Photo Credit: @WaydeDreamer (Twitter Feed)
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The World’s fastest long sprinter and World record holder in the 400 meters Wayde Van Niekerk over the weekend wedded his Fiancée’ Chesney Campbell in a Ceremony in South Africa as indicated through his Twitter feed. 

​Led by former Celtic Avery Bradley and Guard Reggie Jackson; the Detroit Piston anchored by big man Andre Drummond proved resilient over the Warriors who have faced adversity in the early going of the 2017/18 NBA Season, losing to the Houston Rockets on opening Night and then to the Memphis Grizzlies a few games later and last night to the Detroit Pistons. Their record now stands at 4 wins and 3 losses. This is unlike previous years where they had come out the gates blazing in the early going of the season.

San Antonio Spurs 94 – 97 Indiana Pacers

After suffering a defeat at the hands of a former Spur Jonathan Simmons led Orlando Magic, the San Antonio Spurs were again in for a rude awakening on Sunday night when they took on the Indiana Pacers losing 94 – 97.
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With 15 seconds left Victor Oladipo took a much needed 3 pointer over the much bigger LaMarcus Aldridge to put the Pacers up by a point which will eventually be the defining shot of the game as the Pacers will hold on to defeat the Spurs by 3 points. 

Dewi Griffiths in Frankfurt - credit: www.photorun.net
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After running the fastest marathon by a Briton in three years with 2:09:49 for fifth place in Frankfurt – and on his debut at the distance – Dewi Griffiths laughs when asked if his running and lifestyle is a “throwback” to the 1980s, an era when British men and Europeans in general had considerably greater strength in depth internationally in the event.

​ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA - The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced today that the fourth annual Aces for Humanity campaign — a joint WTA and USANA initiative supporting the USANA True Health Foundation (THF) — has raised another $25,000 USD for the not-for-profit charity, whose mission is to ensure that impoverished children and families reach their fullest potential by providing food and nutrition.
 
Beginning at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells this past March, every ace served at a Premier-level WTA event translated into a donation for the Foundation. For every ace served by the four USANA Brand Ambassadors (Caroline Wozniacki, Genie Bouchard, Monica Puig and Zheng Saisai), the WTA contributed $20 toward the campaign, while every ace served by any other player on Tour translated into a $5 donation. 

Medallists of the 2014 FIVB World Championship, Brazil (silver), Poland (gold) and Germany (bronze) in Katowice: the first two will be there to play for the 2018 title - though Germany will be absent for the first time in 16 years.

Lausanne, Switzerland, October 30, 2017 - Twenty-two of the 24 teams who will be competing in the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Italy and Bulgaria are now known, after Tunisia, Egypt and Cameroon clinched the three African spots over the weekend in Cairo.

17 Grima Merlin Varghese (IND) - 8 Jinxian Wang (CHN) - 3rd place game
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ULAANBAATAR (FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2017) -  China's Jinxiang Wang topped all scorers at the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on October 29.

One thing is for sure whenever Diego Maradona holds court: there are bound to be fascinating anecdotes and insights aplenty, not least when the topic of conversation is the ins and outs of the game itself.
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Only too happy to answer FIFA.com’s request to look back at his five most memorable FIFA World Cup™ moments, El Diez kept the conversation flowing for the best part of an hour, waxing lyrical about his first goal at the competition, his first and only red card, the Goal of the Century and a couple of other notable slices of Maradona magic. 

Standard Bank, the headline sponsor of the Proteas, launched a powerful initiative in partnership with Cricket South Africa (CSA) to develop and nurture budding cricket potential in the country.
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As part of its over-arching development initiative, which is aimed at growing the pipeline of future stars, Standard Bank has become the sponsor of the Regional Performance Centre (RPC) programme.

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• Japan, Korea DPR, China PR reach U-20 Women’s World Cup
• Japan win Asian U-19 title for a record fifth time
• Sung Hyangsim clinches Golden Boot and MVP awards

Riko Ueki struck the only goal as Japan edged Korea DPR in Saturday's 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship final to retain the Asian title in Nanjing, China PR. The success, which marks the defending champions' fifth triumph, further cements the Japanese reputation as the most accomplished outfit on the continental scene. 

Sierra Leone's male beach Volleyball team on Sunday secured their place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia after edging out topped ranked Africa side, South Africa 2:1 in the grand finale of the Beach Volleyball African qualifiers at the Lumley Beach Volleyball court in Freetown.

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• adidas Golden Ball goes to Philip Foden (England)
• Rhian Brewster (England) wins adidas Golden Boot
• Best goalkeeper: Gabriel Brazao (Brazil)

After 52 matches, the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 came to an end on 28 October. The competition culminated in a thrilling contest between two European heavyweights, with England eventually prevailing 5-2 against Spain to become world champions in this age group for the first time. 

​2017 Sport Industry Awards Agency of the Year, Levergy has agreed a pro-bono partnership with the JAG Foundation, South Africa’s biggest sports development programme. As part of the agreement, Levergy are to develop a strategic plan for Vision 2020, the foundation’s roadmap, to realize its ambition of becoming the largest sports development program in the world. This partnership will include assisting on public relations, social media, activations and events, content production and brand strategy.

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• Young Lions lifted trophy for first time
• Philip Foden named player of tournament
• Record number of goals scored  

"A new champion, a record and the stars of the future."
If you had to sum up the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 in one short sentence, this would be it, but the event brought much more besides. 

​BEIJING (FIBA 3x3 World Tour) - Zemun Master's Bogdan Dragovic was named MVP of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Bloomage Beijing Final after leading the Serbian squad to the title in Beijing, China on October 29 2017.

The 27-year-old sharpshooter hit the biggest shot of the season, a desperation 2-pointer from the 3x3 logo at the buzzer for the championship, against two-time winners Novi Sad Al Wahda.

As approved by the FIFA Council at its meeting in Kolkata on 27 October 2017, the total contributions for the participants of the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ will amount to USD 791 million, up 40 per cent compared to the previous edition in 2014.
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From this total, the biggest share –USD 400 million- will be paid as prize money to be distributed among the 32 participating teams. The winners will receive USD 38 million, while the runners-up will get USD 28 million and the third-place team USD 24 million. The minimum prize money for teams eliminated at the group stage will amount to USD 8 million each. The complete details can be consulted in this table. All prize money will be paid after the tournament.

​India captain Virat Kohli has moved back to the top position among batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings within 10 days of losing it to South Africa batsman AB de Villiers.
 
In the latest rankings update that takes into account India’s home series against New Zealand which India won 2-1 on Sunday, as well as the last match of the South Africa-Bangladesh series and the last two matches of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series, Kohli has also reached a career-high in terms of rating points.

​Cameroon (right) take on Algeria in the CAVB qualifier bronze medal match
 
Lausanne, Switzerland, October 29, 2017 – Cameroon secured the third and final CAVB place at the Italy-Bulgaria 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship when they won the bronze medal at the CAVB African Qualifier on Sunday. 
 
The west African side beat Algeria 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 27-25) and will join Egypt and Tunisia at the World Championship after they had booked their places by reaching the final on Friday. 
 

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• CAF Champions League 2017 final first leg ends in draw
• Both sides score early goals in Alexandria
• Second leg in Casablanca on 4 November

The first leg of the 2017 CAF Champions League final ended in a 1-1 draw between Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca in Alexandria, Egypt. 

​BEIJING (FIBA 3x3 World Tour 2017) - Novi Sad Al Wahda's Dejan Majstorovic led the scoring charts at the 3x3 World Tour Bloomage Beijing Final 2017 in the Chinese Capital on October 28-29.

The number one 3x3 player in the World finished the Bloomage Beijing Final with 39 points in 5 games and led Novi Sad Al Wahda to a heart-breaking loss in the final (19-17).

Bidvest Car Rental will be a major driving force behind the Tshwane Classic road cycling event that will see more than 4 000 participants race through Pretoria on 5th November.
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The event includes the 98km feature race, two supporting races and full road closure – the offering is tipped to elevate it to one of the country’s major city races in the years ahead.

Australia captain Rachael Haynes: “To come around, beat England, the World Cup champions 2-1 – we are very happy with that!”
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Defending champions Australia’s 2-1 victory over England in the ICC Women’s Championship series has not only helped them garner four useful points but also regain the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s Team Rankings.

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• Joy Bhattacharjya was a key player in organising India 2017
• Even as Project Director he was surprised at how the country took to the tournament
• Indian crowd singing as hosts played Colombia will be his most lasting memory

For a FIFA tournament to be successfully run, there many people that play their part in these endeavours. As the Project Director for the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, Joy Bhattacharjya was a key individual in making the first FIFA tournament in the South Asian country a success this month. 

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has appointed Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant (BEL) to chair the IOC Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024. Patrick Baumann (SUI) will chair the IOC Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad Los Angeles 2028.
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Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, President of the Belgian National Olympic Committee (COIB), will lead a commission composed of IOC Members and representatives of Olympic Movement stakeholders, including athletes, National Olympic Committees and International Federations. The 57-year-old Belgian, elected as an IOC Member in 2012, is also Chair of the IOC Audit Committee and a member of the IOC Finance and Ethics commissions.

​Sonia Bien-Aime in photo – Photo Credit: FIFA.com

FIFA has announced the formation of the FIFA Foundation, “with the purpose of providing a solid legal and institutional basis for FIFA’s social development initiatives. One of the core intentions of the FIFA Foundation will be to institutionalise a commitment of the FIFA Legends to engage in such activities and act as promoters of FIFA’s aims and objectives related to social development”.