FOOTBALL GONG
Football’s most prestigious prize for individual achievement, the Ballon d’Or, has been shared between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi since Kaká’s win in 2007 and the idea of anyone else winning seems farfetched even by 2016’s high standards. The Portuguese is overwhelming favourite after a season that culminated in European triumph for club and country. Barcelona won La Liga but Messi’s missed penalty in the Copa América final and failure to deliver Argentina’s first trophy in 20 years will likely rule him out of a fifth award. Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suárez are outside bets while Jamie Vardy is the only Englishman nominated. (The last English winner was Michael Owen in 2001.) As of this year, the Ballon d’Or is no longer a Fifa-sanctioned gong since football’s world body has ended its six‑year bond with the event, which has been run by France Football since 1956. Those Zurich-based blazers will now relaunch their world player of the year prize under a new name, details of which remain sketchy. Perhaps they will broaden it out to 48 players.
ARROWS JAMBOREE
Stand up, if you love the darts. The PDC World Championship has become a staple of the Christmas sporting calendar and kicks off again on Thursday (Sky Sports 3, 7pm) as Gary Anderson looks to claim a third successive title. World No1 Michael van Gerwen and 14-times winner Phil “The Power” Taylor are among the other favourites for the game’s flagship tournament. The two-and-a-half-week event has players competing for a share of more than £1.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace with the final on 2 January.
MIDWEEK PROGRAMME
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – yes, there’s a slew of Premier League matches coming down the track. Arsenal’s visit to Goodison Park (Tuesday, BT Sport 1, 7.45pm) is the most eye-catching fixture in a full round of midweek games. Wednesday’s televised match is Crystal Palace welcoming Manchester United (BT Sport 1, 7.45pm). Elsewhere, Middlesbrough take on Liverpool and Burnley travel to West Ham.
SCOTS POT BLACK
Snooker’s inaugural Home Nations series gave Liang Wenbo his first world ranking title at the English Open in Manchester while Mark King won in Belfast after beating Barry Hawkins in a thrilling final‑frame decider. The penultimate tournament, the Scottish Open in Glasgow, plays host to some of the biggest names in the sport including Ronnie O’Sullivan, who will expect to make at least the semi‑finals that begin on Saturday (Eurosport 1, 12.45pm). John Higgins, Stephen Maguire and Anthony McGill will be hoping that local support can help them make an impression on home turf.
LOOK OUT FOR … THE CLUB WORLD CUP
That still exists? It does. It’s international football’s Checkatrade Trophy – derided, confused, over-sold and hard to ignore.
What’s on offer this year, then? The usual seven-club format of mis-matched global champions. Last year Barcelona sauntered to 3-0 wins over Guangzhou Evergrande and River Plate. This year it’s Real Madrid’s turn to win it. The stats say everything: European teams haven’t conceded a goal between them since Chelsea lost 1-0 to Corinthians in 2012 – the only time since 2006 that a non-European club has won it.
Real can’t be looking forward to it? They’re being diplomatically upbeat. They start at the semi-final stage on Thursday in Japan against either Mexico’s Club America or South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, with the final next Sunday. Gareth Bale is out injured, but Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured) is there, and he’s saying all the right things. “It’s been a perfect year. Now I want to win this as well. I just like to win trophies.”
So who else is in it this year? Oceania’s Auckland City were there, but they’re out already after losing their first-round game to local favourites Kashima Antlers. The Antlers face South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns next - but Real’s only serious competition comes from Atlético Nacional. The Colombian side arrive in Japan with plenty of popular support too, due to their reaction to last month’s air disaster. They successfully lobbied the South American federation Conmebol for the Copa Sudamericana title to be awarded to Chapecoense – the team they would have faced in the final.
And they stand a chance? They seem sure to meet Real in the final, so yes, it could happen. But otherwise, don’t expect any shocks. After Auckland’s exit, the minnows are the Sundowns – 80-1 to win a six-team competition.
All in all, then, this tournament just isn’t working. So will Fifa be ditching it soon? Come on now, you know that’s not how Fifa works. President Gianni Infantino is eyeing a souped-up 32-team version instead. “We need to make the Club World Cup more interesting,” he says. And by “interesting”, he means: “More clubs will attract more sponsors and TV companies from around the world.”
And this is the tournament Manchester United snubbed the FA Cup for in 2000? It is. A defining low moment for modern football. United, under pressure to boost England’s bid to host the 2006 World Cup, played in Fifa’s inaugural showpiece instead of defending their trophy. They failed to get out of their group.
