: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/?p=11995452<![CDATA[Ottawa hails ‘good era of Canadian sport’ while announcing more funding]]>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 20:03:22 +0000
The federal government said Monday that it will provide additional funding for Canadian athletes and invest in sport facility upgrades, after Canada saw its weakest Olympic medal performance in nearly four decades.
Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden made the funding announcement at Calgary’s Olympic Oval speedskating facility, which will get $52 million for upgrades equally split between the federal and Alberta governments.
Other ski racing and snowboard facilities in Alberta, including the Winsport Canada Olympic Park halfpipe in Calgary and the Nakiska National Ski Cross Training Centre in Kananaskis, will also receive funding from the $33.6-million total federal investment from the Build Communities Strong Fund.
Van Koeverden also announced a $3-million top-up to the Athletic Assistance Program, which provides Canada’s high-performance athletes monthly cheques to help pay their bills. The new funding will bring the program’s yearly total to $43 million.
“This is a good era of Canadian sport, because we’re making the largest investments our country has ever seen in sport, from the playground to the podium,” he said.
That year was also the last time Canada took more than a week to earn a gold medal. Freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury earned Canada’s first gold of the Milan and Cortina Games on the ninth day of competition.
Following that performance and a plea for more funding from the Canadian Olympic Committee, Ottawa set aside $660 million over the next five years for national sport organizations in the spring economic update, as well as $110 million annually after that.
Olympic and Paralympic athletes each currently receive about $2,175 monthly through the Athlete Assistance Program, or “carding.” The new top-up announced Monday will increase that monthly allotment to $2,300, a government statement said.
More than 1,900 athletes in more than 90 sport disciplines are approved for AAP support annually. Ottawa said Monday that 30 more cards would be granted to athletes competing in new sports at upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Olympic Oval was built for the 1988 Games and its ice-making capability is nearing the end of its life due to brine leaks from the aging underground pipes, local officials said Monday.
It is also the oldest among Canada’s three skating ovals, with newer facilities opened in B.C. and Quebec in 2010 and 2021, respectively.
NFL player Isaiah Adams is facing firearm charges following a Durham Regional Police guns and gangs investigation that also led to drug trafficking charges against three other people.
Officers concluded an investigation on July 17 into a man believed to be in possession of a firearm and involved in drug trafficking, according to a police news release.
Investigators arrested a man and a woman in a vehicle in Ajax, Ont., where they allegedly found more than three kilograms of suspected fentanyl.
Police later executed a search warrant at a home in Pickering, where they say they seized a loaded firearm with a prohibited over-capacity magazine and a replica Uzi firearm.
The loaded firearm had been reported stolen from Georgia, police said.
Adams, 25, is charged with possession of a firearm obtained by crime, possession of a restricted or prohibited firearm without a licence, possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a prohibited device, according to the release.
Allyson Mae Adams, 27, and Jaelin Jared Gamble, 27 , from Pickering, and Natasha Rotta, 32, from Ajax face multiple charges including firearm-related charges and possession of drugs, trafficking.
All four were held for bail hearings. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Adams’ lawyer, Adam Weisberg, denied the allegations.
“Isaiah is completely innocent in this matter,” Weisberg told The Associated Press. “He had no knowledge of any firearm, and he will be fully exonerated.”
Adams, an Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman, reported to the team’s training camp Thursday.
Asked about the Ajax, Ont., native, head coach for the Arizona Cardinals Mike LaFleur declined to discuss the case but said Adams appeared to be doing well.
“He’s doing good,” LaFleur said. “I’m not going to comment too much on that, obviously … but he’s doing good and it’s good to see him.”
Global News contacted the Cardinals for comment before publication but did not receive a response by deadline.
–with files from The Associated Press
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]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/news/11977119/roughrider-fans-grapple-with-deaths-ahead-of-game/<![CDATA[Roughrider fans pay tribute to player, man]]>Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:02:18 +0000REGINA – Saskatchewan Roughriders fans held ballcaps in their hands, while some wiped away tears, as the team on Thursday honoured a player and another man killed in a highway crash.
Before kickoff at the matchup against the Edmonton Elks, video screens at Mosaic Stadium played tribute to Roughrider linebacker Jayden Dalke, 30, of Leduc, Alta., and Bhishma Rajyaguru, 22, of Regina.
Attendees stood as the screens showed photos of Rajyaguru with his family and friends, and a video of him dancing played.
A voiceover said Rajyaguru was a gifted percussionist and was always there for his friends and family.
A video of Dalke then played on the screens. It showed him interacting with his teammates and fans, while a voiceover from a player described him as being the team’s glue.
A helmet with the initials ‘JD’ sat on a table behind the players’ bench.
Fans clapped once both presentations were over. There was then a moment of silence, lasting about one minute.
“What a loss,” said one man after the tributes were over.
On July 18, Dalke was reportedly driving on the wrong side of a divided highway at night when his SUV smashed into another SUV that Rajyaguru was driving. The vehicles had no passengers.
RCMP have said alcohol and cannabis were found in Dalke’s SUV, which had pulled out of a gas station with unpaid fuel about a half-hour before the crash.
Both Dalke and Rajyaguru died at the scene on Highway 11 near the town of Lumsden, northwest of Regina.
The Roughriders lost Thursday’s game 36-34. Throughout the match, fans cheered good plays while also booing referee decisions they didn’t agree with.
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Roughriders Quarterback Trevor Harris later told reporters the team gave everything it had despite the circumstances of the crash.
“I was proud of the guys in that,” Harris said. “I hope both families that we honoured are proud and could take some solace in the pre-game tribute to them.”
Corey Mace, the team’s head coach, said it’s been an emotional week.
“Just being out there and seeing both people, both victims, being represented and seeing a little bit about both gentlemen – man, it’s just so sad,” Mace said.
Cody Fajardo, the quarterback for the Elks, told reporters his team had expected the Roughriders to be emotional.
“We try to put ourselves in their shoes, the empathy in their shoes as if we lost one of our teammates, just how much you want to rally around each other,” he said.
Since police released details of the crash, some fans had headed to Thursday’s game with conflicting emotions.
Some had said they were apprehensive about going to the game, while others felt they needed to be there for the team.
At tailgating parties outside the stadium Thursday, the crash was among the topics of discussion.
Lynn Kaglea of Pilot Butte, outside Regina, said she shed a few tears.
“It’s a little bit more sombre than it’s been at other tailgating events,” Kaglea said.
She said she’s been in contact with Dalke’s parents and is planning to make them a quilt.
“I just think it’s a terrible tragedy,” Kaglea said.
Sandra Poitras of Candle Lake, northeast of Saskatoon, said she’s grateful the team honoured both men.
“Jayden was on the wrong side of the road and whatever else happened was very, very unfortunate,” she said.
“We all make mistakes, and you can’t mourn him any less just because he was the one that made the mistake.”
But the gatherings outside the stadium were also like any other.
Fans were grilling meat or eating watermelon, while others sipped beer or pop. Some were doing activities, like tossing bean bags in a hole or racing in potato sacks.
Many were wearing green and white, including colourful face paint, beads, and vibrant wigs. Some wore black Roughriders T-shirts.
“I think everyone’s doing OK,” said Shawn Fiedelleck
“I was on social media. Big mistake, you know. I’m waiting for all the facts to come out.”
Some in Rider Nation have been embroiled in online debates over the circumstances of the crash.
On various social media platforms and team fan forums, some have speculated whether Dalke was driving while impaired.
Mounties have said autopsies and toxicology tests are being conducted. A spokesperson with Saskatchewan’s justice ministry has said such results are not publicly released because they contain personal health information.
Gerri Sernick, an administrator with the Saskatchewan Roughriders Fan Page on Facebook, said she has had to remove nasty comments about Dalke, including that he doesn’t deserve to be honoured by his team.
“It was truly awful. Since I started that page, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Sernick said in a message earlier this week.
“Regardless of the circumstances, two young men are not going home to their families, and that is where our focus should remain.”
To keep decorum, other fan pages and forums closed comment sections on some posts.
Kerri Ludvigsen said Wednesday police set off a “firestorm” when they released the details about alcohol and cannabis found in Dalke’s SUV.
“People grieving (now) have to see … messages that are so hurtful and disrespectful,” she said.
At the tailgating party Thursday, Kaglea said people have been “crucifying” Dalke over something that hasn’t been proven.
“As a parent, it just hurts me that people are saying those things, that his parents are seeing it,” she said.
The Roughriders have shared a GoFundMe page for Rajyaguru’s family, which had raised more than $92,000 as of Thursday night, to cover the cost of repatriating his body to India.
Rajyaguru came to Canada from the Indian state of Gujarat as an international student in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2026.
]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/?p=11972013<![CDATA[Spain’s Torres scores in extra time to bring country 2nd World Cup title]]>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 23:04:10 +0000Ferran Torres’ first goal of this year’s World Cup was the goal of his life, and it put Spain back atop the soccer world.
Denying Lionel Messi a second straight title in what he has indicated would be his final World Cup match, Torres came off the bench and scored in the 106th minute and Spain — in a match it simply dominated — ended Argentina’s reign with a 1-0 win on Sunday.
Torres pounced on a bouncing ball in the box and used his left foot to bury a shot just under the crossbar and into the back of the net.
“It was a goal scored by 47 million people,” Torres said, referring to Spain’s population.
Maybe not by them — but certainly for them.
The moment fans erupted in Madrid after Spain’s FIFA World Cup win
It was Spain’s second title, this trophy getting added to the one claimed in 2010. And there’s no question about the center of the soccer universe now, not after this display.
Spain allowed only one goal in eight matches at the tournament, setting a World Cup record for fewest goals allowed by a champion. And this title, combined with the World Cup won by Spain’s women in 2023, makes the European nation the first to hold both the men’s and women’s titles simultaneously.
“I feel sad,” said Messi, who was moved to tears after receiving his runner-up medal and staring into the crowd at Argentina supporters. “They were better, to be honest.”
The score indicates this match was close, but only one team was in command.
Spain took the game’s first 20 shots on goal before Argentina — desperate for an equalizer — got its first attempt off in the second half of extra time. Spain took nine of the game’s first 10 corner kicks, and only a World Cup final-record 12 saves by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez gave the 2022 champions a shot at going back-to-back.
Spain is now unbeaten in its last 38 matches — 29 wins, nine draws — and now is the outright holder of the longest such streak by any European team ever. Italy went 37 matches (28 wins, nine draws) from October 2018 through September 2021, before Spain ended that streak.
And for the last two-plus years, nobody has beaten Spain. Not even Messi. An Argentina team that was the kings of the late-game rally in this tournament had no answer this time.
Messi took a corner kick with about four minutes left before the final whistle and the ball took a fortunate skip toward reserve Giuliano Simeone — who sent it high and over the crossbar, holding his head in disbelief afterward.
“When you have Messi on the other side, well, you are nervous,” Torres said. “At the end of the day, we always depended on us. We always come up with our football, and we showed it again.”
The win made Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, at 65, the oldest coach ever to lead a team to the World Cup title.
“We are world champions,” de la Fuente said. “It was together we reached this stage.”
There was some pushing and shoving after the final whistle, which was quickly cleaned up and Spain commenced its celebration as most Argentina players sat on the turf in disbelief. Cooler heads prevailed, and Spain’s players lined up minutes later to form an honor guard of sorts for Argentina’s squad to walk through on its way to the stage for the runner-up medals.
Enzo Fernandez was sent off in second-half stoppage time after getting his second yellow card, meaning Argentina was forced to finish the match with only 10 players. Fernandez was carded for a reckless play that sent Spain defender Pau Cubarsi cartwheeling into the air, and the card came out immediately.
It was the 104th and last match of the biggest World Cup ever, a 48-team event that played out over the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Because there were more matches than any previous World Cup, it was no surprise that there were more goals than all other editions — more than 300, nearly three per match.
Except, of course, when Spain was involved. Spain’s plan was simple and flawless: Hold the ball as much as possible, denying opponents any hint of chances.
It worked, all the way to the end.
Spain takes on Argentina in FIFA World Cup final
“There is sadness, but also the knowledge that we gave it our all,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “I could say a lot about how we got here, but it’s not worth it. I am eternally grateful to these guys; they competed right to the end. The other team was better.”
Spain came into this tournament considered as one of the favorites, and with the full belief it could end Argentina’s reign.
It had to go through the game’s greatest player — maybe ever — to make good on that promise.
Messi is 39 and the math certainly suggests that the Inter Miami star is at the end of his international career. There have been hints — such as Messi himself declaring that a home World Cup qualifying match against Venezuela last year would be his final competitive contest for Argentina on his nation’s soil.
“I experienced a lot of things on this pitch, good and not so good,” Messi said that night. “I’ll take the good with me.”
In the Messi era, there was a lot of good. A lot of great, actually.
There was the World Cup title in 2022, obviously topping the list. There was the Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. The two Copa América titles, the first in 2021 and the second in 2024. He won Argentina’s player of the year award 16 times in a span of 19 years, first winning it as a teenager and continuing to win it all the way into his late 30s.
He’s a legend within the game and on all corners of the globe. But Spain was better Sunday.
“I spoke to my players, and they said: ‘Look, we’ve won everything, coach. We’ve won everything,’” de la Fuente said. “And that is beautiful.”
The spectacle was not limited to simply soccer. There was a halftime show, a first for FIFA. There were a ton of celebrities there from stage, screen and sports: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Cillian Murphy, Daniel Craig, Stephen Curry, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Kevin Durant, Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and dozens more.
They came to see a show. So did 80,000 other people, not to mention perhaps as many as 2 billion watching around the globe.
Spain didn’t disappoint. No team has won back-to-back men’s World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and Spain kept Argentina from pulling off that repeat.
“We are gracious in victory,” Scaloni said, “and we must be gracious in defeat.”
]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/?p=11971636<![CDATA[Canada’s months-long World Cup party comes to an end with final]]>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 14:05:08 +0000
Fans are gathering in Toronto and Vancouver today to watch the World Cup soccer final between Spain and defending champion Argentina, bringing Canada’s month-long tournament celebration to a close.
Official FIFA Fan Festivals in both World Cup host cities are expected to draw thousands for public watch parties. Bars and restaurants along Vancouver’s Granville Street and in Toronto’s Liberty Village are also preparing for large crowds.
Toronto hosted six matches and Vancouver seven during the first men’s World Cup staged across Canada, the United States and Mexico.
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The tournament brought supporters from around the world to both Canadian cities and turned public spaces into soccer gathering places.
The championship match, expected to draw a global television audience of nearly two billion viewers, closes the first 48-team men’s World Cup and Canada’s role as a host of soccer’s biggest tournament.
While the World Cup wraps up today, the final cost of staging the tournament won’t be known for months. In May, Canada’s independent parliamentary budget officer estimated total hosting costs at about $1.066 billion, including $473 million in federal costs, projected costs of up to $729 million in British Columbia and $380 million in Toronto.
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