Actress Natalie Portman and venture capitalist Kara Nortman lead a group that will bring an expansion National Women's Soccer League team to the Los Angeles area in 2022. Then she and Nortman met Becca Roux, the executive director of the U.S. Women's National Team Players Association. The women also reached out to a local supporters group that has been campaigning to bring a team to Los Angeles. The group is partnering with the LA84 Foundation, a nonprofit formed after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics that promotes youth sports. The official name of the Los Angeles club, and where it will play, are expected to be announced later this year.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. Jeremy Ebobisse and Diego Valeri scored and the Portland Timbers clinched a spot in the knockout round of the MLS is Back tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night. Our first goal was to reach the knockout stage, Portland coach Giovanni Savarese said. We are in a group with three difficult opponents, so every game is a must win, Houston coach Tab Ramos said. It is Ebobisse's second goal in the tournament and his second in five career matches against Houston. The Timbers opened tournament play with a 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy and have won three straight this season after dropping their opener to Minnesota.

Norwich City's Todd Cantwell is dejected after West Ham scored their fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Norwich City and West Ham at the Carrow Road stadium in Norwich, England, Saturday, July 11, 2020. (Alex Pantling/Pool via AP)NORWICH Norwich became the first team to be relegated from the English Premier League on Saturday after Michail Antonio scored four goals for West Ham, which moved much closer to safety with Watford. West Ham is 16th and six points clear of 18th-place Bournemouth in the relegation zone. Watford is level on points with West Ham after coming from 1-0 down to beat Newcastle 2-1. Players wore black armbands as Premier League games this weekend started with a moment of silence as a tribute to World Cup winner Jack Charlton, who died on Friday aged 85.

Major League Soccer MVP Carlos Vela will not accompany Los Angeles FC to the league's return tournament in Orlando this month. Vela announced his decision Monday, July 6, 2020, citing his concern for the health of his family, including his pregnant wife. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)Major League Soccer is about to resume its season in a state that has seen a huge spike in coronavirus infections, with one team absent because of a COVID-19 outbreak, and with plenty of worry about what will happen next. FC Dallas withdrew from the tournament on Monday after 10 players and a coach tested positive for the virus. We are proud of Major League Soccer, and we want to show our game to the world, Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja said.

Yuliy Boyarshinov, right, and Viktor Filinkov, members of a left-wing group Set (Network) listen a court verdict from inside a glass cage in the Western regional military court in St.Petersburg, Russia, Monday, June 22, 2020. Members of the left-wing youth group Set (Network) were accused of terrorism, in a case human rights advocates believe to be fabricated and based on testimony elicited by torture. (AP Photo/David Frenkel)ST. PETERSBURG A Russian military court convicted two members of a left-wing youth group of terrorism Monday in a case that human rights groups called fabricated and based on coerced testimony. A three-judge panel in the court in St. Petersburg found Victor Filinkov, 25, and Yuly Boyarshinov, 28, guilty of membership in a terrorist organization. Both were said to belong to the Set (Network) group, seven members of which were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms earlier this year in Penza, a city 500 kilometres (310 miles) southeast of Moscow.

(AP Photo/Joan Montfort)NYON The Champions League will finish with a 12-day mini-tournament in Lisbon, restarting in August after a five-month suspension caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The unprecedented solution also sees the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul the originally scheduled host for the final pushed back by one year. Both competitions have yet to complete their quarterfinal line-ups with round of 16 games halted. The Champions League had four second-leg games postponed in March at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester City. In the Europa League, only six of eight first-leg games in the round of 16 were played.

All rights reserved)GENEVA A verdict in Manchester Citys appeal against a two-year UEFA ban from European competitions is expected within five weeks. The panel finished hearing three days of evidence about allegations City broke UEFAs club finance monitoring rules and obstructed the investigation. Confidentiality was requested by UEFA and City, which is owned by Abu Dhabis royal family. The verdict will not affect City playing in this seasons Champions League. Federal judges can intervene only on narrow legal grounds and would not re-try the merits of the case.

Thomas Mueller, left, of Munich is challenged by Edmond Tapsoda of Leverkusen during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, June 6, 2020. Alphonso Davies and Thomas Mller have built an effective and affectionate partnership this season, and it's driving Bayern Munich toward a record-extending eighth straight German title. I call him Chef, Davies said in televised comments after Mller broke the German league record with his 20th assist of the season Saturday. Bayern is also eyeing another German double, with Frankfurt again their opponent in the cup semifinal Wednesday, and the Champions League whenever that resumes. The Champions League is set to resume as a mini-tournament this summer.

It's no surprise that Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was fine with the Womens Super League season being curtailed. But determining the final standings on a points-per-game ratio, rather than on the field due to the coronavirus pandemic, raised questions about the commitment to the women's game in England. While the WSL was abandoned, the mens Premier League will restart on June 17 after a 100-day suspension. To grow participation in womens football, the FA has been running a Gameplan for Growth since 2017. And it feels like were knocking the womens game that we love and want to desperately promote and sell and raise the profile of.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

(AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___Called out, Bowling Green has saved its baseball program, which had been cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ___Bowling Green is working with alumni and former players to reinstate the Falcons baseball program. ___Pac-12 schools have agreed to perform COVID-19 and coronavirus antibody tests on all athletes upon their return to campuses for voluntary workouts. If cleared, athletes would be allowed to participate in voluntary workouts, though they would be divided into small groups for safety precautions. ___Pac-12 schools have agreed to perform COVID-19 and coronavirus antibody tests on all athletes upon their return to campuses for voluntary workouts.