London Olympic countdown: 21 weeks to go

Adidas has unveiled the football which will be used at the Games. The name – The Albert, after the cockney rhyming slang for ball, Albert Hall – has long been decided and derided, and the garish pink and blue colour scheme of the ball itself has won it few friends. "The Albert certainly has a unique name and striking identity," said Manchester United's Tom Cleverly at the launch. "It is like no ball I've seen before and it is really going to stand out on the pitch." Adidas is clearly hoping it stands out in sports shops too. A replica can be yours for a mere £85 , £3 more than either the Tango 12 being used at Euro 2012 or the ball set to be used in this season's Champions League final . The love-it-or-hate-it-but-probably-hate-it design continues the steady decline for the previously aesthetically pleasing Olympic ball. Take the retro Etrusco used at the 1992 Games in Barcelona or the Gamarada used in Sydney in 2000 . Things started slipping with the Pelias in Athens and the fussy Great Wall Star in Beijing . Testing times Football test event tickets went on sale this week, and although it is a test event it will have a bearing on the Game proper. The match at the City of Coventry Stadium (usually known as the Ricoh Arena) will see Senegal face the fourth-placed side in Asian qualifying in a play-off game for a place in the tournament proper. The identity of Senegal's opponents won't be known until the end of this month, although it will be one of Australia, Bahrain, Iraq, Japan, Korea Republic, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Uzbekistan. Making a splash The British swimming championships and Olympic trials kicked off on Saturday, but there are plenty of big names in action throughout the week at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park. Gemma Spofforth should be in the women's 100m backstroke final on Monday, while Liam Tancock competes in the men's version. Rebecca Adlington and Jo Jackson are likely to be finalists in the women's 200m freestyle on Tuesday. Ellen Gandy will be hoping for her fourth successive title in the 200m butterfly on Wednesday. Fran Halsall will be the favourite in the 100m freestyle on Thursday, while Lizzie Simmonds will also be expected to take gold in the 200m backstroke on Friday.