The five franchises for the inaugural Women's Premier League season in India have been sold for £465M ($576M). The WPL, which takes place in March, is a women's version of the Indian Premier League, the world's biggest Twenty20 franchise competition. Owners of three existing IPL teams -- Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals -- secured the rights for the women's franchises, while the other two teams were awarded to Adani Group (Ahmedabad) and Capri Global (Lucknow). The owners of four other IPL franchises -- Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad -- were unsuccessful with their bids. The Board of Control for Cricket in India previously sold the media rights for the WPL to Viacom 18 for approximately £96M ($119M) (BBC, 1/25). The eight franchisees in the men's IPL were sold for $723.6M "before the maiden edition" in 2008. The WPL player auction will take place next month. The BCCI on Monday had cleared 17 technical bids for the closed door bidding that took place Wednesday (TIMES OF INDIA, 1/25).

The most expensive franchise was Ahmedabad, which was sold to Adani Sportsline for $158M. Parent company Adani Group is "currently in the eye of a storm," having being accused of "pulling the largest con in corporate history" by U.S. investment firm Hindenburg Research. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Indiawin Sports acquired the Mumbai franchise for $111M, Royal Challengers Sports Bengaluru for $110M and JSW GMR Cricket Delhi for $99M. Capri Global Holdings acquired the Lucknow franchise for $93M (VARIETY, 1/25).

Russian fans attending Novak Djokovic’s "demolition" of Russian Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open "have been detained by police at Melbourne Park after allegedly threatening security." A fan brandishing a flag bearing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s image is "among four people police are interviewing following the incident outside Rod Laver Arena." The group of fans gathered on the stairs between two of Australia’s iconic tennis stadiums, Rod Laver and Margaret Court Arenas, to make a "provocative political statement." Supporters have "flouted policies banning Russian and Belarusian flags from the grounds of Melbourne Park since the tournament began on January 16," but Wednesday's incident is "the most serious breach yet" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/26). One of the fans who was arrested wore a pro-war "Z" t-shirt. Police are trying to "uncover how the items had been smuggled through the gates." Video footage and photographs "quickly emerged online, leaving organisers embarrassed" (LONDON TIMES, 1/25).

The "very real possibility" of an all-Belarusian women’s singles final will not "tempt Australian Open officials to relax a ban on fans attending with Russian or Belarusian national flags." Belarusians Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka are in opposite semifinals on Thursday and "could meet in Saturday night’s final." They are playing under a neutral flag as part of governing bodies’ decision in July after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As "the war rages on," TA's stance "remains a divisive topic, as was evidenced in the early days of the Open" (SMH, 1/26).

Men’s doubles matches at Wimbledon "will be reduced to best of three sets at this year’s championships." The move aligns the All England Club with the other grand slam tournaments, which have all "dispensed with the longest format." The French Open dropped down from five to three sets in 1990, followed by the US Open in 1993 and Australian Open in 2002. New York and Melbourne "had reinstated five sets in the 1980s after an earlier reduction to three." A Wimbledon spokesperson said that the decision was made "following a wide-ranging consultation" that will "provide the referee’s office with greater certainty when scheduling matches." Nick Kyrgios said that he was "not looking forward to playing five-set doubles matches before Wimbledon last year." While the shift will "reduce the workload for those who wish to partake in the singles and doubles at Wimbledon," men’s individual matches continue to be played over five sets, whereas women’s are over three (LONDON TIMES, 1/25).

La Liga North America, the joint venture between the Spanish league and Relevent Sports Group, on Wednesday announced the launch of El Partidazo, a year-long event series highlighting some of Spain’s biggest soccer teams and matches, including Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Real Betis and Valencia. El Partidazo, which translates to "the great game," will feature the can’t-miss match of the month with watch parties and activations occurring simultaneously at multiple bars and restaurants across the country. El Partidazo debuted around the Barcelona-Atleti match on January 8 at Tom’s Watch in L.A., Denver and Washington, DC, Novo Brazil Brewing in San Diego, and 77 Sportbar in Miami. The second activation will be held on February 5 for the Barcelona-Sevilla match in six U.S. markets (N.Y., L.A., Miami, Houston, San Diego and Denver). The dates and locations of future editions of El Partidazo in March, April and May will be announced later this season.

Fans in attendance at each location will have the opportunity to not only watch matches like El Clásico (Barcelona-Real Madrid), the Madrid Derby (Real Madrid-Atletico Madrid) and El Gran Derbi (Sevilla-Real Betis), but also win merchandise and prizes, including a trip for two to Spain to watch a match in person during the '23-24 season (La Liga North America).

Australian women's soccer player Cortnee Vine said that shifting the Matildas' Women’s World Cup opener from Allianz Stadium to the 83,500-seat Accor Stadium in July "would yield an insane atmosphere" and be a "massive boost for players." Speaking at the launch of the official FIFA 2023 World Cup ball in Bondi, Vine "responded to the moves being made by Football Australia and FIFA" to relocate Matildas’ opener against Ireland. The venue swap is "set to be confirmed in coming weeks." The initial batch of tickets for Allianz "sold out almost immediately," but Accor’s 83,500-seat capacity will mean almost 40,000 more people will get "the chance to attend." It would "not only represent the Matildas’ biggest ever crowd, but it would also be the second-biggest crowd in Women’s World Cup history" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/24).

Officials believe transgender soccer players "will compete at the FIFA Women’s World Cup" in Australia and New Zealand this July and August as the sport "grapples with gender identification rules." FIFA is currently "reviewing its policy surrounding transgender players," which is based on men self-identifying as women, or vice versa, and "also those classed as inter sex" -- where women have naturally occurring high levels of testosterone or were born with extra chromosomes. But "any change to the current rules won’t be in place" before the Women’s World Cup, and some teams "will be able to field players who were born male" in their lineups. FIFA Women’s Program Director Sarai Bareman said that three transgender players "had contacted her about the review process" and that "she believes there are others" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/25).

NBC drew 1.92 million viewers for Manchester United-Arsenal on Sunday in the 11:30am ET window, marking the most-watched Premier League on record for U.S. airwaves. ManU-Arsenal easily passed the previous record of 1.43 million viewers set by Liverpool-Chelsea in August 2021 on NBC. The ManU-Arsenal audience includes an average minute audience of 515,000 viewers on NBC Digital outlets (including Peacock), which is a record for a simul-streamed Premier League match (the record for an exclusively-digital match is 808,000 for Tottenham-Arsenal two Sundays ago). ManU-Arsenal also drew a separate 382,000 viewers on Telemundo, marking the best Spanish-language Premier League match since Manchester City-Liverpool last April (440,000 viewers) (Austin Karp, SBJ).

Meanwhile, ManU and Liverpool supporters have "set aside their long-standing hostilities to come together by calling for tougher ownership rules" for English soccer clubs. The clubs’ two biggest fan representative groups -- the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (M.U.S.T.) and Spirit of Shankly (SOS) -- have "united to issue a rare joint statement urging government ministers to include a much more robust test for owners and directors test of football clubs in a forthcoming white paper" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/25). See more on this story in today's SBJ Daily.

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The National Rugby League is "facing a player revolt" just five weeks out from the start of the 2023 season, with "disgruntled stars refusing to rule out strike action." The players and NRL have not been able to reach a consensus on a new CBA "despite months of negotiations." Players have started boycotting NRL promotional activities and "have not ruled out striking." Rugby League Players’ Association CEO Clint Newton said that the "only way to solve the stand-off was for parties to lock themselves in a room until an agreement was reached." He added, "That is the only way we’re going to make progress -- by consistently meeting for long periods of time." The RLPA is "pushing the NRL for further funding of injury, retirement and hardship programs." The NRL says it has pledged A$200M ($142M) over five years, but "does not want to relinquish full control of the funds to the players’ union" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/25).

The IOC on Wednesday "made clear" that it wants Russians to "compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics as neutral athletes," despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. The IOC board met this week to "formalize a position after rounds of conference calls last week" (AP, 1/25). See more in today's SBJ Closing Bell.

Sports betting consulting firm Odds On Compliance announced the launch of Odds On Compliance - Europe. Cheryl Jones, former chief legal and compliance officer for Lady Luck Games AB and G Games Ltd, has been named president of Odds On's new division (Odds On Compliance).

The UEFA Nations League "will be expanded with a new knockout round after 2024." The knockout round will be played in March and "create continuity between the group phase ending in November and the Finals in June" (REUTERS, 1/25).

French Rugby Federation President Bernard Laporte was "released without charge" after being detained by police on Tuesday as "part of a tax fraud investigation" (BBC, 1/24).

"When we look at it from a zoomed-out perspective, we need to really see what the priorities should be with investment and we can't make it emotional and because this was a problem yesterday, that all money should go into that" -- Arsenal Women's Manager Jonas Eidevall, on how the Women's Super League should respond to "growing calls for clubs to have undersoil pitch heating" (BBC, 1/25).

"That’s a big one for me. ... We want to make sure things are in place so players are protected if they are forced out of the game" -- Rugby League Players' Association Director Josh Hodgson, on the amount of money the NRL is proposing for the injury hardship fund (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/24).

The BBC's Iain Carter writes that DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley is treading with "judicious care" amid the upcoming "crucial legal proceedings against players from the rival breakaway LIV Golf series."

The London Times' Matthew Syed criticizes Everton's sacking this week of Manager Frank Lampard, arguing that he "needed a longer apprenticeship -- coaching takes years to master."

The N.Y. Times' Christopher Clarey reacts to Tommy Paul's success at the Australian Open, pointing out that American tennis is "having a moment."

Official Trailer — Make or Break Season 2

The pressure is on as the surfers face the mid-season cut. Watch the best surfers from around the globe battle to be world champion. #MakeOrBreak Season 2 premieres February 17 on Apple TV+ pic.twitter.com/QIIaRWFL4Q

— Apple TV+ (@AppleTVPlus) January 25, 2023

Your 2023 Aotearoa NZ Māori Tane All Stars Squad! 👊

Details: https://t.co/YWvPqnGFhW pic.twitter.com/OuDUoffY9e

— NRL (@NRL) January 25, 2023

For the first time, a game was played under floodlights at Chemie Leipzig‘s Alfred Kunze Sportpark, successfully ending the fourth tier club‘s fundraiser for their installation.

The club‘s ultras marked the occasion with a special choreo and fireworks.pic.twitter.com/uff3rqNyjV

— Felix Tamsut (@ftamsut) January 25, 2023