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Saudi Arabia Wins Bid to Host 2029 Asian Winter Games at NEOM

Saudi Arabia has submitted an official bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM’s TROJENA. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia has submitted an official bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM’s TROJENA. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Wins Bid to Host 2029 Asian Winter Games at NEOM

Saudi Arabia has submitted an official bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM’s TROJENA. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia has submitted an official bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM’s TROJENA. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it has won a bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games at a planned mountain resort in the Gulf Arab state's $500 billion flagship NEOM project.

The TROJENA development is expected to be completed in 2026 and will offer outdoor skiing, a man-made freshwater lake and a nature reserve, according to the project's website.

"With the unlimited support by the Saudi leadership & HRH Crown Prince to the sport sector we are proud to announce we have won the bid to host AWG TROJENA2029 as the first country in west Asia," Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said on Twitter.

TROJENA is part of NEOM’s strategy to help support and develop the tourism sector in the region.

Currently taking shape in the mountains of northwest Saudi Arabia, TROJENA will feature unique and innovative architecture in a place where the captivating landscapes will coexist in harmony with the tourist sites.

It will offer an experience unlike anything else in the world, including the Gulf region’s first outdoor skiing.

NEOM is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's most ambitious project under the Kingdom's Vision 2030 development plan to reduce reliance on oil and transform the economy, including by developing sports.

NEOM, a 26,500-square-km (10,230-square-mile) high-tech development on the Red Sea, will include zero-carbon city "The Line", as well as industrial and logistics areas.

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Serena Williams Teams up with Muchova in Berlin Doubles

US player Serena Williams hits a shot during a practice session at the HSBC WTA tennis Championships at Queen's Club in west London on June 12, 2026. (AFP)
US player Serena Williams hits a shot during a practice session at the HSBC WTA tennis Championships at Queen's Club in west London on June 12, 2026. (AFP)
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Serena Williams Teams up with Muchova in Berlin Doubles

US player Serena Williams hits a shot during a practice session at the HSBC WTA tennis Championships at Queen's Club in west London on June 12, 2026. (AFP)
US player Serena Williams hits a shot during a practice session at the HSBC WTA tennis Championships at Queen's Club in west London on June 12, 2026. (AFP)

US tennis great Serena Williams, on the comeback trail nearly four years after retiring, will partner Czech Karolina Muchova in the doubles at next week's Berlin Open grass court tournament.

"We're going to play doubles. I'm pretty excited about it, it doesn't happen every day that such an amazing athlete, not only in tennis but overall in sport asks you to play tennis with her. I hope it's going to be fun," Muchova told a press conference in Berlin on Saturday.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, had retired after the 2022 US Open.

On Tuesday, the 44-year-old won her first doubles match at the Queen's Club in London alongside Canadian Victoria Mboko.

Mboko then injured her left knee, forcing her to retire from the singles and the doubles.

The 29-year-old Muchova, ranked 10th in the world, was runner-up at the 2023 French Open singles tournament.

The Berlin Open serves as a warm-up for Wimbledon from July 1-14.

Sports

Confident DR Congo Ready to Bring African Flair to World Cup After Long Wait

Omni Houston Hotel, Houston, Texas, US - June 11, 2026 DR Congo players arrive at the hotel in Houston ahead of the FIFA World Cup. (Reuters)
Omni Houston Hotel, Houston, Texas, US - June 11, 2026 DR Congo players arrive at the hotel in Houston ahead of the FIFA World Cup. (Reuters)
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Confident DR Congo Ready to Bring African Flair to World Cup After Long Wait

Omni Houston Hotel, Houston, Texas, US - June 11, 2026 DR Congo players arrive at the hotel in Houston ahead of the FIFA World Cup. (Reuters)
Omni Houston Hotel, Houston, Texas, US - June 11, 2026 DR Congo players arrive at the hotel in Houston ahead of the FIFA World Cup. (Reuters)

Jubilant singing and the raspy sound of vuvuzelas have created an unmistakingly African feel to Democratic of Republic Congo’s training in Houston, where supporters are confident their side can shine at the World Cup and have a message for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Congolese open their Group K campaign against Portugal in Houston on Wednesday, ending a 52-year wait to return to football’s main table after a single previous ‌appearance in 1974 ‌as Zaire.

On that occasion they lost all ‌three ⁠matches, scored no ⁠goals and conceded 14 times, but fans are confident there will be no repeat of that failure this time round, with Colombia and Uzbekistan also in the pool.

"I am really happy, man,” Dada Muzinga told Reuters. “It's a long time... I'm 40 years old but I have never seen the World Cup with my country. I am excited. I know it is going ⁠to be really good.”

Muzinga was wearing a clown ‌mask with bright red hair and ‌had words for Ronaldo, who is likely to line up for Portugal against the ‌Congolese.

“This message is to Cristiano Ronaldo. We don’t want no penalties, ‌no red cards (like in the opening game). We want to play to the end. We will see who wins the game.”

Claude Byiringiro, 24, a local teacher, stood transfixed as he watched the Congolese players train. “I follow the team and ‌I am really excited it is happening here in Houston,” Byiringiro said. “I feel like we have a ⁠good squad, the ⁠chemistry is getting better. Hopefully we can go far this time.”

“These are the players you grew up watching on TV and now you get to see them represent your country and not only that, you get to see them live. The way they move the ball, it’s amazing. It feels unreal. It hasn’t hit me yet. I’ve been trying to take videos for memories.”

Asked how far the Congo team could go in the tournament, a shout went up, “All the way to the final”, followed by cheers from the throng of fans.

The team's participation is a welcome bright spot during an Ebola outbreak in Congo that as of Friday had 676 confirmed cases and claimed 136 lives.

Sports

FIFA Faces Protests in Toronto Over Israel Ties Ahead of Canada World Cup Match

]Protesters hold a banner reading "Kick Israel Out of FIFA", ahead of Canada's World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 12, 2026. (Reuters)
]Protesters hold a banner reading "Kick Israel Out of FIFA", ahead of Canada's World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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FIFA Faces Protests in Toronto Over Israel Ties Ahead of Canada World Cup Match

]Protesters hold a banner reading "Kick Israel Out of FIFA", ahead of Canada's World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 12, 2026. (Reuters)
]Protesters hold a banner reading "Kick Israel Out of FIFA", ahead of Canada's World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 12, 2026. (Reuters)

Protesters unfurled a massive red banner on top of the World Cup logo near a busy highway in Toronto on Friday, denouncing FIFA's association with Israel, hours before Canada's first game.

Demonstrators donning shirts that read "Jews for a free Palestine" mounted a nearby embankment ‌and dropped the ‌banner with the message "Kick Israel out of ‌FIFA". ⁠

The banner was ⁠visible to commuters on the Gardiner Expressway - one of Canada's busiest - on their way to the home team's opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Toronto stadium.

Other actions organized by a group of activists included demands for the release of prominent Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, who was captured ⁠by the Israeli military in Gaza in ‌late 2024.

Faisal Ibrahim, a spokesperson ‌for the activists, accused FIFA of being complicit with Israel's actions against ‌Palestinians.

"FIFA not only turns a blind eye to the ‌Israel Football Association's playing of games on illegally occupied West Bank and Syrian territory, it actually actively broadcasts those games, thereby normalizing occupation and erasure, which makes FIFA an active and complicit participant," ‌he told Reuters.

In March, global football's ruling body said it would take no action ⁠against Israeli clubs ⁠accused by the Palestine Football Association of competing while allegedly based in Palestinian territory, citing the unresolved legal status of the West Bank under public international law.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis, and led to assessments of genocide from scholars and a United Nations inquiry.

Israel strongly denies genocide accusations and calls its actions self-defense after Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in an October 2023 attack.

UN experts have also appealed to FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations to suspend Israel from international football.