Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - The chances of New Zealand hosting the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup have improved after Brazil withdrew its bid.

Brazil withdrew its candidacy, with the Brazilian Football Confederation saying the government did not consider it wise to offer financial guarantees in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Because of the fiscal and economic austerity brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, (the government) thought it would not be recommended to right now sign the guarantees asked for by FIFA," the CBF said in a statement.

Brazil has hosted a string of international sporting competitions in recent years, including the World Cup in 2014, the Olympic Games in 2016 and the Copa America in 2019 - and the CBF also felt they were outsiders to host yet another major event.

Brazil will instead join the other South American nations and "support Colombia in the dispute to host" the tournament, the organisation said.

Brazil's withdrawal means Colombia, Japan and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand are the remaining contenders to host the 32-team tournament.

The winning bid will be decided by an online meeting of the FIFA council on June 25.

Japan, the 2011 Women's World Cup winners, are the main rivals to Australia and New Zealand's bid.

-Reuters

Roses' to sponsor golf events

Former world men's golf number one Justin Rose and his wife Kate are to sponsor a new women's series in Britain starting this month.

The Rose Ladies Series will comprise seven one-day events for British professionals, beginning on June 18 at Brockenhurst Manor Golf Club in Hampshire.

One of the tournaments will take place at Royal St George's that was supposed to host the British Open this year. No fans will be allowed but Sky Sports will broadcast the events.

Rose, the reigning Olympic champion, said he felt compelled to get involved because while he is preparing to make a return to the PGA Tour this week, women's professional golf tournaments will not resume until late July.

"Professional sports people are not machines -- we cannot just power on and go. We have to nurture our skills in order to rely on them when needed; usually under pressure," the 39-year-old told the Ladies European Tour website.

"My wife and I felt it was an opportunity for us to help where we can. The prize money will be modest but we hope that the series will give our talented lady golfers the opportunity to showcase their skills.

Women's professional golf tournaments on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour remain suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to resume in late July.

-Reuters

US Tennis cuts jobs

The United States Tennis Association says it will eliminate 110 jobs and close its White Plains, New York office as part of belt-tightening measures brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The USTA said in a statement the measures were necessary to combat the negative long-reaching financial effects of the pandemic and ensure that it's flagship tournament the U.S. Open will remain a world-class level event.

The novel coronavirus outbreak has left the professional tennis calendar in tatters.

Wimbledon has been cancelled and the French Open rescheduled while the U.S. Open has, for the moment, retained its place on the calendar and is scheduled to start on Aug. 24.

USTA identified more than $30 million in savings by instituting management salary reductions and furloughing approximately 100 employees.

-Reuters

Manchester United defender passes away

Manchester United's European Cup-winning full-back Tony Dunne has died, aged 78.

Dunne was part of the United side who beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley in 1968.

The Irishman, who joined United as an 18-year-old in 1960, played 535 first-team matches for the club, putting him eighth on their all-time appearance list.

He won the FA Cup in 1963 and was part of Matt Busby's title-winning squads in 1965 and 1967.

The Dublin-born defender went on to play more than 200 games for Bolton between 1973 and 1979 before finishing his career in the North American Soccer League with Detroit Express.

Dunne also won 33 caps for the Republic of Ireland and was named Irish footballer of the year in 1969.

-BBC

English Premiership cuts salary cap

England's top-flight rugby clubs have agreed to reduce the salary cap by one million pounds ($1.94 million) in response to financial pressures heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Club owners held a video call to discuss lowering the wage-spending threshold, reportedly agreeing to six million pounds rather than the previous seven million.

An announcement is expected laet today to confirm the move that could be in place from next season.

The Premiership, which has nine rounds of matches remaining, has been suspended since April because of the pandemic but a resumption is provisionally planned for Aug. 15.

Exeter Chiefs were top of the standings with 45 points when the season was stopped.

Exeter's director of rugby Rob Baxter has gone on record saying he would support a lower salary cap.

-Reuters

Lions tour still on, at this stage

The British & Irish Lions series against the world champion Springboks remains pencilled in for July next year but South African Rugby have confirmed there is a "slight chance" it could be moved to align with a new global calendar.

The Lions tour has a planned July 3, 2021 start, with the three tests on consecutive weekends from July 24 onwards, but a mooted change to the sport's global calendar could see a switch.

"There is a slight chance that, to align with a new global calendar, it might move to either a September/October or October/November window and that is only because if that is the only hurdle of getting the global calendar across the line, we wouldn't want to be the hindrance to that."

Roux said a decision on the suggested global calendar shift, which would do away with mid-year internationals, could come as soon as July 1, which would provide certainty on when the Lions tour will take place.

Among the ideas under discussion is a shift of the Six Nations Championship, possibly to a month or two later than its current February/March slot, and for Europe to adopt more of a summer club rugby season.

- Reuters

Having fans back is a step in the right direction for NZ Rugby

New Zealand Rugby says getting fans through the gates to watch the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition is a step in the right direction, but it is "no silver bullet" for the governing body's financial struggles.

Following the lifting of virtually all coronavirus restrictions, fans have been given the green light to return to stadiums in Dunedin and Auckland this weekend for the first round of matches.

But with NZR forecasting a 70% decline in revenue this year due to the novel coronavirus shutdown there is a long way to go before it gets back on a firm financial footing, says their head of professional rugby Chris Lendrum.

"For us at NZR it's no silver bullet," Lendrum said.

"It doesn't take away from the hard and distressing times that we face as a business and what our people are facing.

"But it will clearly help. And is a step in the right direction."

The 10-week domestic competition was organised after the wider Super Rugby tournament, which also involves teams from Australia, South Africa, Argentina and Japan, was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

-Reuters

Fans can still have their faces at EPL games

Brighton & Hove Albion will play their remaining Premier League home games without fans but season ticket-holders can still make their presence felt during matches by signing up for cardboard cutouts of themselves to be displayed at the Stadium.

The Premier League will resume without spectators because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Brighton, who are two points above the relegation zone with nine games remaining, scheduled to host Arsenal in their first match back on June 20.

Personalised cut-outs will cost fans 20 pounds ($39) each, with a percentage of profits being donated to the 'Albion As One' charity fund.

Last week, Wolverhampton Wanderers also invited their fans to be part of a crowd mosaic for home matches at Molineux.

-Reuters

Athletics ex-boss stands trial for taking bribes to clear Russians of doping

Lamine Diack, the former head of the governing body for world athletics, was at the heart of a corruption scam that saw Russian athletes pay six-figure sums to have their names erased from doping lists, prosecutors told a French court.

Diack, 87, who led the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from 1999 to 2015, stood before the French judges on the first day of trial as charges of corruption, money laundering and breach of trust were read out.

Prosecutors allege Diack solicited bribes totalling almost $6 million from athletes suspected of doping to cover up test results and let them continue competing, including in the 2012 London Olympics.

They also say Diack obtained $2.2 million of Russian funds while negotiating sponsorship and television rights to help finance Macky Sall's campaign for the 2012 Senegal presidential election, in exchange for slowing anti-doping procedures.

Diack has previously denied wrongdoing. He spoke on Monday only to confirm his identity and is due to testify on Wednesday.

- Reuters

Bulldogs claim first win

The Bulldogs have claimed their first victory of the NRL season - a 22-2 defeat of the still winless Dragons.

The results leaves St George Illawarra on their own at the bottom of the standings with a 0-4 record.

The Bulldogs have one win and three losses and sit level on four points with the Warriors.

MLB proposes 76-game season

Major League Baseball has offered a new proposal to players for a 76-game season at 75 percent of their salaries.

The season would begin around July 10 and end on Sept. 27, with the postseason ending in late October.

The latest proposal also includes playoff pool money and no draft pick compensation for teams signing players, according to ESPN's Karl Ravech.

The Major League Baseball Players Association regards this latest proposal as "worse" than the previous offers because the prorated salaries would be reduced from 75 percent to 50 percent if there is no postseason, The Athletic's Evan Drellich reported.

The 2020 regular season was supposed to begin on March 26, but spring training was halted March 12 due to the spread of the coronavirus, and teams have yet to reconvene.

- Reuters

Russian high jumper Shustov receives four-year doping ban

Russian high jumper Alexander Shustov, the 2010 European champion, has received a four-year ban for anti-doping violations.

Shustov, who retired from competition in 2017, has been suspended until 2024 for "use or attempted use of a banned substance or prohibited method" in a ruling by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week.

The Russian Athletics Federation said Shustov's results between July 2013 and July 2017, a period that encompasses his seventh-place finish at the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow, had been voided.

Shustov told TASS news agency that he disagreed with CAS' decision.

No other details, including the name of the banned substance or method, were disclosed.

Russia's athletics federation was suspended in 2015 after a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found evidence of mass doping in the sport.

- Reuters