Spanish and Manchester City midfielder Rodri has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or, awarded by France Football magazine to the best footballer of the season. The award ceremony took place on Monday at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris. The only African winner of the Ballon d’Or and former President of Liberia George Weah presented the award to Rodri.

Rodri demonstrated outstanding results last season, becoming the champion of England with Manchester City and winning the European Championship with the Spanish national team. Despite a serious knee injury sustained in September, Rodri took to the stage on crutches, supported by the host of the ceremony, Didier Drogba. This moment was especially touching for everyone present.

In addition to Rodri, the top four nominees included three Real Madrid players: team captain Dani Carvajal (4th place), English midfielder Jude Bellingham (3rd place) and Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior (2nd place). Rodri became the first Spaniard to receive the Ballon d’Or since 1960, when Luis Suarez Miramontes won the award.

The ceremony also recognized the achievements of other outstanding personalities in the world of football. Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who heads Real Madrid, was named the best coach of the 2023/24 season. Under his leadership, Real became the champion of Spain, winner of the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.

The best coach in the world in women’s football was Emma Hayes, who last season headed London’s Chelsea and led the US team to gold medals at the Olympic Games in Paris.

The best goalkeeper for the second time in a row was recognized as the Argentine Emiliano Martinez from the English Aston Villa. He received the Lev Yashin Prize. Forwards Harry Kane from Munich Bayern and Kylian Mbappe from Madrid Real shared the award for the best striker of the season – the Gerd Müller Prize, and the Raymond Kopa Prize for the best young player of the season was won by Barcelona and Spanish national team player Lamin Yamal.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has entrusted a team of Turkmen referees to officiate the second round match of the Challenge League between the teams "Paro" from Bhutan and "Nejmeh" from Lebanon.

Resul Mammedov has been appointed as the main referee, working with assistants Ahmet Begnazarov and Palvan Palvanov. The match will take place on October 29 at the "Changlimithang" stadium in Thimphu (Bhutan) and will start at 16:00 Ashgabat time.

This is the first time for Turkmen referees to officiate a match within the Challenge League.

Resul Mammedov, a FIFA-licensed referee, previously officiated one of the qualifying matches of the Asian Cup for players under 20, making this match the second in his career as the main referee in AFC tournaments.

Turkmen athletes won one silver and two bronze medals at the World Traditional Karate Championships held in the Spanish city of Cambrils.

In the paired performance of en-bu, Selim Muratdurdyev and Nurgeldy Annagurbanov became silver medalists. In the individual kumite competitions, Selim Muratdurdyev added a bronze medal to the team's collection. Turkmen athletes won another bronze in the team kumite, where Hemra Begjanov, Kemal Atayev, Selim Muratdurdyev and Eziz Zekeryayev distinguished themselves.

In total, more than 500 athletes from 17 countries took part in the championship. Turkmenistan was represented at the competition by 10 karatekas.

The Turkmen football club Arkadag won a strong-willed victory over the Maldivian Maziya Sports in the first round of the group stage of the AFC Challenge League. The match, which took place at the Al Kuwait Sports Club stadium in Kuwait, ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of Arkadag.

In the first half, Maziya took the lead thanks to a precise strike by Jonathan Zorrilla in the 45th minute. However, in the second half, Arkadag managed to turn the game around: Didar Durdyev scored in the 67th minute, and Altymurat Annadurdyev scored the winning goal in the 76th minute.

Vladimir Bayramov’s team will play their next match on October 29 against the Kyrgyz Abdysh-Ata, while Maziya will face Al-Arabi.

On Saturday, October 26, at the UFC 308 tournament in Abu Dhabi, undefeated Chechen fighter Hamzat Chimaev (14-0) scored an impressive victory over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (25-7), Sport24 reports.

Chimaev dominated from the first seconds of the fight and managed to finish the fight with a choke in the first round. This is already the eleventh early victory in the professional career of the 29-year-old fighter, who continues his confident ascent to the title fight.

“Borz” once again demonstrated his superiority in wrestling and the ability to finish fights early.

Since his debut in the UFC in 2018, Chimaev remains undefeated, which makes him one of the most promising contenders for the middleweight championship.

Turkmen athletes won 5 gold, 5 silver and 8 bronze medals at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship that ended in Heraklion, Greece.

The competition brought together more than 900 athletes from 58 countries. Turkmenistan was represented at the world championship by 52 athletes, who won 16 medals in the contact discipline and two medals in the combat discipline.

The gold’medals in the Turkmenistan team in the contact discipline were awarded to: Aminat Guvajova (weight category 45 kg), Hurma Abdyeva (48 kg), Ogulshat Nurmedova (over 70 kg), Islam Ovezov (62 kg), in the combat discipline – Gudrat Esenov (62 kg).

Silver medalists in the contact discipline were: Ainur Kullieva (48 kg), Maryam Vafaeva (63 kg), Oguldursun Azimova (52 kg), Guljan Nurgeldyeva (70 kg), Soltanmurat Nuryev 56 kg.

Bronze medalists in the contact discipline were: Surai Gokayeva (52 kg), Shikhberdy Amanov (62 kg), Eziz Yollyev (94 kg), Mirali Agayev (69 kg), Bakhtiyar Muradov (85 kg), Begli Saparov (69 kg), Jelil Hojamyradov (77 kg). Jelil Hojamyradov also won bronze in the combat discipline.

Following the results of the competition, the Turkmenistan national jiu-jitsu team also won sixth place.

Athletes of the national team of Turkmenistan won four bronze medals at the World Hand-to-Hand Combat Championship, which ended in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, the publication "Turkmenistan: Golden Age" reports.

More than 300 athletes from 34 countries took part in the competition, and Turkmenistan was represented by nine athletes.

Bronze medals in the Turkmen team were awarded to: Toyli Bazarov (up to 57 kg), Hazhyyslam Garabayov (up to 67 kg), Suleyman Allayev (up to 73 kg) and Kasym Yazmyradov (up to 86 kg).

The Turkmenistan national under-17 football team lost to the Thai team in the first round of the qualifying stage of the 2025 Asian Cup. The meeting took place in the city of Chonburi and ended in favor of the home team with a score of 2:0.

Let us remind that under the leadership of head coach Ahmet Allaberdiyev, the youth team of Turkmenistan plays in group “D”, which also includes the teams of India and Brunei.

In the next round, the Turkmenistan team will meet the Indian team on October 25.

Turkmen athlete Rahmet Taganov won a silver medal at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, which is being held from October 22 to 28 in Heraklion, Greece.

This year's World Jiu-Jitsu Championship has become a unique event, as for the first time in the history of this sport, competitions for all age groups are being held in one country. The tournament features 3,500 athletes from 67 countries, making it one of the largest events in the world of jiu-jitsu.

The competitions include categories for men and women, youth, teenagers and juniors, boys and girls, as well as para-jiu-jitsu and the Children's World Cup. This variety of categories allows athletes of different ages and skill levels to showcase their abilities and compete for medals.

The players of "Arkadag" achieved two wins as reigning champions. 

In a rescheduled match of the 29th round of the national top league championship, Vladimir Bayramov's team defeated "Ahal" 2-1. The game took place at the Nisa Stadium in the capital.

This match held no tournament significance for "Arkadag", who secured the Turkmenistan championship title for the second consecutive year five rounds before the end of the national championship. However, for "Ahal", competing for silver medals, a win could have put them 3 points ahead of another contender for vice-championship, "Altyn Asyr".

The first half brought no success to either team. As soon as the second half began, the reigning champion was awarded a penalty, which Begench Akmammedov converted in the 47th minute. Scoring his 16th goal in this national championship, he entered the top three scorers.

In the 90th minute, "Ahal" equalized with a goal by Yagshysakhet Dovletgeldiyev and seemed poised to end "Arkadag's" winning streak. But it was not to be. In the 4th minute of added time, Shamammet Khydyrov scored a second goal against "Ahal", securing a 2-1 victory for his team.

This victory marked "Arkadag's" 50th in the top league since the football club was founded last year and their 26th in the current national championship. In 26 matches, the team scored 126 goals and conceded 19, leading their closest pursuers—"Altyn Asyr" and "Ahal"—by 26 points.

"Arkadag's" second victory as a two-time champion of Turkmenistan came in Dubai in a friendly match against UAE club "Al Hamriyah" with a score of 2-1 as part of preparations for the AFC Challenge League 2024/25—the third most significant Asian club tournament, featuring 18 teams divided geographically into Western and Eastern zones. Goals by Arslanmyrat Amanov (70th minute) and Shanazar Tirkishov (90+2) secured victory for our team.

According to the draw results of the AFC Challenge League 2024/25, FC "Arkadag" is in Group B with "Maziya Sports and Recreation" from Maldives, "Abdysh-Ata" from Kyrgyzstan, and "Al-Arabi" from Kuwait. All matches will take place in Kuwait. Arkadag will play their first match on October 26 against "Maziya". Then, they will face "Abdysh-Ata" on October 29 and conclude their group stage on November 1 against "Al-Arabi".

At the end of the group stage, eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals: three group winners and the best runner-up in the Western zone, as well as two best teams from each group in the Eastern zone.

The opening ceremony of the XIV Universiade Turkmenistan – a country of spirituality and health was held in the multifunctional sports complex of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports, in which student teams of universities took part.

The festive atmosphere was complemented by performances of musical and dance groups, as well as young athletes who demonstrated their skills in various sports.

The Universiade is a comprehensive sports event and is held to develop and popularize sports in Turkmenistan, promote a healthy lifestyle among students and identify the strongest athletes to participate in international student competitions.

The Turkmenistan national traditional karate team is taking part in the World Championship in the Spanish city of Cambrils. Turkmen athletes will compete for medals and the prestige of their country in the international arena.

The Turkmenistan national team includes 10 athletes: Kemal Atayev, Eziz Zekeryayev, Selim Muratdurdyev, Hemra Begjanov, Nurgeldy Annagurbanov, Palvan Ovezov, Serdar Bayriev, Yhlas Annagurbanov, Meylis Charyev and Adylsha Atayev.

The coaching staff Is represented by Diyar Hojaev (team leader) and Dovlet Berdyev. The panel of judges of Turkmenistan at the tournament is represented by Guvanch Adyev and Eymur Mademinov.

Traditional karate is a martial art that preserves and transmits unchanged techniques and methods of training that have come from ancient times. It is based on the principles of self-defense and includes punches, kicks, blocking and breathing techniques.