logo
Euro 2028 among events to benefit as UK govt pledges $1.2 billion investment in sport

Euro 2028 among events to benefit as UK govt pledges $1.2 billion investment in sport

Reuters7 hours ago

June 20 (Reuters) - The UK government has pledged to spend more than 900 million pounds ($1.21 billion) to improve grassroots sporting infrastructure and support major events in the country such as Euro 2028, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said.
More than 500 million pounds would be used to support the delivery of world-class events, including next year's European athletics championships and the start of the men's and women's races of the Tour de France in 2027.
"This major backing for world-class events will drive economic growth across the country, delivering on our Plan for Change," Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said in a statement on Thursday.
Affirming a commitment made by Nandy's predecessor Lucy Frazer in 2023, the government will also invest at least 400 million pounds in communities around the country to build new or upgrade existing grassroots sports facilities.
($1 = 0.7412 pounds)

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Who is Palace target Diomande?
Who is Palace target Diomande?

BBC News

time16 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Who is Palace target Diomande?

With Marc Guehi potentially on the move, Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in replacing him with Sporting centre-back Ousmane Diomande for a club record Coast-born Diomande, 21, has long been on the radar of top European sides. He joined the academy at Danish club Midtjylland in January 2020 and made his senior debut three years ago on loan with Portuguese second division side performances earned a mid-season move to Sporting, where Diomande was nurtured by Ruben Amorim. He started the coach's last home game in charge of Sporting as they beat Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League last November. Diomande, who has nine caps for his country, made 46 appearances in 2024-25 as Sporting won the domestic attempted and completed more passes than any other player in Portugal's top flight last season and also carried the ball five metres or more up the pitch on an unrivalled 598 occasions, highlighting his ball-playing is strong in the air too. His 65% success rate in aerial duels was the seventh highest in the division, and 11% more than Guehi managed in the 2024-25 Premier League.

What's the point of the UK talking to Tehran? More than you might think…
What's the point of the UK talking to Tehran? More than you might think…

The Independent

time17 minutes ago

  • The Independent

What's the point of the UK talking to Tehran? More than you might think…

Europe's frantic diplomatic mission in Geneva may go down as one of its most arduous ventures on the world stage – and also one of its most consequential. The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany must persuade a battered Iranian regime to kow-tow to the US and Israel over its nuclear ambitions, or face likely annihilation. All three European powers would, of course, love to see the back of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei's corrupt and brutal theocracy. But they rightly fear the regime's capacity to unleash death and destruction before it goes. If Trump joins Israel in the war on Iran with US bunker-busting bombs on nuclear sites, and it succeeds in killing Khamenei, there will still be plenty of Iranian hardliners left who will be willing to fight to the death. Previous inhibitions will not apply. That could mean use of a dirty bomb in the West, or chaos unleashed in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 90 per cent of the Gulf's oil passes. For the world at large, the stakes are that high. British foreign secretary David Lammy – after meeting his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff in Washington on Thursday – said that the UK was 'determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon". He thinks a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution, as Trump dithers over whether to attack the regime, as US neo-cons and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are demanding – or whether to heed the no-more-wars mantra of his Maga base. And so, in search of a diplomatic solution, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is meeting with his European counterparts in Switzerland. But what can be achieved? For all their good intentions – French president Emmanuel Macron said the diplomats would make a "comprehensive, diplomatic and technical offer of negotiation" to Iran – the Europeans are unlikely to persuade the Iranians to pull back from the brink. At least not on their own. While one Iranian diplomat said Tehran was willing to pursue 'a balanced and pragmatic policy in its dealings with Europe, and engage rationally with both East and West', Araghchi said there will be 'no talks' with the US over Iran's nuclear programme while the Israeli bombardment continues: 'The Americans want negotiations and have sent messages several times, but we have clearly said that there is no room for dialogue.' But there is a useful point to holding talks on neutral ground with Tehran – and it's not simply to ask them nicely and face-to-face if they wouldn't mind stopping with their nuclear enrichment programme. Rather than relaying Trump and Netanyahu's demands to Iran, Geneva is about feeding back to the White House – translating Tehran's position for the US president. The Europeans aren't there to stop the war, they're Trump-whispering for the Ayatollah. It's not clear that European diplomats have the connections they need to have a greater role to play than this, useful though it will prove. But when it comes to a practical breakthrough, some of the Gulf states might, however. Behind the scenes, figures in what some dub 'Iran's deep state' – many of them members of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – are talking to representatives of Oman and Qatar; it might be these Middle Eastern countries that can make the difference, in a second stage of dialogue. Qatar, for its part, will likely hold more sway over Washington than London or Paris. All the peacemakers, though, will be battling the plans of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Nothing less that the obliteration of the regime in Tehran will satisfy him. Worryingly, Israel's premier appears to have been joined by an increasingly pro-war Fox News, with Sean Hannity this week declaring that Iran 'is the biggest existential threat to the entire western world'. The West should have learnt by now – after the disasters in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya – that enforced regime change in the Middle East is best avoided. Andreas Krieg, a leading Iran expert at King's College London thinks regime change in Iran would 'not be clean or peaceful'. If the current theocracy falls, there is no significant alternative political-social structure to lead this country of 92 million into the light. The IRGC, a ruthless military-industrial complex, would not easily cede control of the Iranian economy. Instead, with 190,000 personnel and a similar number of Basij paramilitaries to call on, it might well create a military dictatorship. The West and Israel would be back to square one. And the Iranian people would be no better off. Ironically, the last time the West brought about regime change in Iran – by booting out, in 1953, the democratically elected premier Mohammad Mosaddegh (for which we have British Petroleum and the CIA to thank) – it laid the groundwork for the emergence of the current Islamic Republic in the 1970s. In between rounds of golf, as he ponders his next steps in the Middle East, you can't help wishing Potus would be shown – by Lammy or anyone else – the relevant pages of a history book. It is within the president's power to unleash hell – or stop history repeating itself. After the Geneva talks, let's hope he listens to what the Trump-whisperers tell him.

Moneystone Park plan approved for Moorlands despite dozens objecting
Moneystone Park plan approved for Moorlands despite dozens objecting

BBC News

time18 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Moneystone Park plan approved for Moorlands despite dozens objecting

The final phase of plans to redevelop a former quarry and turn it into a holiday park have been lodges, an archery building and a watersports centre will be built at Moneystone Quarry near Cheadle, Staffordshire, as part of a wider Moneystone Park scheme from Laver decision came after plans for the first 190 lodges at the site were approved on appeal, having initially been refused by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council in 2023, over concerns about the Woodford, planning advisor for Laver Leisure, told councillors that the development would be a "unique and exciting scheme". "It's a well-designed and attractive scheme that successfully integrates the timber lodges, watersports centre and archery centre into a strong landscape framework," he told Thursday's meeting."There are significant economic and social benefits which the scheme will bring to the area." There were 48 objections to the scheme, including from councillor Su Beardmore, who represents Staffordshire Moorlands – Churnet Valley on Staffordshire County Reform councillor said the proposed 60 lodges were "effectively static-type caravans with metal chassis and brickwork skirting"."It is concerning that such a design is primarily aimed at cost-savings and stringent requirements associated with building regulations, rather than enhancing a rural environment with a high-quality design," she also referred to concerns raised by some residents over the site's instability but the authority was told the removal of water from the land had made the ground more stable. Before voting to approve the plans, councillors said a planning inspector's decision to approve the previous application on appeal meant they could not block the new proposal on design Mark Johnson said: "I too wish these lodges exhibited slightly more flair, but, as has been made very clear, our hands are tied by the inspector's decision."Councillor Keith Hoptroff added that the development would improve the quarry's safety and make "good use of a vast site". This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store