* The cities of Calgary and Stockholm and an Italian bid involving Cortina D'Ampezzo and Milan got the green light on Thursday to proceed to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics but Turkey's Erzurum was dropped, the International Olympic Committee said.
* Coach Luis Enrique has recalled Athletico Madrid midfielder Koke and Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata to the Spain squad for this month's internationals against Wales and England, although forward Diego Costa has been excluded.
* Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has again been left out of the squad for this month's matches against Poland and Scotland, announced by the Portuguese federation (FPF) on Thursday (Oct 4). Ronaldo also missed Portugal's two games in September a friendly against Croatia and a Nations League match against Italy at his own request.
* Racing Point, a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, paid 90 million pounds (US$117 million) to take over Formula One racing team Force India in August, an administrators report shows.
* England's Premier League is launching an esports competition, allowing fans to compete on behalf of their club at the popular 'FIFA' video game. The league is collaborating with Electronic Arts, the producer of the FIFA game, and esports tournament organisers Gfinity will operate the league.
* West Ham United midfielder Carlos Sanchez will have surgery for a knee injury sustained in a League Cup win over Macclesfield Town last month, manager Manuel Pellegrini said on Thursday.
* Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui will be desperate for a convincing victory at Alaves on Saturday to stem the rising tide of discontent after the team's worst goal drought in 11 years. Lopetegui has come in for heavy criticism as Real have gone three games without scoring.
