City after captaining the English club to the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season, ending a successful seven-year stint in England where he won 14 trophies, including five league titles.
* The consortium BlueCo which purchased Chelsea last year has reached an agreement to become shareholders of French club Racing Strasbourg, the Premier League club said on Thursday. The agreement will see BlueCo invest in Strasbourg's first teams and academy while Marc Keller will remain the club's president having been at the helm since 2012 when the club was at risk of being liquidated.
* Japan will host England in a test match for the first time in June 2024, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) said in a joint statement on Thursday. England toured Japan in 1971 and 1979, but those matches did not hold test status. The teams have since met at the 1987 World Cup in Sydney, as well as at Twickenham in 2018 and last year, with England victorious on all three occasions.
