Rugby
Ginkgo trees are seen behind of Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Stadium at an area known as Jingu Gaien Friday, May 12, 2023, in Tokyo. Building new sports facilities is at the heart of a disputed plan to makeover one of Tokyo most beloved park areas. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is at the center of controversy, as she was in promoting the recent Tokyo Olympics. The redevelopment of the park area known as Jingu Gaien raises questions about who decides how public space is to be used. (AP Photo/Stephen Wade)
Dispute centered around redevelopment of historic Tokyo park, iconic stadiums

By Stephen Wade May. 17, 2023 01:23 AM EDT

Australia's Maddison Levi, left, prevents New Zealand's Jorja Miller from scoring a try during gold-medal Canada Sevens women's rugby match action in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, March 5, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Argentina men, New Zealand women win at Vancouver Sevens

Mar. 05, 2023 10:39 PM EST

Ellia Green with his partner Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts and their daughter Waitui pose in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. Green, one of the stars of Australia's gold medal-winning women's rugby sevens team at the 2016 Olympics, has transitioned to male. The 29-year-old, Fiji-born Green is going public in a video at an international summit aimed at ending transphobia and homophobia in sport. The summit is being hosted in Ottawa as part of the Bingham Cup rugby tournament. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Olympic champion Ellia Green finds liberation in transition

By Dennis Passa Aug. 16, 2022 06:02 AM EDT

Team USA's Taylor Cummings (21), left, chases Canada's Dana Dobbie (27) during the opening game of the 2022 World Lacrosse Women's World Championship at Towson University in Towson, Md., June 29, 2022. Lacrosse is one of nine sports trying to gain inclusion into the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. (Amy Davis/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Lacrosse's new, fast-paced version may be path into LA Games

By Pat Graham Aug. 13, 2022 02:26 AM EDT

FILE - Liverpool fans wait in front of the of the Stade de France prior the Champions League final soccer match between Liverpool and Real Madrid, in Saint Denis near Paris, Saturday, May 28, 2022. A French Senate commission is releasing its initial conclusions Thursday JUNE 16, 2022 in an investigation into chaos that engulfed the Champions League final last month outside France's national stadium, including police firing pepper spray at fans and families. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
Report: Mistakes, not Liverpool fans, caused CL final fiasco

By Samuel Petrequin Jul. 13, 2022 09:36 AM EDT

FILE - World Athletics President Sebastian Coe leaves the Court of Arbitration for Sport after a hearing of South Africa's two-time Olympic 800-meter champion runner Caster Semenya, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Feb. 18, 2019. Bans on transgender women in international swimming and rugby this week opened the door for track and field to consider following suit in what could turn into a wave of policy changes in Olympic sports. The announcement Sunday, June 19, 2022, by swimming's governing body, FINA, was followed quickly by a show of support from World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, who was in Hungary for the swimming world championships. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP, File)
Swimming's new transgender policy could impact other sports

By Eddie Pells Jun. 22, 2022 04:57 PM EDT

The 23 venues bidding to host World Cup matches in 2026

Jun. 15, 2022 02:07 PM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — A look at the 23 venues bidding to host soccer matches at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada: ___ ...

FILE - Japan's Michael Leitch is tackled by South Africa's Steven Kitshoff during the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match at Tokyo Stadium between Japan and South Africa in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 20, 2019. A little more than a year away from the next World Cup in France, Leitch is no longer the captain but still a key member of the brains trust that drives. He looks forward to the tournament where Japan is drawn in group D with England, Argentina, Samoa and one other qualifier. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)
Column: US lands 2031 Rugby World Cup, if anyone cares

By Paul Newberry May. 13, 2022 04:12 PM EDT

Rugby Australia President David Codey speaks during a media event ahead of the final vote for the hosting of the Rugby World Cups in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, May 12, 2022. World Rugby will announce the host nations for the men's and women's World Cups for the period 2025-2033 with Australia heavily favored to host the men's 2027 and women's tournaments in 2029. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
US to host men's and women's Rugby World Cups for first time

By Steve Douglas May. 12, 2022 01:58 PM EDT

United States expected to be named host of Rugby World Cups

By Steve Douglas May. 11, 2022 07:12 AM EDT
With the full support of the White House, an American bid to stage the men's and women's Rugby World Cups is expected to receive the green light on Thursday as the...

New Zealand's Michaela Blyde, left, scores a try as Australia's Charlotte Caslick tackles her during the gold-medal match on the final day of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in Langford, British Columbia, Sunday, May 1, 2022. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP)
Australia wins Langford title, clinches sevens world series

May. 01, 2022 10:02 PM EDT

FILE - International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, talks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Second European Games in Minsk, Belarus, June 30, 2019. In a sweeping move to isolate and condemn Russia after invading Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, to exclude the country's athletes and officials from international events. (Sergey Bobylev, TASS/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
Russia facing sports isolation over invasion of Ukraine

By Graham Dunbar Feb. 28, 2022 06:57 AM EST

A soldier's helmet with a bullet hole near debris of burning military trucks, in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine's capital Saturday, and street fighting broke out as city officials urged residents to take shelter. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Poland, Sweden refuse to play Russia in World Cup playoffs

Feb. 26, 2022 11:43 AM EST

FILE - New Zealand All Blacks winger Charles Piutau runs down field during a rugby test match against Argentina in Christchurch, New Zealand, on July 17, 2015. World Rugby has relaxed its eligibility rules to allow players to switch countries as of January. The governing body made the announcement Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021, in what it described as a “landmark" change. International players such as England's Billy and Mako Vunipola could represent Tonga, as could New Zealand's Charles Piutau, who won the last of his 17 caps in 2015, making him eligible to switch country allegiance next year. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford)
World Rugby to allow players to switch national teams

Nov. 24, 2021 02:44 PM EST

Chile's Sebastian Berti, left, is tackled by Jamaica's Mark Phillips during an HSBC Canada Sevens semifinal rugby match in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
South Africa wins Edmonton Sevens and men's series title

Sep. 26, 2021 08:22 PM EDT

Kenya's Alvin Otieno, center, is tackled by Spain's Alberto Carmona, left, and Josep Serres during an HSBC Canada Sevens rugby match in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
South Africa close in on Series title at Edmonton Sevens

Sep. 25, 2021 09:21 PM EDT

Kenya's Levy Amunga, left, and South Africa's Darren Adonis vie for the ball during an HSBC Canada Sevens rugby game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
US, South Africa through to final 8 at Vancouver Sevens

Sep. 18, 2021 10:53 PM EDT

Britain's Aaron Phipps, right, moves the ball against Joshua Wheeler of the United States during the wheelchair rugby gold medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Britain defeats US 54-49 for gold in wheelchair rugby

By Stephen Wade Aug. 29, 2021 07:16 AM EDT

United States' Charles Aoki compete during a semifinal wheelchair rugby match against Australia at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
Wheelchair rugby smashes stereotypes at the Paralympics

By Stephen Wade Aug. 28, 2021 08:55 AM EDT

Margielyn Didal of Philippines reacts after completing a trick in the women's street skateboarding finals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 26, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In Tokyo, social platforms help the Pandemic Olympics shine

By Jenna Fryer Aug. 05, 2021 03:16 AM EDT