Real Madrid Appoint Alonso as Manager on Three-year Contract

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Semi Final - Arminia Bielefeld v Bayer Leverkusen - Bielefelder Alm, Bielefeld, Germany - April 1, 2025 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso before the match REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Semi Final - Arminia Bielefeld v Bayer Leverkusen - Bielefelder Alm, Bielefeld, Germany - April 1, 2025 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso before the match REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
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Real Madrid Appoint Alonso as Manager on Three-year Contract

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Semi Final - Arminia Bielefeld v Bayer Leverkusen - Bielefelder Alm, Bielefeld, Germany - April 1, 2025 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso before the match REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Semi Final - Arminia Bielefeld v Bayer Leverkusen - Bielefelder Alm, Bielefeld, Germany - April 1, 2025 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso before the match REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

Xabi Alonso has been appointed Real Madrid manager, the LaLiga club said on Sunday as the Spaniard returns to the Santiago Bernabeu where he spent six seasons as a player and won several trophies.

Alonso has signed a three-year contract until June 2028 and the 43-year-old replaces Carlo Ancelotti, who took charge of his last game on Saturday.

Alonso had been in charge of Bayer Leverkusen and confirmed he would be leaving the German club this month.

The Spaniard took charge of Leverkusen in October 2022 and guided them to the double last season as they lifted their first Bundesliga title, without losing a game. They also won the German Cup and reached the Europa League final.

He had a contract at Leverkusen until 2026 but the club said they had granted his wish to terminate his deal at the end of the season.

Alonso will be presented as Real coach on Monday and will take charge of Real ahead of the Club World Cup which starts in the United States next month.



Imane Khelif Must Undergo Genetic Sex Screening to Fight for New Boxing Governing Body

Algeria's Imane Khelif poses after defeating China's Yang Liu to win gold in their women's 66 kg final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
Algeria's Imane Khelif poses after defeating China's Yang Liu to win gold in their women's 66 kg final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
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Imane Khelif Must Undergo Genetic Sex Screening to Fight for New Boxing Governing Body

Algeria's Imane Khelif poses after defeating China's Yang Liu to win gold in their women's 66 kg final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
Algeria's Imane Khelif poses after defeating China's Yang Liu to win gold in their women's 66 kg final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif must undergo genetic sex screening to participate in upcoming events with the sport's new governing body.

World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes Friday. The governing body specifically mentioned Khelif when announcing the policy, saying the Algerian gold medal winner must be screened before she will be approved to fight at any upcoming events, including the Eindhoven Box Cup next month in the Netherlands.

“The introduction of mandatory testing will be part of a new policy on ‘Sex, Age and Weight’ to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women,” World Boxing wrote in a statement. The fighters' national federations will be responsible for administering the tests and providing the results to World Boxing.

Khelif won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer amid international scrutiny on her and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, another gold medal winner. The previous governing body for Olympic boxing, the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, disqualified both fighters from its 2023 world championships after claiming they had failed an unspecified eligibility test.

The IOC ran the past two Olympic boxing tournaments after the banishment of the IBA for decades of misdeeds and controversy, and it applied the sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics. Khelif and Lin were eligible to compete under those standards.

Khelif intends to return to international competition next month in Eindhoven as part of her plan to defend her gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics, but some fellow competitors had already spoken out to protest her inclusion.

World Boxing has been provisionally approved to replace the IBA as the governing body at the Los Angeles Games, but it has faced significant pressure from boxers and their federations to create sex eligibility standards.

World Boxing announced that all athletes over 18 years old in its competitions must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex at birth, The Associated Press reported. The PCR test detects chromosomal material through a mouth swab, saliva or blood.

If an athlete intending to compete in the women's categories is determined to have male chromosomal material, “initial screenings will be referred to independent clinical specialists for genetic screening, hormonal profiles, anatomical examination or other valuation of endocrine profiles by medical specialists,” World Boxing wrote. The policy also includes an appeals process.

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