Basketball star Russell Westbrook has revealed he is a part of the consortium led by 49ers Enterprises which is poised to take full ownership of Leeds. Los Angeles Clippers point guard Westbrook, who won the NBA’s most valuable player award in 2017, has followed American golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in becoming a minor stakeholder in Leeds. Westbrook, according to Forbes the 14th highest-paid athlete in the world, said he had invested in the Yorkshire club at a sports and entertainment summit held by Sportico. The 34-year-old said: “I was lucky enough to have conversations with some of the partners in this deal, who already have ownership, the 49ers. “So I was lucky enough to talk through that with friends, talking with my business partner as well about different things and having conversations, figuring out if this was the right deal and how we could make it different.” Westbrook, who signed with the Clippers from the Los Angeles Lakers in February, is a nine-time NBA All-Star. Three-time major winner Spieth has confirmed he and Thomas had become minority stakeholders in Leeds earlier this week, but fellow golfer Rickie Fowler pulled out of a deal when the club were relegated from the Premier League in May. Leeds’ joint-owners 49ers Enterprises, the financial arm of NFL franchise San Francisco 49ers, have bought former chairman Andrea Radrizzani’s majority 56 per cent shareholding. The English Football League is currently carrying out its owners and directors test before it sanctions the 49ers’ full takeover.

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England manager Sarina Wiegman distinctly remembers the day she and her Netherlands team-mates checked into the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou, China to launch an experiment that would forever change women’s football. It was 1988, Wiegman was 18, and while men had been participating in World Cups for 58 years, a women’s equivalent existed only as an idea – one FIFA decided first needed to be tested in the form of a proof-of-concept, 12-team tournament at a time when even the now-dominant Americans had played just 22 matches. Thirty-five years later, Wiegman’s Lionesses are one of the favourites to win the ninth edition of a global championship that has expanded to 32 teams, boasts a $110million (£84.7m) prize pot, has already sold out the 80,000-plus seat Stadium Australia and is expected to draw about two billion viewers from around the world. Asked at England’s team hotel in Queensland if teenage Sarina could have ever envisioned what the World Cup has become, the now 53-year-old immediately replied: “No. No, no, absolutely not. Absolutely not. The whole, everything, it’s totally changed, and really quickly. “And even when I was older and I think maybe 20 years ago, I would not have ever expected or not even dreamed to be in this situation, that in women’s football we would be now where we are, or even that I would be in a situation where I am now. That’s why I enjoy it so much, too. “It’s because I am grateful that things have changed so quickly. There’s still a long way to go, but how it grew [and moved] so many steps forward, I’m just very grateful for that.” Though women’s international competitions had taken place before, the 1988 Women’s Invitation Tournament was the first sanctioned by FIFA. Wiegman recalls that the White Swan felt “so luxurious”, but her memories of the playing conditions are foggier. She explained: “I just wanted to play. I wasn’t bothered about pitches, [because] I wasn’t used to [them]. We didn’t have the facilities. So I found everything we had in the stadium, there were 20,000 people, and they were laughing when someone made a mistake or something, that was really strange because they had a totally different view of football than in Europe, but well, there wouldn’t be 20,000 people [in Europe] then.” The Netherlands were ultimately beaten 2-1 by Brazil in the quarter-finals, but the competition solidified Wiegman’s desired destiny and convinced FIFA that an inaugural Women’s World Cup should be hosted by the same Chinese province in 1991. Wiegman said: “I thought ‘this is what I want to do’, but there weren’t very many opportunities then. But I just really loved that tournament, I will never forget that tournament.” The former midfielder remains adamant that “I’m just me and doing what I love the most” yet it is no exaggeration to say the self-described “serious” Hague native, whose CV is an astonishing chronicle of unprecedented accomplishments, has had a critical impact on the history of her beloved sport in more than one country. Wiegman retired after earning 104 caps for the Netherlands – her career itself a feat for a girl who once chose to chop off her hair and disguise herself as a boy because she found herself barred from football because of her gender. Since then Wiegman transitioned from PE teacher to the pioneering first head coach of Eredivisie Vrouwen side ADO Den Haag – but only after refusing an initial offer of a part-time role and insisting their ambitions were only viable with full investment. Wiegman assisted then-Netherlands head coach Roger Reijners at the 2015 World Cup, shortly after which she became the first woman in her country to coach with a men’s professional club, Sparta Rotterdam. She took permanent charge of the Netherlands in 2017, six months before they won the European Championship. Two years later, they were World Cup runners-up. With England’s Euro 2022 triumph, Wiegman became the first head coach to win that competition with two different countries. We really need to keep telling them what our identity is and where we came from England manager Sarina Wiegman Now the Lionesses boss could lead her side to the World Cup title that has so far evaded them both, decades after she boarded that life-altering plane to China and paved the way for the next wave of football-mad women just like her. Of them, she added: “Oh yes, they’re very grateful. Absolutely, this generation – yes. I think the younger group will come, we really need to keep telling them what our identity is and where we came from, where we come from. So we know how it was, how it’s growing and where we are. I think that’s very important.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Benjamin Mendy weeps as he is cleared of sex charges Novak Djokovic clashes with umpire and fans on his way to latest Wimbledon final Michal Kwiatkowski holds off Tadej Pogacar to take solo win on Grand Colombier

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The Royal Marines told England boss Gareth Southgate that Harry Kane would make the perfect captain, the striker has revealed. The Bayern Munich player heads back to Scotland for a friendly at Hampden Park, where he first skippered the national team, on Tuesday. Six years ago Southgate took his squad for a surprise weekend at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Devon. They camped, hiked and were dunked in the feared sheep dip as the Marines tested their physical and mental strength during a boding exercise which helped Southgate decide his skipper. A few days later, Kane was handed the armband and scored a last-gasp leveller in the 2-2 draw in Glasgow. “I remember that trip very clearly,” he said. “We had a fantastic time and I think Gareth did use that to see who stood out in terms of leadership. “Leadership comes in many ways. It isn’t just the guy in the front shooting the paintball. Maybe the way I got on with the Marines and the way I handled certain situations. “I know that Gareth asked some of the Marines afterwards who they thought were natural leaders, who were approachable and who other players were leaning towards to talk to. Things like that. “I think that might have helped in me becoming captain. It was a fantastic few days. Some great memories that will be with me forever. “It helped the whole squad get to know each other. We had no phones for three days, we were camping in the woods. That helped us, not just as a team. It helped us become closer. “We did a camping thing where we learned to put up our own tents and had the rations the Marine guys have when they’re going to war. “We woke up at sunrise and did a trek with all the stuff on our backs. Then we did an obstacle course. That was fun, although I think they left out some of the tougher parts. “We had to follow the Marines. Whenever they shouted ‘down’ we had to crawl in the mud, though stones and the sheep dip. “So we were all soaking wet, with sand and mud everywhere, and we thought we were going to get in a car and go back to camp, until they told us we were walking back – which was another hour on the road. That was probably the hardest part, it was mentally tough. I know that Gareth asked some of the Marines afterwards who they thought were natural leaders, who were approachable and who other players were leaning towards to talk to. Things like that. I think that might have helped in me becoming captain Harry Kane “Then we got back to the place we were staying. I was looking forward to a nice, hot shower and it was just a bit of water dripping out. It was just brutal.” Kane returns to Hampden as England’s record-breaking skipper with 58 goals in 84 caps. Back in 2017, Kane scored just his sixth international goal with a close-range volley from Raheem Sterling’s inch-perfect pass and remembers the World Cup qualifying draw well. “First of all I was extremely proud to be leading the boys out and I thought it was an amazing atmosphere, even from the national anthems,” said the 30-year-old. “The noise at Hampden Park is still one of the best atmosphere’s I’ve been a part of. The game was OK. We got ahead and then they quickly turned it around with two great free-kicks and then you’re thinking about being an Englishman losing to Scotland. “That isn’t the most ideal situation – especially when it’s your first game as captain, so it was nice to score in the last minute. “To be honest, I don’t think I realised how important the goal was until after the game, then I heard all the talk around it. For me, not to lose my first game as captain was important and it’s a nice memory.” Kane has linked up with England for the first time since his £100million move from Tottenham to Bayern. He has scored three goals in his first three starts and slotted into life in Germany, including a club photoshoot while dressed in Lederhosen and posing with fake beer. He said: “It was alright actually. The shorts were a bit heavier than I thought. It wasn’t even real beer – it was just to look good. “We have a day when all the players and staff go to Oktoberfest. I don’t know when that will be, but I’ve heard it’s really good.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Brennan Johnson has the potential to reach ‘highest of levels’ – Neco Williams George Ford masterclass earns 14-man England an opening World Cup win New Italy boss Luciano Spalletti denied first win as North Macedonia fight back

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