The AIG Women’s British Open, which tees off Thursday morning, has "raised the bar substantially for women’s golf with a new record prize fund," as this year’s purse "will increase" by $1.3M to $5.8M, with the winner receiving $870,000. In '22, the purse "will increase by another" $1M to $6.8M "when the event moves to Muirfield for the first time." Since AIG and R&A first partnered in '18, the championship’s purse "will more than double" by next year. This week’s event is "being held for only the second time, and the first time in 10 years, at famed Carnoustie." The money "coupled with a strong rotation of courses marks a substantial turnaround since the R&A stepped in to run the event" (USA TODAY, 8/18).

More details have emerged on UEFA's plan to "establish a relief fund" of as much as $7B to "help struggling teams manage their growing debts." Sources said that the plan would be for UEFA to "secure financial relief for cash-strapped teams who play in major European club competitions" -- Champions League, Europa League and the new Europa Conference League. Repayments would be "tied to the teams’ future payouts from their participation in those tournaments." UEFA has for months "been in talks with banks and private equity firms about creating the fund." UEFA had been in talks with Centricus, a London-based investment firm that had "also been involved in talks with FIFA about financing its enlarged Club World Cup, but it has more recently focused on striking a deal with a group of lenders that includes Citigroup and UniCredit," according to sources. UEFA "declined to comment on the talks or the relief fund." But it has "discussed the proposal with the European Club Association" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/18).

Meanwhile, UEFA is considering dropping "controversial plans" to award two Champions League places based on historical performances in Europe, with the EPL part of a joint effort "for the proposal to be ditched." The idea of two spots being awarded based on UEFA rankings was "originally included in reform proposals for an expanded competition" from '24. UEFA approved the new “Swiss model” format for the Champions League (36 teams playing ten group matches, instead of six) in April but "postponed a final decision" on how access to the tournament would be decided after the sudden launch, and then collapse, of the European Super League (LONDON TIMES, 8/18).

Prior to the start of the Women's Int'l Champions Cup in Portland Wednesday night, the inaugural edition of rival event The Women's Cup will kick off in Louisville. Bayern Munich, PSG and NSWL sides Racing Louisville and Chicago Red Stars are all participating in the tournament at 15,304-capacity Lynn Family Field, with organizers expecting to sell all the tickets that were made available. A Bayern Munich spokesperson said that as of last Friday, 60% of tickets were sold -- a decision on the number available was yet to be made at that point. In addition to Wednesday's games -- Bayern Munich-PSG at 5:00pm ET and Racing Louisville-Chicago Red Stars at 7:30pm -- the winners will meet for the championship on Saturday, with the losers squaring off in a third-place match.

All four The Women's Cup matches will air domestically and internationally. The U.S. rights-holder is Paramount+, and the games will be available on women's soccer streaming platform Ata Football as well as the PSG Women's Facebook page (France), and Deutsche Telekom-owned Magenta in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Bayern Munich, which has an office in Manhattan and has toured the U.S. several times with it's men's soccer, basketball and legends teams, is making its first trip with it's women's soccer team, with stadium and women's shirt sponsor Allianz on board as sponsor of the tour. Bayern Munich President of the Americas Rudolf Vidal said, "With the women's tour here, it's a further vehicle to showcase the brand and show any potential partner how we actually leverage and activate the Bayern Munich brand. ... Brands are very interested in being associated with our brands, and in this specific case, there are some partnerships we expect soon."

Fire Owner & Chair Joe Mansueto has "purchased Swiss Super League club FC Lugano," giving the MLS side a European partner club. Mansueto said, "When permitted, players can move between clubs -- from Chicago to Lugano and vice versa." Fire Sporting Dir Georg Heitz and coach Raphael Wicky, who are "both of Swiss descent, previously worked together at Swiss Super League powerhouse FC Basel 1893." The Fire join the likes of NYCFC (City Football Group), the Red Bulls (Red Bull), CF Montréal (Bologna), Atlanta United (Aberdeen), FC Dallas (Bayern Munich), FC Cincinnati (Hoffenheim) and the Rapids (Arsenal) as MLS clubs that "have working relationships with European sides" (MLSSOCCER.com, 8/18). Mansueto said he wants to "invest in the club" but when asked about the budget said, "I don't have a precise idea at the moment" (CORRIERE DEL TICINO, 8/18).

Prior to the purchase becoming official, one report suggested that had "been some complications." FC Lugano had two shareholders -- Chair Angelo Renzetti who owned 60% of the club and Leonid Novoselskiy, who owned the rest reportedly could "reject any takeover deal within 30 days of a proposed offer. Novoselskiy at one point said that an offer Mansueto made to purchase 100% of the club was “not acceptable”. This, even as the club faced "potential bankruptcy, according to Renzetti" (ON TAP SPORTS NET, 8/8).

F1 has confirmed that the Japanese GP has been "cancelled at the request of the government," for the second year in a row, due to ongoing COVID-19 issues. The race was due to take place on Oct. 10, as the third leg of a triple header after Russia and Turkey. A decision on whether or not the race would go ahead was expected this month "after all parties were able to review how the Olympic Games unfolded in Tokyo." No further updates have been given on possible changes to the '21 F1 calendar, which is understood to be "very flexible" at this stage, with various permutations "under consideration" (MOTORSPORT, 8/18). The cancellation leaves the F1 calendar facing a further reshuffle after races in Australia, China, Canada and Singapore were called off this season. The Turkish GP was cancelled but later reinstated (LONDON TIMES, 8/18).

Puma has unveiled third kits for 10 European clubs, all using a "similar template" to the unconventional away kits four countries sponsored by the brand used at Euro 2020. The kits all "feature the club name written out across the chest, bordered by two stripes." The Puma logo "appears above the team name and stripes, and sponsor logos below." The club crests (or portions thereof) are "embossed in a tonal pattern down the front of the shirts, and appear in full colour on the back collars." Each kit also "features sleeve cuffs and stripes running over the shoulders, though in some cases they are the same colour as the base of the shirt."

The 10 clubs with the new jerseys are Man City, AC Milan, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Marseille, Stade Rennais (Ligue 1), Valencia, PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Krasnodar (Russia), Fenerbahçe (Turkish Süper Lig) (SPORTSLOGOS.net, 8/18).

Mercedes has "officially announced" it will quit Formula E at the end of the '22 season to concentrate on F1 amid a “refocus of resource for electric vehicle development" (MOTORSPORT, 8/18). However, bosses of the Mercedes FE team have started "evaluating options, including a potential sale," for the outfit to remain in the championship beyond the manufacturer’s exit after '22. Mercedes has confirmed that the leadership of the FE squad, fronted by Team Principal Ian James and CEO Toto Wolff, are "working on a contingency plan to keep the concern on the grid for the Gen3 regulations" starting in '22-23. The Mercedes FE team is understood to be "profitable" thanks in part to commercial deals with headline partners Vestas (wind turbines), NEOM (Saudi Arabian city project), SAP (software) and Modis (digital technology). Speculation persists that Wolff "could come in as the principal investor to lead a newly independent iteration of the current Mercedes Formula E setup" (MOTORSPORT, 8/18).

The Chinese Olympic Committee has vowed to "help protect Chinese Olympians against the illegal use of their names as trademarks." Several Chinese star athletes saw their names "registered as trademarks in various categories, including alcohol, sportswear, and tutoring industries," following their success at the Tokyo Games. There were "at least 19 trademark applications" related to the name of 14-year-old Quan Hongchan, who won Olympic gold in the women's 10m platform diving, in just one week after the Olympics, according to media reports. The COC in a statement said it "wants to remind all that business activities should be conducted in a rational manner and in accordance with the relevant laws. The legitimate rights and interests of athletes must be respected. ... Any registration of athletes' names as trademarks without the authorization of athletes themselves or their guardians is forbidden. Any offenders must stop their action" (XINHUA, 8/18).

The launch of the ATP and WTA tours' second season of the “Tennis United: CrossCourt” digital content series is just the "first major project to come out" of the combined marketing operation as the "streamlining of the governance of tennis gathers pace." ATP Chair Andrea Gaudenzi said, "Bringing the tours' marketing teams together is an important step towards packaging and distributing tennis as one sport, which ultimately will help us enhance the experience for fans." The pandemic's decimation of the '20 calendar "prompted calls for a merger of the various bodies that run the game, a suggestion well received" by both the women's and men's tours. Tennis' governance is "fractured with seven organisations -- ATP, WTA, the four Grand Slams and the International Tennis Federation -- running different parts of the game." Navigating the pandemic "helped forge closer links between the bodies and chart a roadmap for an unified calendar, shared commercial offerings, sponsorship and TV deals" (REUTERS, 8/18).

ManU has upgraded its changing rooms and broadcast media facilities as part of a wider £20M ($27.5M) revamp of Old Trafford (SKY SPORTS, 8/18).

Liverpool has added online trading broker ThinkMarkets as the club's official global trading partner (Liverpool).

Brazilian esports personality Bruno “Nobru” Goes will broadcast Sundy's Brasileiro Serie A match between Athletico Paranaense and Corinthians via his Twitch channel. Nobru’s career management agency 3C Gaming secured the deal by partnering with tech company LiveMode and Athlético Paranaense (Victor Frascarelli, SBJ).

Two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar is reportedly the "highest earner" in cycling following his new contract extension with UAE Team Emirates which will see him stay at the team to the end of the '27 season. Pogačar will earn a yearly salary of €6M ($7M) per year at the Emirati team (CYCLING NEWS, 8/18).

"I am an Afghan woman, and as a representative of Afghan women, I ask you to help me. My intention is to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Please hold my hand and help me" -- Afghan para-taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi, after being denied the opportunity to be the first female athlete from Afghanistan to compete at the Paralympics (KYODO, 8/18).

"Obviously big sporting events are so-called super-spreader events, so it would be a very difficult situation to manage. ... The AFL has been outstanding and worked co-operatively. Hopefully, we work out an arrangement that works for all of us ... but we’re not going to compromise and the AFL appreciates that" -- Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan, on the Australian Football League's grand final, which is scheduled to be played in Melbourne next month (THE AGE, 8/18).

The Age's John Wylie looks at the Australian Football League, arguing that a Tasmanian team "would make the AFL stronger."

The London Times' Jacob & Hirst look at why most EPL clubs "can no longer sell fringe players," leaving them "in limbo" as the summer transfer window winds down. 

Now *THAT* is how you announce a football player. https://t.co/WBhzbr3Jg4

— Carl Anka (@Ankaman616) August 18, 2021

We are excited to announce our new partnership with @ExtremeELive!

Design Academics from the RCA will travel to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland this month to collect data on the world's oceans aboard Extreme E’s floating operations hub – the St Helena.https://t.co/7nzxRCuorj pic.twitter.com/yI6RSgggx7

— Royal College of Art (@RCA) August 18, 2021