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Jannik Sinner calls out grand slams for delaying welfare and prize money talks

  • No good reason for inaction by grand slams, Sinner says

  • Players want contributions towards welfare benefits

Jannik Sinner has criticised the grand slam tournaments for failing to engage with repeated requests from the world’s top stars to discuss prize money and welfare benefits for lower-ranked players.

The Guardian has learned that detailed proposals from the world’s top 10 male and female players over alterations to prize money were rejected by the grand slam tournaments in August, while their request for a meeting to discuss their concerns at the US Open was also turned down.

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© Photograph: Newhouse Media/MB Media/Getty Images

© Photograph: Newhouse Media/MB Media/Getty Images

© Photograph: Newhouse Media/MB Media/Getty Images

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Dazn targets rights for Champions League in latest football move involving Saudi Arabia

  • Global rights available for first time for 2027-31 cycle

  • Dazn hoping to follow up on Club World Cup success

Dazn is preparing to bid for global broadcasting rights for Champions League games from 2027 in another significant move into football by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi’s Surj Sports Investment bought a 10% stake in Dazn for $1bn (£746.94m) in February, two months after the streaming platform agreed to pay the same sum to Fifa for exclusive global rights for the Club World Cup. Dazn claimed an audience of 2.7 billion for the Club World Cup, a figure understood to relate to total views rather than individual viewers, and social media engagement of 10bn using the same metric.

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© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters

© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters

© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters

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Plans for Milan’s Serie A match in Perth thrown into serious doubt

  • Asian Football Confederation under pressure not to sanction game

  • Barcelona v Villarreal in Miami has already been called off

Serie A’s plan to host a match in Australia could be the next attempt at staging a domestic fixture abroad to be scrapped, following the abandonment of La Liga’s efforts to move Barcelona’s game against Villarreal to Miami.

The Guardian understands there are serious doubts over whether Milan and Como will face each other in Perth, rather than their home country, in a game scheduled for February. This month Uefa approved both switches, emphasising permission had been granted on an exceptional basis. Now senior figures within European football’s governing body feel that the probability of Serie A breaking precedent and playing a game 8,500 miles from home is also receding.

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© Photograph: Marco Canoniero/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Marco Canoniero/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Marco Canoniero/Shutterstock

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Rogers and Buendía fire Aston Villa to comeback victory against Tottenham

It has been one of the curiosities of Thomas Tuchel’s rapidly evolving England side that until today the man in possession of the No 10 shirt had not scored all season.

Morgan Rogers put paid to that statistic with a sumptuous strike to equalise for Aston Villa near half-time, before the substitute Emiliano Buendía grabbed an unexpected winner for the visitors with 13 minutes remaining.

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© Photograph: Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

© Photograph: Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

© Photograph: Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

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Former Palace owner Textor suffers setback in legal case over claim he owes £72m

  • Court rules in favour of Iconic on preliminary issue

  • Claim by investor in multi-club group Eagle Football

The former Crystal Palace owner John Textor has suffered another setback with the UK commercial court ruling he has a case to answer in a $97m (£72m) claim from an investor in his multi-club group, Eagle Football.

The dispute stems from Iconic Sport’s $75m purchase three years ago of a 15.7% stake in Eagle, which holds majority stakes in Lyon, Botafogo of Brazil and the rebranded Belgian club RWD Brussels (formerly RWD Molenbeek). Eagle was also the biggest shareholder at Palace until July, when Textor sold his 43% stake to the former US ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson.

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© Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters

© Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters

© Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters

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WSL considers borrowing tens of millions to accelerate growth plans

  • WSL board examining ways of raising funds

  • Loans would be used to boost payments and prize money

The Women’s Super League is exploring borrowing tens of millions of pounds in an attempt to accelerate the growth of the competition. The WSL board has commissioned the investment bank Goldman Sachs and the accountancy firm Deloitte to examine ways of raising funding anda debt deal is the preferred option at this stage.

The borrowing would be used to increase central payments and prize money awarded to clubs, with the aim of stimulating further growth in sponsorship, broadcast deals and club-led investment, as a result of creating a better product.

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© Photograph: Natalie Mincher/SPP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Natalie Mincher/SPP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Natalie Mincher/SPP/Shutterstock

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Majority of South American federations oppose 64-team World Cup proposal

  • Seven Conmebol members do not support expansion

  • Impact on World Cup qualifying cited as main factor

The proposed expansion of the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams is facing opposition from within Conmebol, the South American confederation that would benefit from staging the extra matches.

The Guardian has learned that seven out of the 10 Conmebol members have expressed concerns about the expansion plan, which is being driven by the federations of Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.

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© Photograph: FIFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: FIFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: FIFA/Getty Images

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