Former Portugal int'l LUÍS FIGO joined UEFA as a football adviser. The former Champions League winner will work with UEFA President ALEKSANDER ČEFERIN and the Football Division on matters including technical aspects of the game, laws of the game and the attractiveness of the sport. He will also be the leading figure of the UEFA ambassadors program (UEFA). ... Netherlands captain ARJEN ROBBEN retired from int'l football "after his side missed out on a place at next summer's World Cup in Russia" (BBC, 10/10). ... Former England and Arsenal midfielder PAUL MERSON is "set to make a comeback with Welsh fourth-tier team Caerau." The Maesteg club is awaiting int'l clearance for the 49-year-old to appear against Pontyclun on Oct. 18 (BBC, 10/11). ... ASHISH NEHRA decided to retire from competitive cricket after the first T20 Int'l against New Zealand at his home ground, Feroz Shah Kotla, on Nov. 1 (PTI, 10/11). ... The Ferrari Formula 1 team hired MARIA MENDOZA, an expert in metals and chemicals, to "help boost its quality control department." Mendoza's arrival at the team has "come at a crucial time as the squad ramps up efforts to improve reliability after its recent troubles." She has worked at Fiat since '12 and was recently head of Supplier Quality Powertrain EMEA for the Fiat Chrysler Group (MOTORSPORT, 10/11). ... The family of MARÍA DE VILLOTA said that it "ended litigation against the Manor Formula 1 team after reaching an agreement." De Villota crashed into an articulated trailer "while carrying out a straight-line test for Marussia at Duxford Aerodrome" in '12. She lost her right eye but "was able to make a full recovery from her other injuries." She died on October 11, 2013, aged 33 (MOTORSPORT, 10/11). ... Australian NICK KYRGIOS was fined A$12,840 ($10,000) and lost another A$27,071 ($21,000) in prize money on Wednesday "after storming off midway through his first-round match in Shanghai." Kyrgios "could yet face further punishment from the ATP" after it fined him for unsportsmanlike conduct (FOX SPORTS, 10/11).
