World football’s governing body FIFA voted on Tuesday to expand the World Cup to 48 teams, from a current 32, starting in 2026. The move was adopted unanimously at a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland and will bring ”benefits without negatives”, said FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, who strongly backed the change. “Many more countries will have the chance to dream,” he added. The current 32-team World Cup format has been in place since 1998. Previously, only 24 teams played in the tournament. Critics have said the expanded format will lower the level of the competition, and slammed the decision as a political one. 

China’s Olympic-gold-winning women’s volleyball team swept top prizes at the CCTV Sports Awards gala on Sunday at the Water Cube in Beijing. The Rio champions took four awards, including best team and best female athlete for star spiker Zhu Ting. Coach Lang Ping won the best coach award for the third year in a row, while the squad also won a special contribution award for their performance at last year’s Summer Olympics. Table tennis star Ma Long, who won double gold in Rio, was named best male athlete, while diver Ren Qian won best rookie following his gold medal on the 10-meter platform in Rio. Paralympic fencer Rong Jing, a triple Olympic champion in Rio, was named best disabled athlete.

Spanish giants Real Madrid tallied a magical 40 games without a loss when they came back from behind to draw 3-3 against Sevilla in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Friday, marking the longest unbeaten run in Spanish football history. The previous record had been held by arch-rivals Barcelona. This was a notable achievement for manager Zinedine Zidane, whose only coaching gig was for Real’s B team before he took over the reins from Rafael Benitez last January. The celebrations were short-lived however as Real went down 1-2 to Sevilla in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Sunday, with an own goal by captain Sergio Ramos. 

Three Chinese weightlifters who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics have been stripped of their medals for doping. The decision by the International Olympic Committee on Thursday was also confirmed by China’s weightlifting association. The three athletes – Cao Lei, Chen Xiexia and Liu Chunhong – were found positive for doping after samples were re-tested. China’s Olympic Committee said the three violated Olympic rules and spirit and would receive harsh sanctions. 

FIFA’s world number four team Chile claimed a new piece of silverware on Sunday when they beat Iceland 1-0 to win the inaugural China Cup football tournament. The Latin American squad had already defeated China on the way to the trophy. Altogether four teams took part in the competition, which was organized by the Wanda Group and the Chinese Football Association in the southern Chinese city of Nanning last week. In the third-place final, China beat Croatia on penalties 1-1 (4-3) on Saturday.