Uzbekistan national team and Manchester City player Abdukodir Husanov has been included among the leading players of the 2026 World Cup based on the number of passes. According to FIFA data, he ranked sixth in the overall rating and third among all defenders, which indicates a high level of his skill on the international stage.
The statistics provided by FIFA emphasize that Husanov was not limited only to defensive actions; he actively contributed to the development of attacks. His accurate passes from deep areas helped the team overcome defensive lines and initiate offensive plays.
The athlete's physical characteristics deserve special attention. The maximum speed achieved by Husanov during the tournament was 36.46 kilometers per hour, which allowed him to be placed in the group of the fastest footballers in the World Cup. Although the Uzbekistan national team failed to pass the group stage, Husanov's participation was a significant moment for the national team, as he played in all matches almost without substitution, demonstrating stability and maturity in play.
This event holds historical value for Uzbek football, as it is the first time a player from Uzbekistan has appeared in the list of world championship leaders based on such key metrics. Husanov demonstrated the ability to compete with the best defenders on the planet, successfully combining speed, reliability, and attacking skills. Furthermore, Forbes previously included him in the list of the highest-paid participants of the 2026 World Cup, noting that his annual earnings exceeded 6 million dollars, with sponsors including Puma and his own energy drink brand AK45.
For Indian hockey, August marks not just a tournament, but a chance to change history. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of their 1975 World Cup victory, the Indian team intends to reclaim the world's biggest hockey trophy.
At the upcoming IIHF World Hockey Championship, taking place from August 14 to 30 and jointly organized by the Netherlands and Belgium, India will compete with the goal of ending a half-century title drought.
To participate in the tournament, India has formed a squad of 20 players. The team will once again be managed by star defender and flank player Harmanpreet Singh, who helped conclude a 41-year wait by bringing two silver medals to India at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics.
Under Harmanpreet's leadership, the Indian team has entered the ranks of leading global hockey teams in recent years, but the World Cup remains an unfinished chapter. India's last World Cup victory was achieved in Kuala Lumpur in 1975. Previously, the team won bronze in Barcelona in 1971 and silver in Amsterdam in 1973, but failed to return to the podium after that.
In the previous tournament in 2023, the Indian team finished in ninth place. Therefore, this time the goal is not only to improve results but also to bring back golden memories by winning medals.
Before the World Cup, India's campaign in the IIHF Pro League did not meet expectations. In the European stage, India secured only four wins in 16 matches, with five games ending in a draw and seven in a loss. The team finished eighth in the table of nine teams, surpassing only Pakistan.
Nevertheless, coach Craig Fulton believes that the selected squad for the World Cup represents a balanced combination of experience and youthful enthusiasm. He noted that the team includes both players with tournament experience and young athletes who earned their spots through performance, not just by name.
The team includes experienced midfielder Manpreet Singh, who is the player with the most international matches in the country. His experience will be complemented by players such as Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, and Nilakant Sharma, who will strengthen the midfield. Goalkeepers will be Mohit HS and Suraj Kakkar. In defense, alongside Harmanpreet, are Amit Rohidas, Jarmandeep Singh, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, and Yashdip Sivach. The attack relies on Mandip Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Abhishek, Sukjit Singh, and Shilanand Lakadu.
Four players from the 24-person Pro League squad could not make it into the World Cup team. These were defender Amdeep Lakada, midfielder Raj Kumar Pal, Rbichandra Singh Moirangtem, and forward Salwam Karti. This difficult decision was made by the team management due to the limit on the number of players in the squad.
India has been placed in Group D along with England, Pakistan, and Wales. All group matches will be played in Amstelveen, Netherlands. The campaign begins on August 15 against Wales, followed by a match against England on August 17, and on August 19, a meeting with Pakistan, which is considered the most anticipated fixture of the group stage.
Coach Craig Fulton clearly outlined the team's strategy: 'Pressing, counter-attack, performance—it is not just our strategy, it is part of our training and mindset. We are not thinking about the future. Our goal is to play each match individually.'
Now the question remains: can this team under Harmanpreet Singh end the 50-year wait? Can Indian hockey write world champion history again? The campaign starting on August 15 will be more than just a tournament for India; it will be an attempt to reclaim a glorious past.
When watching Formula 1 races, it is easy to notice obvious business elements: spectators in the stands, cars on the track, and a winner on the podium. However, a significant portion of the revenue from ticket sales does not go to Formula 1 itself. These funds are directed to the local race promoter. What the parent company F1, Liberty Media, actually receives is a fee for the right to host the event, which is paid by the track or, increasingly, by the national government.
The F1 financial report for 2025 demonstrates four uneven but complementary sources of income. According to Liberty Media's annual results, media rights accounted for 31.3% of total F1 revenue, while hosting fees were 26.7%. The remaining categories include sponsorship (21.7%) and other expenses such as hospitality, freight, licensing, and F1 TV (20.3%). The absence of a dominant source makes this model very resilient.
Total revenue reached a record $3.87 billion in 2025, which is 14% more than the previous year. Revenue has been growing for the fifth consecutive season. Excluding the 2020 campaign, disrupted by the pandemic and a shortened schedule, growth has been almost annual since Liberty Media acquired the sport from the CVC Capital Partners consortium in 2017.
The hosting fee indicator reflects this growth in miniature. In 2017, after Liberty took over management, promoter fees amounted to $503 million, which was approximately 34% of the sport's main revenue. Eight years later, this single expense item increased to $824 million. Although the share of these fees in the overall volume has slightly decreased over this period, this indicates not stagnation, but a significant increase in the entire business surrounding them.
The substantial gap in the amounts paid by different tracks is a rather unusual phenomenon. Monaco, one of the oldest and most prestigious races held since 1929, long paid about $20 million per year, which is the lowest rate in the grid. Liberty actively sought to extend the contract, and now Monaco is secured until 2035. Reports suggest the new fee has significantly increased, although the exact amount has not been officially disclosed.
In comparison, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan pay an estimated $55 to $57 million annually. The Lusail circuit in Qatar signed a 10-year contract worth $550 million, meaning the race added to the calendar in 2021 costs nearly three times more than the sport's premier race. Saudi Arabia's total expenditure on F1, including hosting fees and global Aramco sponsorship, is estimated to exceed $100 million per year, although component details are not published.
Traditional European tracks, such as Silverstone, Monza, and Spa, primarily rely on ticket sales and commercial partnerships to cover their costs, largely funding themselves. Races in Gulf countries operate on a fundamentally different model: their hosting fees are paid or substantially subsidized directly by national governments, rather than through ticket revenue or local promoters trying to break even.
Some analysts and commentators call this a form of 'sports laundering' or national branding, where a major global sporting event is used to shape international perception. Host governments, however, typically frame it differently—as investments in tourism and economic development, rather than image management. Both views may point to the same financial balance.
The most obvious proof that the economics of hosting races now shapes the F1 calendar occurred in 2026 when the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix were cancelled due to armed conflict in the Middle East. Both countries were among the Gulf nations affected during the fighting following US airstrikes on Iran. F1 confirmed the cancellations instead of postponements, reducing the season from 24 to 22 races.
According to a Guggenheim analysis, these two races together account for about $115 million in hosting fees, which is roughly 14% of all F1 revenue from promoter fees. Nevertheless, the core financial structure of the sport barely wavered. Broadcasting rights, sponsorship agreements, and prize money distribution—the contracts that actually underpin the business—are not adjusted or reduced simply because one or two races disappear from the calendar. The races themselves have become more interchangeable elements in a much larger revenue-generating machine.
The true business of F1 is not in the fast-moving cars, nor has it ever been in ticket sales. It is a media company and a sponsorship platform that happens to host races, and its financing is increasingly provided by governments willing to pay huge sums for the global visibility that the Grand Prix weekend provides.
The finish line creates excellent television content. But the money is transferred long before any car hits the track, within contracts signed between Liberty Media and national treasuries that have decided that hosting Formula 1 is worth the investment, regardless of what happens on the track.
The Uzbekistan Chess Federation has announced the launch of a nationwide digital campaign titled 'Support the Uzbekistan Team – Make Your Move!' on the international chess platform idChess.
This initiative was launched simultaneously with International Chess Day and preparations for the Olympiad World Chess Championship, which will be held for the first time in Samarkand from September 15 to 27, 2026. The project aims to engage residents of the country in supporting the national team, uniting sports, business, youth, and digital technologies ahead of the upcoming chess event.
As part of the campaign, users will be able to participate in mass online tournaments through the mobile applications of partner companies. The organizers expect to collect one million played games, each symbolizing support for the national team both before and during the Olympiad.
The idChess platform serves as a strategic partner to the Uzbekistan Chess Federation, providing the technological foundation for the project. Its responsibilities include conducting online tournaments, broadcasting offline competitions, integrating chess mechanics into partners' digital services, and providing analytical and technical support.
The Secretary General of the Uzbekistan Chess Federation, Bobur Sattarov, noted that chess has become part of the country's cultural code and a symbol of intellectual achievement. According to Sattarov, the Olympiad in Samarkand provides an opportunity to unite society around the national team, popularize chess, develop digital infrastructure, and attract business representatives to this process.
Petr Chernyshev, founder of idChess and CEO of Friflex, stated that the goal of the initiative is to become the largest regional mass digital chess project. He added that the platform will allow brands and users to connect through chess tournaments, giving every resident of the country a sense of belonging to the national team.
The organizers emphasized that the project is open to leading brands and companies in Uzbekistan. Participation in the campaign will give enterprises the opportunity to support the Olympiad World Chess Championship and contribute to the development of chess in the country.
