a part of the the paris 2024 opening ceremony. we'll tell you why shortly. hello and welcome to the programme. it could be the start of an historic new era in english men's football. the creation of the first independent regulator moved a step closer, after the government introduced new proposals. if passed into law, a new body would oversee clubs across england's top five tiers, independent of government and the footballing authorities. here's our sports editor, dan roan. whether it is controversy over teams docked points for overspending, clubs getting into financial difficulty, or the threat of a european super league, english football has faced various crises in recent years.

and today the government published legislation that will establish the game's first independent regulator. we have seen 64 administrations since the premier league was formed in 1992. today this bill is about making sure we bring financial resilience and stability back into football so we don't see these clubs go under. this comesjust days after the premier league failed to agree a proposed £900 million funding deal that would have seen it shed more with clubs like this, leyton orient, of league 1. i was hugely disappointed. the government has been very clear from the outset on these discussions that if football did not come to a deal, the regulator would be able to in the bill that we were going to bring forward. as well as the power to impose a financial settlement on the game and to block clubs joining breakaway leagues, the regulator will be able to issue club licenses linked to financial security and fan

power on key decisions. fine clubs up to 10% of their annual turnover for non—compliance and implement a tougher owners and directors�* test. in 2017, this club was almost in liquidation. since then we have had berry, we had to go through what they have gone through, financial difficulties of what reading is currently going through. when you look at it from the outside in, there is definitely a concern and you definitely want there to be robust measures in place that can protect football clu bs. this constitutes the most significant reform to the way that the game is run in england, for a generation, but the premier league has said it is concerned about any unintended consequences that could weaken the competitiveness or appeal of the game. the premier league reiterated it distributes £1.5 billion over three years to all levels of the game and while some campaigners say the legislation has not gone far enough the football league welcomed it. the gulf between top and bottom has grown, it is a chasm.

when we formed the premier league, the turnover was 45 million. the efl was 3a million. a gap of 11 million. the gap is now 3 billion. it is not bridgeable. the regulator, which ministers want to become law before the general election will not block state ownership of clubs and with the possibility of amendments, its final form is still in play. chelsea will fancy their chances of making the women's champions league semifinals after a convincing 3—0 win away at ajax, in the first leg of their quarter final tie. laurenjames got them on their way in amsterdam, in front of nearly 36,000 — a dutch record for a women's game. sjoeke nusken scored two, completing the comfortable victory ahead of the second leg next week. emma hayes�* side in pole position to reach a fifth european semifinal in six seasons.

in the night's other quarterfinal tie, lyon beat benfica 2—1 but not without a scare. it was the portuguese side who led at half—time — andreia faria putting benfica ahead. but lyon fought back after half—time — delphine cascarino equalised, before sara dabritz scored the winner, 11 minutes from time. the second leg is next wednesday. to tennis, and the bbc understands that aryna sabalenka is due to play as planned in the miami 0pen. it follows the death of her partner, konstantin koltsov, on tuesday. having received a bye in the first round, sabalenka wasn't set to be in action until thursday or friday, although it's understood there may be discretion in the scheduling, given the circumstances. miami police have said in a statement that no foul play is suspected around koltsov�*s death. sabalenka will face paula badosa in that second round match, after she spoiled simona halep�*s return to the court, following a successful appeal to the court of arbitration for sport over her doping ban. badosa came from a set down to win in three,

in a match that lasted two hours. staying with tennis, the draw for the group stages of the davis cup have been made, with defending champions italy, set to face the netherlands, belgium and brazil, in bologna. great britain will come up against canada, finland and argentina in manchester as they try to reach the knockout stages in malaga, later in the year. arguably, the toughest group appears to be in valencia, where spain will take on australia, france and the czech republic. for the third time in four years, australia's cricketers have withdrawn from an upcoming tour of afghanistan, following the taliban's return to power in 2021. this time, they've withdrawn from a men's t20 three—match series in august, because of continued restrictions on women and girls in the country, with cricket australia saying government advice is that conditions forfemales in afghanistan are getting worse. the international olympic committee have confirmed athletes from russia and belarus will not be a part of the parade during the opening ceremony at paris 202a. qualified athletes from those countries will compete under

a neutralflag, following russia's invasion of ukraine, two years ago. meanwhile, the ioc have also called the russian—organised friendship games "a cynical attempt "to politicise sport", describing the event as a "purely politically "motivated sports event". the inaugural summer friendship games are reported to be taking place in september, something the ioc have called a "blatant violation of the olympic charter". well, it's nowjust four months to go until the olympic games get underway in paris, and when it comes to final preparations, team gb is leaving nothing to chance. multiple state of the art training facilities have been set up around the city for british athletes. 0ur reporter sarah dawkins was granted access inside the camps and sent this report. it may seem peaceful but peter harris is preparing for an olympic takeover but before the 0lympic takeover but before the metals can be won, the hard work has to be done and for team gb, final preparations

would take part here. this is 12 miles west of the city centre, home to a famous chateau and an even more famous for book club, psg becomes summer, the channel be stopping footballers for 0lympians. from rugby sevens, two hockey, to tennis, time is ticking as athletes hope to finish on the podium. around 140 athletes from britain from job spots will pull through this complex and the final weeks and days they compete. and absolutely no expense has been spared by the local community. this is a brand—new athletics track, designed to replicate the one used for competition in the stade de france. we are very good at travelling, acclimatisation, preparation camp like this where we are today. they are very acute in terms of technical training and competence and that has

slightly been taken away from us because of the geography of europe. but we're very confident. such is the size of team gb, that not all of the 350 athletes will be able to train here. some fine tune longer in the uk while others will be here. welcome to the other side of paris, about 40 minutes from the olympic village, another town and another state of any art camp. nothing is left to chance when it comes to planning 0lympics, hundreds of thousands has been spent by the city on facilities, and legacy investment to maximise british and ultimately french potential.— and ultimately french otential. ~ , ., ., potential. when explaining how that access _ potential. when explaining how that access they _ potential. when explaining how that access they question - potential. when explaining how that access they question why l that access they question why they have not got it. you see that reflected in the performances. team gb go out into incredible things and it's all about the 1% when you get

to our level, we have done all the training and if we can get that extra 1% above everyone else, it is beneficial. ambitious plans to stage the opening ceremony on the river senn means security concerns and the threat of a strike or two could rain on the parade but officials hope to shut out the noise with olympic glory. ——seine. finally, chris gayle, a man known for providing box—office moments with the bat for west indies, had the honour of kicking off the t20 world cup trophy tour in the grandest way, by lighting up the empire state building. gayle, a two—time champion, alongside usa star, ali khan, pulled the lever to illuminate the famous building in new york, with the trophy on top of the skyscraper. injune, 20 teams will be competing across the west indies and the usa, the first time a cricket world cup will be held in the us. you can get all the latest sports news at from the bbc sport app, orfrom our website. but from me and the rest

of the team at the bbc sport centre, goodbye. hello. we are marking the spring equinox, and for some parts of the uk, wednesday will bring some spring warmth, just as tuesday did in parts of lincolnshire. 17 degrees, with some hazy sunshine in some relatively mild air. now, as we head through the next few days, we are going to start to see a change. the wind direction will change. we will get into north or northwesterly winds, and that will bring a much colderfeel, in time for the weekend, but not just yet. a mild start to wednesday, with extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk and some hill fog, and some outbreaks of rain.

now, in many locations, the rain will turn increasingly light and patchy through the day, and for some, it will brighten up. in fact, if we see some hazy sunshine in the south—east of england, temperatures could climb to 18 degrees, but parts of south—west england, wales, the midlands, eastern england, are likely to stay grey, with some bits and pieces of rain. it may brighten up a little bit across northern england, and for northern ireland and for scotland, actually, the afternoon should bring a decent amount of sunshine, feeling quite pleasant in light winds, 11 or 12 degrees. just a small chance of a shower in the north—east of scotland, and then, through wednesday night, while this window of clear skies move southwards and eastwards, that will be replaced by the end of the night across northern ireland and the western side of scotland by more cloud, more outbreaks of rain. this is our next frontal system. the winds will be strengthening, as well. it is going to be a windy day, particularly in the north—west of scotland on thursday, with outbreaks of rain pushing

south—eastwards. that rain particularly heavy and persistent over high ground in the west of scotland. further south and east, quite a lot of cloud, but where we see some sunny spells, again, it may feel warm — 17 degrees likely in the london area. but through thursday night and into friday, this cold front slips southwards and eastwards, and that will bring a change to colder conditions. a deep low, passing to the north of scotland, that will bring some really strong winds, gales likely in the far north. for the northern half of the uk, there will be showers, some heavy, some thundery and some wintry up over high ground, and for some places, temperatures will actually be dropping as the day wears on. the afternoon, for example, in glasgow, around eight celsius. we stay in that cold air for the weekend. there will be showers, some of which will be wintry over high ground, and when we factor in the strength of the winds, it will feel decidedly chilly.

live from washington. this is bbc news. the us supreme court refuses to block a law that would allow texas to detain and deport suspected illegal migrants. a spokesperson for the world food programme tells the bbc that the food situation in gaza could get darker than it already is, without an immediate ceasefire. and we speak to a hong kong democracy activist about the territory's new security law, which takes aim at various forms of dissent.

hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. the biden administration is warning that a supreme court decision to allow a texas law on migration to take effect will damage american border security. 0n tuesdayjustices refused to block an order that would let state officials arrest and deport people suspected of illegally crossing into the us from mexico. the court rejected a bid by the biden white house to block the controversial immigration policy, while a legal battle over the measure plays out in a lowerfederal appeals court. crossing the us border illegally is already a federal crime, but violations are usually handled as civil cases by the immigration court system. mexico's government says it will not accept migrants who texas state officials try to deport under the law. in a statement, the mexican foreign ministry said: "mexico patrick svitek covers texas

for the washington post. i asked him what impact this ruling will have.