Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the U.K. government for his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, having his assets frozen, which include Chelsea’s men’s and women’s soccer teams.

“There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine,” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after targeting seven Russian oligarchs.

In addition to Abramovich, Igor Sechin, Oleg Deripaska, Dimitri Lebedev, Alexei Miller, Andrei Kostin and Nikolai Tokarev have been sanctioned.

A statement of reasons was also issued by the U.K. government, describing Abramovich as a “prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch.”

“Abramovich is associated with a person who is or has been involved in destabilizing Ukraine and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, namely Vladimir Putin, with whom Abramovich has had a close relationship for decades,” it read. “This association has included obtaining a financial benefit or other material benefit from Putin and the Government of Russia.”

Abramovich has consistently denied involvement in the Putin regime.

The 55-year-old has been trying to sell the club at a valuation of 3 billion pounds (approx. $3.9 billion USD). Thursday’s announcement puts those plans on hold. According to ESPN, Abramovich has received multiple offers for the club – including from Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, who previously was linked to the sale of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit.

While a sale cannot go ahead, according to ESPN, the U.K. government could consider an application for a license that would allow a sale. Abramovich would not benefit from the sale while he is subject to sanctions.

The club’s day-to-day operations have also been affected, although Britain’s minister for sport, Nadine Dorries, wrote on Twitter that a special license has been issued by the government that allows the club to continue to play matches, pay staff and allow season-ticket holders to attend matches. The license expires on May 31.

“I know this brings some uncertainty, but the government will work with the league & clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended,” she wrote. “Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. We’re committed to protecting them.”

Outside of existing contracts, including broadcast money and season-ticket holders, Chelsea is not allowed to generate extra income. This means that tickets cannot be sold to future matches and the club shop will close down. New contracts for existing players cannot be agreed upon while new transactions for the summer cannot be agreed upon. Payment arrangements for deals relating to loans or transfers can continue.

Additionally, Chelsea cannot pay more than 500,000 pounds (approx. $656,000 USD) to put on a home match while travel costs to and from away matches are capped at 20,000 pounds per game (approx. $26,000 USD). According to ESPN, the typical cost of a European away game is around 30,000 pounds (approx. $39,000 USD) meaning that the club will potentially have to cut costs on travel, either by flying commercial or taking a bus.

Chelsea F.C. women currently sit atop group B in the FA WSL Cup standings. They have an upcoming Women’s Super League match against West Ham United before taking on Aston Villa on Sunday.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

Even with the 2025 regular season on a break, the NWSL is staying busy, announcing its 2026 schedule framework on Wednesday as the league eyes its first-ever 16-team season.

With both expansion clubs Denver and Boston Legacy FC hitting the pitch, the NWSL plans to expand the regular season from its current 26 matches to 30 games per team, ensuring each club plays one home and one away match against each of the league's squads across the 2026 season.

The 2026 campaign will kick off on March 13th and run through November 1st, before the eight-team playoff field battles through the postseason, all aiming to lift the NWSL Championship trophy on November 21st.

Like previous seasons, next year's NWSL play will begin with a preseason appetizer, as the 2025 league champion and 2025 Shield-winner will face off in the 2026 Challenge Cup on February 20th.

Notably, the NWSL will pause regular-season play for nearly entire month of June, in part because the North America-hosted 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup will be using league venues across seven NWSL cities.

The league will also fulfill its CBA-mandated summer break, meaning each team's 30-game 2026 season will take place across 27 total weeks of competition.

Including the Challenge Cup and postseason play, the 2026 NWSL season will include 248 matches.

The league will release more scheduling details at a later date.

Set to debut in 2026, the Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) announced Wednesday that it will hold its first-ever tryouts this summer, with the event kicking off on August 22nd in Washington, DC.

The WPBL currently has more than 600 attendees registered for the August tryouts, which will take place across a four-day camp.

For the first three days, players will participate in drills and performance testing at the Washington Nationals' Youth Baseball Academy.

Those evaluations will determine the select group to advance past the first cuts, with those players then competing in live game-play at MLB's Nationals Park on August 25th.

Following that final round, a total of 150 successful athletes will earn invites to the league's inaugural draft in October.

Leading the tryouts will be WPBL EVP of player relations and Team USA baseball star Alex Hugo.

"We are really excited to see all of the players at tryouts this summer and see their incredible skills," Hugo said in the WPBL's tryouts announcement. "We're building a future where girls and women who love baseball can dream as big as they want and now, finally, have a league to call their own."

Co-founded by the first woman to coach in MLB, Justine Siegal, the WPBL plans to launch with six teams in spring of 2026.

When it begins play, the WPBL will become the first US women's pro baseball league since the World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which folded in 1954 following 12 seasons of play.