Qatar passed their first test with a successful hosting of the Arab Cup but bigger challenges lie ahead when 1.2 million fans and 32 international teams arrive for the World Cup one year from now.

Algerian rejoicing at Saturday’s 2-0 extra-time win over Tunisia in the final — exactly a year before the 2022 World Cup decider, and with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the stands — will have been accompanied by satisfaction from Qatari officials.

But now comes the hard work as Qatar prepares for the unique task of hosting a World Cup in and around a single city, Doha, with limited hotel accommodation and a transport network that is likely to come under strain.

The wealthy Gulf state will also be bracing for intense scrutiny after coming under fire over the rights of the migrant labourers who have built its infrastructure, including the World Cup stadiums.

And it will be mindful of a cultural gap when fans from around the world arrive in a conservative Muslim country with restricted access to alcohol, and where public drunkenness and homosexual relations are illegal.

More than 600,000 tickets were sold for the 16-team Arab Cup, including a Qatari-record 63,439 crowd when the hosts played fierce rivals the United Arab Emirates in the quarter-finals.

Six of the eight World Cup venues were employed as Qatar took the chance to test its stadiums and training sites, transport, accommodation, volunteers and other areas including security.

A fan ID system was dropped midway through the tournament following reports of long queues and complaints from fans, but crowd trouble appeared limited to some damaged seats at the quarter-final between Tunisia and Oman.

‘Lessons learned’

Qatar will “take account of the lessons learned to organise the best World Cup”, said Jassim Al-Jassim, the organising committee’s vice-president of operations.

The Lusail Stadium, which will host the World Cup final, was notably not used for the tournament. In October, its project manager told AFP that it still needed final checks and tests.

Coaches were impressed by the facilities, with Algeria’s Majid Bougherra, a World Cup veteran, saying “everything is perfect” –apart, perhaps, from the accommodation.

“The stadiums are great, the pitches are great. Perhaps one small downside, but it won’t be the case at the World Cup, is that we were in the same hotel as everyone else,” he said.

“We congratulate (Qatar) on this beautiful Arab Cup and I think the World Cup will be exceptional,” Bougherra added.

Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz, the former Iran, Portugal and Real Madrid boss, said the Qatar World Cup has “all the ingredients to succeed”, but called for better communications.

“If there is one advice I will give to everybody, we need to talk, because the better we talk the better the harmony between the needs inside and outside the pitch,” he said.

Daniel Reyche, a sport policy and politic researcher and visiting associate professor at Qatar’s Georgetown University, said he was impressed by the organisers’ ability to learn from their mistakes, for example by dropping the fan ID.

“Overall, I think the test went well, but it is difficult to compare the FIFA Arab Cup and the FIFA World Cup, since most visitors this time came from within the country and next year they will come from outside the country,” he told AFP.

And after Qatar dismissed concerns from the LGBTQ+ community about attending the World Cup, FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura gave assurances next year’s tournament would be inclusive.

“People are free to display any kind of flag they want, including the rainbow flag, without them being targeted or singled out,” she said this week.

Source: AFP

The United States Monday announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, a calibrated rebuke of China’s human rights record that stops short of preventing US athletes from competing.

The decision comes after Washington spent months wrangling with what position to take on the Games, hosted in February next year by a country it accuses of perpetrating “genocide” against Uyghur Muslims in the northwestern Xinjiang region.

There was no immediate reaction from Beijing, but the Chinese foreign ministry had earlier threatened “resolute countermeasures” to any such boycott.

The decision was broadly welcomed by rights groups and politicians in the US, where President Joe Biden has been under pressure to speak out against Chinese rights abuses.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the administration would send no diplomatic or official representation to the Games given China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.”

Sending official representation would signal that the Games were “business as usual,” Psaki said.

“And we simply can’t do that.”

“The athletes on Team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100 percent as we cheer them on from home,” she added.

The International Olympic Committee said the sending or not of officials was a “purely political decision for each government, which the IOC in its political neutrality fully respects.”

The announcement “also makes it clear that the Olympic Games and the participation of the athletes are beyond politics and we welcome this,” an IOC spokesperson said.

Diplomatic high-wire act

US-China relations hit a low point under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, with a massive trade war and incendiary debate over how the Covid-19 virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Biden has sought to re-engage with Beijing, while at the same time focusing on strengthening traditional US alliances to counter China’s ever-growing economic clout and military presence across the Indo-Pacific region.

The Olympics boycott is part of a complex diplomatic balancing act.

Biden’s administration has left Trump-era trade tariffs on China in place and continues to order naval patrols through sensitive international sea lanes that China is accused of trying to bring under its control.

However, with Biden also emphasising the need for dialogue, critics on the right say he is being too soft.

This makes the looming Olympic Games a political flashpoint.

Members of Team USA, their coaches, trainers and other staff will still receive consular and diplomatic security assistance, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

When asked about calls for private businesses to end any Winter Games sponsorships, he stressed that the decision was up to them.

“It is not in this country — unlike other countries — the role of the government to dictate the practices that the private sector should adopt,” Price said.

‘Powerful rebuke’

Campaigners say that at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking, mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps in Xinjiang, where China is also accused of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labour.

Bob Menendez, the chair of the powerful US Senate foreign relations committee, welcomed the diplomatic boycott as “a powerful rebuke” of the “genocide in Xinjiang.”

He and top House foreign affairs Democrat Gregory Meeks called for other countries to follow the US lead.

Meeks warned the international community should not be helping China “whitewash its atrocities against Uyghurs and other minorities.”

But Republican Senator Tom Cotton called it a “half measure, when bold leadership was required.”

“The United States should fully boycott the Genocide Games in Beijing,” he said in a statement.

The last full boycott of the Olympics by the US was in 1980, when President Jimmy Carter withdrew in protest against the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.

Human Rights Watch called the Biden administration’s decision “crucial” but urged more accountability “for those responsible for these crimes and justice for the survivors.”

Earlier Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian warned the Games were “not a stage for political posturing and manipulation” — in response to reports a boycott could be imminent.

“If the US is bent on having its own way, China will take resolute countermeasures,” he vowed.

Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the United States, said that politicians calling to boycott the Games “are doing so for their own political interests and posturing.”

“In fact, no one would care about whether these people come or not, and it has no impact whatsoever on the #Beijing2022 to be successfully held,” he tweeted.

Coming just six months after the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Summer Games, the Winter Olympics will be held from February 4 to 20 in a “closed loop” bubble because of Covid-19 restrictions.

“To be honest, Chinese are relieved to hear the news, because the fewer US officials come, the fewer viruses will be brought in,” tweeted the Chinese state-owned tabloid newspaper, Global Times.

Source: AFP

Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has hit back at a “disrespectful” claim that his only remaining ambition is to win the Ballon d’Or more times than Lionel Messi.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Messi won the prestigious award for a seventh time on Monday.

Ronaldo, who finished sixth in this year’s voting, has earned the Ballon d’Or five times.

The Ballon d’Or, given to the best male and female footballers of the year, is voted on by 180 journalists and presented by France Football.

Pascal Ferre, the editor in chief of France Football, was quoted in the New York Times recently saying Ronaldo told him his primary motivation was to retire having won the accolade more often than his old rival Messi.

Ronaldo, 36, took to Instagram to deny that suggestion.

“Today’s outcome explains Pascal Ferre’s statements last week, when he said that I confided in him that my only ambition was to finish my career with more Ballon d’Ors than Lionel Messi,” Ronaldo wrote.

“Pascal Ferre lied, he used my name to promote himself and to promote the publication he works for.

“It is unacceptable that the person responsible for awarding such a prestigious prize could lie in this way, in absolute disrespect for someone who has always respected France Football and the Ballon d’Or.

“The biggest ambition of my career is to win national and international titles for the clubs I represent and for the national team in my country.

“The biggest ambition of my career is to be a good example for all those who are or want to be professional footballers.

“The biggest ambition of my career is to leave my name written in golden letters in the history of world football.”

Ronaldo, who did not attend Monday’s prize-giving event in Paris, last won the Ballon d’Or in 2017.

This year marked the first time the former Juventus and Real Madrid striker finished outside the top five voting since 2010.

Messi’s seventh success extended his lead in the male category after he set the record with his sixth in 2019.

Barcelona and Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the 2021 women’s Ballon d’Or.

Source: AFP

Robert Lewandowski is in the running to retain his Best FIFA Men’s Player award after he was named Monday on an 11-man shortlist alongside Karim Benzema and Jorginho.

Perennial candidates Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo feature among the nominees, with Neymar, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe also up for a prize first awarded in 2017.

Erling Haaland, N’Golo Kante and Kevin De Bruyne complete the list of potential winners.

Four Barcelona players are included on the women’s best player shortlist – Alexia Putellas, Jennifer Hermoso, Aitana Bonmati and Caroline Graham Hansen.

Chelsea, beaten by Barcelona in last season’s Women’s Champions League final, also have four representatives with Sam Kerr, Ji So-yun, Magdalena Eriksson and Pernille Harder.

Lucy Bronze, who took home last year’s award, was nominated with fellow England international Ellen White.

Canada’s Olympic gold medallist Christine Sinclair is in contention too, as is Stina Blackstenius of Sweden.

Thomas Tuchel is a frontrunner for best men’s coach after leading Chelsea to the Champions League title. He faces competition from Roberto Mancini, the mastermind of Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph.

Other nominees are Hansi Flick, Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte, Diego Simeone and Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni.

The prizes for the best men’s and women’s player, coach and goalkeeper are voted for by the captains and coaches of all national teams around the world, as well as an online ballot of fans and a select number of journalists.

Voting will run from November 22 to December 10.

The three finalists in each category will be revealed in early January, with the awards ceremony to be held virtually from FIFA headquarters in Zurich on January 17.

The separate Ballon d’Or award ceremony will be staged in Paris on November 29.

Source: AFP

Cameroon beat Ivory Coast 1-0 in a contest of two continental heavyweights to join Algeria, Nigeria and Tunisia in securing the last four places in March’s African World Cup playoffs as the group phase came to a dramatic conclusion on Tuesday.

Karl Toko Ekambi scored for Cameroon as they snatched a narrow home win over the Ivory Coast in a clash full of tension but without many clear chances.

Cameroon had been one point behind in the Group D standings but took top spot to advance to the playoffs.

Goalkeeper Andre Onana, back from a nine-month drug ban, made several key saves for Cameroon to help them survive a late onslaught and hold on for the win.

Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea were level on 10 points in Group B when they kicked off their respective games but Tunisia romped into an early three-goal lead before beating Zambia 3-1 at home while Equatorial Guinea drew 1-1 away in Mauritania.

African champions Algeria and Nigeria made heavy work of booking their places, but home draws proved enough for them also to progress.

Algeria were twice ahead against Burkina Faso, with Riyad Mahrez grabbing their first goal, but a late penalty saw them held to a 2-2 draw in Blida. Algeria finished with 14 points in Group A, two ahead of the Burkinabe.

Nigeria scored in the first minute through Victor Osimhen but quickly gave up an equaliser to the Cape Verde Islands, who had to win to take top spot in Group C. The 1-1 draw in Lagos left Nigeria top on 13 points and Cape Verde second on 11.

The four countries join the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco and Senegal in the playoffs.

The 10 teams will be drawn into five two-legged ties with the aggregate winners representing Africa at the World Cup finals in Qatar.

A Confederation of African Football spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday that no date had yet been set for the draw, but it would likely take place in January.

There were also victories for Egypt, Liberia, Morocco and Mozambique on the last day of the group phase competition, but with the results having no bearing on the final places.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah did not start for Egypt, but came on for the last 30 minutes as they beat Gabon 2-1 in Alexandria.

Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who will face Salah in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday, did not play for Gabon, who were already out of contention.

Source: Reuters

Cameroon and the Ivory Coast both won World Cup qualifiers on Saturday to set up a crunch clash to decide the outcome of their group, but Tunisia suffered a surprise loss in the African preliminaries.

The Cape Verde Islands and Nigeria were also winners on Saturday and will play against each other in Lagos on Tuesday to decide the outcome of their group.

Cameroon, who have made the most World Cup finals appearances by an African country with seven, put in their most convincing performance of the 2022 qualifying campaign as they beat Malawi 4-0 away.

Vincent Aboubakar tucked away a first-half penalty and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa added a second before the break.

Christian Bassogog scored a double in the closing stages of the match, which was played in Johannesburg because Malawi were banned from hosting World Cup qualifiers because none of their stadiums passed a FIFA inspection earlier this year.

The Ivorians were forced to move their last two home games to Cotonou, Benin because of a poor playing surface but were still good enough to beat Mozambique 3-0 later on Saturday.

Max-Alain Gradel scored early to settle the nerves and Maxwel Cornet and Jean Michael Seri netted two more in the second half.

It meant the Ivorians stayed one point ahead of Cameroon in the Group D standings but they must avoid defeat away in Yaounde on Tuesday if they are to advance to the March playoffs instead of the Indomitable Lions.

The 10 group winners play five two-legged ties to decide the African representation for Qatar and Tunisia were expected to add their name to a list that already includes Egypt, Mali, Morocco and Senegal.

FANCIED TO WIN

Tunisia were fancied to win away against Equatorial Guinea, but beaten 1-0 in Malabo with a late goal from Pablo Ganet, who plays in the fourth tier of Spanish club football.

Both countries now have 10 points in Group B but Tunisia finish at home to Zambia on Tuesday while Equatorial Guinea are away in Mauritania at the same time. Tunisia also have a plus seven goal difference to plus one for Equatorial Guinea.

Nigeria stayed two points ahead of the Cape Verde Islands in Group C after they won 2-0 away against Liberia. A first-half penalty from Victor Osimhen and a stoppage-time effort from Ahmed Musa secured the points.

Cape Verde had to come from behind to beat the Central African Republic 2-1 in Mindelo.

Sunday sees the start of the final sequence of group qualifiers with the outcome of Group G and Group J to be decided.

Ghana need to beat South Africa to win Group G while the Democratic Republic of Congo host Benin in Kinshasa also needing a victory in Group J. If neither home side triumphs, their visitors will advance.

Source: Reuters

Cameroonian basketball star Joel Embiid is struggling after testing positive for Covid-19, according to Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers.

The 27-year-old was set to be rested for Monday’s 103-96 loss to the New York Knicks but is now likely to miss more games in line with the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

One of the games Embiid will miss is Tuesday’s showdown against defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks.

“He’s not doing great – he’s struggling,” Rivers said before the loss to the Knicks.

Embiid has been a key figure in the Sixers’ impressive start to the season, with an average of 21.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game so far.

Power forward Embiid is the latest member of the 76ers team to test positive for coronavirus.

“It’s a concern, obviously, because what is it – four guys now? And a staff member. It clearly is a concern,” Rivers added.

“We have to just keep trying to find ways to play to win to score and do whatever we have to and we’ve done that this far. We’re going to play. We’re going to compete.”

The 76ers’ defeat by the Knicks on Monday was just their third of the season, with eight wins so far in the Eastern Conference which they currently lead.

Source: BBC

FIFA’s drive to get approval in December for holding World Cups every two years stalled Wednesday, one day after its president met with fierce resistance from European soccer leaders.

Gianni Infantino instead announced FIFA would host a remote “global summit” on Dec. 20 to discuss the future of international soccer and “try to reach a consensus.”

That fell short of staging an extra congress of 211 member federations which could formally vote on the planned biennial World Cups for men and women in which Infantino has invested his and FIFA’s political capital.

“It is really important to listen to all the legitimate questions … and to see how we can adjust the proposals that have been made,” Infantino said at a news conference after chairing a meeting of FIFA’s ruling Council.

Infantino’s comment about exploring “what other kinds of events we can create” was a further hint that staging extra World Cups has not reached the broad agreement he aims for.

Sustained opposition from European soccer body UEFA — including threats to boycott future World Cups and veiled warnings by some of its members to leave FIFA — was joined last weekend by a rare IOC statement explicitly criticizing an Olympic sport.

The International Olympic Committee said FIFA was chasing extra revenue while crowding other sports from the sports calendar, promoting men’s soccer that would overshadow the women’s game and putting extra strain on athlete welfare.

“We have received some legitimate criticism,” Infantino acknowledged. “When you are in the middle of all of that it’s a little bit like a referee in a riot going on in a match.

“I’m just calling everyone to be calm and rational about it,” he said.

Infantino has said FIFA organizing a men’s or women’s World Cup every year is important to attract young fans, give more countries the chance to qualify and fund development globally to close the gap on European and South American dominance.

UEFA and South American soccer body CONMEBOL have resisted the plans. They cited the risk of overloading players and disrupting the balance of soccer’s global schedule, including domestic leagues and their own successful international competitions for national and club teams.

“Everyone has taken note of the position of Europe,” said Infantino, who had a heated online meeting Tuesday with leaders of UEFA and its 55 member federations.

The Europeans made clear biennial World Cups were unacceptable, and one day later Infantino seemed to relent by insisting FIFA must try to reach consensus.

“How this consensus will look like, we will see,” he said. “For me, everything is open. Maybe we make one step forward and one back.”

Source: AP

The husband of Kenyan record-breaking runner Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in a killing that has shocked her home country and the world of athletics, was due in court Friday after a dramatic late-night arrest.

Emmanuel Rotich was detained in the coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday over the death of the 25-year-old double world championships medallist and Olympian.

A senior police official in Mombasa told AFP that Rotich would appear in court and prosecutors were likely to ask for more time “to firm up a case against him” during hearing.

“Given how tense the ground is in Iten, it is unlikely we will have him charged there,” the official said referring to the western town where the couple lived.

Police cornered Rotich in Mombasa, using his mobile number to track him down after he used his old SIM card in his new phone after spending days offline, one of the investigating officers told AFP.

Tributes have poured in for Tirop since her body was found with stab wounds in the bedroom of their home in Iten, a high-altitude training hub for many top-class athletes.

Athletics Kenya said it was postponing events for two weeks in honour of Tirop and another runner who was found dead at the weekend of an apparent suicide.

Athletics Kenya president Jackson Tuwei said Tirop’s death was a “huge blow” to athletics, describing her as “one of the fastest rising stars” and voicing hope for speedy justice.

Tirop was killed just a month after she smashed the women’s 10,000 metres world record at an event in Germany.

She had previously won world championship medals, finished fourth in the 5,000 metres at the Tokyo Olympics this year and became the second-youngest gold medallist in the women’s cross country championships in 2015.

– Family breadwinner –

Her family told reporters she was their breadwinner, paying for children’s school fees and clothes.

President Uhuru Kenyatta paid tribute to Tirop, who would have turned 26 later this month, saying she had “brought our country so much glory through her exploits on the global athletics stage”.

Her killing came days after another long-distance athlete Hosea Mwok Macharinyang, a member of Kenya’s record-breaking world cross country team, died of what athletics officials said was suicide.

Macharinyang, 35, had competed for Kenya in both cross country and 5,000 metre and 10,000 metre races. He won three consecutive titles in the World Cross Country Championships from 2006 to 2008.

Kenya is the most successful nation in the cross country championships, having won 49 team and 27 individual titles.

Source: AFP

Kenyan distance runner Agnes Tirop, a two-times World Championship bronze medallist, was found stabbed to death at her home, Athletics Kenya said on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old represented Kenya in the 5,000m event at the Tokyo Olympics and finished fourth in the finals.

“Tirop was found dead at their home in Iten after she was allegedly stabbed by her husband. We are still working to unearth more details surrounding her demise,” Athletics Kenya said in a statement.

Local police said Tirop’s husband was a suspect.

“We received a message from the family of Tirop’s husband that the husband had phoned the parents while crying and asking that God forgive him as there is something bad he had done,” Tom Makori, Keiyo North Sub County Police Commander, told the private-owned NTV Kenya Television.

“When police went to Tirop’s house they found her in bed with blood under the bed and a lot of it on the floor.

“When police looked at the body, it looked like she had been stabbed on the neck with what we suspect to be a knife.”

Last month, Tirop smashed the women-only 10km world record in Germany, crossing the line in 30:01 to shave 28 seconds from the previous record held by Morocco’s Asmae Leghzaoui from 2002.

Tirop won bronze medals at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships in the 10,000m, and also won the 2015 World Cross Country Championships.

“It is even more painful that Agnes, a Kenyan hero by all measures, painfully lost her young life through a criminal act perpetuated by selfish and cowardly people,” Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement.

“I urge our law enforcement agencies led by the National Police Service to track down and apprehend the criminals responsible for the killing of Agnes.”

(REUTERS)