On October 6, 2013, 16 women from Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkmenistan and Uganda gathered to share stories about their time in the United States. These women may have come from all corners of the globe and speak different languages, but one trait unifies them: They all want to create more opportunities for women and girls through sports.

With just 100 days before the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has a key opportunity to speak out about abuses linked to Russia’s preparations for the Games. The IOC should also call on Russia to repeal a law that discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, Human Rights Watch said.

London is set to abandon plans to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the BBC has learned. Mayor Boris Johnson is said to be worried the event could cost as much as £1bn and that the city could not afford it. He had previously backed the plans. A final decision has not been made, but a source said a bid was "unlikely".

A World Cup berth appears unlikely after their home defeat to Nigeria but a growing legion of Ethiopian fans are taking to Twitter to lure overseas-based players eligible to represent the Walyas. Nigeria came from behind to snatch a last-gasp 2-1 win over Ethiopia in the first leg of their playoff in Addis Ababa after two goals from Emmanuel Emenike helped them take a big step towards next year's finals in Brazil.

David Stern is set to retire in February 2014, after completing exactly 30 years of service as commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In transforming the NBA from a drug-addled public-relations nightmare of a league into a multi-billion dollar entity, Stern’s proudest accomplishment is growing the game globally. After investing in Europe for the better part of a decade following the fall of communism in the Eastern Bloc countries, Stern set his sights on Asia as a new frontier.

An unusual football marriage looks on the rocks as the collaboration between Egypt and their American coach Bob Bradley appears close to an end after their World Cup playoff humiliation by Ghana on Tuesday. A 6-1 thrashing in Kumasi in the first leg of the African zone playoff was not only a record-breaking defeat but also leaves Egypt facing the stark reality of yet another painful failure in the preliminaries.

Ask a soccer fan to name the fiercest rivalry in Argentina, and it is a near certainty the reply will be Boca Juniors versus River Plate, the battle for Buenos Aires popularly known as el superclásico. Another capital derby, Independiente versus Racing, ignites the industrial suburb of Avellaneda, where those clubs’ stadiums are separated by a single city block.

American citizen and former United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) soccer coach Bob Bradley took over as the Egyptian Men’s National Team coach in 2011. Since June 2012, Bradley has led the Egyptian team to six straight wins to remain unbeaten in the World Cup qualifying group stage of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). They are now in a final two-game playoff with Ghana for one of the five CAF slots to the 2014 tournament in Brazil. If Egypt wins, it will be their first trip to the World Cup since 1990, and only their third appearance ever.