By Pete Wilson 6 October 2010 England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup steps up a level today with 18 pledges to target groups that could yet influence the choice of hosts for the tournament. In a carefully delivered message aimed at winning support from Fifa Executive Committe members, fans and the international media, the […]

By Nick Harris 6 October 2010 The acrimonious battle for control of Liverpool is taking a series of extraordinary twists following two “credible” bids for the club which were rejected on Tuesday by owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who are now seeking to remove MD Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the […]

By Alexandra Willis 5 October 2010 . Tennis Australia threw down the gauntlet to the Grand Slam nations as it announced a series of attention-grabbing changes to the 2011 Australian Open, the first Major tennis tournament of the calendar year. Launched under the slogan “a whole new level,” top of the list was the offer […]

5 October 2010 . Caroline Wozniacki is within touching distance of clinching the world No.1 women’s tennis ranking after winning the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last week. As revealed first by sporting intelligence, the Dane merely has to reach the quarter-finals or better in this week’s China Open in Beijing to surpass Serena […]

5 October 2010 Can you identify the sporting arena? We take an aerial view of a topical ball park, football stadium, marathon course, golf course, Games venue, race track, iconic arena, athletic theatre (some literally theatres), pitch, park, stretch of water or wherever else sport takes place. And we ask you to identify it with the […]

By Nick Harris 4 October 2010 It was 4 September 2001, and the Albanian football team had travelled to Newcastle to play England in a qualifier for the 2002 World Cup. Norman Wisdom, a megastar in Albania, came along to the Albanian team lodgings, a motel on the fringes of Newcastle where I was spending […]

By Nick Harris 4 October 2010 Graeme McDowell has become the clear favourite to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award after winning the crucial deciding match in the Ryder Cup this afternoon to regain the trophy for Europe from America. McDowell, 31, from Portrush in Northern Ireland, was already among the leading […]

By Nick Harris 3 October 2010 Liverpool have suffered a shocking 2-1 home defeat to Blackpool this afternoon following the latest set of protests against the American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The two sides were meeting for the first time January 1971, and this was Blackpool’s first win at Anfield since a 3-1 […]

By Brian Sears 1 October 2010 Nine London clubs have played in the Premier League. Three of them have been ever-present: Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. Two of them are vying for the right to be all-time Premier League kings of London and they meet this weekend when Chelsea host Arsenal. Before that match kicks off, […]

By Nick Harris 29 September 2010 The Crown Prosecution Service has told sportingintelligence today that it is not yet in a position to decide whether there is any criminal case against any of the Pakistan cricketers at the centre of the Lord’s “spot fix” scandal, let alone close to pressing charges. The case is complicated […]