FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 TO START A DAY EARLY — BBC Sport, 11 August 2022
The World Cup will start a day earlier than planned on Sunday 20 November with hosts Qatar facing Ecuador. The game was due to be played on 21 November as the third match of the tournament, but FIFA submitted a proposal to move the Qatar game after receiving a request from South American confederation Conmebol. Kick-off will be at 16:00 BST, meaning the tradition of the hosts starting the tournament continues. Senegal against the Netherlands will now be played on the Monday 21 November at 16:00. England’s Group B match with Iran (13:00, 21 November) and Wales’ opening match against the United States (19:00, 21 November) are unaffected.
BILL RUSSELL’S NUMBER 6 JERSEY RETIRED BY ALL NBA TEAMS — BBC Sport, 11 August 2022
The NBA will honour late 11-time champion Bill Russell by retiring his jersey number six across the entire league. Boston Celtics legend Russell died at the age of 88 last month. Current players who wear the number six, including LeBron James, will be able to continue using it but it will not be issued to new players. The NBA will also pay tribute to Russell throughout the 2022–23 season, with players wearing a commemorative patch on the right shoulder of their jerseys and each court featuring a clover-shaped logo with the number six displayed on the sideline. Russell won a record 11 NBA titles and five NBA Most Valuable Player awards during a 13-year career with the Celtics, captained the USA to Olympic gold in 1956, and made a significant impact as the league’s first black head coach and an equal rights pioneer. “Bill Russell’s unparalleled success on the court and pioneering civil rights activism deserve to be honoured in a unique and historic way,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver.