NYON, Switzerland: Champions League winner Chelsea was drawn to play Sparta Prague in the last 32 of the second-tier Europa League yesterday.
Zenit St. Petersburg, the 2008 UEFA Cup winner, will face Liverpool, and Tottenham will play Lyon.
Three-time winner Inter Milan was paired with Cluj, and Ajax plays Steaua Bucharest in a meeting of former European champions.
The draw included eight third-place teams from the Champions League groups, and 24, which advanced from Europa League groups.
First-leg matches are played on Feb. 14, and return games on Feb. 21.
UEFA also drew the last-16 pairings late yesterday.
Defending champions Atletico Madrid of Spain were drawn to play Russian side Rubin Kazan.
The games will be played on February 14 and 21.
Chelsea plays Sparta Prague in Europa League
Chelsea plays Sparta Prague in Europa League

Jofra Archer joins England squad for 2nd test against India

- If made part of playing XI, Archer will play his first Test in 4 years
- Archer, 30, played last of his 13 Tests in February 2021 in India
LONDON: Fast bowler Jofra Archer could play his first test in four years after he was added to England’s squad on Thursday.
Archer joined up for the second test against India next week at Edgbaston. England leads the five-test series 1-0.
The 30-year-old played the last of his 13 tests in February 2021 in India.
Following his right thumb injury during the Indian Premier League, Archer played his first red-ball game in more than four years this week for Sussex in the English County Championship. He took 1-32 in 18 overs in his only bowling innings. He also batted once for 31 runs.
Padel moves into the sporting mainstream

- Playtomic Co-Founder and CCO Pablo Carro: With a new court opening every two and a half hours worldwide, padel has finally joined the top table of the world’s sporting elite
- Playtomic MD Antonio Robert Aragones: Padel isn’t just gaining popularity, it’s driving a global movement
MADRID: Playtomic, the world’s largest community of racquet sport players and clubs, and PwC’s Business Strategy Consulting arm, Strategy&, have released the Playtomic 2025 Global Padel Report, widely referred to as the “Bible of Padel.”
This report offers the most comprehensive look at the continued international rise and impact of padel, the world’s fastest-growing sport.
In 2024 alone, 3,282 new clubs opened worldwide, averaging nearly nine new clubs per day (a 22% increase from 2023), and 7,187 new courts were built pushing the global total past 50,000.
This 26% year-over-year growth in clubs and 17% growth in courts reflects a sport that is not only scaling rapidly but maturing sustainably and entering mainstream society.
The sport’s growth is not expected to slow down anytime soon either as more than 81,000 padel courts are expected to be built by 2027.
Playtomic Co-Founder and CCO, Pablo Carro said: “With a new court opening every two and a half hours worldwide, padel has finally joined the top table of the world’s sporting elite.”
Key Findings from the 2025 Report
Global Growth Surge: Padel is now established in over 90 countries, with high-growth markets including Portugal, the Netherlands, U.S., UK, UAE, Mexico, India and Indonesia.
Tech-Driven Success: Padel clubs using digital tools like Playtomic’s platform are outperforming competitors by 3-5x, showing how data and smart booking are supercharging padel’s global ecosystem.
The “Sticky Sport”: Once people try padel, they’re hooked. With a 92% return rate, padel boasts an incredibly high return rate after just one session, driven by its accessibility, social nature and addictive gameplay.
Pickleball Parallels: While often compared, the two sports are increasingly coexisting with 30% of U.S. pickleball venues now offering padel courts––a significant shift from 12 months ago.
Olympic Ambitions: With backing from the International Padel Federation (FIP), 2025 is a pivotal year for padel’s push toward inclusion in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
Playtomic Managing Director Antonio Robert Aragones said: "Padel isn’t just gaining popularity, it’s driving a global movement. This report doesn’t just reflect the sport’s growth; it helps guide it. Positioned at the heart of padel’s global ecosystem, we offer an unmatched perspective through our data, technology and deep connection to the community.”
PwC’s Head of the Global Padel Report, Elena Martin mentioned: “We are delighted to see that the sector has returned to a path of organic and sustainable growth, following the post-COVID activity surge and the adjustments made in 2023. With over 50,000 leads currently, development remains strong, particularly in key markets such as France and the United Kingdom. Our projections suggest that this growth momentum will continue in the years ahead.”
Liverpool sign Bournemouth defender Kerkez

- Liverpool on Thursday announced they had completed the £40 million ($55 million) signing of Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez
LONDON: Liverpool on Thursday announced they had completed the £40 million ($55 million) signing of Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez.
The 21-year-old, who has penned a five-year deal, is the third major signing of the transfer window for the Premier League champions following the arrival of Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz.
Germany midfielder Wirtz was signed for a club-record fee that could reportedly rise to £116 million.
With Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili joining next month in a deal done 12 months ago there will be more than £200 million of new talent present when pre-season training starts.
Left-back Kerkez is viewed as the long-term successor to 31-year-old Andy Robertson, who is a target for Atletico Madrid.
“I’m really happy,” said the Hungary international. “It’s a real honor for me, a privilege to come to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, the biggest club in England. I’m just really, really happy and excited.
“After this, I’ll go home and in my hometown enjoy a few days, and then I can’t really wait to come back and put the training kit on and start to train and prepare for the season.”
Kerkez made 74 appearances for Bournemouth after joining from AZ Alkmaar two years ago, scoring twice.
“I just want to thank everyone for really showing me big love, even before it will be announced.”
‘Home of cricket’ faces new challenges

- Lord’s symbolizes the sport’s rich heritage, but has also moved with the times
During the World Test Championship final at Lord’s, a previously unthinkable discussion opened up among friends from a variety of backgrounds: Does Lord’s still justify its cachet as the home of cricket? The very question will be regarded as heresy in many quarters, but the heavy thought hung in the air.
At a meeting of the International Cricket Council’s executives committee in April 2025, the Board of Control for Cricket in India expressed its desire to host future WTC finals.
India’s motivations are clear. Hosting the event would cement its position as the powerhouse of international cricket. The BCCI argues that viewership and commercial revenue would be boosted, along with tourism. However, these would be jeopardized if India failed to reach the final. Attendances for matches in India which do not involve the Indian team are notably low. If the final continues to be scheduled for June, there is also the issue of the monsoon season. In order to hold it in another month, the existing crowded international and domestic schedules would have to be disrupted. It is probably too late to change the dates of the current two-year cycle and maybe for the two which follow.
In response to this challenge, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Marylebone Cricket Club launched a charm offensive before and during the WTC final.
In January, the MCC invited the ICC’s Chair Jay Shah to join a new advisory board of its World Cricket Connects initiative. Launched in 2024 at Lord’s, the initiative gathers together over 100 people, including administrators, former and current players, coaches, players’ association leaders, media and broadcasting personnel.
The advisory board, comprising 13 members, has replaced the MCC’s World Cricket Committee. After its inaugural meeting at Lord’s, it will meet virtually throughout the year. How much Mr. Shah’s busy schedule allows him to participate remains to be seen.
He was very much in evidence at Lord’s, where he was feted by the ECB’s leaders. Together with the MCC, they ensured that the full pomp and circumstance associated with a Lord’s Test match was brought to bear. This included an invitation to ring the bell prior to the start of the match. As mentioned last week, rumors now abound that Shah was sufficiently impressed to the point where he will recommend to the ICC’s Annual Conference in July that Lord’s should host the next three WTC finals. If this motion passes, it will burnish the claim of Lord’s to be the home of cricket. It will also be a test of Shah’s omnipotence since the BCCI is likely to be disappointed.
His power and presence were encapsulated in the ICC’s 45-second video of the match highlights released after the final. This has not gone down well on social media. Fans expressed their disappointment by trolling both the ICC and Shah, who features in 11 of the 23 frames. A common reaction is that the video is a PR piece for Shah, to the exclusion of key players and moments. Other reactions have been even more uncomplimentary. There has also been adverse reaction to reports that he did not attend the World Cricket Connects forum, an event he also missed last year.
Topics for discussion this year included fan engagement, franchise cricket, growth in women’s cricket, sustainability issues, social impact and shortage of willow. All of these are topical issues for the game. Gathering together “the most influential voices in the sport” alongside a major match is perhaps something that only the MCC and Lord’s can achieve. An interesting aspect of this was that the heads of the main franchise leagues met together in person for the first time. One hopes that they talked about scheduling clashes.
This is a matter which should vex Shah and the ICC. His voice is indisputably influential. The World Cricket Connects forum and its advisory board have no power. Its purpose is to make recommendations to the ICC, which is under no obligation to address them. Inviting Shah to join the advisory board — and his acceptance of the invitation — looks a little odd. Should he be part of a board which will present recommendations to the governing body of which he is the chair? Perhaps his non-attendance reflects an acceptance of this duality and potential conflict of interests. Either way, neither party appears to have made a public statement.
If Lord’s does retain the honor of hosting the WTC final, the ECB and MCC’s overtures will have been successful. It is relevant to wonder what quid pro quo may be in the offing. Perhaps the imminent influx of Indian shareholding of The Hundred franchises, including the one held by the MCC at Lord’s, is playing a part in the decision-making.
The MCC retains a privileged position within cricket. It has been the maker of the laws of cricket since its formation in 1787. Although it maintains this position, law changes will only be made after discussion with the ICC. Until 2005, Lord’s was the home of the ICC, when it moved to Dubai. Both of these pillars underpinned Lord’s as the home of cricket.
Despite the partial removal of the pillars, players say that it remains an ambition to score 100 or take five wickets at Lord’s, for which the reward is to have their name etched on the honors board. There are famous players who have not achieved this feat. Sachin Tendulkar is one of them, along with Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. On their way to the field of play, each player walks through the Long Room, lined with MCC members, oil paintings and other cricketing artifacts, representing over 200 years of ritual, legacy, shaping and preservation of the game.
The ground symbolizes cricket’s rich heritage and tradition. It has moved with the times, choosing more modern structures to sit alongside the pavilion of late 19th-century vintage. These may not be to everyone’s liking, but spectator viewing has improved along with ground capacity. Unique among Test match venues in England, spectators are allowed to bring alcohol into the ground, but no fancy dressing-up is allowed, or musical instruments.
There is no other cricket ground quite like it. Sydney has a number of similar characteristics and a rich history; the Melbourne Cricket Ground has three times the capacity of Lord’s; the newly built stadium in Ahmedabad has four times more; Eden Gardens, Kolkata, is much noisier; and Newlands at Cape Town sits iconically in the shadow of Table Mountain. Cricket’s governing body now resides in Dubai, UAE, which has become the place to go for countries that require a neutral venue or an emergency outlet.
Compared with these and other venues, Lord’s continues to hold sway over them. MCC membership and ethos is idiosyncratic. The ground and its architecture reek of history and tradition. There are no crumbling facades, and plans for redevelopment of stands are constantly under consideration. The sloping playing area provides another unique characteristic and an additional test of a player’s skill set.
London’s multicultural population means that big matches that do not involve England are able to attract sizable crowds, unlike arenas in other countries.
Lord’s has evolved and endured, while maintaining its essence, grace, dignity, prestige and tradition. These characteristics and its place in shaping the game combine to support its accolade as the home of cricket.
In concluding the discussion with my friends, they were of the view that Lord’s still holds its status. They, along with many others, hope that the uniqueness of Lord’s is strong enough to ward off the competition from India for future WTC finals.
Inzaghi looks for more Hilal firepower in must-win FIFA Club World Cup clash

- Riyadh’s Blues have scored only 1 goal in the tournament ahead of final group match against Mexico’s CF Pachuca
- Hilal midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić happy with two previous performances but says ‘we need to score more goals’
NASHVILLE: In Nashville, the US’ self-proclaimed Music City, Al-Hilal’s new coach Simone Inzaghi is hoping to fine-tune an Al-Hilal forward line that has performed worryingly off-key so far at this month’s FIFA Club World Cup.
With only a Ruben Neves penalty to show for almost 200 minutes of football in the US, the Riyadh side face Mexico’s CF Pachuca tonight knowing only a win will do if they are to progress to the round of 16.
The Blues will need to find their rhythm.
For all the praise received following the statement 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in Miami, it is Sunday’s dull stalemate with Red Bull Salzburg that is freshest in mind.
The statistics do not make for pleasant reading: across the two matches, Hilal managed 31 shots, but only six hit the target. Discount the penalty and it equates to six shots for every one on target — hardly in harmony with a team of Hilal’s wealth of ambition.
Nonetheless, Inzaghi was generous with his praise for the players’ effort after the scoreless draw.
He confirmed in his pre-match press conference yesterday that striker Aleksandar Mitrovic remains sidelined, though Saudi Arabia center-back Hassan Al-Tambakti trained as normal despite hobbling off against Salzburg.
While the front three is likely to remain unchanged with Marcos Leonardo operating between Salem Al-Dawsari and Malcom, the Hilal bench might have one new face should Inzaghi need a spark in attack.
Kaio Cesar has proclaimed himself fully recovered from the hamstring injury that has kept him out since May 16. On Wednesday, the 21-year-old winger trained with the squad before being pulled aside and taken through his paces by muscle reconditioning expert Claudio Spicciariello.
The Brazilian told Arab News he is “100 percent ready” should Inzaghi call upon him.
“I am happy to be finished with the treatment and excited to be able to help my team again,” said Kaio, who has six goal involvements since joining Hilal in January from Portugal’s Vitoria Guimaraes.
“To start the match, I think it’s difficult because I’ve been out for a while, but I can play some minutes and hopefully make a difference.
“I’m ready, so it depends on the coach now, but I am with my mind in a very good place, lots of positive thoughts, and ready to help my team with goals, assists, running, and doing whatever I can to make sure we progress.”
Sitting in third place in Group H with two points, two behind Madrid and Salzburg who also play each other tonight, the result of that match will determine how many goals Hilal need to progress.
But nothing less than victory against Pachuca will suffice if the 2021 AFC Asian Champions League winners are to reach the round of 16 — a feat no other Asian or African team has managed Stateside, with all seven other representatives from the AFC and CAF already eliminated.
“Firstly, we are only worried about ourselves and our game — we need to do our job first and then we can look at the other result,” Kaio said when asked if the result in the Madrid-Salzburg match will play on the players’ minds and add extra pressure.
“Getting the win we need first of all, that is my motivation. That is our only concern. The pressure is already big because the club is big and the responsibility is always to win every match.
“Now the pressure is even more because we need to get the victory, but we have a lot of big players who are prepared for this type of moment.”
One such player is midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The stylish Serb has been a key part of Hilal’s success since joining from Lazio in the summer of 2023.
And his role is expected to gain even more importance under Inzaghi, with whom he shone in Rome between 2016 and 2021. He said he cannot fault his teammates for the 0-0 draw with Salzburg and that they will continue on the same path that has brought them this far — with one key difference.
“We have played two good games so far,” he said. “The last game, we played very well and were just missing a goal to win the game, but this now being the last game of the group stage, we will do everything we can to win.
“I’ve said it before, but I am happy how we went in these first two games and we will go the same way until the end, but of course we need to score more goals.”
Pachuca cannot be underestimated. They have netted in both their matches so far, and while ultimately losing both, they have enough in attack to cause problems, especially in 19-year-old Elias Montiel.
The last time the reigning Concacaf Champions League winners faced an Arab side at a FIFA tournament was in last year’s Challenger Cup in Qatar. On that occasion, following a 0-0 draw with Al-Ahly, Pachuca triumphed on penalties.
When the music stops tonight, there will be no penalties: If Hilal fail to score — draw or not — they will be heading home. No encore.