Digest

SOCCER

Virtual victory boosts Britain's health service

Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Diogo Jota won the ePremier League Invitational title for his club on Saturday after beating Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold with a golden goal in the final, which ended 1-1 in regulation time.

Diogo Jota

A number of top-flight players had signed up to represent their clubs in the virtual tournament to generate funds for Britain's National Health Service (NHS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Raul Jimenez scored the winning goal for Wolves and Jota in the FIFA 20 match after Gini Wijnaldum put Liverpool ahead late in the first half, only for Adama Traore to level the scores after the interval. The winner's prize fund will be donated to the PlayersTogether initiative, created by Premier League players to generate funds for the NHS.

Polish restart 'symbol of return to normality'

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Saturday that the country's top-flight Ekstraklasa league will resume on May 29, while speedway competitions will restart on June 12.

As in many other countries, the Ekstraklasa was suspended due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. Morawiecki said competition would initially resume without spectators.

"Sport will return to the stadiums, return to our homes. I am convinced that it will be a symbol of a return to normality. We must realize that we are facing a real marathon of challenges, but we have already successfully completed at least a few kilometers of this marathon. I am convinced that we will reach the finish line together," Morawiecki said.

Minister of Sport Danuta Dmowska-Andrzejuk noted that athletes will undergo a mandatory two-week isolation, before resuming training in several stages.

"In the first stage they will restart training in small groups. They will be allowed to train without a mask on their faces."

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Niners nab Williams as Staley hangs up helmet

Trent Williams

The San Francisco 49ers acquired one Pro Bowl left tackle and said goodbye to another.

The defending NFC champion 49ers signed seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams from the Washington Redskins on Saturday for a pair of draft picks and later announced that six-time Pro Bowler Joe Staley is retiring.

"He's as good a player and warrior and person as any player I've ever been around," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "I love the guy. It was really hard on us when we realized he wasn't going to play this year."

But it made it easier that the Niners were able to find a replacement. They sent a fifth-round pick in this year's draft and a 2021 third-rounder to acquire Williams, who still must pass a physical for the trade to be finalized. The 49ers had a big need at left tackle because Staley informed them he planned to retire.

MMA

UFC to return minus spectators in Florida

Ultimate Fighting Championship matches will return May 9 with the first of three cards in Jacksonville, Florida, to be staged without spectators, UFC president Dana White announced over the weekend.

Restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic had prevented UFC 249 from being staged on April 18, reportedly at a Native American tribal reservation in California.

But an executive order from Florida governor Ron DeSantis two weeks ago opened the door to hosting UFC events by declaring essential services status for "employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience... if the location is closed to the general public".

As a result, UFC 249 will be staged at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, headlined by an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.

"I can't wait to deliver some great fights for the fans," White said. "My team is ready to go and the fighters are excited to get back in there with these back-to-back events."

TENNIS

Barty admits lockdown training proving 'tricky'

Ash Barty

Ash Barty is finding it tricky to maintain high intensity in training during the shutdown but the women's world No 1 is hoping she will be back to her usual self with the flick of a switch when tennis resumes after the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Australian Barty, whose partner Gary Kissick is a golfer, has seen her golf game improve during the lockdown in Brisbane, her tennis training is in "a little bit of a holding pattern".

"It's kind of tricky to train with the same intensity as always," Barty, who turned 24 on Friday, told the Sunday Herald Sun. "Obviously, we're still not sure when we'll go back.

"Now, it's about maintaining for if and when we get an opportunity to play again this year, you can kinda flick that switch and go from there."

BASKETBALL

NBA facilities will begin to reopen this week

NBA players will be allowed to return to team training facilities starting on Friday, provided that their local governments do not have a stay-at-home order prohibiting such movement still in place as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Any workouts that take place would be voluntary and be limited to individual sessions only, according to a person familiar with the league's decision. The person spoke to Associated Press on Saturday on condition of anonymity because the directives from the league were not released publicly.

Group practices would not be allowed yet, and teams will not yet be permitted to organize in-person workouts.

But as certain states and municipalities began loosening restrictions on personal movement, the NBA decided it was time to let players return to their practice courts－if only on a limited basis.

Xinhua - Agencies