Darts star and “big tennis fan” Luke Littler is hoping to meet Carlos Alcaraz at next month’s Laureus Sports Awards in Madrid, where the 19-year-old has made history as the first darts player shortlisted for the Breakthrough of the Year Award.

He faces tough competition from Formula One driver Lando Norris and Paris St Germain’s Champions League winner Desire Doue.

Often dubbed ‘The Oscars of Sport’, the Laureus awards saw Alcaraz win the breakthrough accolade in 2023 and he is now nominated for World Sportsman of the Year.

He won the French Open and US Open last year before completing the career grand slam by claiming the Australian Open title in January, with Littler humorously noting Alcaraz’s latest victory in Melbourne “won me some money”.

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Littler, after defending his UK Open title in Minehead by beating James Wade in Sunday’s final, expressed his eagerness to meet Alcaraz.

“The nominations came out and I didn’t really look at too many of them,” the two-time world champion said.

“But Carlos Alcaraz has been nominated and hopefully I can meet him. I’m a big tennis fan and I think at the Newcastle media day that morning or the day before he won me some money against (Novak) Djokovic.”

Last week, Littler shared his pride on Instagram: “Thank you @laureussport being the first darts player to be nominated for the Laureus world breakthrough of the year award is a huge honour.”

The teenager quipped about his rapid ascent: “I’m in for the breakthrough of the year – and I think I’ve broken through twice now! It’s obviously massive.

“It’s an absolutely amazing feeling. I’ve not checked the nominees but I’m sure’s there going to be loads of sport stars out there.”

Littler is due to be back in Premier League action on Thursday night in Nottingham.

Eight Nigerian clubs will begin their quest for glory at the prestigious youth football competition, the Viareggio Cup, which kicks off on Monday in Italy.

Youth players from Enugu Rangers will represent Nigeria in the opening fixture of the 76th edition of the tournament when they face ACF Fiorentina Under-18 side on Monday, March 9.

The encounter, scheduled for 2:30 pm local time, will take place in the Italian city of Viareggio and is expected to provide a tough early challenge for the young Nigerian side.

The Viareggio Cup, which runs from March 9 to March 23, is regarded as one of the most respected youth tournaments in world football. It brings together leading academies and youth teams from across the globe and offers young players the opportunity to impress international scouts and club officials.

Nigeria will have a strong presence in this year’s competition, with eight teams participating. Five Nigerian sides will begin their campaigns on the opening day of the tournament.

Aside from Rangers’ clash with Fiorentina, One Touch Abuja will take on Viareggio Calcio. Nexus Football Academy will battle US Sassuolo, while RBM Sports face UYSS New York.

In another opening-day fixture, Mavlon FC will square off against Genoa CFC.

The remaining Nigerian teams will start their matches on Tuesday, March 10. Magic Stars will face Spezia FC, while Ojodu City take on Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade.

Meanwhile, FuturePro Soccer will battle the Serie D Representative Team.

Nigeria’s large representation highlights the growing strength of the country’s youth football system. Many academies are now producing talented players who can compete with top youth teams from Europe and other parts of the world.

Confidence among Nigerian teams is also boosted by history. In 2024, Beyond Limits Academy, affiliated with Remo Stars, made history by becoming the first African team to win the Viareggio Cup.

That achievement raised the profile of Nigerian youth football globally, and with eight teams involved in this year’s tournament, hopes are high that another strong performance could follow.

As the tournament begins in Viareggio, attention will be on the next generation of Nigerian football talents eager to shine on the international stage and possibly attract opportunities with top clubs around the world.

Britain’s Neil Simpson said “a couple of mistakes” stopped him from defending his Paralympic super G title as he finished fourth in Cortina.

Four years ago in Beijing, Simpson and his brother and guide Andrew won the nation’s only gold of the Games in the visually impaired super G, a victory that cemented him as the first British man to win gold at a Winter Paralympics.

This time around, Simpson was led by Rob Poth after a late switch of guide, but after struggling on the mid-section of the Tofane piste, the British pair crossed the finish line 1.1 seconds shy of a podium finish.

“There was some good skiing, so I’m pretty proud. Unfortunately there were just a couple of mistakes,” said 23-year-old Simpson, who with Poth won the 2023 super G World Championship title.

“The section where there was a bit more air time and jumps, I just didn’t quite have the line there, so that just meant I didn’t have the speed over the flat.”

Austria’s Johannes Aigner won gold for his second Paralympic title of the Games, having also won the downhill.

Simpson’s British team-mate Fred Warburton placed 12th with his guide James Hannan after a run he described as a “bit of a battle”.

Both British pairs will compete in a further three events at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Those start with Tuesday’s alpine combined – an event in which skiers race both a super G and slalom course.

“I gave it my best shot, unfortunately it wasn’t to be but it’s something that we need to learn from,” added Simpson.

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To celebrate International Women’s Month this year, ONE Championship paid tribute to its top-notch female fighters by sharing on social media some of the craziest knockout finishes they have fashioned.

ONE uploaded a 13-minute video on its official YouTube channel featuring impressive KO performances and the unparalleled heart of women warriors in the promotion’s history.

Leading the video package is double world champion Stella Hemetsberger’s opening-round KO of Polish opponent Vanessa Romanowski in their Muay Thai battle at ONE Friday Fights 104 in April last year. Midway into the first stanza, the Austrian sensation set up a crisp combination, which she capped with a clean head kick that instantly dropped her opponent unconscious.

The win continued her impressive run in ONE Championship‘s Friday Fights series before ascending to the promotion’s main roster.

Thai superstar Stamp Fairtex’s second-round KO of Alyse Anderson of the United States at ONE Fight Night 10 in May 2023 also makes the video package. The former three-sport world champion introduced herself to a wider American audience in the Denver, Colorado event, when she stopped Anderson with a crushing body kick that rendered the latter unable to continue.

Atomweight kickboxing world champion Phetjeeja’s successful return to Muay Thai at ONE Fight Night 38 in December is spotlighted as well. ‘The Queen’ pummeled Polish striker Martyna Dominczak with powerful punches for an opening-round TKO finish.

Jackie Buntan, too, is also part of the video feature with her first-round demolition of Australian Diandra Martin at ONE Fight Night 10. The Filipino-American striker showcased her punching power with a solid combination to the body and head from which her opponent could not recover from.

Other female fighters whose KO finishes are included in the feature are ONE atomweight world champions Allycia Hellen Rodrigues (Muay Thai) and Denice Zamboanga (MMA), Burmese star Vero and retired former ONE world champion Janet Todd.

Check out ONE Championship’s video post below:

Stella Hemetsberger adds her name to ONE Championship’s stellar female champions

Austrian striker Stella Hemetsberger has been with ONE Championship for one-and-a-half years and has been unstoppable. She punctuated it by becoming world champion in her last two matches.

The 27-year-old Phuket Fight Club affiliate became the ONE strawweight Muay Thai queen in her fourth fight in the promotion. She vied for the vacant belt and dominated Jackie Buntan in their five-round championship fight at ONE Fight Night 35 last September to win by unanimous decision.

She then followed it up with another world title win last month at ONE Fight Night 40, taking Buntan’s strawweight kickboxing gold. While Buntan put up a tougher stand than in their first encounter, Hemetsberger stayed the course and held on for the split decision victory.

Hemetsberger is thrilled with how things have panned out for her in ONE Championship, but said she is not yet done going for greater heights.