'Taskmaster' is expanding beyond Channel 4 with a new virtual reality game turning fans into contestants.

The Football Association is looking at whether the women’s game could be exempted from the Saturday afternoon television blackout, Baroness Sue Campbell has told MPs. Baroness Campbell, the FA’s director of women’s football, told the Culture, Media and Sport committee various options are being looked at to maximise coverage of the game on the back of the England team’s success at the Women’s Euros last summer. One of those is giving consideration to whether the women’s game could be removed from the restriction on live football coverage between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays under Article 48 of the UEFA statutes, which the FA currently chooses to apply. Campbell said: “I think that consistent of opportunity to view the women’s game is important. It used to be, and it still is, a little bit random. We weren’t quite sure what time and what day you were going to be able to turn on and see it. “We need to get some consistency. We have been exploring Article 48, which when it was put in practice was there for men’s football, we’d like to see could the women have that slot on television? “But whatever we do we need a regular opportunity to view the game which people can access, and we need to recognise that we have a younger audience, so sticking it on in an evening might not be the best time.” The Saturday blackout will not be affected by the EFL’s new deal with Sky Sports starting in 2024-25, but the league did receive a rival offer from the streaming service DAZN which would have required the restriction to be lifted. The Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters said in March that his organisation was a proponent of Article 48 and did not see that changing in the near term. The English top flight is set to begin its tender process for the next three-year domestic rights cycle starting from 2025-26 this autumn. Whatever we do we need a regular opportunity to view the game which people can access Baroness Sue Campbell Former England forward Ellen White agreed with Campbell that an innovative approach was required at the same hearing. “I think we need to look at grassroots football, when that’s being played, so we can maximise the amount of families and young people that are coming to games,” she said. “Sunday at 6.45 in the evening like Sue said, schools (open the next day), then again on a Saturday at 11am a lot of grassroots football teams play, so you’re destroying the viewership then, and also the amount of bums on seats in the stadium as well. “So I think we need to look at a good day and a good time to really maximise our audiences, to get bums on seats and to grow our fanbase.” White did not agree with the idea that one way to make the women’s game more financially sustainable would be to introduce a US-style closed league. “I wouldn’t agree with it because you’ve got clubs in the Championship or lower than that, and what have they got to strive for?” she said. “For me it’s really exciting and gives a lot of opportunity for the teams in the Championship and the pyramid to try and develop and prove and push themselves that they want to be part of the Women’s Super League. I don’t think the country would want to move away from that.” Campbell said the United States was able to operate that system because of its highly-developed high school and university programmes, and to replicate that in England would “cut the head off the body” of the women’s game. Meanwhile, the chair of a different parliamentary committee has written to boot manufacturers over the lack of products designed specifically for women and girls. Caroline Nokes, the chair of the Women and Equalities committee, has written to brands including Adidas and Nike after evidence was given to her committee about the disproportionate impact of anterior cruciate ligament injuries to female footballers. Campbell said ACL injuries accounted for two per cent of injuries female players suffered but accepted they could be “catastrophic” for the individual when they did occur. “I’ve asked repeatedly, ‘Can somebody tell me the cause of this?’ and of course it’s complex – is it wearing men’s shoes, is it the training surfaces, the over-stressed calendar with not enough rest? Is it the kind of physical conditioning that people are doing?” Campbell said. “We’re encouraging more research. We’re funding more research. If we haven’t got healthy, well looked after elite players then we’re failing the game.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Hostile Headingley awaits Australia after Bairstow row – Ashes talking points Leicester fined up to £880,000 over price fixing with JD Sports Paris St Germain sack Christophe Galtier

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The 2023/24 season is already fast approaching and the first major cup draw for the new campaign saw new English Football League entrants Wrexham mark their return with a home tie against Wigan Athletic in the Carabao Cup. While the Welsh outfit - now co-owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - were promoted from the National League last term, the Latics suffered relegation from the Championship and will begin life in League One with minus eight points due to not having paid salaries on time. With the first round draw for the competition split into Northern and Southern sections, all 72 EFL clubs are included in the draw at this stage - before Premier League clubs enter at the second- and third-round stages. In the south, QPR face Norwich City in one of the ties of the round, while Millwall play Reading in another enticing encounter. In the north, relegated Leeds host Shrewsbury while Leicester head to Burton. Here’s the first-round draw in full and the complete schedule for the 23/24 campaign in the Carabao Cup. Full Carabao Cup Southern section first round draw: Plymouth Argyle vs Leyton Orient Forest Green Rovers vs Portsmouth Swansea City vs Northampton Exeter City vs Crawley Ipswich Town vs Bristol Rovers Newport County vs Charlton Athletic Stevenage vs Watford Cheltenham vs Birmingham City Sutton United vs Cambridge United MK Dons vs Wycombe Wanderers Millwall vs Reading AFC Wimbledon vs Coventry City Bristol City vs Oxford United Gillingham vs Southampton QPR vs Norwich City Peterborough United vs Swindon Town Cardiff City vs Colchester Carabao Cup Northern section first round draw Notts County vs Lincoln City Bolton Wanderers vs Barrow Hull City vs Doncaster Rovers Mansfield vs Grimsby Stoke City vs West Brom Sheffield Wednesday vs Stockport County Leeds United vs Shrewsbury Preston North End vs Salford City Rotherham United vs Morecambe Harrogate vs Carlisle United Burton Albion vs Leicester City Accrington Stanley vs Bradford City Derby County vs Blackpool Port Vale vs Fleetwood Town Barnsley vs Tranmere Rovers Blackburn Rovers vs Walsall Huddersfield Town vs Middlesbrough Wrexham vs Wigan Athletic Sunderland vs Crewe Full Carabao Cup schedule for 2023/24 Round One - w/c 7 August 2023 Round Two - w/c 28 August 2023 Round Three - w/c 25 September 2023 Round Four - w/c 30 October 2023 Quarter-Final - w/c 18 December 2023 Semi-Final (first leg) - w/c 8 January 2024 Semi-Final (second leg) - w/c 21 January 2024 Final - Sunday 25 February 2024 Read More Carabao Cup draw LIVE: First round fixtures featuring all 72 EFL clubs Carabao Cup 2023/24 fixture dates and schedule revealed ‘Serial winners’ can help England finally celebrate silverware – Tyrone Mings Guardiola’s Man City trophy haul in full after treble triumph Saudi Arabia money has turned transfers into ‘chaos’ – will it last? Fifa urged to make human rights key consideration for World Cup 2030 host

HANOI, Vietnam--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 8, 2023--

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Terence Crawford's ring gear has been revealed ahead of his titanic bout with Errol Spence Jr this Saturday. Spence likes to refer to himself as the "Big Fish", and Crawford is taking no prisoners with his outfit. The ring gear features hooks and other fishing-related imagery. “I was able to do a lot of research into deep-sea fishing, the fabrics and hardware they use, and I implement that into the design", said Imtayaz Qassim of Bespoke Boxing, where Crawford’s outfit was designed and created. The two professional boxers are set to clash to crown an undisputed welterweight champion in their match. These two Americans are both currently unbeaten, but Crawford's WBO belt is on the line, as are Spence's WBC, WBA and IBF titles. Read More Moment Biden forgets to sign executive order in Maine Distressing moment dachshund stolen from Essex home by masked thief Driver Snapchats speeding at 80mph before killing passenger in crash

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