SPORTS

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar make up the three-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or, which is given to the world footballer of the year. It is the eighth consecutive year that Real Madrid’s Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Messi have been on the shortlist. Mark Sampson is in contention for Fifa’s women’s football world coach of the year after guiding England ...

Nigeria survived a second-half onslaught to beat Mali 3-2 at the African 2016 Olympic Games football qualifying tournament in Senegal and complete a joyful weekend for coach Samson Siasia. The mother of former national team star Siasia was released on Saturday 12 days after being kidnapped from a southern Nigerian village by gunmen on a motorbike. Siasia, who was in ...

Arsenal lost Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny to injury during a 1-1 draw at Norwich City on Sunday that prevented them drawing level with Premier League leaders Manchester City. Sanchez set up Mesut Ozil for Arsenal’s 30th-minute opener at Carrow Road, but after Lewis Grabban had equalised just before half time, the influential Chilean left the fray clutching his right ...

Ibrahima Sory Keita and Haithem Jouini scored twice each as hosts Senegal and Tunisia made winning starts on Saturday in the African 2016 Olympic Games football qualifying tournament. Keita struck twice within six first-half minutes to help Senegal overcome South Africa 3-1 in the opening match of Group A and the 15-day competition at Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor in Dakar. ...

Barcelona maintained their four-point lead at the top of La Liga on Saturday thanks to another clinical display from Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to down Real Sociedad 4-0. Atletico Madrid kept the pressure on the European champions thanks to Antoine Griezmann’s solitary goal in a 1-0 win over Espanyol. Real Madrid are now nine points adrift ahead of ...

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at club great Didier Drogba, claiming he refuses to take notice of his former favorite’s recent jibes. Drogba, now playing in MLS with the Montreal Impact, called for the Chelsea squad to show more leadership, with the defending champion languishing in the 15th position of the Premier League table. Mourinho has hit back at the criticism, however, ...

Zambia face Tunisia in the two sides opening Group A fixture in Dakar on Saturday evening at the 2015 Caf under-23 Cup in Senegal. The game is a grudge match of sorts after their respective senior teams met earlier this year at the 2015 Africa Cup in a penultimate Group B fixture in Ebebyin, Equatorial Guinea on January 22. Tunisia ...

The Caf U-23 Africa Cup of Nation starts on Saturday with eight teams from the continent seeking tickets to qualify for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nigeria and seven other teams will slug it out in Senegal, competing for the three slots available to Africa for next years’ event. The teams are divided into ...

When Africa’s eight best teams meet in Senegal to contest the CAF U23 Africa Cup of Nations beginning this weekend, they will be playing for much more than continental bragging rights. On offer is a much bigger prize: three tickets to the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament next summer in Rio de Janeiro. The two finalists and the winner of the ...

Davis Cup final: Belgium v Great Britain Venue: Flanders Expo, Ghent Dates: 27-29 November BBC coverage: Watch on BBC television, the BBC Sport website, Connected TVs, tablets, mobiles and app and listen on Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra. Full details. Great Britain hope Kyle Edmund can spring a surprise on day one of the final in Belgium ...