Saudi Arabia's path to the 2026 World Cup being played in North America will start in a first qualifying group drawn Thursday with neighboring Jordan, Tajikistan plus either Cambodia or Pakistan.

Players in the Saudi national team -- which stunned eventual winner Argentina in a 2-1 win to open the 2022 tournament in Qatar -- will now prepare for the next edition training and playing with a slew of global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema lured to the multi-billion dollar project that the Saudi Pro League has become.

Bronny James, the oldest son of NBA superstar LeBron James, was hospitalized in stable condition on Tuesday, a day after going into cardiac arrest while participating in a practice at the University of Southern California, a family spokesman said.

The spokesman said medical staff treated the 18-year-old James on site at USC's Galen Center after he went into cardiac arrest on Monday morning. He was transported to a hospital, where he was in stable condition Tuesday after leaving the intensive care unit.

Bayern Munich's president confirmed Wednesday that the club is aware of "initial talks" around a reported move for forward Sadio Mané from the German champion to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, where he could team up with Cristiano Ronaldo.

"FC Bayern is informed about this," club president Herbert Hainer said in Japan during a pre-season tour, in quotes reported by German news agency dpa. "But these are initial talks, you have to wait and see."

The Olympics is on track to be back in business with millions of visitors coming to Paris for the 2024 Games.

The French capital has the expert experience to stage the event and welcome guests for the first Olympics of the post-pandemic era.

Saudi Arabia, the new home of some of soccer's biggest stars and a co-owner of professional golf, is proving to be no less ambitious when it comes to another global pastime – the $180 billion-a-year video game industry.

Last September, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund earmarked nearly $40 billion for a new conglomerate aimed at transforming the kingdom into the "ultimate global hub" for games and esports by 2030. In February, the Saudi fund became the biggest outside investor in Nintendo, and just this month the kingdom hosted a major gaming tournament with a record $45 million prize pool.

A year before the Paris Olympics, and nearly a year-and-a-half since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials governing many of the sports on the 2024 program are still split on how to treat Russian athletes.

Increasingly, various governing bodies are allowing them back into Olympic qualifying competitions as neutral competitors without national flags or anthems. Most sports initially barred Russians from competing soon after last year's full-scale invasion.

After missing out on Lionel Messi, Saudi Arabian football team Al-Hilal made a record 300 million euro ($332 million) bid for Kylian Mbappe on Monday, an offer which could see the France striker join Cristiano Ronaldo in the oil-rich kingdom.

Paris Saint-Germain confirmed the offer for its player and has given Al-Hilal permission to open negotiations directly with Mbappe.

Herve Renard masterminded defeat of Lionel Messi's Argentina in the Qatar World Cup group stage and now is hoping to experience more "emotions that you can't buy" at the Women's World Cup.

The 54-year-old gave up a lucrative contract as coach of Saudi Arabia's men -- who he led to a famous win over eventual champions Argentina in Qatar -- to take over the women's team of his native France.

Carlos Alcaraz said Friday he finds it "tough to believe" he is Wimbledon champion as the Spaniard prepares to play the Hopman Cup mixed team tournament in France days after his triumph in London.

"Thinking I won Wimbledon is tough to believe. I can't believe that I won and beat Novak (Djokovic), probably it will take some days to believe," Alcaraz told journalists.

United States winger Tim Weah has a lot to live up to after joining Juventus from Lille.

Not only is he the son of one of the top players to have plied his trade in Italian football — former FIFA Player of the Year and current Liberian President George Weah — but the 23-year-old will have to replace Juan Cuadrado.