Sport

Violence erupted at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday (December 13, 2025) after football legend Lionel Messi made a brief public appearance there. Thousands of spectators, not only from Kolkata but from different parts of the country, had arrived at the stadium to catch a glimpse of their favourite football star. Lionel Messi’s convoy … Read more

A view of RGI Cricket stadium in Uppal of Hyderabad, ahead of football legend Lionel Messi’s visit scheduled on Saturday (December 13, 2025) night | Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G This is not a full-fledged football match and people should not come with that assumption, said the Director General of Police Shivadhar Reddy on Saturday (December … Read more

FIFA World Cup trophy is displayed during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington. | Photo Credit: AP FIFA received five million requests for World Cup 2026 tickets in the first 24 hours of the latest sales phase, soccer’s world governing body said on Friday, despite an outcry … Read more

Thousands braved the December chill and waited past midnight to give a rousing welcome to Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi as he arrived in Kolkata for his whirlwind three-day, four-city GOAT India Tour 2025. The Barcelona legend’s 2.26 a.m. touchdown in the early hours of Saturday (December 13, 2025) sent the city into a frenzy. … Read more

At 29, two-time World champion Nikhat Zareen is wise beyond her years. She has moved on from her disappointing experience in the Paris Olympics, where she lost to eventual champion Wu Yu in the 50kg pre-quarterfinals. “My mindset is to work hard and give my best,” she says. “I know how hard I worked for … Read more

The inclusion of Hyderabad in Lionel Messi’s tour of India, alongside Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi, might puzzle the casual fan. After all, the city no longer holds the glitz and glamour of the current football powerhouses in the country, like Kolkata, Mumbai, Goa, or Kerala. But turn back the clock a few years, rather … Read more

Messi will make an appearance at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in the evening. | Photo Credit: G. RAMAKRISHNA Hyderabad is gearing up to host Lionel Messi’s GOAT Tour of India on Saturday (December 13, 2025). The Argentine legend will make an appearance at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in the evening, where he will feature in … Read more

The statue at Lake Town, Kolkata, shows Lionel Messi holding the FIFA World Cup trophy | Photo Credit: ANI A 70-foot iron statue of football icon Lionel Messi, claimed as the largest ever of the Argentine superstar, was completed by the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club at Lake Town in South Dum Dum, Kolkata. The statue … Read more

All Indian Super League (ISL) clubs, except East Bengal, have replied to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) explaining that talks of hosting the league would be futile if constitutional constraints are not resolved at the earliest. The letter, sent on Thursday, comes a day after AIFF’s Deputy Secretary General, M. Satyanarayan, wrote to the … Read more

Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates scoring their first goal with Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister | Photo Credit: Reuters Liverpool bounced back from a damaging row with Mohamed Salah by beating Inter Milan 1-0 on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) and kicking their Champions League campaign back into life. Dominik Szoboszlai’s late penalty gave the Reds a huge … Read more

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes scores the team’s fourth goal from the penalty spot, against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, on December 8, 2025 | Photo Credit: Reuters Manchester United climbed to sixth in the Premier League on Monday (December 8, 2025) as captain Bruno Fernandes scored twice to help them claim a comfortable 4-1 … Read more

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah smiles as he takes part in a training session in Liverpool, England, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP Arne Slot insisted that his relationship with Mohamed Salah has not broken down even after dropping the star attacker from Liverpool’s trip to face Inter Milan in the Champions League. “That’s not … Read more

Borussia’s Aaron Anselmino, second from right, and Hoffenheim’s Wouter Burger challenge for the ball during a Germany Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP Borussia Dortmund cemented third place in the Bundesliga with a comfortable 2-0 win over Hoffenheim on Sunday … Read more

Making it a habit: FC Goa won its third Super Cup crown. | Photo Credit: AIFF In a tense finish, FC Goa prevailed 6-5 in a penalty shootout over East Bengal to retain the AIFF Super Cup and punch its ticket to next season’s AFC Champions League 2 once again. Both teams couldn’t be separated … Read more

David Beckham poses with the MLS Cup trophy with Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi in Fort Lauderdale, Fla on December 6, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP Inter Miami secured their first MLS Cup crown on Saturday (December 6, 2025), beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 at Chase Stadium as Rodrigo De Paul and Tadeo Allende struck … Read more

Munich’s Harry Kane, right, plays the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern Munich in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP Harry Kane was substituted in at the hour mark and still had enough time to score a hat trick on Saturday (December 7, 2025). … Read more

The World Cup final will kick off at 3 p.m. EDT next July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FIFA announced the start times for the tournament’s 104 matches on Saturday (December 6, 2025), a day after the draw for the expanded 48-nation tournament. The kickoff time allows for prime-time viewing in … Read more

All to play for: Goa gaffer Manolo Marquez and EBFC coach Bino George ahead of the Super Cup final. | Photo Credit: X@IndianFootball Ahead of the AIFF Super Cup final, there was no escaping the fact that it was defending champion FC Goa, with more competitive football under its belt and home comforts, which enters … Read more

The United States could hardly have asked for a better draw at the 2026 World Cup. The co-host should expect to stick around at its own party until at least the round of 32 after being grouped with Paraguay, Australia and the winner of a European playoff between Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo and Romania in Friday’s … Read more

Former NFL player Tom Brady shows Brazil during the draw for the 2026 World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, on December 5, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP After months of anticipation, the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw on Friday gave us a much clearer picture of how next summer’s tournament — the first … Read more

President Donald Trump is presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center, on December 5, 2025, in Washington | Photo Credit: AP President Donald Trump was awarded the new FIFA peace prize on Friday (December 5, 2025) at the 2026 … Read more

Holders Argentina and leading contenders Spain were handed kind draws for the 2026 World Cup in a star-studded ceremony at which U.S. President Donald Trump received FIFA’s new peace prize. The event at the Kennedy Centre in Washington started the final countdown to the tournament, six months out from the first-ever 48-team World Cup. Lionel … Read more

For the best part of a decade, Liverpool’s right flank has been inhabited by Mo Salah. In that time, the curly-haired Egyptian, with a wand of a left foot, has been the attacking heartbeat and the conductor of the orchestra that the Anfield faithful have merrily swooned to. Dribbling past a maze of defenders, fashioning … Read more

Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold. File | Photo Credit: Joan Monfort Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to miss the next two months after suffering a thigh muscle injury in his left leg, the club said on Thursday (December 4, 2025). The Englishman had an MRI scan on Thursday (December 4), which confirmed the severity … Read more

Tom Brady. File. Photo: Getty Images via AFP Sports legends from outside of soccer, including football’s Tom Brady, basketball’s Shaquille O’Neal, hockey’s Wayne Gretzky and current All-Star baseball player Aaron Judge, will assist with the World Cup draw on Friday (December 5, 2025) in Washington, D.C. FIFA announced on Wednesday (December 3, 2025) the lineup … Read more

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, right, scores his sides second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Brentford in London on December 3, 2025 | Photo Credit: AP Arsenal edged out Brentford 2-0 to restore their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday as Chelsea slumped to a 3-1 … Read more

FC Goa had an unprecedented start to its AIFF Super Cup semifinal when its skipper Iker Guarrotxena was shown a red card in the tunnel for dissent. But that was the only downside on the night as it overcame Mumbai City FC 2-1 to make the final for a second straight year. Two quick-fire goals … Read more

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. File | Photo Credit: PTI Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya stepped in to resolve the crisis in Indian football by holding meetings with its many stakeholders in New Delhi on Wednesday (December 3, 2025), promising a way out of the ongoing policy paralysis and state of financial disaster but not before asking … Read more