Football

Milan, Italy: Thousands of people gathered outside a Milan church Tuesday to pay tribute to Italian football great Franco Baresi, who died last week aged 66. Regarded as one of the greatest sweepers in football history, a funeral service for the former AC Milan captain was held at Milan's Sant'Ambrogio Basilica. Former teammates Paolo Maldini, Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Costacurta were among many football stars and AC Milan figures in attendance. Outside mourners sang chants and waved red-and-black AC Milan flags, as well as shirts bearing Baresi's iconic number six. A World Cup winner with Italy in 1982 and a finalist at the 1994 World Cup, Baresi skippered AC Milan in the 1980s and 1990s when they won three European Cups and six Italian league titles. He retired in 1997 after 719 matches with the Rossoneri, a record surpassed only by Maldini. The club did not specify the cause of his death. He had undergone surgery in August 2025 to remove a lung nodule.

Tennis

Toronto, Canada: NaomiOsakais hoping her success last year in Montreal, where she finished runner-up to Victoria Mboko, will translate as the WTA's 1000 event in Canada shifts to Toronto. The four-time Grand Slam champion from Japan is coming off a semi-final run on the hard courts of Washington, where she fell to eventual champion Alexandra Eala of the Philippines. "I did better than last year in DC, so I'm just hoping to keep the ball rolling,"Osakasaid. "I haven't historically played super, super well here, so I'm just hoping to change that this year. "I can try to recall Montreal, but I would like to kind of treat the cities separately," addedOsaka, whose best run in Toronto -- which alternates hosting duties with Montreal each year -- was a quarter-final appearance back in 2019. The former world number one is seeded 11th this year and aiming to build momentum as the August 31 start of the US Open approaches. Osakaearned the last of her four major titles at the 2021 Australian Open and has yet to regain the heights she reached before taking an extended maternity leave in 2023. But she made it to the US Open semi-finals last year and reached the last 16 at the French Open for the first time this year before a career-best quarter-final at Wimbledon. "I would just hope to gain a lot of confidence leading into New York," she said. "I lost my last match, but it's helped me figure out what I want to do exactly, or how I want to take my tennis." Osakais in the same quarter as second-seeded Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina and in the fourth round she could find herself up against fifth-seeded French Open champion Mirra Andreeva. Andreeva, who suffered a shock second-round exit at Wimbledon, will face a tricky opening match against former world number one Karolina Pliskova, who beat Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-4, 6-4 on Monday. Osakawill open against Hungary's Panna Uvardy, who was up 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 2-0 against Eva Lys when the German retired because of injury in a match in which she led the second set 5-2. It was a jam-packed schedule on the second day of first-round play. Among the winners, Poland's Magdalena Frech defeated France's Leolia Jeanjean 7-5, 6-3 to line up a meeting with third-seeded two-time champion Jessica Pegula. Pegula beat Frech last week on the way to the final in Washington, where the American fell to Eala in the rain-delayed title match on Monday. In other early matches, American Kayla Day beat Diane Parry of France 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to book a clash with fourth-seeded Coco Gauff. World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed in the tournament. After disappointing runs at the French Open and Wimbledon the Belarusian is aiming to reassert her dominance on hard courts, where her lone defeat this year was to Rybakina in the Australian Open final.

Qatar Sport

Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s elite referees underwent physical fitness tests conducted by the Qatar Football Association (QFA) at the Aspire Academy as part of the preparation program ahead of the new season, with the participation of 61 referees. The tests precede the annual preparatory camp for elite referees scheduled from August 7 to 18, which includes technical lectures, analysis of refereeing cases and practical applications on the field. The tests were attended by all the referees, with the exception of the international refereeing team that officiated at FIFA World Cup 2026 comprising Abdulrahman Al Jassim, Talib Salem, Saud Ahmed and Khamis Al Marri. The quartet will however undergo physical fitness tests during the referees’ preparatory camp, which precedes the start of Doha Bank Stars League. Hani Taleb Balan, Chairman of the Referees’ Committee, attended the fitness tests, along with Valentin Ivanov, technical expert at the refereeing department of QFA. The tests were supervised by Banjar Al Dosari, a fitness instructor at FIFA and Khamis Al Kuwari, an instructor at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), with the support of fitness trainers of the refereeing department. The referees had begun their physical conditioning program on June 25 as part of a five-week plan aimed at reaching the required readiness before the start of the new season. The Referees’ Committee, through its preparatory programme seeks to equip referees in the best possible way, in line with the requirements of the new season, and to enhance the quality of refereeing performance in various competitions of Qatar Football Association, most notably the Doha Bank Stars League. In a related development, the QFA’s Refereeing Department will hold a series of meetings with club representatives from August 8 to 17. These meetings will review and explain the new amendments to the Laws of the Game and address any club inquiries, ensuring a unified understanding and application of the changes before the start of the new season. These initiatives reflect QFA’s commitment to developing the refereeing system and preparing referees and clubs for the new season, keeping pace with the latest updates and amendments to the Laws of the Game.