This World Cup has had plenty of amazing stories, but this one might be my favourite.

In 2007, a family from the Spanish town of Mataro won a charity raffle. The prize was a photo with a Barcelona FC player at the club's stadium for a calendar.

The player the family were paired with was a 20-year-old Argentinian just breaking into the top team. His name was Lionel Messi. He was handed the family's five-month-old baby in a tub of water and asked to help bathe him.

That baby was Lamine Yamal, who has since grown into one of the game's most exciting young players.

Nineteen years on, the two will line up on opposite sides of a World Cup final. Messi for Argentina and Yamal for Spain.

Will Messi pass the torch on, or lift it for himself one more time?

8
The consecutive number of NRL games that reigning premiers, the Brisbane Broncos, have lost. The Broncos will look to bring that streak to a halt tonight when they take on ladder leaders the Penrith Panthers at Commbank Stadium in western Sydney. They currently sit 14th on the NRL ladder and, with just eight games remaining, will likely need to win almost all of them — and hope for some collapses above — to make the finals.

"The sexualisation of women athletes through selective camera angles and editing choices continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts."
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Sport executive director Glen Killane, following the release of new guidelines aimed at preventing women athletes from being filmed in sexualising or compromising ways. Developed by the EBU and European Athletics with input from Olympians, the Raising the Bar guide urges broadcasters to avoid lingering shots of athletes’ bodies, low camera angles and unnecessary slow-motion replays.

An Ikea store in Croydon, England, will host a full marathon in December with runners completing 17 laps through the showroom, checkouts and warehouse to cover the 42-kilometre distance. All 80 spots sold out within weeks of registration opening, and runners face a strict six-hour cutoff since the store must be cleared by the end of the night.

How do you take sports you love and turn it into a career?

For Oscar Yam, it meant completing a Master of Sport Management at Deakin University - building networks through volunteering and internships before landing at Table Tennis Victoria across events, membership, and stakeholder management.

He's now Events and Communications Manager at Badminton Australia, leading national championships and major international events, while supporting game-day operations with the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Inspired by Oscar? Your journey could start at here - at the #1 provider for sport in Australia.*

^{*Shanghai Ranking of Sport Science and Departments 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and QS World University Rankings by Subject Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.}

🚴 Norwegian cyclist Søren Wærenskjold won the fastest stage in Tour de France history, averaging 50.9 kilometres an hour across 161 kilometres of racing. Wærenskjold’s average speed on the Stage 11 route eclipsed a 27-year-old record set by Italian cycling legend Mario Cipollini. "It means everything, it's my biggest win so far," he said. Slovenian four-time Tour champion Tadej Pogačar retains the overall lead, three minutes and 36 seconds ahead of his Danish rival Jonas Vingegaard.

🏉 Former NSW Origin winger Zac Lomax has reportedly been offered a multi-year deal by the PNG Chiefs. The deal could see Lomax return to rugby league as soon as 2028 when the Chiefs join the competition for their first season. The code-hopping star, who joined Super Rugby's Western Force in March, recently rejected a return to the Melbourne Storm for 2027. In the meantime, a groin injury has ruled him out of Wallabies contention until at least November. 

🏉 Geelong host St Kilda at GMHBA Stadium tonight in a clash that could reshape the race for the top eight, with the ninth-placed Cats sitting just above the 10th-placed Saints. St Kilda have won four of the past seven meetings between the two sides, but carry a 27-year hoodoo into tonight’s match: they have not won in Geelong since 1999, a run of 13 straight losses at the ground.

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Argentina are through to a second straight World Cup final after two late goals sealed a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over England. The reigning champions will now face Spain as they seek back-to-back titles. 

Here's what's happening at the World Cup.

After a tense and physical opening half, England opened the scoring through winger Anthony Gordon in the 55th minute. England then dropped deeper to protect their lead, allowing Argentina to take control. 

Enzo Fernandez equalised in the 85th minute before substitute Lautaro Martinez headed in the winning goal in stoppage time. Lionel Messi set up both goals.

The loss extends England's wait for a World Cup final, having not reached one since winning the tournament in 1966.

Argentina’s celebrations were overshadowed by a political banner referencing the Falklands War. After the match, Lisandro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso held up a banner on the pitch reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Falklands are Argentine"), which may have breached FIFA's ban on political messaging. 

The South Atlantic islands are controlled by Britain but claimed by Argentina. Argentina invaded them in 1982 before British forces regained control following a short war. The banner followed comments from Argentina's Vice President Victoria Villarruel, who labelled England "usurping pirates" in the build-up to the match.

Argentina now take on Spain, the reigning European champions, who beat France 2-0 in the other semi-final earlier this week. 

A win would make Argentina the first side since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup. It could also provide a fitting farewell for 39-year-old Messi, who is likely playing in his final tournament. 

For Spain, it will be their second World Cup final, having won their only previous appearance in 2010.

Kick-off is at 5am on Monday (AEST) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. You can watch the match live on SBS and SBS On Demand.

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AFL players are twice as likely as other Australians to face online abuse, according to the league’s Players’ Association’s latest report.

The AFL Players’ Association (AFLPA) has released its fifth annual Insights and Impact Report, drawing on data gathered from AFL and AFLW players and clubs across 2025.

The report examines players’ views on their clubs’ workplace culture, their safety, development and post-career experiences. 

Here’s your breakdown.

The AFLPA is the union representing all current AFL and AFLW players, and nearly 5,000 former players. It negotiates the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the AFL on players’ behalf every five years. 

The CBA covers how much players can be paid, their share of revenue, parental leave policies, and support for ex-players. This year’s report lands ahead of the next round of CBA negotiations, and as both competitions prepare to add a 19th team.

Around 66% of AFL players and 31% of AFLW players said they had been the target of online abuse over the past year. The rate for the general population is 27%, according to data from the Australian Institute of Criminology.

Among the AFLW players who were abused online, one-third said the abuse included sexual harassment, and one-quarter faced comments about their body or appearance.

Around 34% of AFL players also told the AFLPA they had felt disrespected by broadcasters, and almost half (46%) named media scrutiny among the biggest issues facing players today.

More than a quarter (27%) of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and culturally diverse AFL players had been subjected to racism over the previous year. Social media accounted for 71% of the reported incidents, making it by far the most common place for abuse. 

A similar percentage (70%) said they didn’t feel the incident had been “dealt with” or had been addressed only partly.

The report also points to progress. From 2027, the AFLW’s tiered salary structure will be scrapped, with a minimum salary of $72,373 and a total club cap of about $2.46 million.

Nearly all AFL and AFLW players (97% and 96%) reported at least moderate interest in playing forms of representative football, such as State of Origin or international matches. A State of Origin match between Western Australia and Victoria in February drew 58,141 fans.

AFLPA CEO James Gallagher said players want to help shape the game as it grows, but cautioned that current support structures are struggling to keep up with the pace of change.

Looking ahead, the AFLPA flagged plans to pilot an online safety platform with players in response to the abuse data. It has also set up an Equality, Inclusion and Safety Committee with the AFL, chaired by former Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Helen Szoke.