The Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) has called an emergency General Council meeting for December 27 and ordered an investigation after a local player was seen playing for the Indian team at a tournament in Bahrain, wearing its shirt and waving the Indian flag.

The player identified in the matter is Ubaidullah Rajput, who was among the 16 participants and is a Pakistan national team player.

PKF Secretary Rana Sarwar said Chairman Chaudhry Shafay Hussain had convened the meeting to take up the matter.

Sarwar said 16 Pakistani players participated in the Bahrain event, but stressed it was not Pakistan’s national team, no permission was sought for it, and no NOC was issued to the players.

The 16 included the national team and national-level players.

He said it was a self-styled team in which Pakistan’s name was used, adding that neither government permission was obtained to take part in the event nor was the federation informed.

Calling the incident “unacceptable”, Sarwar said a national player playing for India and waving its flag would be investigated and the “strictest action” would be taken. 

He added that action would also be taken against self-styled promoters and that no one would be allowed to hold illegal events or, under any circumstances, defame Pakistan’s name.

Sarwar said players from several countries can play together in clubs, but described playing for a foreign team and waving its flag as regrettable.

The tournament was the 3rd GCC Kabaddi Cup, held on December 16 in Salmabad, Bahrain, at the Gulf Air Club, with participating teams Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai and Oman.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As the Tennessee Titans wrap up their unsuccessful 2025 season, their attention is beginning to turn to the search for their next coach — and quarterback Cam Ward wants to be a part of the process.

“I want to meet all of them,” Ward said of the next candidates. “Every coach who gets the opportunity to come here, I want to have conversations throughout the process with them. I’m going to be here for that whole time.”

Ward said president of football operations Chad Brinker and general manager Mike Borgonzi had spoken with him about his involvement in the search. The rookie quarterback said he’ll be all-in on the next head coach regardless of whether it’s a defensive- or offensive-minded hire.

Tennessee fired coach Brian Callahan in October after a 1-5 start to the season, citing a lack of team growth and individual progress from Ward, despite the coach’s offensive background.

Ward was very outspoken about his support for Callahan during training camp saying he wanted to play well enough to make Callahan one of the top coaches in the league.

Now the Titans are searching for Callahan’s replacement. Interim coach Mike McCoy hasn’t been able to get better results, posting a 1-8 record since taking over.

According to a team source, the Titans are looking for a candidate with strong leadership skills who will help establish an identity, something the team has lacked over the past two seasons.

Prediction market Kalshi notified a federal regulator on Wednesday that it was self-certifying markets on whether college athletes will enter the transfer portal, and while the company says it has no immediate plans to begin offering trading on the portal, the decision still drew sharp criticism from the NCAA.

In a filing submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Kalshi wrote that contracts on the transfer portal will initially be listed Dec. 17, 2025, and that it intends to list such markets daily. Transfer portal markets were not appearing on the site as of 8 p.m. ET Wednesday.

“We certify markets all the time that we do not end up listing,” a Kalshi company spokesperson told ESPN.

According to Kalshi’s filing, the markets will include NCAA Division I football and basketball players and will be settled when a player publicly announces their intent to enter the transfer portal or officially enters the transfer portal. Statements on social media from players or announcements from agents or athletic departments constitute valid announcements, according to the filing.

It’s the latest provocative move by Kalshi, which has emerged as a leading prediction market exchange, while also fighting multiple legal battles with state gambling regulators and pushback from some sports leagues.

“The NCAA vehemently opposes college sports prediction markets,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement to ESPN. “It is already bad enough that student-athletes face harassment and abuse for lost bets on game performance, and now Kalshi wants to offer bets on their transfer decisions and status. This is absolutely unacceptable and would place even greater pressure on student-athletes while threatening competition integrity and recruiting processes.

“Their decisions and future should not be gambled with, especially in an unregulated marketplace that does not follow any rules of legitimate sports betting operators.”

Kalshi prohibits users with material nonpublic information from trading and says it has “extensive surveillance systems, both in-house and third-party, that monitor for suspicious activity.” Kalshi also has a partnership with Integrity Compliance 360, a firm that monitors the betting market for abnormalities. Kalshi said it will refer cases to the CFTC for enforcement if it detects prohibited activity.

Gambling industry trade site Ingame.com first reported Kalshi’s filing with the CFTC.

Prediction markets allow users to trade on the yes/no outcomes of events, including sports. They operate under the oversight of the CFTC, which gives them access to all 50 states. In contrast, traditional sportsbooks are regulated by states and can operate only within the jurisdictions that have passed sports betting laws. Sportsbook Fanatics has launched a prediction market, and DraftKings and FanDuel have announced their plans to enter the prediction market space.

The NCAA and NFL have criticized prediction markets for the types of markets they offer. The NHL and UFC, however, have partnered with prediction market companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

The NCAA transfer portal for football is open for two weeks in January. The transfer portal window for men’s basketball is open for roughly a month, from late March through mid-April.