Liverpool face Man City

Women's Super League champions Liverpool will begin the defence of their title with a home match against newcomers Manchester City.

The game, which will be the first BT Sport televised match of the campaign, will take place on Thursday, 17 April.

Bristol Academy, last season's WSL runners-up, host Chelsea in their opening match on the same day.

The eight-team league begins a day earlier, with Birmingham City at home to Everton and Arsenal at Notts County.

For the first time there will also be a second division, Women's Super League 2, featuring an additional 10 teams.

All 18 clubs will take part in the FA Women's Super League Continental Cup, which begins on 30 April.

Liverpool boss Matt Beard said: "Hopefully we can hit the ground running, but with Manchester City coming into the league it will be a good test for us right from the off."

Opening-week fixtures

Wednesday, 16 April

Birmingham City Ladies v Everton Ladies

Notts County Ladies v Arsenal Ladies

Thursday, 17 April

Bristol Academy Women v Chelsea Ladies

Liverpool Ladies v Manchester City Women 

BBC Sports News

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Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA Ballon d'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for 2013, ending Lionel Messi's four-year run as the world's best player.

Ronaldo scored 69 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal last year, and his stunning hat trick against Sweden in a decisive World Cup playoff was perhaps the defining individual performance.

''There are no words to describe this moment,'' said Ronaldo, who was sobbing in tears after he accepting the trophy with his young son, also named Cristiano, beside him on stage.

He defeated Barcelona's Messi and France winger Franck Ribery, who helped Bayern Munich to a sweep of major titles.

Voting was done by national team captains and coaches, plus selected journalists, in FIFA's 209 member countries.

Ronaldo rolled back his head and closed his eyes, smiling, when Brazil great Pele, after a dramatic pause and smile, read out his name. He kissed his girlfriend, model Irina Shayk, before going up to the stage.

Ronaldo had to wait five years since first winning the award as a Manchester United player, and was heavily favored after FIFA extended the balloting deadline beyond the World Cup playoffs in November and allowed voters to change preferences.

The Portugal star's display in Stockholm was so impressive it seemed certain to sway voters at a time when Messi was sidelined by his third injury of the year.

Still, FIFA spokesman Walter De Gregorio said Monday the standings were unchanged by the voting rules adjustment, which raised the turnout from around 50 to 88 percent.

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Ronaldo said earlier Monday that he made peace with FIFA President Sepp Blatter, whose stated personal preference last October for Messi sparked speculation that the eventual winner would snub the ceremony.

''We talked over the telephone and everything was cleared,'' Ronaldo at a news conference before the ceremony. ''This is no longer an issue, neither for us nor for football.''

Germany dominated the other major awards, with goalkeeper Nadine Angerer named women's player of the year ahead of United States forward Abby Wambach, last year's winner, and Marta of Brazil.

Though Ribery lost, Bayern got one victory as Jupp Heynckes won the coaching award for leading the team to a Champions League, Bundesliga and national cup treble last season before he retired. Heynckes defeated Juergen Klopp, whose Borussia Dortmund team lost the all-German Champions League final, and Alex Ferguson, who retired after winning another Premier League title for Manchester United.

Germany national team coach Sylvia Neid won the women's award, beating Sweden coach Pia Sundhage and Ralf Kellermann, who led Wolfsburg to the Champions League title.

The World XI elected by players in the FIFPro group of national unions was: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, Germany); Dani Alves (Barcelona, Brazil), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil), Philipp Lahm (Bayern, Germany); Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona, Spain), Ribery (Bayern, France); Ronaldo (Madrid, Portugal), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG, Sweden), and Messi (Barcelona, Argentina).

Ibrahimovic won a fans' online vote to get the Puskas Award for best goal, a long-range bicycle kick for Sweden against England in a November 2012 friendly.

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Premier League - Stoke City 3 Liverpool 5

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says his side must tighten up defensively after a 5-3 victory over Stoke City on Sunday in which Daniel Sturridge resumed his lethal strike partnership with Luis Suarez.

Sturridge celebrated his first appearance in seven weeks following an ankle injury with his side's final goal, while Uruguayan Suarez scored his 21st and 22nd goals of the season as the Reds beat Stoke at the Britannia Stadium for the first time in the Premier League.

The win lifted Liverpool back into the top four with 42 points, five behind leaders Manchester City who win 2-0 over Newcastle.

Yet Rodgers acknowledged that if they are to remain in the Champions League places they need to improve on a defensive effort that allowed Stoke to come back from two goals down to draw level at 2-2 before halftime.

Lax defending had allowed former Anfield players Peter Crouch and Charlie Adam to cancel out a Ryan Shawcross own goal and Suarez's first.

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Qualified Team List For FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil

For upcoming FIFA World Cup 2014, this is the qualified team list.

Brazil - Host

Japan

Australia

Iran

South Korea

Netherlands

Italy

Costa Rica

United States

Argentina

Belgium 
Switzerland
Germany
Colombia
Russia
Bosnia Herzegovina
England 
Spain
Chile
Ecuador
Honduras
Nigeria
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Ghana
Algeria
Greece 
Croatia
Portugal
France
Mexico
Uruguay Read More