NBA legend and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan has become the latest high-profile figure to invest in esports, joining a $26m funding round by leading US esports organisation aXiomatic.
The star is among several new investors in the parent company of Team Liquid – a powerhouse of esports across multiple titles, including League of Legends.
It follows a trend of significant fundraising by north American League of Legends Championship Series franchises this year.
Co-chairman of aXiomatic Ted Leonsis commented: "The next generation of sports fans are esports fans.
"Esports is the fastest-growing sector in sports and entertainment, and aXiomatic is at the forefront of that growth. We are thrilled to welcome Michael to aXiomatic and look forward to working together on some truly cutting-edge opportunities."

SA Rugby launched what it hopes will grow into the definitive A to Z of Black Rugby, at the Springbok Experience Rugby Museum at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Thursday.
The touch screen installation – which was developed with the help of funding from the National Lotteries Commission – is the first stage of an ambitious project to collate the often ‘hidden’ history of black rugby in South Africa until the sport’s unification in 1992.
The objective of the work is to capture the A to Z of black rugby prior to unity. The biographies of all 409 players to have appeared for the pre-unity African, coloured and non-racial rugby boards will be featured in due course, as well as the stories of clubs, trophies, administrators, federations and other personalities or events that may have shaped the development of black rugby.
Mr Mark Alexander, president of SA Rugby, said at the launch that the work was a first step to filling an embarrassing vacuum in the story of black rugby.

© AFP / Getty Images
The following world records have been ratified...
World recordsMen's decathlon: 9126 Kevin Mayer (FRA) Talence 16 Sep 2018
Previous: 9045 Ashton Eaton (USA) Beijing 29 Aug 2015
Men's marathon: 2:01:39 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) Berlin 16 Sep 2018
Previous: 2:02:57 Dennis Kimetto (KEN) Berlin 28 Sep 2014
World U20 recordsMen's 5000m: 12:43.02 Selemon Barega (ETH) Brussels 31 Aug 2018
Previous: 12:47.53 Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH) Paris 6 Jul 2012
Men's 110m hurdles: 12.99 (0.3m/s) Damion Thomas (JAM) Kingston 23 Jun 2018
Equalled: 12.99 (0.5m/s) Wilhem Belocian (FRA) Eugene 24 Jul 2014

LauncherOne will be strapped to the bottom of a converted Virgin Atlantic plane named ‘Cosmic Girl’ and flown to 30,000 feet where it’s thrusters will engage taking it to outer space. LauncherOne was ‘mated’ with Cosmic Girl for the first time.
About the rocket:

• LauncherOne at 70feet is twice the length of a London bus and will travel at astonishing speeds of over 20x the speed of sound
• The rocket weighs 57,000 pounds or 25800kg which is the equivalent to 25 small family cars

Tokyo, 26 October 2018 – The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) and the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (Beijing 2022) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which both organisations will cooperate with the aim of ensuring successful delivery of their respective Games as well as promoting further Olympic and Paralympic movements in East Asia.
Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 have committed to cooperate and exchange knowledge in various ways. The two Organising Committees will exchange expertise through the IOC and IPC’s knowledge transfer programmes and through an exchange of personnel. They will also share games-related experiences in areas such as sustainability, Olympic and Paralympic education and the utilisation of emerging technologies.

Last month, Belgium joined France in becoming the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking’s first-ever joint leaders. Now the Red Devils are in sole possession of top spot, albeit by the narrowest possible margin – 1733 ranking points to Les Bleus’ 1732.
The top two remain out in front after a month in which each of them enjoyed a win and a draw, with Belgium and France beating Switzerland (8th, unchanged) and Germany (14th, down two) respectively in the UEFA Nations League and emerging with honours even from matches against the Netherlands (15th, up 2) and Iceland (36th, unchanged) respectively. 
The Dutch, meanwhile, have risen on the back of a fine 3-0 Nations League win over their struggling German rivals, and other sides have also profited from success in the same competition. England (5th, up 1), for example, have swapped places with Uruguay (6th, down 1) after winning 3-2 away to Spain (9th, unchanged), while Norway (48th, up 4) have moved into the top 50 after back-to-back victories, and Russia (41st, up 5) have also maintained their recent momentum by staying top of Group 2. 

The 100 Thieves esports franchise, founded by former professional Call of Duty player Matt Haag, has added globally known rapper and record producer Drake and US entertainment entrepreneur Scooter Braun as co-owners of the organisation.
The pair’s arrivals on the ownership group, which also includes Cleveland Cavaliers co-owner Dan Gilbert, comes after Braun and Drake invested in the team during their recent round of Series A funding.
Both men will become strategic advisors to the business, which also runs an apparel brand, while Braun will also join the board of directors.
100 Thieves, which has teams competing in the North American League of Legends Championship Series, Fortnite and the Clash Royale League, was ranked 11th in a list of the most valuable esports organisations, published by Forbes.
The financial terms of Drake’s and Braun’s investment have not been disclosed, although a statement from the franchise announced that the funding efforts had seen more than US$25 million raised.

MZANSI Super League (MSL) T20 tournament tickets will go on sale from this Friday morning (26 October), costing from R50 each for all 32 matches. The competition takes place from 16 November to 16 December.
Tickets will be available through www.ticketpros.co.za  and across all TICKETPRO retail outlets – Edgars, Jet, CNA and Spar across the country.
The much-anticipated competition blasts off with a cracking Day/Night clash featuring the traditional Cape-Tshwane rivalry, with Cape Town Blitz taking on Tshwane Spartans at PPC Newlands on Friday, 16 November (match starts at 19h00).
Both outfits are coached by former Proteas stalwarts in Ashwell Prince (Blitz) and Mark Boucher (Spartans) as they lead their galaxy of assembled stars into the inaugural event’s first weekend.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) and New Balance have launched #WornAsOne, a campaign designed to celebrate the diverse make-up of the Proteas team, their supporters and the strength that this brings them. 
The new Proteas ODI jersey, featuring at the centre of #WornAsOne, has been created as a reflection of this diversity. Being the most colourful Proteas shirt placed into the SA market, it has been created to be worn to show a common bond and purpose between all South Africans – backing our national team.
“The individuals which make up our team are all from very different backgrounds, cultures and upbringings. This is unique in international cricket. We consider this a massive strength and differentiator.  Passion for, and commitment to the Proteas is our bond, a bond that has been created through the legacies left by previous generations of Proteas players.  Through different ideas, different approaches, different personalities, all playing under shared values and for a common purpose, our uniquely South African bond is cemented.  This is also true for our supporters, we are proud to have South Africans from all walks of life behind us every time we take to the field.  We hope that this new kit, the most colourful ever, will be a reminder of this strength for the team and a catalyst to bring all South Africans together as one voice of support for the Proteas,” said Proteas Captain, Faf du Plessis.

Lausanne, 25 October 2018 - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rendered a decision covering three appeals that were filed against the decision issued by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) on 21 April 2014 in the case of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) v. Johan Bruyneel, Pedro Celaya Lezama and Jose Martí Martí (the “Challenged Decision”).
In the Challenged Decision, the AAA imposed a period of ineligibility of 10 years on Johan Bruyneel, former manager/sporting director of various professional cycling teams, and 8 years each for Pedro Celaya Lezama, team physician, and Jose Martí Martí, team trainer, following an investigation into multiple alleged doping rule violations in the sport of cycling.

The South African Football Coaches Association (SAFCA) and SAFA are working closely in beefing up the technical aspect of the game as the two continue to consolidate their working relationship.
Both SAFCA President, Greg Mashilo and head of technical, Simon Ngomane completed their three-year suspension last August and were welcomed back into the system by SAFA President, Dr Danny Jordaan.
Mashilo and Ngomane were suspended in August 2015 for breaching, among others, the SAFA Communications Policy.
“We are glad that the SAFA President has welcomed us with open arms into the football system and we are eager to contribute in making sure we take our football forward,” said Mashilo.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth) will for the first time host the Telkom Knockout final on Saturday 08 December 2018.
The Premier Soccer League, together with partners Telkom made the announcement on Tuesday night during the Telkom Knockout quarterfinal draw.
Two of the eight clubs left in the competition will be competing for the R4million prize money. The eight clubs are: Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Maritzburg United, AmaZulu, SuperSport United, Bidvest Wits and Baroka FC
The #TKO2018 final kick-off time and ticketing information will be communicated in due course.
However, excitement is already building-up ahead of this event.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium has hosted two domestic Cup finals: both in 2015 – but this is for the first time the Telkom Knockout Final is contested at the venue.

The process of securing a naming sponsor and unlocking the commercial potential of Cape Town Stadium is about to start.  Lesley de Reuck, CEO of Cape Town Stadium (CTS), says the joint venture appointed by the City of Cape Town, is ready to start the process that will be completed in 2019.
The City appointed the joint venture (JV) following a thorough tender process. The JV is SMSA Commercial Consultants, comprising of SAIL, Stadium Management SA and S-Factor. Previously, the Stadium was placed under the management of a municipal entity, similar to the Cape Town International Convention Centre, for greater commercial flexibility.
De Reuck said: “This is the next major step in managing Cape Town Stadium along business lines. The aim is to generate revenue, bid for and attract international and national events to Cape Town. This will benefit the economy and create event and tourist related jobs. This will ultimately reduce our dependence on City funding, which is essential for all public amenities. “The iconic 2010 FIFA World Cup stadium and semi-final host is a multi-purpose venue set in an urban park with views of the Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain, one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. It is developing its business model of tenants and commercial users of the entire stadium or parts of its facilities and venues,” he said.

The sport of beach tennis is set to flourish with the news that Tennis South Africa (TSA) and KIA Motors have partnered to launch a high-profile International Tennis Federation (ITF) event circuit in December 2018.
Hosted at George Lea Park, Sandton, today’s partnership announcement and press launch of the KIA Summer Slam beach tennis tour was supported by plenty of athletes from other sporting codes, including Erin Burger and Lenize Potgieter from SA Netball; Wihan Lubbe and Aaron Phangiso from bizhub Highveld Lions as well as Grant Thomson and Wandile Makwetu from Multiply Titans.
Spanning two weeks, the four events that make up the KIA Summer Slam beach tennis tour will all be ITF ranking tournaments and, coupled with a total prize money pot in excess of $35 000 (+-R495 556), the crowds will witness some of the world’s best beach tennis players on the South African shores. The final event, in Plettenberg Bay, will be one of the five richest beach tennis events in the world in terms of prize money.

Ghana have been handed the mantle to host the 2023 All Africa Games.
This will be the first time Ghana will host the competition and will join the likes of Congo Brazzaville, Mali, Nigeria, Algeria, Kenya, Egypt, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique as the only countries to have hosted the event.
Deputy Sports Minister Hon. Perry Okudzeto weeks ago confirmed Ghana’s decision to bid for the competition.

The Bukom Fist of Fury Boxing League and Championship Fight Nights enters its second week on Friday, October 26, 2018 with some exciting parings at the Bukom Boxing Arena.
Over 100 boxers representing 14 gyms / clubs are competing in the 2018 Bukom Fist of Fury Boxing League.
According to the organisers six juvenile, 16 amateur and four professional bouts would be held on Friday 26 October at the Bukom Boxing Arena.
Akotoku Academy faces Seconds Out, Attoh Quarshie meets Wisdom, Charles Quartey clashes with Sea View and Square Deal takes on Panix Gym.
For the professionals, Richmond Ashley will fight Eric Quarm in a lightweight contest, Felix Williams will also meet Buedi Saruna from Togo for the West African Super featherweight title.
Theophilus Tetteh will also box Felix Okine for the National Featherweight title.

DStv Compact customers will get to enjoy an even wider variety of football with Spanish league football (La Liga) will soon be available on the package.
SuperSport 7 HD, the channel dedicated to La Liga, will go live on the Compact package on Wednesday, October 24 from 8am.
“The DStv Compact customer has generally over the last few years evolved from being a local football purist into one that also shows appreciation for international football. It’s this appreciation and their loyalty that we’re rewarding by making La Liga football available to them,” explained SuperSport’s chief executive Gideon Khobane.
Fittingly, the switch comes just in time for the famed El Clasico, the match between super giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, which takes place on Sunday (kickoff 5.15pm, SS7).
The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus and Lionel Messi’s elbow fracture means that football’s greatest club rivalry of the last decade will be without the illustrious duo for the first time in 11 years.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino's plans for two new global tournaments are back on the agenda at the governing body with soccer officials set to discuss the proposals on Friday.
Fifa's ruling council meets in Kigali, Rwanda and Infantino's plan for a new 'mini World Cup' and an expanded Club World Cup feature among the items for discussion according to the agenda document.
Fifa did not immediately respond to a request for comment and it was not clear if the plans will be put to a vote.
Infantino wrote to Fifa Council members in May outlining his plans which he says are backed by a 'solid and serious' group of investors willing to spend $25 billion over a 12-year cycle starting in 2021.
The letter did not outline the identity of the investors but several media reports have stated that Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group is heading the consortium.

Discovery and the PGA TOUR have unveiled the branding for a new, international streaming platform, which aims to “unite the community of golf fans around the world."
The media giant’s ‘GOLFTV, powered by the PGA TOUR’  brand will underpin its new live and on-demand video service, which will launch globally outside the United States on 1st January 2019.
Discovery claims GOLFTV will offer fans “a one-stop destination to access the widest range of golf content” on every screen and device. It will provide more than 2,000 hours of live action each year as well as premium content on-demand.  
Live coverage will include the six Tours operating under the PGA TOUR umbrella and nearly 150 tournaments annually - including THE PLAYERS Championship, the FedExCup Playoffs and the Presidents Cup.
Commenting on the launch, Alex Kaplan, president and general manager, Discovery Golf, said: “Our long-term goal is to create a must-have experience that truly enhances the way global fans watch, play and engage with the game every day. Unveiling the new GOLFTV brand is an exciting next step in our journey.

Former Bafana Bafana striker Sbusiso ‘Rhee’ Zuma has launched an initiative in the form of an u17 Schools tournament called Rheeloaded Schools Cup which he said would be run in conjunction with the South African Football Association (SAFA).
Zuma who had successful overseas stints in Denmark and Germany and has played in the FIFA World Cup for Bafana Bafana, the UEFA Champions and Europa League Cup tournaments says the initiative was one way of giving back to society on the African continent.
Zuma has already started a soccer academy in the Eastern Cape and his intention is to grow this by having such academies across the African continent.
“This is one way one way of thanking the people of this great continent (Africa) for supporting me all these years,” he said adding that the u17 Rheeloaded Schools Cup would make a direct contribution towards strengthening grassroots football.

Photo Credit: Gesine Milde
Horst Milde celebrates his 80th birthday today, October 24. The „father“ of the Berlin Marathon stands for the development of the great culture for running in Berlin. He created a number of milestone events in Berlin: the Berlin Cross Country Run at Teufelsberg as a student at the Freie Universität Berlin back in 1964, the Berlin Marathon started in 1974, the women's race in the Tiergarten which now has 18,000 participants (first held in 1984 with help of Katherine Switzer), the Berlin Half Marathon (now 26,000 participants), the team relay with 27,000 runners (all these races are the biggest of its kind in Germany). The Night Run on Kurfürstendamm, the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day races and even the Berlin Prisoners’ race for inmates in the Plötzensee Prison are further examples of Milde’s inventions. Still the chairman of German Road Races (GRR) Horst Milde has developed running in Germany for over half a century.
 
He initiated seven German championships in Berlin, including the German Cross-Country Championships, Marathon Championships, 10,000m Men’s / 3000m Women's Championships, German Youth and School Relay Championships and between 1976 – 1984, several German University Cross-Country Championships within the SCC Cross-Country event.

NEW YORK (Tuesday, October 23, 2018) – D.C. United forward Wayne Rooney was voted the Alcatel Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for the 34th week of the 2018 MLS season.
 
Following a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC on Wednesday, Rooney led D.C. United to a 3-1 win over New York City FC at Audi Field on Sunday with two goals scored to clinch a spot in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. D.C. United extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches, including five straight victories, and now sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 50 points (14-11-8 overall record). On the season, Rooney has tallied 12 goals and seven assists, including seven goals scored over the club’s five-game winning streak.

Noel Kojo -Ganson has been appointed to the position of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for MTN Ghana, effective 15th October 2018.
Noel’s career with MTN Ghana started in May 2012 as the General Manager Consumer Marketing and he has been instrumental in providing commercial leadership and positioning the MTN brand both in this role and in CMO acting roles.  
In his time with MTN Ghana, he is credited with successfully delivering a wide variety of projects that have positively impacted business performance over the years. Under his stewardship the business has seen and continues to witness positive growth and performance.
Prior to joining MTN Ghana, Noel worked in several Marketing roles with SABMiller Ghana and Group Office in South Africa. Noel is a chartered Marketer and holds an MBA in Marketing from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

The Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) in conjunction with the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF) and the National Juvenile Boxing Committee will hold a press conference at the MJ Grand hotel at East Legon at 11am on Wednesday October 24, 2018 to brief the media on the second week of the Bukom Fist of Fury Boxing League and Championship Fight Nights.
According to Moses Foh Amoaning, consultant to the GBA and GBF the media would be briefed on the current situation in Ghana Boxing after the bout between Wasiru Mohammed and Isaac Sackey as well as the second week of the Boxing League and the official opening of the Fist of Fury Boxing League by the deputy Minister of Youth & Sports on Friday at the Bukom Boxing Arena..
He said the League had been exciting and thrilling despite the weather not being favourable on the first day.
According to the former GBA president, the media has been supportive and prayed that they promote the League more on their various platforms and stations.

The doubles draw for the 2018 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global was announced today, with play set to begin on Thursday, October 26. Eight teams will battle to lift the prestigious WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy as they compete for $1.4 million in prize money.