Players not finishing meal (3)
I believe the answer is:
tea
'meal' is the definition.
(tea is a type of meal)
'players not finishing' is the wordplay.
'players' becomes 'team' (sports team).
'not finishing' means to remove the last letter.
'team' with its last letter taken off is 'TEA'.
(Other definitions for tea that I've seen before include "This towel is for drying dishes" , "Strangely, one may eat this drink" , "Light afternoon repast" , "Earl Grey?" , "Tisane" .)