2018 visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, Press conference
During the press conference on his flight back from Dublin to Rome, and following the launch of the Equal Future 2018 campaign against damage to children and young people from LGBT stigma four days earlier, Francis was asked what he would say to the father of a son who says he is gay. In his reply, the Pope said "Don't condemn. Dialogue, understand, make space for your son or daughter. Make space so they can express themselves," "You are my son, you are my daughter, just as you are!" and "that son and that daughter have the right to a family and of not being chased out of the family."


2018 visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, Controversies
Before the Pope's arrival there were concerns over disruption due to widespread road closures required, the estimated cost of €32 million of the visit, protests on the history of physical and sexual abuse in Catholic institutions, and the Catholic Church's opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion and contraception, with former President Mary McAleese describing it as a "right-wing rally".


2018 visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, Controversies
Coinciding with the Mass on Sunday, around 1,000 people assembled at Tuam's Town Hall in the West of Ireland and walked in silent vigil the 30-minute route to the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in remembrance of those who died or disappeared there. Meanwhile, at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin at the same time, several thousand others were present for "Stand4Truth", held in solidarity with those who had been abused. Some called it a protest, others a space for anyone who felt excluded.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, Controversies
It was organised by Colm O'Gorman, head of Amnesty International Ireland, himself a victim of sexual abuse by a priest. There were speeches, and music and then a silent walk to the site of the last Magdalen laundry to close in Ireland, on Sean McDermott Street, asking that it be preserved as a site of conscience, of memory and education.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, Viganò's call for resignation
During, but otherwise unconnected with, the papal visit Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a former top Vatican diplomat in the United States and staunch conservative critic of Pope Francis, published a letter calling on Francis to resign, claiming that he was made aware in 2013 of abuse allegations in the US against prominent US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, but took no action. Viganò said that Pope Benedict XVI had been aware of the abuse allegations and had placed restrictions on McCarrick's movement and public ministry from 2009, and that Pope Francis had lifted these restrictions.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, Viganò's call for resignation
However, the New York Times questioned Viganò's allegations. It was pointed out that Pope Benedict XVI did not continue to place restrictions on McCarrick by the year 2012 as Viganò alleged, and that he continued publicly celebrating Mass. One high-profile appearance for McCarrick that year was at Pope Benedict's birthday celebration, where he joined with other bishops to present a birthday cake to the Pope. The Catholic magazine America listed several other public appearances McCarrick made during this time.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, Viganò's call for resignation
America listed several reasons the letter seemed credible, including Viganò's inside role in these matters as well as Pope Francis's "lack of progress" and "lack of urgency" regarding sexual abuse, but also listed several reasons to be skeptical about the letter, including Viganò's "perceived hostility toward Pope Francis" for having removed him from his post in 2016, allegedly because Viganò was seen as having "become too enmeshed in U.S. culture wars, particularly regarding same-sex marriage." Viganò also tried to quash the inquiry during Francis's papacy which led to the resignation of John Nienstedt as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, Commemorative items
An official commemorative medal marking the visit was released., The Dublin Mint Office also released a Celebration medal to mark the Popes visit  The "Lollipope" – a lemon flavoured lolly complete with a picture of the Pope's face - was selling well ahead of the visit. Specially commissioned stamps, Pope Francis fridge magnets, candles, keyrings were also available as well as many t-shirts, hats and flags.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states
Pope Francis visited the Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—from 22 to 25 September 2018.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states
It was announced in November 2017 by the apostolic nuncio to Estonia that Pope Francis would travel to the nation in the autumn sometime, with September being provided as a possible date. It was further related a week after that the pope would also be visiting neighboring Latvia and Lithuania; he would travel to all three to celebrate the centenary of their independence. The official confirmation for the visit would be made, according to media reports, in December 2017. The visit to the Baltic states was confirmed in a Holy See press release on 9 March 2018.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states, Visit, Lithuania
Pope Francis arrived at the airport in Lithuania's capital of Vilnius on September 22, where he was welcomed by Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite and other political and civilian representatives. He later spoke outside the Presidential palace, where he noted how both Nazi and Soviet occupations weakened religious tolerance in the country and honored "martyrs" who died during these occupations. He also called for unity between Catholics, Lutherans, and followers of Eastern Orthodox in the country. He also visited the Divine Mercy Shrine, which serves as a major pilgrimage destination for Poles from neighboring Poland, and held a prayer service there.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states, Visit, Lithuania
On September 23, he visited Lithuana's second largest city, Kaunus. Speaking in the city's Santakos Park to an estimated crowd of 100,000, the Pope honored the Jews who suffered oppression during the Nazi occupation between 1941 and 1944. Commemorating the Lithuanian Holocaust Memorial Day, the Pope condemned anti-Semitism which fueled Holocaust propaganda. He also paid tribute to Lithuanians who were deported to Siberian gulags or tortured and oppressed during five decades of Soviet occupation.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states, Visit, Lithuania
He later returned to Vilnius to hold three-minutes of silent prayer at the Vilnius Ghetto's Holocaust memorial on the date which marked the 75th anniversary of the liquidation of Jews in the area and also laid flowers.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states, Visit, Lithuania
He afterwards visited Vilnius' Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, a Museum containing items and papers detailing the long history of Soviet oppression in Lithuania and which once served as headquarters for the local branch of the now defunct Soviet KGB, where he also spoke in the outside square to praise Lithuanians who stood up for their faith and described the country as a potential "beacon of hope."


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states, Visit, Latvia
On September 24, Pope Francis arrived at the airport in Latvia's capital of Riga. Upon arrival, he met with Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis and the two travelled to the Presidential Palace. Commemorating Latvia's 100th anniversary of independence from Russian control, the Pope placed flowers at Latvia's Monument of Independence. At Riga's Lutheran Cathedral, he joined local Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox leaders at a music-filled ecumenical prayer and acknowledged the many trials Latvians endured during two Soviet occupations and the World War II-era occupation by Nazi Germany.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states, Visit, Latvia
Following this meeting, he held a prayer service in front of elderly Latvian Catholics who survived Nazi and Soviet occupations at Riga's Catholic Cathedral, where he praised them for maintaining their faith during brutal occupations and called on them to use it to set an example. He repeated this message during a homily at the Mother of God Basilica in Aglona, which is considered to be Latvia's most important Catholic shrine.


2018 visit by Pope Francis to the Baltic states, Visit, Estonia
On September 25, Pope Francis concluded his four-day trip to the Baltic nations by visiting Estonia. He arrived at the airport in the Estonian capital of Tallinn. Pope Francis met with President Kersti Kaljulaid, and the two gave a public address at the Rose Garden in the Tallinn district of Kadriorg, where the Pope acknowledged how sex abuse scandals are driving people away from the church. Before leaving Estonia, Pope Francis held an outdoor mass in front of a crowd of over 10,000 at Tallinn's Freedom Square.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy
A motion of no confidence in the Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy was debated and voted in the Congress of Deputies between 31 May and 1 June 2018. It was brought by Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sánchez after the governing People's Party (PP) was found to have profited from the illegal kickbacks-for-contracts scheme of the Gürtel case in a court ruling made public the previous day.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy
This was the fourth motion of no confidence since the Spanish transition to democracy and the first one to be successful, as well the second to be submitted against Mariano Rajoy after the Unidos Podemos's one the previous year. Coincidentally, it was held 38 years after the first such vote of no confidence in Spain on 30 May 1980.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy
The motion successfully passed with the support of 180 deputies—those of PSOE, Unidos Podemos, Republican Left of Catalonia, Catalan European Democratic Party, Basque Nationalist Party, Compromís, EH Bildu and New Canaries—and resulted in the downfall of Mariano Rajoy's government and in Pedro Sánchez becoming new Prime Minister of Spain. Public opinion at the time was found to be overwhelmingly in favour of the motion, as revealed by polling conducted in the days previous and during the events leading to the vote.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy
Subsequently on 5 June, Rajoy announced his resignation as PP leader and his withdrawal from politics after having led the party for 14 years, vacating his seat in parliament and returning to his position as property registrar in Santa Pola. Prior to his ouster, Rajoy had hinted at the possibility that he might not seek re-election for a third term in office, with his ultimate farewell sparking a leadership contest that would see Pablo Casado being elected as new party chairman.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy
Before the unveiling of the court ruling that led to the motion's tabling, the Citizens (Cs) party of Albert Rivera had been in the lead in opinion polling for the most part of 2018. Rivera's erratic attitude during the lead up to the motion and its ultimate result—which saw his party voting against it—were widely regarded by media and political commentators as causing political initiative to shift from Cs towards Sánchez's PSOE, which would go on to win all elections held over the next year: general, local, regional and to the European Parliament. The failed 2019 government formation process and the electoral repetition in November that year would ultimately see a collapse in support for Cs and Rivera's resignation as party leader.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Background
The motion was registered by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) on 25 May 2018, one day after the governing People's Party (PP) was found by the National Court during their investigation of the Gürtel case to have profited from an illegal kickbacks-for-contracts scheme, with the confirmation of the existence of an illegal accounting and financing structure that ran in parallel with the party's official one since its foundation in 1989.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Background
The Court had ruled that the PP helped establish "an authentic and efficient system of institutional corruption via mechanisms to manipulate public tenders at the national, regional and local level", while judging that Mariano Rajoy had not been "truthful" in his testimony as a witness during the trial. The severity of the ruling had prompted Rajoy's then-major parliamentary ally, Citizens (Cs), to publicly withdraw its confidence and supply support from the government and proclaim it as marking "a before and an after" in Spanish politics, prior to the motion's tabling by the PSOE.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Background
The judicial ruling was the last in a series of corruption scandals that had beleaguered the minority PP government following the troubling 2016 government formation process.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Background
Joining the string of corruption investigations unveiled in April 2017—that had seen a previous, unsuccessful motion of no confidence being tabled by Unidos Podemos (the political alliance of Podemos and United Left) in June that year—was the transpiring of evidence in March 2018 that Madrilenian president Cristina Cifuentes could have obtained a master's degree in the King Juan Carlos University through fraudulent means, which evolved into a full-fledged scandal by April as both the university and Cifuentes's regional government were found attempting to cover up the scandal through document forgery.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Background
The affair, together with the leaking of a 2011 video showing her being detained in a supermarket for shoplifting, ultimately contributed to Cifuentes announcing her resignation on 25 April 2018. On 22 May, two days before the National Court's ruling on the Gürtel case was made public, former Valencian president Eduardo Zaplana was arrested by the Civil Guard as a result of ongoing investigations for alleged money laundering and bribery crimes.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Background
Since the tabling of Podemos's motion in June 2017, events other than corruption scandals had also contributed to the weakening of Rajoy and his government's stand in society. Among others, the constitutional crisis starting in September 2017 over the Catalan government's attempt to hold an independence referendum contrary to the Constitution and diverse judicial rulings, as well as the enforcement of direct rule over Catalonia as a result.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Background
The subsequent 21 December regional election (which saw the more pro-union Cs benefitting from a plummeting in the PP vote) led to the former surging to first place in nationwide opinion polls as well as to an alienation of parties supportive of Catalan independence—namely, Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT)—further away from the national government's positions. Cs's surge in opinion polls had also seen the fading out of the main opposition party, the PSOE, and its leader, Pedro Sánchez—not a deputy in Congress since his resignation as such in October 2016—who found himself needing to recover the political initiative for his party.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Background
Finally, on 23 May 2018, the day before the ruling's publication, Mariano Rajoy and his government were able to get their budget for that year passed through the Congress of Deputies in a tight 176–171 vote, with the decisive support of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) having been secured through a last-hour deal. This was despite the latter having pledged not to do so as long as direct rule was being enforced over Catalonia, thus theoretically ensuring the stability of the government until 2020. Rajoy's continuity in power beyond that year had sparked an internal debate within the party, as he had hinted at the possibility that he might not seek re-election for a third term in office.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Legal provisions
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 required for motions of no confidence to be proposed by at least one-tenth of the Congress of Deputies—35 out of 350. Following the German model, votes of no confidence in Spain were constructive, so the motion was required to include an alternative candidate for prime minister. For a motion of no confidence to be successful, it had to be passed by an absolute majority in the Congress of Deputies. A minimum period of five days from the motion's registration (dubbed as "cooling period") was required to pass before it could come up for a vote, but no maximum was established. Other parties were entitled to submit alternative motions within the first two days from the registration.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Legal provisions
1. The Congress of Deputies may challenge Government policy by passing a motion of censure by an absolute majority of its members.2. The motion of censure must be proposed by at least one tenth of the Deputies, including a candidate for the office of President of the Government.3. The motion of censure may not be voted on until five days after it has been submitted. During the first two days of this period, alternative motions may be submitted.4. If the motion of censure is not passed by the Congress, its signatories may not submit another during the same session.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Legal provisions
Concurrently, the Prime Minister was barred from dissolving the Cortes Generales and calling a general election while a motion of no confidence was pending. If the motion was successful, the incumbent prime minister and his/her government were required to submit their resignation to the Monarch, while the candidate proposed in the motion was automatically considered to have the confidence of the Congress of Deputies and immediately appointed as prime minister. If unsuccessful, the signatories of the motion were barred from submitting another during the same session.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Legal provisions
The procedure for motions of no confidence was regulated within Articles 175 to 179 of the Standing Orders of the Congress of Deputies, which provided for the debate on the motion starting with its defence by one of the signatory members without any time limitations, to be followed by an also time-unlimited speech by the nominated candidate to explain his/her political programme. Subsequently, spokespeople from the different parliamentary groups in Congress were allowed to speak for thirty minutes, with an opportunity to reply or rectify themselves for ten minutes. Members of the government were allowed to take the floor and speak at any time of their request during the debate.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
Pedro Sánchez's decision to table the motion was taken in the hours following the publication of the court ruling on 24 May, having been persuaded to do so by his closest collaborators following the refusal from Mariano Rajoy and his government to give out any explanations or take any actions in response to the sentence.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
In accordance with the Constitution's requirements, the PSOE designated Sánchez as candidate for prime minister, who announced that, should the motion be successful, he would aim for the establishment of a "transitional government" that would ensure the country's "governance" and recover "democratic normality" in the wake of the huge political crisis sparked as a result of the Gürtel sentence and other scandals, then call for a snap general election.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
Unidos Podemos, Compromís and New Canaries (NCa) immediately announced their support of the initiative, with ERC and PDeCAT remaining undecided but inclined to support it if it had real prospects of succeeding. As for Cs's stance, despite the party having withdrawn its support from the Rajoy government as a result of the ruling, it was not supportive of the motion and instead demanded Rajoy dissolve parliament and hold an early general election.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
Sources within the government and the PP acknowledged that the parliament's arithmetics meant that the motion could have a realistic chance of succeeding, as the support of PSOE and Unidos Podemos together with that of peripheral nationalist parties would be enough to win the vote. They also admitted having lost control over the legislature and did not rule out a snap election for late 2018 or early 2019 even if the government survived the vote.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
Rajoy was reportedly "deeply disgusted" with the move staged by Sánchez, with whom he had come to trust over the Catalan issue over the previous months. He cancelled his prime ministerial schedule and held a press briefing the day of the motion's announcement on 25 May, where he accused Sánchez of "seeking to govern with whoever at any cost" and of "lacking the moral legitimacy for tabling [the motion]".


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
The debate and the vote on the motion of no confidence were scheduled by then-President of the Congress of Deputies Ana Pastor for 31 May and 1 June, a mere week after it was tabled—a stark difference with the 2017 one, which had been scheduled for three weeks after its registration—in what was regarded as a deliberate attempt to foil the initiative by preventing Pedro Sánchez from having enough time to negotiate the required parliamentary support that he needed to succeed.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
Initially, the PP was reported as being confident in surviving the vote due to Sánchez's contested leadership within his own party—still reeling from its 2016 internal crisis and the harsh contest of the 2017 leadership election—and the belief that they had the decisive support of the PNV after having secured it for the approval of the 2018 budget. Since it appeared unlikely for Sánchez to collect the support of such a heterogeneous grouping of parties in favour of his candidacy—going from the left-wing EH Bildu and Podemos to the centre-right PDeCAT and PNV—the conviction settled among PP's ranks that the motion would fail.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
Numerous inter-party meetings and phone calls took place between 25 and 30 May, seeing the PSOE sending their organization secretary, José Luis Ábalos, to probe the stance of other parties to the motion. Podemos's support was guaranteed—with the party having pledged to back any such initiative since its own attempt in 2017 and its leader, Pablo Iglesias, actively helping the PSOE in securing the support of other parties—whereas Cs had been discarded as a potential ally over its hostile position to allowing Sánchez's election as prime minister.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
Thus, securing the support of the PNV would be essential, as it would allow the numbers for the motion to reach the 176-seat threshold together with all other likely allies. The PNV was in a difficult position: in an U-turn move, it had just helped approve Rajoy's budget for 2018 in exchange for economic benefits for the Basque Country, but it did not want to be singled out as the "savior" of the unpopular Rajoy's government if the Catalan nationalist parties did back the motion, as that decision would not be understood by its voters. Thus, the positions adopted by ERC and the PDeCAT would prove determinant for the motion's fate.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
ERC granted its unconditional support to the motion, seeking to oust Rajoy and the PP from government because of their enforcement of direct rule over Catalonia, but there were divisions within the PDeCAT as both former and incumbent Catalan presidents Carles Puigdemont and Quim Torra advocated for an abstention—and, thus, for the motion's failure. The more moderate sector led by the PDeCAT's coordinator-general Marta Pascal, who favoured Rajoy's ouster and urged party colleagues to vote accordingly, was able to swing the party's official stance into supporting the initiative.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
Attempts to pressure the PNV saw the PSOE accepting to call an early election as a way to make it appear as if it was attempting to court Cs to its side, as well as Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias proposing to Cs leader Albert Rivera that, in the event of Sánchez's motion failing to succeed, then their both parties could join to sign an "instrumental" censure motion with the only goal of appointing an independent candidate who would then proceed to call a snap election, with such a proposal being well-received by Rivera.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Registration and support
This had the effect—unintended by Cs—of placing the PNV into the "losing" side if it did not support Sánchez's one, having to face the prospects of an eventual successful motion and a subsequent snap election anyway. By 29 May, Sánchez had secured the support of Podemos, Compromís, ERC, PDeCAT, EH Bildu and NCa, all swayed by their common opposition to Rajoy's government, meaning that Sánchez had 175 votes: exactly half of the chamber, one short of the legal threshold of 176 needed for the vote to succeed.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
Facing the possibility of defeat, Rajoy himself attempted to personally persuade the PNV into remaining at his side, utilising his contacts with Confebask—the Basque Business Confederation, believed to be able to exert some influence on the final decision—to add to the pressure on the Basque party. However, the latter's leaders were already leaning towards supporting Sánchez's initiative, as a result of the combined efforts from PSOE and Podemos, the swing of ERC and the PDeCAT in favour of the motion and the conviction that they could not politically justify be seen as the ones allowing Rajoy to stay in power.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
On 31 May 2018, after having unsuccessfully suggested he resign as prime minister in order to call off the censure vote, the PNV reluctantly confirmed its support to the initiative, making Rajoy's defeat all but certain. The PP was thrown into a state of shock and disarray, as within one week the party went from a sense of relief following the approval of the 2018 budget to suddenly facing the prospects of the first successful vote of no confidence in democratic Spain. This would oust hundreds of party members from public office, forcing the whole party into opposition and thwarting Rajoy's plans for an orderly succession.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
During the first part of the debate on 31 May, the motion was defended by PSOE's José Luis Ábalos, which was followed by Rajoy's reply and then by Sánchez's speech. Rajoy defended his seven year-timespan in government, attacked the PSOE for its "indulgence" of its own corruption scandals, warned about the alleged prejudices—both economic and political—that, in his opinion, the motion's passage would entail for the country and rejected the offers for him to resign as prime minister (a move which could have possibly allowed the PP to remain in power, but with himself out of government).


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
At lunchtime, Rajoy retreated into the Arahy restaurant close to the Puerta de Alcalá, where he would be staying until the night after receiving the confirmation from the PNV that they would be supporting the motion, not returning to the Congress for the second part of the debate.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
Rajoy's absence, which came to be iconically—albeit unwittingly—symbolised by deputy prime minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría's placement of her handbag on the empty seat of the prime minister, was duly noted by various media and politicians at a time when it was becoming increasingly apparent that the motion would pass, with Pablo Iglesias commenting that "It's shameful that the prime minister's seat during a motion of no confidence is occupied by a handbag!". The next day, Rajoy went to parliament right before the vote to take the floor for one last time, stating that "it had been an honour to be prime minister of Spain" and wishing Sánchez "good luck" in his future role.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
From the motion's announcement to its being voted upon, there was speculation in the media and within political circles on the Rajoy resignation hypothesis. While Rajoy had publicly rejected the idea of resigning, the viability of such scenario, coupled with the real chances of a motion success, led King Felipe VI to clear out his schedule for the week in order to remain reachable at the Zarzuela Palace in the event that he was required to sign a resignation or appointment decree.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
During Rajoy's absence from the second part of the parliamentary debate on 31 May, rumours spread throughout the Congress's hallways that he was about to resign in favour of his deputy Sáenz de Santamaría.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
PP secretary-general and defence minister María Dolores de Cospedal, who was known as the most ardent political rival of the still deputy prime minister both within the party and in the government, came out to speak in a press conference that afternoon to publicly silence any rumours of an upcoming resignation: "Mariano Rajoy is not going to resign", she said, "because it would not benefit the general interests of Spain and the PP".


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Events, Debate and vote
On 1 June 2018, the censure motion was voted and approved with a 180–169 result. The sole abstention came from the Canarian Coalition, which had initially pledged its opposition to the motion but recoiled at the last moment. As a result, Rajoy was required to tender his resignation to the King, and Sánchez ascended as prime minister.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Opinion polls
Opinion polling conducted in the days leading to and during the events of the vote of no confidence showed a large support in favour of the motion. PSOE and Podemos voters were found to be overwhelmingly in support of it, whereas PP voters mostly rejected the move. In contrast, Cs voters were found to be more frequently divided on the issue, rejecting the continuity of Rajoy's government but not being supportive of a new cabinet headed by Sánchez.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Aftermath
With the passage of the motion—the first to be successful in Spain since the first such vote of no confidence on 30 May 1980, exactly 38 years earlier—Mariano Rajoy and his government were required to step down. As Sánchez was automatically deemed to have the confidence of parliament, he was formally appointed as prime minister later that day. Rajoy subsequently announced his resignation as PP leader and his farewell from politics on 5 June, triggering a leadership contest to determine his successor, whereas Sánchez would unveil his new cabinet two days later on 7 June. On 21 July 2018, the until-then PP party's vice secretary-general of communication and deputy for Ávila Pablo Casado was elected over Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría as Rajoy's successor at the helm of the PP.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Aftermath
Various media regarded it decisive that Rajoy and Congress speaker Ana Pastor had chosen to hold the vote immediately after the registration of the motion. Envisaged as a move aimed at thwarting the motion by limiting the time available for negotiations to occur, it instead led to opposition parties being forced to hastily decide their public stance on the vote.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Aftermath
Without time for any clashes or disputes to take place over programmatic contents or political concessions—which could have ensued during a prolonged period of multi-party negotiations, potentially leading to the initiative's failure—parties contrary to the PP government found their common rejection of Rajoy's premiership as the sole deciding factor at stake, turning the vote into a sort of ultimatum on whether to accept or reject Rajoy rather than a consideration of Sánchez's potential candidacy. This had the effect of turning the motion, envisaged in the Spanish legal system as constructive, into a "destructive" one, precipitating the downfall of Rajoy and his government.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Aftermath
The motion success had a sizeable impact in Spanish society. The PSOE, which languished in opinion polls conducted prior to the events surrounding the motion, and which had not won an election at the national level since 2008, was propelled to first place nationally in opinion polling, subsequently going on to win the April 2019 general election as well as the May 2019 local, regional and European Parliament elections.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Aftermath
In contrast, the PP continued its stark decline in public support, with disenchanted voters shifting to support the newly-resurgent far-right Vox party—a trend accentuated after Vox's surprise entry into the Parliament of Andalusia as a result the December 2018 regional election. Vox eventually entered the national, European and many regional parliaments and local councils for the first time throughout 2019.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Aftermath
The result of the vote and the motion itself were also regarded as a major blow to Cs's strategical prospects, with the party going from leading most opinion polls during the first part of 2018 to being overshadowed by the new prime minister's rising popularity and media prominence.


2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Aftermath
From that point onwards, Cs leader Albert Rivera—whose decision to promptly withdraw his party's support from Rajoy's government after the unveiling of the Gürtel sentence was said to unwittingly contribute to Sánchez's move to table the motion—lost the political initiative and, after a brief success in the April 2019 general election (in which his party came nine seats short of overcoming Casado's PP as the main opposition force in Spain), would be forced to resign and withdraw from politics following his party's meltdown in the election of November 2019.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak
The 2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak occurred in the north-west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from May to July 2018. It was contained entirely within Équateur province, and was the first time that vaccination with the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine had been attempted in the early stages of an Ebola outbreak, with a total of 3,481 people vaccinated. It was the ninth recorded Ebola outbreak in the DRC.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak
The outbreak began on 8 May 2018, when it was reported that 17 people were suspected of having died from EVD near the town of Bikoro in the Province of Équateur. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak after two people were confirmed as having the disease. On 17 May, the virus was confirmed to have spread to the inland port city of Mbandaka, causing the WHO to raise its assessment of the national risk level to "very high", but not yet to constitute an international public health emergency. The WHO declared the outbreak over on 24 July 2018.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak
Subsequent to the end of this outbreak, the Kivu Ebola epidemic commenced in the eastern region of the country on 1 August 2018; it was declared over on 25 June 2020. A further separate outbreak in the Province of Équateur was announced on 1 June 2020 by the Congolese health ministry, described as the eleventh Ebola outbreak since records began.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Early cases
The earliest cases are believed to have occurred in early April 2018. The suspected index case was a police officer, who died in a health center in the village of Ikoko-Impenge, near the market town of Bikoro in Équateur province, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Early cases
After his funeral, eleven family members became ill, and seven of them died. All of the seven deceased had attended the man's funeral or cared for him while he was sick. The identification of this individual as the index case has not yet been confirmed.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Early cases
Équateur province's Provincial Health Division reported 21 cases with symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease, of whom 17 had died, on 3 May 2018. Of these, eight cases were subsequently  shown not to have been Ebola-related. The outbreak was declared on 8 May after samples from two of five patients in Bikoro tested positive for the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Early cases
On 10 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the Democratic Republic of the Congo had a total of 32 cases of EVD, and a further two suspected cases were announced on the following day, bringing the total cases to 34, all located in the Bikoro area of DRC.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Early cases
* numbers are subject to revision both up, when new cases are discovered, and down, when tests show cases were not Ebola-related.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Spread to Mbandaka
In the eight previous Ebola outbreaks in DRC since 1976, the virus had never before reached a major city. In May 2018, for the first time, four cases were confirmed in the city of Mbandaka.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Spread to Mbandaka
On 14 May, suspected cases were reported in the Iboko and Wangata areas in Équateur province, in addition to Bikoro. The WHO reported on 17 May 2018 that the first case of this outbreak in an urban area had been confirmed in the Wangata district of Mbandaka city, the capital of Équateur province, about 100 miles north of Bikoro. Mbandaka is a busy, densely populated port on the Congo River with a population of 1.2 million, leading to a high risk of contagion. The following day, the WHO raised the health risk in DRC to "very high" due to the presence of the virus in an urban area.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Spread to Mbandaka
The DRC government was particularly concerned about the virus spreading by boat transport along the Congo between Mbandaka and the capital, Kinshasa. The WHO also considered that there was a high risk of the outbreak spreading to nine other countries in the region, including the bordering Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Spread to Mbandaka
As of 23 May 2018, the focus of the outbreak was split between Bikoro and Iboko; Iboko had 55% of the confirmed cases of EVD and Bikoro had 81.5% of the fatalities. The cases in the Bikoro health zone were located in Ikoko Impenge (12), Bikoro (6), Momboyo (1) and Moheli (1); those in the Iboko health zone were located in Itipo (13), Mpangi (2), Wenga (1) and Loongo (1).


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Spread to Mbandaka
According to the fifth situation report released by the WHO, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 42.3%. Demographics had been reported for 44 cases as of 22 May; there were 26 cases of EVD in men and 18 in women; 7 cases were in children 14 years and under, and 9 were in those over 60 years. By 23 May, there had been 5 reported cases in health-care workers, including two who died. Contact tracing was being employed to identify contacts with infected individuals. On 29 May, it was reported that 800 contacts had been identified in the city of Mbandaka; the next day it was reported that 500 people in the city had been vaccinated.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, Spread to Mbandaka
On 29 May, the WHO indicated that nine neighbouring countries had been alerted for being at high risk of spread of EVD, On 4 June, it was reported that Angola had closed its border with the DRC due to the outbreak.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Epidemiology, End of the outbreak
This outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared over on 24 July 2018 after 42 days passed without any new confirmed cases. Although it was noted that a new outbreak occurred only one week later in the eastern region of Kivu;   and it has  been established that they are not linked.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Containment challenges
The Bikoro area had three hospitals, but the area's health services were described by WHO as predominantly having "limited functionality"; they received supplies from international bodies but experienced frequent shortages. More than half of the Bikoro area cases were in Ikoko-Impenge, a village not connected to the road system. Bikoro lies in dense rain forest, and the area's remoteness and inadequate infrastructure hindered treatment of EVD patients, as well as surveillance and vaccination efforts.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Containment challenges
Adherence was another challenge: on 20–21 May, three individuals with EVD in an isolation ward of a treatment center in Mbandaka fled; two later died after attending a prayer meeting, at which they may have exposed 50 other attendees to the virus. Bushmeat was believed to be one vector of infection, but bushmeat vendors at the Mbandaka market told reporters that they did not believe Ebola was real or serious. Hostility towards health workers trying to offer medical assistance was also reported. On 29 May, the WHO forecast that there would be 100–300 cases by the end of July.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Virology
Zaire ebolavirus, which was identified in this outbreak, is included in genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae,


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Virology
The virus was named for the Ebola River, which runs as a tributary of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the Zaire strain was first identified in 1976 in Yambuku.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Response
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) established treatment centers in Bikoro, Ikoko and Wangata. WHO sent an expert team to Bikoro on 8 May, and on 13 May, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited the town. On 18 May, the WHO IHR committee met and decided against declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. As of 24 May 2018, WHO had sent 138 technical personnel to the three affected areas; the Red Cross  sent more than 150 people, and UNICEF personnel were also active.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Response
Other international agencies sending teams included the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The Wellcome Trust  donated £2 million towards the DRC outbreak. Merck donated its experimental vaccine and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance helped to support vaccination operations. Several tons of supplies were shipped to the DRC, including protection and disinfection kits and palliative drugs. After the virus spread to the city of Mbandaka, DRC health minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga announced that healthcare would be provided free for those affected.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Response
US President Donald Trump has advocated rescinding Ebola funding and most financing for State Department emergency responses. National Security Advisor John Bolton removed the National Security Council's health security chief on the day that the Ebola outbreak was declared, shutting down the entire epidemic prevention office. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says “about five” of its staff advise the Congolese government. CDC presence appears to be smaller than West African countries'. The U.S. Agency for International Development promised $1 million to WHO for Ebola efforts. Germany has promised $5.8 million.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Response, Surveillance
Surveillance of travelers at Mbandaka's port and airport was performed. The DRC Ministry of Public Health identified 115 areas where movement of people increased the risk of virus transmission, including 83 river ports, nine airports and seven bus stations, as well as 16 markets. José Makila, the DRC minister of transport,  stated that the Navy would be used to surveil river traffic on the Congo. On 10 May, the Nigerian Ministry of Health reported it would start screening at its borders, and on 18 May 2018, a total of 20 countries had instituted screening of travelers coming from the DRC.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Response, Surveillance
WHO sent teams to 8/9 of the neighboring countries to assess their capability to deal with EVD spread and facilitate their surveillance. The DRC Ministry of Public Health worked with surveyors and cartographers from UCLA and OpenStreetMap DRC to improve mapping of the affected area. A laboratory commenced operations in Bikoro on 16 May, enabling local testing of patient samples for Ebola virus.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Response, Surveillance
Burials were organized by MSF and the Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to minimize the risk of transmission. The United Nations Radio  broadcast EVD awareness information, and posters and leaflets were prepared and distributed. UNICEF warned 143 churches across Mbandaka of the risks of prayer meetings.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Ring vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV
Health authorities including DRC's Ministry of Public Health used recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus–Zaire Ebola virus (rVSV-ZEBOV) vaccine – a recently developed experimental Ebola vaccine, produced by Merck – to try to suppress the outbreak. This live-attenuated vaccine expresses the surface glycoprotein of the Kikwit 1995 strain of Zaire ebolavirus in a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector. rVSV


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Ring vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV
-ZEBOV was trialed in Guinea and Sierra Leone during the West African epidemic of 2013–16, with 5837 people receiving the vaccine; the trial authors concluded that rVSV-ZEBOV provided "substantial protection" against EVD, but subsequent commentators have questioned the degree of protection obtained and the degree of long-term protection conferred is unknown. As the vaccine had not been approved by any regulatory authority, it was used in DRC under a compassionate use trial protocol.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Ring vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV
A ring vaccination strategy was used, which involves vaccinating only those most likely to be infected: direct contacts of infected individuals, and contacts of those contacts. Other groups targeted included health workers, laboratory personnel, surveillance workers and people involved with burials. People who were vaccinated were followed up for 84 days to assess whether they were protected from infection and to monitor any adverse events.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Ring vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV
A total of 4,320 doses of the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine were delivered to DRC's capital Kinshasa by WHO on 16 May, and a further 3,240 doses arrived three days later; with another 8,000 doses to be made available. The vaccine must be transported and stored at between −60 and −80 °C. A cold chain was established in Kinshasa by 18 May and has been extended to Mbandaka. WHO planned to concentrate on vaccinating three sets of contacts of confirmed EVD cases, two in Bikoro and one in Mbandaka.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Ring vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV
Vaccination started on 21 May among health workers in Mbandaka, with 7,560 vaccine doses ready for immediate use, according to WHO. The DRC health minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga stated that vaccination of health workers and Ebola case contacts in the Wangata and Bolenge areas of Mbandaka would take five days, after which vaccination would start in Bikoro and Iboko. As of 24 May 2018, 154 people in Mbandaka had been vaccinated, and preparations were started for vaccinating in Bikoro and Iboko.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Ring vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV
Up to 1,000 people were expected to have been vaccinated by 26 May, according to WHO. It was the first time that vaccination had been attempted in the early stages of an Ebola outbreak.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Ring vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV
The rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine proved effective for the strain of the Ebola virus in this outbreak, having via ring vaccination protected some 3,481 individuals.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Experimental therapeutic agents
Health officials considered trialing experimental treatments, including the antiviral agents favipiravir and GS-5734, and the antibody ZMapp. All three agents were given to patients during the West African epidemic, but none has yet been proved to be effective. The DRC Ministry of Public Health also requested that the US trial mAb114 treatment during the outbreak.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Experimental therapeutic agents
The mAb114 monoclonal antibody was developed by the National Institutes of Health and Jean-Jacques Muyembe at the National Institute for Biomedical Research, and is derived from an EVD survivor of the 1995 Kikwit outbreak who still had circulating anti-Ebola antibodies eleven years later; it has been tested in macaques but not in humans.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Treatment, Experimental therapeutic agents
The ZMapp cocktail was assessed by the World Health Organization for emergency use under the MEURI ethical protocol. The panel agreed that "the benefits of ZMapp outweigh its risks" while noting that it presented logistical challenges, particularly that of requiring a cold chain for distribution and storage. Despite being at earlier stages of development, three other therapies, mAb114, remdesivir and REGN3470-3471-3479, were also approved for emergency use under MEURI and the Ministry of Health in the DRC.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, Prognosis
Post-Ebola virus syndrome affects those who have survived EVD infection; the resulting signs and symptoms can include muscle pain, eye problems and neurological problems.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, History
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) has had several previous EVD outbreaks since 1976, which are summarised in the Table below. All have been located in the west or north of the country. Three previous outbreaks (in 1976, 1977 and 2014) occurring in former province of Équateur, of which the current Équateur province forms part.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, History
In 2014, the WHO considered that the DRC was lagging behind the rest of Africa in health expenditures, at the relative rate of Intl$32 per head.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, History
For the 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola virus outbreak, the DRC regulatory authorities approved the use of the experimental rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, but logistical issues delayed its implementation until the outbreak was already under control.


2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak, History
Shortly before the first cases of the 2018 Ebola outbreak, the country experienced a widespread cholera epidemic (June 2017 – spring 2018), which was the most serious in the country since 1994.


2018 Étoile de Bessèges
The 2018 Étoile de Bessèges (transl. Star of Bessèges) was a road cycling stage race that took place between 31 January and 4 February 2018. The race was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2018 UCI Europe Tour, and was the 48th edition of the Étoile de Bessèges cycling race. The race included five stages; the first four were road stages while the fifth and final stage was a 10.7-kilometre (6.6 mi) individual time trial.


2018 Étoile de Bessèges, Teams
Eighteen teams were invited to start the race. These included two UCI WorldTeams, twelve UCI Professional Continental teams and four UCI Continental teams.


2018 Örebro regional election
Örebro County or Region Örebro held a regional council election on 9 September 2018, on the same day as the general and municipal elections.


2018 Örebro regional election, Results
The number of seats remained at 71 with the Social Democrats winning the most at 25, a drop of four from in 2014. The party declined from 40.7 % to 34.5 % of the popular vote.


2018 Östergötland regional election
Östergötland County or Region Östergötland held a regional council election on 9 September 2018, on the same day as the general and municipal elections.


2018 Östergötland regional election, Results
The number of seats remained at 101 with the Social Democrats winning the most at 31, a drop of six from 2014.


2018 Östergötland regional election, Municipalities
The Moderates received one vote more than the Social Democrats in Söderköping, even though both results were rounded to 22.2 %.


2018 Úrvalsdeild
The 2018 Úrvalsdeild karla, also known as Pepsi-deild karla for sponsorship reasons, was the 107th season of top-flight Icelandic football. Twelve teams contested the league, including the defending champions Valur, who won their 21st league title in 2017.


2018 Úrvalsdeild
The season began on 27 April 2018 and concluded on 29 September 2018.


2018 Úrvalsdeild, Teams
The 2018 Úrvalsdeild was contested by twelve teams, ten of which played in the division the previous year and two teams promoted from 1. deild karla. The bottom two teams from the previous season, Víkingur Ó. and ÍA, were relegated to the 2018 1. deild karla and were replaced by Fylkir and Keflavík, champions and runners-up of the 2017 1. deild karla respectively.


2018 Úrvalsdeild, Results
Each team will play home and away once against every other team for a total of 22 games each.


2018 Úrvalsdeild kvenna (football)
The 2018 Úrvalsdeild kvenna is the 47th season of the women's football top level league in Iceland. Þór/KA is the defending champion. The season is scheduled to begin on 3 May and to conclude on 22 September.


2018 Úrvalsdeild kvenna (football), Teams
The 2018 Úrvalsdeild kvenna is contested by ten teams, eight of which played in the division the previous year and two teams promoted from 1. deild kvenna. The bottom two teams from the previous season, Haukar and Fylkir, were relegated to the 1. deild kvenna and were replaced by HK/Víkingur and Selfoss, champions and runners-up of the 2017 1. deild kvenna respectively.


2018 Ýokary Liga
The 2018 Turkmenistan Higher League (Ýokary Liga) season is the 26th season of Turkmenistan's professional football league. The season began on 3 March 2018.


2018 İstanbul Cup
The 2018 İstanbul Cup (also known as the TEB BNP Paribas İstanbul Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 11th edition of the İstanbul Cup, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2018 WTA Tour. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 23 through 29 April 2018.


2018 İstanbul Cup, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 İstanbul Cup, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2018 İstanbul Cup – Doubles
Dalila Jakupović and Nadiia Kichenok were the defending champions, but Kichenok chose to compete in Stuttgart instead. Jakupović played alongside Irina Khromacheva, but lost in the first round to Natela Dzalamidze and Anna Kalinskaya.


2018 İstanbul Cup – Doubles
Liang Chen and Zhang Shuai won the title, defeating Xenia Knoll and Anna Smith in the final, 6–4, 6–4.


2018 İstanbul Cup – Singles
Elina Svitolina was the defending champion, but chose to compete in Stuttgart instead.


2018 İstanbul Cup – Singles
Pauline Parmentier won the title, her first since 2008, defeating Polona Hercog in the final, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 1
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 1 was an amateur snooker tournament that took place between 2–3 June 2018 at the Meadowside Leisure Centre in Burton upon Trent, England.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 1, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 10
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 10 was an amateur snooker tournament, that took place between 6–7 March 2019 at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester, England.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 10, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 2
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 2 was an amateur snooker tournament that took place between 10–11 July 2018 at the Preston Guild Hall in Preston, England.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 2, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 3
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 3 was an amateur snooker tournament that took place on 28 July 2018 at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 3, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 4
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 4 was an amateur snooker tournament that took place between 27–28 August 2018 at the Stadthalle Fürth in Fürth, Germany.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 4, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 5
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 5 was an amateur snooker tournament that took place between 18–19 September 2018 at the Cueball Derby  in Derby, England.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 5, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 6
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 6 was an amateur snooker tournament that took place between 4–5 October 2018 at the De Soeverein in Lommel, Belgium.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 6, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 7
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 7 was an amateur snooker tournament that took place between 13–14 October 2018 at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, England.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 7, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 8
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 8 was an amateur snooker tournament, that took place between 24–25 November 2018 at the Snooker Terminál in Budapest, Hungary.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 8, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018/19 Challenge Tour 9
The 2018/19 Challenge Tour 9 was an amateur snooker tournament, that took place between 26–27 January 2019 at the Star Snooker Academy in Sheffield, England.


2018/19 Challenge Tour 9, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


20180206 Live at Budokan
20180206 Live at Budokan is the third live DVD by Japanese rock band Coldrain, released on September 26, 2018. The end credits of the DVD/Blu-ray is the song "My Addiction" from the first studio album Final Destination.


20180206 Live at Budokan
The entirety of Fateless is played in full with the exception of "Aftermath", which was not selected for unknown reasons.


20180206 Live at Budokan
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Coldrain announced that they would showcase the entire performance on YouTube to help entertain everyone while in quarantine.


20180206 Live at Budokan, Track listing
"20180206 Live at Budokan" was released in CD, DVD and Blu-ray formats.


20180206 Live at Budokan, Track listing, DVD and Blu-ray
All lyrics are written by Masato Hayakawa; all music is composed by Coldrain.


2018–19 1. FC Köln season
The 2018–19 1. FC Köln season was the 71st season in the football club's history and 1st consecutive and 9th overall season in the second flight of German football, the 2. Bundesliga, having been relegated from the Bundesliga in 2018. In addition to the domestic league, 1. FC Köln also participated in this season's edition of the domestic cup the DFB-Pokal. This was the 71st season for Köln in the RheinEnergieStadion, located in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The season covered a period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.


2018–19 1. FC Magdeburg season
The 2018–19 1. FC Magdeburg season is the 53rd season in the football club's history. The season covers a period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. It is the first season the club plays in 2. Bundesliga, and the second season in a second-tier league after they had competed in the DDR-Liga in the 1966–67 season.


2018–19 1. FC Magdeburg season, Players, Squad information
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018–19 1. FC Nürnberg season
The 2018–19 1. FC Nürnberg season is the 119th season in the football club's history and 33rd overall season in the top flight of German football, the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2018. In addition to the domestic league, 1. FC Nürnberg also are participating in this season's edition of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal. This is the 69th season for Nürnberg in the Max-Morlock-Stadion, located in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. The season covers a period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.


2018–19 1. FC Nürnberg season, Players, Squad information
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season
The 2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season is the 53rd season in the football club's history and 9th consecutive season in the second division of German football, the 2. Bundesliga and 13th overall. In addition to the domestic league, 1. FC Union Berlin also are participating in this season's edition of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal. This is the 53rd season for 1. FC Union Berlin in the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, located in Köpenick, Berlin, Germany. The season covers a period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Pre-season
After a disappointing season in which Union was only able to avoid relegation on the 33rd matchday, the team started into the season with a brand new look. Starting at the front with a new manager Urs Fischer, who has won numerous titles in the Swiss Super League with FC Basel; this was only the beginning of a new Union squad that saw drastic changes from the season before. Union would start the new campaign without fan favorite Steven Skrzybski but added key players such as Rafal Gikiewicz and Sebastian Andersson, both of whom would go on to feature in every fixture.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, 2. Bundesliga first half (matchday 1–17)
Union Berlin started their 13th ever 2. Bundesliga season with a 1–0 win at home to start the campaign, courtesy of a late free kick goal by former captain Felix Kroos. A 1–1 draw the next week against 1. FC Köln in Cologne, was already a reason for optimism for the Köpenick based club, as Köln were predicted by many to promote back into the Bundesliga. This draw would be followed up with many similar score lines, as Union managed a staggering 10 draws in just the first half of the season, along with 7 wins.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, 2. Bundesliga first half (matchday 1–17)
Two key fixtures were a matchday nine 1–1 draw against 1. FC Heidenheim where goalkeeper Gikiewicz saved Union with a headed goal from a corner kick in the 94th minute. The second a 2–2 away draw against Hamburger SV, who after relegating for the first time in their history the season before, were favorites to go back up. During that first half of the season, Union was also drawn against Borussia Dortmund in the 2nd round of the DFB Pokal after 90 minutes, coming close to beating the Bundesliga club and creating a massive upset in Dortmund. Only to be stymied by a Marco Reus penalty kick goal in the final moments of the game. This impressive early-season run had Die Eisernen remaining undefeated in their first 17 games in 3rd place, within striking distance of promotion heading into the winter break to the surprise of many.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, 2. Bundesliga second half (matchday 18–34)
In the first matchday of the 2nd half of the season, Union fans were met with a worrying result, losing the first game back in a 0–3 collapse to midtable Erzgebirge Aue. However, things quickly got back up on track with a win against eventual champions Köln in Berlin 2–0. Union maintained their incredible results while playing at home the rest of the campaign, only losing one game out of their 17 at home all season against SC Paderborn, who had emerged as a promotion candidate as well.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, 2. Bundesliga second half (matchday 18–34)
On matchday 31 a 2–0 win against Hamburger SV in the near-impenetrable fortress that was the Stadion An der Alten Försterei launched Die Eisernen back into the top three, good enough for a playoff against the 16th place Bundesliga team for a chance at promotion. The possibility to promote automatically was there on the last matchday of the season, a win against VfL Bochum was all they needed to leapfrog into 2nd. Union fought their way back from 0–2 to a 2–2, and nearly managed the victory at the last gasp. With the draw, Union finished with 57 points, and only missed 2nd place on goal differential. However, their amazing home form and ability to draw on the road was enough, as they secured a place in the Bundesliga Relegation playoffs, facing off in a two-leg series against VfB Stuttgart.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Relegation playoff (leg 1)
The first relegation playoff in club history would not be an easy task for the boys from Köpenick. The relegation playoffs heavily favor the team from the Bundesliga, with few teams managing to come out victorious from 2. Bundesliga. The first leg of the playoffs was played in Stuttgart at Mercedes-Benz Arena and couldn't have been harder on the Union fans emotionally. Stuttgart took a 1–0 lead just before halftime thanks to Christian Gentner, but 89 seconds later Suleiman Abdullahi managed to reply with an assist from Sebastian Andersson, and all was level at the break.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Relegation playoff (leg 1)
The second half was opened quickly by VfB Stuttgart and started well for the home side as halftime substitute Mario Gomez found a goal for a quick 2–1 advantage. Union didn't give up despite the second setback, just as they hadn’t on the road all season. They came back strong, played out their chances and in the 68th minute Marvin Friedrich tied the game up at 2–2 from a corner kick by Christopher Trimmel. Friedrich had featured in every single game during the season for Union, but this was the first time finding the back of the net in any.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Relegation playoff (leg 1)
After that goal it was Union who looked the more likely side to win, as Sebastian Andersson created two great chances that very nearly forced the improbable victory. Union fans we’re pleased with the 2–2 draw, since the away goals rule was in effect for these playoffs and Stuttgart had to come to Berlin and manage to find a win that had eluded virtually all visitors during the campaign.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Relegation playoff (leg 2)
Stadion An Der Alten Försterei was waiting for them, a place that Union had made a fortress during the 2018–19 season. Stuttgart would be forced to try and play attacking soccer, needing a 3 goal draw or victory to remain in Bundesliga. It was not an attractive game ripe with chances for either side, as the two teams battled in front of the crowd of over 22,000. Stuttgart thought they had the lead in the 9th minute when Dennis Aogo hit a free kick passed Gikiewicz.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Relegation playoff (leg 2)
Somewhat controversially, it was promptly taken back by the video assistant referee, as Nicolás González had been found to have obstructed Gikiewicz's view from an offside position, thus making the goal unofficial. The rest of the game was nerve-wracking for both sides. The match stayed 0-0 into the 80th minute, a goal for either side would see their side into the Bundesliga almost certainly. As the game opened up, Abdullahi had two shots beat the VfB Stuttgart defense, only to be denied by the woodwork each time.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Relegation playoff (leg 2)
Stuttgart came towards the goal of Union more and more, each time the stout Union defense and Gikiewicz were there to answer. Finally, Union had to survive the longest five minutes the fans of Stadion An der Alten Försterei had ever witnessed. When the final whistle came, Union Berlin has successfully promoted to the Bundesliga, for the first time in their long history. Meanwhile the 2–2 aggregate result after two draws saw VfB Stuttgart relegated on the away goals rule.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Aftermath
Only moments after the game ended, the field was flooded with Union fans in celebration. It was a success which few thought possible pre-season but had come to fruition none the less. The small club from the east side of Berlin with a cherished bond between the club and its fans were going to play in the Bundesliga for the very first time. The 56th-ever team to play in the Bundesliga since its founding, and the first-ever from East Berlin.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Season review, Aftermath
The success in the promotion playoff cemented the 2018–19 season as the most famous ever in club history to this date, and simply a night no Union Berlin fan was ever going to forget. The following week Union paraded around the streets of Berlin and even down the Spree on a team boat, culminating in a party for players and fans alike at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Players, Squad information
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018–19 1. FC Union Berlin season, Matches, Relegation play-offs
2–2 on aggregate. Union Berlin won on away goals and are promoted to the Bundesliga, while VfB Stuttgart are relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.


2018–19 1. FSV Mainz 05 season
The 2018–19 1. FSV Mainz 05 season was the 114th season in the football club's history and tenth consecutive and thirteenth overall season in the top flight of German football, the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2009. In addition to the domestic league, Mainz 05 also participated in this season's edition of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal. This was the eighth season for Mainz in the Opel Arena, located in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The season covered a period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga
The 2018–19 2. Bundesliga was the 45th season of the 2. Bundesliga. It began on 3 August 2018 and concluded on 19 May 2019.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga
1. FC Köln and SC Paderborn were automatically promoted to the Bundesliga; Union Berlin were promoted after winning the Bundesliga relegation play-offs. 1. FC Magdeburg and MSV Duisburg were automatically relegated to the 3. Liga, while FC Ingolstadt 04 were also relegated to the 3. Liga after losing a playoff against SV Wehen Wiesbaden of that league.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Season, Promotion Battle
Before the start of the season, Bundesliga relegations 1. FC Köln and Hamburger SV were considered the biggest favourites for promotion. In the first round, both fulfilled this role: the Hamburger SV was able to get just ahead of Herbstmeister, the 1. FC Union Berlin followed after a round without defeat, including 10 draws, in third place.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Season, Promotion Battle
While the FC St. Pauli, the 1. FC Heidenheim and Holstein Kiel were gradually eliminated from the field of the chasers, the newly promoted SC Paderborn 07 advanced to the promotion places thanks to a strong back-series (1st place with 32 points in the back-round table). After 32 days of play, the 1. FC Köln was crowned 2. Bundesliga champion for the fourth time and celebrated the re-entry into the Bundesliga; in the end, the 1. FC Köln recorded the most victories and scored the most goals.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Season, Promotion Battle
The Hamburger SV, on the other hand, played a disastrous return round (15th place with 19 points in the back-round table), which finally resulted in the missed re-emergence one match day before the end; the fight for second place became a long-distance duel between SC Paderborn 07 and 1. FC Union Berlin on the last day of the match.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Season, Promotion Battle
In the end, SC Paderborn 07 managed to make it to the Bundesliga on the last day of the season despite a 1-3 defeat in Dresden, 1. FC Union Berlin finished third in the standings and competed in the promotion delegation against VfB Stuttgart. After a 2-2 draw in Stuttgart and a 0-0 draw at home, 1. FC Union Berlin moved up to the Bundesliga for the first time thanks to the away goals rule.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Season, Relegation battle
After the first promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, the 1. FC Magdeburg had a first appearance with the direct relegation, which was fixed on the 33rd match day. In addition to the 1. FC Magdeburg, MSV Duisburg was also relegated after only two seasons in the second-class. On the last day of the match, SV Sandhausen secured direct class position with a 2-2 win at SSV Jahn Regensburg, FC Ingolstadt 04 closed the season on the 16th place in the table after a 2-4 defeat in Heidenheim and competed in the relegation delegation against SV Wehen Wiesbaden. After a 2-1 in Wiesbaden, the FC Ingolstadt 04 lost in the home game with 2:3 and was relegated to the 3rd league due to the away goals rule.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Promotion play-offs, Second leg
2–2 on aggregate. Union Berlin won on away goals and are promoted to the Bundesliga, while VfB Stuttgart are relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.


2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Relegation play-offs, Second leg
4–4 on aggregate. Wehen Wiesbaden won on away goals and are promoted to the 2. Bundesliga, while FC Ingolstadt are relegated to the 3. Liga.


2018–19 2. Frauen-Bundesliga
The 2018–19 2. Frauen-Bundesliga was the 15th season of Germany's second-tier women's football league, and the first as a single-division league. The season began on 18 August 2018 and concluded on 19 May 2019. The champions and runners-up were promoted to the Frauen-Bundesliga, while the three bottom teams were relegated to the Frauen-Regionalliga.


2018–19 2. Frauen-Bundesliga
1. FC Köln and USV Jena gained promotion to the Bundesliga while Hessen Wetzlar, SV Weinberg and SGS Essen II were relegated to the Regionalliga.


2018–19 2. Liga (Slovakia)
The 2018–19 2. Liga is the 26th season of the 2. Liga in Slovakia, since its establishment in 1993.


2018–19 2. Liga (Slovakia), Teams, Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018–19 3. Liga
The 2018–19 3. Liga was the eleventh season of the 3. Liga. It began on 27 July 2018 and concluded on 18 May 2019. For the first time in the history of the 3. Liga, no reserve teams managed to obtain a spot in the league. VfL Osnabrück and Karlsruher SC gained promotion the 2. Bundesliga, with Wehen Wiesbaden also earning promotion through the play-offs, while Energie Cottbus, Sportfreunde Lotte, Fortuna Köln and VfR Aalen were relegated to the Regionalliga.


2018–19 3. Liga (Slovakia)
The 2018–19 3. Liga was the 26th season of the third-tier football league of Slovakia since its establishment in 1993. The league is composed of 63 teams divided in four groups of 16 teams each; only 3. liga Východ (East) includes 15 teams. Teams are divided into four divisions: 3. liga Bratislava, 3. liga Západ (West), 3. liga Stred (Central), 3. liga Východ (Eastern), according to geographical separation.


2018–19 A-League
The 2018–19 A-League was the 42nd season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 14th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The regular season commenced on 19 October 2018 and concluded on 28 April 2019. The play-offs began on 3 May 2019 and ended with the Grand Final on 19 May 2019. Sydney FC defeated Perth Glory in the Grand Final.


2018–19 A-League, Clubs, Foreign players
The following do not fill a Visa position:1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian citizenship (and New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);2Australian citizens (and New Zealand citizens, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;3Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players;4Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of fourteen games)


2018–19 A-League, Season statistics, Attendances, By club
These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include finals series attendances.


2018–19 A-League, Season statistics, Discipline
During the season each club is given fair play points based on the number of cards they received in games. A yellow card is worth 1 point, a second yellow card is worth 2 points, and a red card is worth 3 points. At the annual awards night, the club with the fewest  points wins the Fair Play Award.


2018–19 A-League, Awards, Monthly awards
The A-League Goal of the Month is an award that recognises the player who is deemed to have scored the best A-League goal each month of the season. The winner is chosen by an online public vote through the A-League website.


2018–19 A-League, Awards, Annual awards
The NAB Young Footballer of the Year Award was awarded to the finest performance of an under-23 player from Australia or New Zealand throughout the season.


2018–19 A-League, Awards, Annual awards
The following end of the season awards were announced at the 2018–19 Dolan Warren Awards night on 13 May 2019.


2018–19 A.C. ChievoVerona season
The 2018–19 season is Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona's eleventh consecutive season in Serie A. Chievo are competing in Serie A and the Coppa Italia, having finished 13th in the league the previous season.


2018–19 A.C. ChievoVerona season
Lorenzo D'Anna remained as coach of the club after replacing Rolando Maran during the 2017–18 season. On 13 September, Chievo were deducted 3 points after being found guilty of false accounting.


2018–19 A.C. Milan season
The 2018–19 season was the 120th season in Associazione Calcio Milan's history and their 85th (108th overall) in the top-flight of Italian football. Milan competed in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Europa League and the Supercoppa Italiana.


2018–19 A.C. Milan season
Milan qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage as the sixth-placed team of the previous season, but were originally banned by UEFA from European competition due to violations of Financial Fair Play regulations for failure to break-even. On 10 July 2018, Li Yonghong failed to keep up with his loan repayment plan, neglecting to deposit a €32 million installment on time in order to keep refinancing the €303 million loan debt owed to Elliott Management Corporation. As a result, ownership of the club was immediately transferred to the American hedge fund.


2018–19 A.C. Milan season
Milan appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the ban was overturned on 20 July 2018. Following the shareholders' meeting held on 21 July 2018, all previous directors, including Marco Fassone and Massimiliano Mirabelli, were officially dismissed, with Paolo Scaroni becoming the new chairman of the club, replacing Li Yonghong. In the summer of 2018, Leonardo returned to Milan as a sporting director, while the club's hall of fame player Paolo Maldini was hired for the first time as a sporting strategy and development director. In September 2018, the club hired a new CEO, Ivan Gazidis, who had previously worked with Arsenal for over a decade and began his work with Milan on 1 December 2018.


2018–19 A.C. Milan season
Once again, the club failed to achieve its primary objective of qualifying for the Champions League, either through winning the Europa League (Milan suffered a group stage elimination), or finishing in the top 4 of the national league competition, i.e. Serie A. On 28 May 2019, following an unsatisfactory result, both Leonardo and Gennaro Gattuso announced their resignations, with the latter donating his entire €5,5 million severance package back to the club.


2018–19 A.C. Milan season
Having taken a week to contemplate his future, on 14 June 2019 Maldini assumed the role of a technical director responsible for the "planning and development of the club's sporting area". On the same day, another club legend Zvonimir Boban was appointed Chief Football Officer, overseeing the club's sporting area.


2018–19 A.C. Milan season, Transfers, Summer window
Deals officialised beforehand will be effective starting from 1 July 2018.


2018–19 A.C. Milan season, Transfers, Winter window
Deals officialised beforehand will be effective starting from 2 January 2019.


2018–19 A.S. Roma season
The 2018–19 season was Associazione Sportiva Roma's 91st in existence and 90th season in the top flight of Italian football. Having finished third the previous season, the club competed in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League.


2018–19 A.S. Roma season
The season was coach Eusebio Di Francesco's second in charge of the club. On 18 June 2018, Di Francesco extended his contract to remain as manager until 2020. However, after a poor string of results and elimination from the Champions League, Di Francesco was sacked on 7 March 2019 and replaced with former Roma manager Claudio Ranieri.


2018–19 ABA League First Division
The 2018–19 ABA League First Division is the 18th season of the ABA League with 12 teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro,  Slovenia and Serbia participating in it. It is the first time since the 2011–12 season that there are no participants from North Macedonia.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Format changes
On March 13, 2018, the Adriatic League Assembly decided to abolish the National standings and, as of the 2018–19 season, participants are determined only based on the results in the competitions under the umbrella of the Adriatic League (First Division and Second Division). Promotion and relegation will now be based on the First and Second Division. The last place team in the First Division is relegated to the Second Division, while the winner of the Second Division is promoted.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Format changes
Also, as of the 2018–19 season, the 11th placed team of the 2018–19 First Division season and the runners-up of the 2018–19 Second Division season will play in a Relegation Playoff for a spot in the 2019–20 First Division season. The format of the Qualifiers will be best of three, while the home court advantage will be given to the team that played in the First Division in the previous season.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Format changes
The maximum number of clubs from one country in the First Division is five. The last placed club in the First Division will have a guaranteed place in the Second Division in the following season. The confirmed competition system shall not be changed until the end of the 2024–25 season, if there are no significant changes in the European basketball by then.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Teams, Promotion and relegation
A total of 12 teams will contest the league, including 11 sides from the 2017–18 season and one promoted from the 2017–18 Second Division.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Regular season
The season began on September 28, 2018. The regular season ended on March 17, 2019.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Playoffs
The semi-finals will be played in a best-of-three format, while the Finals were played in a best-of-five format. Playoffs will begin on 23 March 2019 and planned to end by 22 April 2019.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Relegation playoffs
As of the 2018–19 season, the 11th placed team of the 2018–19 First Division season and the runners-up of the 2018–19 Second Division season will play in the Qualifiers for a spot in the 2019–20 First Division season.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Relegation playoffs
As the team coming from the ABA League, Zadar had the home court advantage in the first and third game of the series, while MZT was the host of the second game of the Qualifiers series. Zadar won the series 2−1 and kept its First League status.


2018–19 ABA League First Division, Attendances
Updated to games played on April 22, 2019Source: Notes:1: previous season average applied to second division games


2018–19 ABA League Second Division
The 2018–19 ABA League Second Division is the 2nd season of the ABA Second Division with 12 teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia participating in it.


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Format changes
On March 13, 2018, the Adriatic League Assembly decided to abolish the National standings and, as of the 2018–19 season, participants are determined only based on the results in the competitions under the umbrella of the Adriatic League (First Division and Second Division). According to that, the promotion to the First Division is possible only from the Second Division. The last placed of the 2017–18 First Division season lose the right to participate in the 2018–19 season and its place is given to the 2017–18 Champion of the Second Division.


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Format changes
Also, as of the 2018–19 season, the 11th placed team of the 2018–19 First Division season and the runners-up of the 2018–19 Second Division season will play in the Qualifiers for a spot in the 2019–20 First Division season. The format of the Qualifiers will be best of three, while the home court advantage will be given to the team that played in the First Division in the previous season.


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Format changes
The maximum number of clubs from one country in the First Division is five, while in the Second Division each country will have two participants. The last placed club in the First Division will have a guaranteed place in the Second Division in the following season. The confirmed competition system shall not be changed until the end of the 2024–25 season, if there are no significant changes in the European basketball by then.


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Format changes
Instead of the Final Four tournament, as of the 2018–19 season, the Second Division champion will be given after the Playoffs, where four best teams of the regular season will compete. The last placed club in the 2017–18 season loses the right to participate in the 2018–19 season, regardless of its result in the national championship.


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Teams, Team allocation
Macedonian League champions Rabotnički withdrew their place in 2018–19 season, as well as the semifinalists Kumanovo and Blokotehna. Their place was taken by Serbian team Vršac.


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Teams, Team allocation
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Promotion playoffs
As of the 2018–19 season, the 11th placed team of the 2018–19 First Division season and the runners-up of the 2018–19 Second Division season will play in the Qualifiers for a spot in the 2019–20 First Division season. The format of the Qualifiers will be best of three, while the home court advantage will be given to the team that played in the First Division in the previous season.


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Promotion playoffs, Teams
As the team, coming from the ABA League, Zadar had the home court advantage in the first and third game of the series, while MZT was the host of the second game of the Qualifiers series. Zadar won the series 2−1 and kept its First League status.


2018–19 ABA League Second Division, Attendances
Updated to games played on March 14, 2019Source: Notes:1: 2017–18 season average applied to ABA League games


2018–19 ABL season
The 2018–19 ABL season was the ninth season of competition of the ASEAN Basketball League. The regular season started on 16 November 2018 and ended on 28 March 2019.


2018–19 ABL season, Teams
All the teams in 2017–18 season returned for this season. However, the following changes were happened:


2018–19 ABL season, Teams, Imports
The following is the list of imports, which had played for their respective teams at least once. Each team can register 3 imports. Flags indicate the citizenship/s the player holds.


2018–19 ABL season, Regular season
Each team will play 26 games throughout the season, 13 at home and 13 away. Each team will play the remaining 4 teams in their group, twice each at home and away. Each team will also play the 5 teams from the other group, once each at home and away. The groupings are as follows:


2018–19 ABL season, Playoffs, Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals was a best-of-three series, with the higher seeded team hosting Game 1, and if necessary Game 3.


2018–19 ABL season, Playoffs, Semifinals
The semifinals was a best-of-three series, with the higher seeded team hosting Game 1, and if necessary Game 3.


2018–19 ABL season, Playoffs, Finals
The finals is a best-of-five series, with the higher seeded team hosting Game 1, 2, and 5, if necessary.


2018–19 ABL season, Awards, End-of-season awards
The winners were announced before Game 2 of the 2019 ABL Finals at the OCBC Arena, Singapore.


2018–19 AC Sparta Prague season
The 2018–19 AC Sparta Prague season was the club's 124th season in existence and the 26th consecutive season in the top flight of Czech football. In addition to the domestic league, AC Sparta Prague participated in this season's editions of the Czech Cup and the UEFA Europa League. The season covered the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.


2018–19 AC Sparta Prague season
Manager Pavel Hapal was fired on 27 July 2018, a day after loss against FK Spartak Subotica in first leg of UEFA Europa League's Second qualifying round. He was temporary replaced by Zdeněk Ščasný, Sparta's sports director.


2018–19 AC Sparta Prague season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018–19 AC Sparta Prague season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018–19 ACB season
The 2018–19 ACB season, also known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season of the Spanish basketball league. It started on 29 September 2018 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 21 June 2019 with the finals.


2018–19 ACB season
Real Madrid defended successfully the title and conquered its second consecutive league, 35th overall.


2018–19 ACB season, Teams, Promotion and relegation (pre-season)
A total of 18 teams contested the league, including 16 sides from the 2017–18 season and two promoted from the 2017–18 LEB Oro. This include the top team from the LEB Oro, and the winners of the LEB Oro playoffs.


2018–19 ACB season, Season summary
On 30 September 2018, just in the first round and coming back Cafés Candelas Breogán 12 years later to the Liga ACB, their inaugural match against Divina Seguros Joventut was postponed due to problems with the main clock and the shot clocks.


2018–19 ACB season, Regular season, Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after completion of each round. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for round 16.


2018–19 ACF Fiorentina season
The 2018–19 season was the 92nd season in ACF Fiorentina's history and their 81st in the top-flight of Italian football. Having finished 8th the previous season, Fiorentina competed only in Serie A and in the Coppa Italia.


2018–19 ACF Fiorentina season
The season was coach Stefano Pioli's second in charge of the club.


2018–19 AEK Athens F.C. season
The 2018–19 season was AEK Athens' 58th competitive season in the top flight of Greek football, 9th season in the Super League, and 95th year in existence as a football club. They also competed in the Greek Cup, reaching the final for the third consecutive time, and in the UEFA Champions League, reaching the Group Stage. The season covers the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.


2018–19 AEK Athens F.C. season, Players, Squad statistics
NOTE: The players are the ones that have been announced by the AEK Athens' press release. No edits should be made unless a player arrival or exit is announced. Updated 30 June 2019, 23:59 UTC +2.


2018–19 AEK Athens F.C. season, Super League, League Table, Fixtures
The Super League Greece fixture list was announced on 9 August 2018. AEK Athens began their title defence against PAS Giannina at Olympic Stadium.


2018–19 AEK Athens F.C. season, Greek Cup
AEK Athens entered the Greek Cup at the fourth round.


2018–19 AEK Athens F.C. season, UEFA Champions League
AEK Athens entered the Champions League at the third qualifying round.


2018–19 AEK Athens F.C. season, UEFA Champions League, Third Qualifying Round
On 1 August, it was determined that AEK Athens would face Celtic (Scotland) in the Third Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League. The Greek champions eliminated the Scottish side and secured a place into the UEFA Champions League Play-off round.


2018–19 AEK Athens F.C. season, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round
On 16 August, it was determined that AEK Athens would face MOL Vidi (Hungary) in the Play-Off Round of the UEFA Champions League. The Yellow-Blacks eliminated the Hungarian side and secured a place into the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League Group Stage after twelve years.


2018–19 AEK Athens F.C. season, UEFA Champions League, Group Stage
On 30 August, the draw for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League Group Stage was made. AEK Athens were drawn in Group E along with Bayern Munich (Pot 1), Benfica (Pot 2) and Ajax (Pot 3).


2018–19 AEK B.C. season
The 2018–19 AEK B.C. season is AEK's 62nd season in the top-tier level Greek Basket League. AEK competed in four different competitions during that season.


2018–19 AFC Ajax season
During the 2018–19 season, Ajax participated in the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup and the UEFA Champions League. With winning both the competition and the cup, it meant the first double won since the 2001–02 season. In the Champions League, they knocked-out defending champions Real Madrid in the round of 16. After beating Juventus in the quarter-final, they reached a Champions League semi-final for the first time since 1997. Ajax were seconds away from reaching the final by beating Tottenham Hotspur, until Lucas Moura scored a last-minute goal, sending Tottenham to the final in Madrid on away goals.


2018–19 AFC Ajax season
On an individual level, Dušan Tadić was the biggest surprise; signed from Southampton in June 2018 for just €11.4 million, the 30-year old unexpectedly became the club's leading goalscorer with a total of 38, including 9 goals in the Champions League. He doubled his personal season record for scoring, as well as earned the right to be the team's captain for the next season.


2018–19 AFC Ajax season, Transfers for 2018–19
For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the summer window (1 July 2018 to 31 August 2018) please see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2018. For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the winter window (1 January 2019 to 1 February 2019) please see List of Dutch football transfers winter 2018–19.


2018–19 AFC Bournemouth season
The 2018–19 AFC Bournemouth season is the club's fourth consecutive season in the top flight of English football and their 129th year in existence. This season Bournemouth will participate in the Premier League as well as the FA Cup and EFL Cup.


2018–19 AFC Bournemouth season
The season covers the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.


2018–19 AFC Bournemouth season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018–19 AFC Bournemouth season, Competitions, Premier League, Matches
On 14 June 2018, the Premier League fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.


2018–19 AFC Bournemouth season, Competitions, FA Cup
The third round draw was made live on BBC by Ruud Gullit and Paul Ince from Stamford Bridge on 3 December 2018.