FIFA's World Cup expansion from 32 to 48 teams has provoked a mixed response as criticism from the leading football countries in Europe has been tempered by approval in some of the nations set to benefit.

International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) chief executive Densign White has claimed a decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to reject their application for code compliance was "politically driven".

Australian tennis player Nick Lindahl has been handed a seven-year ban from the sport and fined AUD$47,700 (£28,000/$35,000/€32,000) for plotting to throw a match in 2013.

New Zealand rugby legend Dan Carter is among three Racing 92 players reportedly facing a fresh investigation from the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) after traces of banned substances were found in their bodies last June.

FIFA have unanimously decided on a 48-team World Cup from 2026 onwards during their Council meeting here today, it has been announced.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Carli Lloyd received the respective male and female players of 2016 accolades at the inaugural Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony here today.

Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona has joined a chorus of former players and managers who have supported FIFA President Gianni Infantino's proposal to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams.

China crushed Latvia today to join Turkey, Italy and Germany in the men's semi-finals at the World Junior-B Curling Championships in Östersund in Sweden.

Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been successful in an aggravated libel case against an athletics coach who suggested he had used performance enhancing drugs when he played for Juventus.

Pyeongchang 2018 have denied that their latest Winter Olympics budget is being delayed by South Korea's political problems and "expect" it to be approved at some stage this month.

Italy, Latvia and Turkey are among the men's teams to have qualified for the quarter-finals today at the World Junior-B Curling Championships in Östersund in Sweden.

Three days of key FIFA events has begun here today with football's world governing body fine-tuning plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams by 2026.

Norwegian International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Gerhard Heiberg has claimed that the organisation begins 2017 with "greater challenges" than ever before after a "naive" response to the Russian doping crisis.

July's Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) in The Bahamas has been hailed as a major aim for the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) in 2017.