As part of the cooperation agreement between the European and South American confederations, the pilot edition of the match between the Ecuadorean and Spanish teams will be played on July 19 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium in Seville. This edition will be named "Antonio Puerta XII" in honour of the former Sevilla player who died in 2007, aged 22, after suffering a cardiac arrest.
* Former Netherlands international goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has been hospitalised while on holiday in Croatia with bleeding on the brain but is in a stable condition, his former club Ajax Amsterdam confirmed on Friday.
* Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Swede Robert Vilahamn as manager on a two-year contract, subject to a work permit, the Women's Super League (WSL) club said on Friday. The 40-year-old Vilahamn joins Spurs from Swedish side BK Hacken, who he steered to Champions League qualification and also led to runners-up in the Swedish Cup in 2022 and 2023.
* Former Wimbledon and U.S. Open finalist Kevin Anderson will return to professional tennis at the July 17-23 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island, organisers said on Friday. The big-serving South African, who announced his retirement in May 2022, has accepted a main draw wild card into the ATP 250 Hall of Fame Open where he claimed his last title in 2021.
* New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is confident the team will only get better as he beds in his ideas and hopes to deliver quickly, the Argentine said on Friday as the west London club presented him at a press conference. Chelsea appointed Pochettino at the end of May after finishing 12th in the Premier League following a chaotic campaign, during which Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard had spells in charge of the side.
* Midfielder Lindsey Horan and forward Alex Morgan were named on Friday as captains of the US team that will begin a quest for a third consecutive Women's World Cup title in two weeks. The duo are assuming the captain's role as defender Becky Sauerbrunn will miss the July 20-Aug. 20 tournament in Australia and New Zealand due to a foot injury. When the players are on the field at the same time, Horan will wear the arm band.
* Belgian Jasper Philipsen denied Mark Cavendish a record-breaking victory on the Tour de France to claim his third stage win in this year's race on Friday, taking his fifth bunch sprint in succession since last year. The 38-year-old Cavendish, back on the world's greatest race after a one-year hiatus, shares the record of stage wins with Belgian great Eddy Merckx, who took his 34 victories between 1969 and 1975.
* UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) has cleared the way for several teams to compete in next season's competitions after Europe's soccer governing body relaxed its rules on multi-club ownership, it said on Friday. Aston Villa and Vitoria Sport Clube, Brighton & Hove Albion and Royal Union Saint-Gilloise, plus AC Milan and Toulouse had had proceedings opened against them due to a potential conflict with the multi-club ownership rule.
* Max Verstappen completed a British Grand Prix practice double at Silverstone on Friday with Ferrari close and Williams' Alex Albon surprisingly quick behind Red Bull's Formula One championship leader. Verstappen led team mate Sergio Perez one-two in the opening session and was again fastest in the late afternoon when last year's winner Carlos Sainz was second on the timesheets for Ferrari.
* Paris St Germain have signed Uruguay international Manuel Ugarte from Sporting Lisbon for €60 million (US$65.32 million), with the defensive midfielder signing a five-year contract, the two clubs said on Friday. A prodigy who made his first-team debut for hometown club CA Fenix at the age of 15, Ugarte moved to Portugal to play for Famalicao before being snapped up by Sporting.
