LAHORE: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) officials engaged in a brainstorming session with the two-member FIFA delegation currently visiting the country on Saturday to look at how to promote the sport in Pakistan.
In the past three years, the country’s football grounds were largely neglected after the international soccer body suspended Pakistan’s membership, making it impossible for the PFF to benefit from FIFA’s Forward Development Program.
However, the world football governing body recently lifted the ban on PFF after the federation’s legitimate management, headed by Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, was restored by a court ruling.
FIFA has now consented to resume its development plan in Pakistan and, as the first step, the Asian Football Confederation has approved a grant of $300,000 for the restoration of the PFF headquarters, Football House.
To discuss the current state of the sport in the country, a two-member special delegation, headed by FIFA’s Regional Director for Asia and Oceania Sanjeevan Balasingam, arrived in Lahore on Friday.
The delegation discussed the world body’s Forward Development Program with the PFF president and other executive committee members.
According to the FIFA website, “FIFA Forward is a step change for global football development and the way we share the success of the FIFA World Cup with our member associations ... The aim is to improve the way we develop and support football across the globe, so that the sport can reach its potential in every nation and so that everyone that wants to take part can do so without barriers.”
The delegation visited Football House and examined the building’s dilapidated state.
According to FIFA’s website, the Forward Development Program gives “each association … access to $750,000 per year for football projects such as pitches, competitions and women’s football. And every association also receives up to $500,000 per year for running costs in areas including administration and governance.”
FIFA delegation and PFF officials discuss football’s future in Pakistan
FIFA delegation and PFF officials discuss football’s future in Pakistan
Man City will not cruise to Premier League glory, warns Guardiola
“I’m ready for it to be a tough, tough game”
MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola has warned that Manchester City cannot take anything for granted as they seek to claim an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title against West Ham on Sunday.
City have the destiny of the title in their hands as they lead Arsenal by two points going into the final day of the season.
However, Guardiola pointed to the dramatic final day two years ago, when City had to come from 2-0 down late on to beat Aston Villa 3-2 to deny Liverpool the title.
The English champions were also made to sweat to beat Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday despite many Spurs fans wanting their own side to lose to prevent north London rivals Arsenal claiming their first title for 20 years.
“We would like to be 3-0 up after 10 minutes but that’s not going to happen,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“I’m ready for it to be a tough, tough game. I want to put in the mind of the players, ‘Look at Tottenham, how they fought for every ball’.
“It was the same with Aston Villa two years ago — they were in the same position, they didn’t have anything to play for — and we know what happened.
“Our people have to come here and be ready from the first minute, to be with us and do it together.”
City are attempting to become the first side in history to win four straight English top-flight titles and are on the brink of a sixth Premier League win in the past seven seasons.
Guardiola batted away suggestions that his side do not get the credit they deserve for the scale of those achievements.
“I don’t know what people think but if you ask all the Premier League teams at the start of the season, they would want to be in our position,” he said.
“We have one game left, destiny in our hands. Win our game and we will be champions.
“They (the players) know it is win or win, otherwise Arsenal will be champions.”
‘I was born a fighter’ — the making of Saudi’s first MMA female fighter Hattan Alsaif
- The pioneering Riyadh resident knocked out Egypt’s Nada Faheem at the inaugural edition of PFL MENA in Riyadh last week
RIYADH: As her opponent lay defeated on the floor, the Saudi mixed martial arts fighter marked a landmark victory by waving an imaginary sword in the air.
The celebration was appropriate— Hattan Alsaif’s family name translates directly as “the sword.”
Overnight, Saudi had a new sporting superstar.
On May 10, the 22-year-old made headlines around the world after she knocked out Egypt’s Nada Faheem, delivering a head kick in the second round of their bout at the inaugural Professional Fighters League Middle East and North Africa edition in Riyadh.
Her win, she says, was also a message of love and commitment to her friends, family and fans.
“It [the win] was something I was so proud of,” Alsaif told Arab News. “To make them see how far I reached, and I was doing my best to show them that I will never let them down.”
The future of Saudi women in MMA has been brewing for some time. In February, Alsaif made history when she became the first female from the Kingdom to sign a contract with a major MMA promoter – the PFL, now backed by Saudi’s public investment fund.
Her performance at the Green Halls last week has raised her profile beyond her hometown or even the region. Alsaif is now an international contender.
She said representing Saudi Arabia “meant everything” to her: “I do love my country so much, and I wanted to represent my country in the best way I can.”
But behind the win were three months of relentless training — mental and physical — and even cage-like fights in her gym.
Alsaif is a relative newcomer to the sport. When she first began training in 2021, it was never part of the plan to turn professional.
“First five days I began boxing, I jumped in a championship, and I lost the game,” she said.
Alsaif took the loss as a wake-up call to shift her perspective.
“You have to work hard, you have to work more, so you can have what you want. So I got that point on my mind and I worked on it,” she said.
Alsaif’s appetite for risk and adrenaline rushes dates back to her school days when, she recalls, her late parents received numerous complaints about her behavior.
“They (the school) were always calling my parents. ‘Your kid is jumping from the classes and jumping from the roof and jumping everywhere’,” Alsaif said.
“I was (also) in love with hiking and I was so in love with the desert bikes.”
A fighting spirit feels almost inherited, considering the Kingdom’s own rich history.
“I was born in Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia is my country. Saudi Arabia is in my blood,” she told Arab News.
“If I’m a girl from this city (Riyadh), that means I was born a fighter. I’m ready to sacrifice whatever it is for my country and for my people.”
For Alsaif, sports such as Muay Thai are more than physical battles against an opponent. She feels there is a psychological fight between the inner critic in her mind and the fighter in her heart.
“Your mind will tell you ‘It’s all right. You’re bleeding now. No one will blame you if you quit…just quit’,” she said. “If your mind says that, then your body is going to move as much as your mind told you. If you moved with your heart, courageous heart, then you win it.”
Alsaif’s Islamic faith and spirituality has carried her through life’s hardships, which included losing her parents as a child.
“But I always believe that God is with me, and that I’m never alone,” Alsaif said.
After religion, it’s mixed martial arts that provides solace, resilience and a feeling of belonging for Alsaif.
In the last three years, she has spent months in Muay Thai training camps in Ko Samui and Phuket, relishing even the hardest moments of tears, cuts and bruises.
“It was so amazing visiting Thailand and having a camp (there). That was one of my dreams,” she said.
The sports scene in Saudi Arabia has transformed so rapidly in recent years that a new generation of homegrown stars like Alsaif no longer needs to look beyond their borders or regions for role models.
Her inspiration is Saudi MMA fighter Abdullah Al-Qahtani, with whom she shares a coach.
“I can see how much discipline, motivation he has [...] and how much hard work he does,” she said.
Their coach, Feras Sadaa, is “the best,” she said, adding that she frequently reminds herself she has his complete backing: “I always trust him.”
Alsaif’s routine is simple but rigorously disciplined and follows the vital components of sports development and recovery — train, eat, sleep and repeat.
Alsaif says she is focused on taking any opportunity that arrives in her path and hopes to see more Saudis competing in MMA.
“I know my people and I know that my people are good enough to enter that cage and to show us a good fight,” she said.
Brazil to host 2027 Women’s World Cup as Gaza overshadows FIFA meeting
- FIFA chose to continue its push to expand women’s football to new continents
- Brazil beat a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany
BANKO: The Women’s World Cup will take place in South America for the first time after Brazil was chosen to host the 2027 edition at a FIFA congress Friday marked by debate about the war in Gaza.
After the success of Australia and New Zealand in 2023, which earned a record $570 million in commercial revenue, FIFA chose to continue its push to expand women’s football to new continents.
Delegates meeting in Bangkok voted by 119 votes to 78 to send the 10th Women’s World Cup to the land of samba football, which beat a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
The decision sparked jubilant celebrations from the Brazilian bid team.
Brazil, home of women’s football great Marta, scored higher than its European rival in FIFA’s evaluation report.
The FIFA inspectors noted the “tremendous impact on women’s football in the region” that South America hosting the Women’s World Cup would have.
Brazil’s bid includes 10 stadiums used for the men’s World Cup in 2014, with Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana lined up for the opening match and final.
But work needs to be done, in particular to the Amazonia stadium in Manaus which has stood almost unused for a decade.
The Brazilian Football Confederation has also been in turmoil with legal challenges to its president.
Unlike their male counterparts, who have won five World Cups, Brazil’s women have never lifted the trophy and made a group-stage exit in 2023.
Last year’s tournament defied fears that increasing the size from 24 to 32 teams would dilute the spectacle, with over 1.4 million fans streaming through the turnstiles to witness a host of shocks, dramatic turnarounds and breakthrough results.
Gone were the lopsided scorelines that were a feature of the previous eight World Cups, reflecting a growth in the standard of women’s football.
Seven teams notched their first World Cup wins and the United States and Germany, who between them had won six of the previous eight tournaments, were both dumped out early.
The only sour note came in the aftermath of last year’s final in Sydney, in which Spain beat England 1-0.
Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales sparked outrage when he forcibly kissed midfielder Jenni Hermoso during the medal ceremony, and now faces prosecution for sexual assault.
Corruption claims
The 74th FIFA congress, making its debut in Thailand, made its choice by open vote for the first time as the organization seeks to move on from the corruption and shady dealing that dogged it in the past.
Delegates had their choice simplified last month when the United States and Mexico withdrew their joint bid, deciding instead to focus on trying to win the right to stage the 2031 edition.
As the Brazil tournament approaches, the focus will be on the huge financial disparity between men’s and women’s football.
Prize money for the 2023 Women’s World Cup was a record $110 million, but still far short of the $440 million on offer to teams at the 2022 men’s finals in Qatar.
The congress also heard a call from the Palestinian FA (PFA) to suspend Israel from the world body and ban Israeli teams from FIFA events.
PFA head Jibril Rajoub said the Israeli FA (IFA) had broken FIFA rules, adding: “FIFA cannot afford to remain indifferent to these violations or to the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
His Israeli counterpart Shino Moshe Zuares rejected the call as “cynical, political and hostile,” insisting the IFA had not broken any FIFA rules.
FIFA supremo Gianni Infantino said the body would take independent legal advice on the matter and decide by July 20 what action to take, if any.
New rule
The congress also approved changes to FIFA statutes, removing the rule fixing the organization’s headquarters in Zurich, where it has been since 1932.
The rule now says the location of the HQ will be “determined by a decision passed by the congress” — opening the way for it to move from the Swiss city.
Delegates also voted to multiply the number of committees from seven to 35, reversing steps taken in 2016 to clean up FIFA after it was rocked by a wave of corruption scandals.
The remits of the new committees include women’s football, the fight against racism and eSports, but critics say they risk re-establishing a patronage system the reforms had sought to abolish.
Timberwolves crush Nuggets to stay alive in NBA playoffs
- Anthony Edwards shook off an injury scare to finish with 27 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals
- The Nuggets will host the winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday
LOS ANGELES: The Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed the Denver Nuggets 115-70 on Thursday to force the defending NBA champions to a decisive Game 7 in their Western Conference semifinal series.
Anthony Edwards shook off an injury scare to finish with 27 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals as the young, hungry Timberwolves fended off elimination against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, who had won the previous three games to take charge of the best-of-seven series.
Jaden McDaniels scored 21 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Minnesota finished with a 62-43 advantage in rebounds and the Timberwolves reserves outscored the Nuggets bench 36-9.
The Nuggets will host the winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday.
“I’m super-pumped for it,” 22-year-old Edwards said of the chance to eliminate the Nuggets on their home floor.
But McDaniels cautioned that the Nuggets would be ready as well.
“It’s not over,” McDaniels said. “We’re just going to try to keep this intensity for the next game.”
With their backs against the wall, the Timberwolves absorbed an early punch, falling behind 9-2 before exploding for a 20-0 scoring run.
They outscored the Nuggets 31-14 in the first quarter, dominating in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 19-9.
Denver went nearly six minutes without scoring, the crowd at the Target Center in Minneapolis growing more frenzied as the Timberwolves’ lead grew.
Another surge by Denver to open the second quarter was quickly repelled with a 13-0 Minnesota run that featured back-to-back baskets from Naz Reid and a three-pointer from Edwards.
Every time the Nuggets looked to be gaining momentum Minnesota responded — their energy rewarded once again as McDaniels grabbed the rebound from a Reid miss for a second-chance basket at the halftime buzzer, giving the Timberwolves a 59-40 lead at the break.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was pleased with a bounce-back performance from his team.
“There were two responses,” Finch said. “There was the response to the last three games, but the most important response was when we got down 9-2. And we did a really good job of focusing and coming back with the right energy.”
It was more of the same in the third, with Minnesota taking a 66-42 lead when Edwards came up with a steal and threw down a dunk.
Moments later, however, he took a frightening fall under the basket, landing hard and rolling to face the floor before gesturing to his lower back.
Edwards said he banged his tailbone, but would be ready for Sunday.
A step-back three-pointer by Mike Conley — back after missing Game 5 with a calf injury — pushed the Timberwolves’ lead to 29 late in the third quarter.
When Minnesota pushed the lead to 30 on Rudy Gobert’s layup early in the fourth, Denver coach Michael Malone pulled his starters, the Nuggets falling behind by as many as 50 before it was over.
Denver coach Michael Malone said he told his team at halftime “the reason we’re getting our ass kicked is we’re not taking care of the ball, you’re not rebounding, we’re playing with no physicality and no toughness.
“They hit us first, they hit us second, they hit us third. They did what they needed to do to keep this series alive,” added Malone.
Swiatek into Rome Open final as trophy record beckons, Paul battles through
- World No. 1 Swiatek now stands one victory away from duplicating the Madrid-Rome clay trophy double achieved by Serena Williams 11 years ago
- American Paul reached a clay court semifinal for the first time in his career with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 upset of Hurkacz
ROME: Iga Swiatek won her 11th straight clay-court match on Thursday as the top seed moved closer to another record with a 6-4, 6-3 semifinal defeat of Coco Gauff at the Rome Open, after Tommy Paul earlier survived a chaotic ending to emerge victorious from his quarterfinal encounter with Hubert Hurkacz.
World No. 1 Swiatek now stands one victory away from duplicating the Madrid-Rome clay trophy double achieved by Serena Williams 11 years ago.
The 22-year-old Pole defeated third-seed Gauff for the 10th time in their 11 encounters, with her only loss in the series coming last summer in a Cincinnati semifinal.
Swiatek, a four-time Grand Slam winner due to defend her Roland Garros title starting a week from Sunday, will play the Saturday Rome final against either second-seed Aryna Sabalenka or American Danielle Collins.
The top seed spent one and three-quarter hours in dispatching Gauff, the reigning US Open champion.
Swiatek ended with 26 winners and broke four times.
“I’m not thinking about statistics or history,” she said after the victory. “I’m just playing day by day.
“It’s easier that way, it lets you play more freely.
“I’ll just try to play as good as possible in the final, no matter who it is.
“I won’t be thinking of any records, there is still work to do.”
On the men’s side, American Paul reached a clay court semifinal for the first time in his career with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 upset of Hurkacz.
The 14th seed is the first American to reach the final four at the Foro Italico since Reilly Opelka in 2021.
The momentum-shifting quarterfinal came down to the wire, with a 15-minute final game capping off nearly two and three-quarter hours on court.
Paul finally came through on his fourth match point as Poland’s Hurkacz sent a return long.
The match featured 13 breaks of serve, with Paul advancing with 29 winners and 41 unforced errors; and Hurkacz having 22 and 44 respectively.
“I started well but it got away from me in the second and start of the third,” Paul said. “I had to stick around in the match.
“I found the energy to get it going again. I was hitting my forehand bigger and with more intensity because Hubii can really crush the ball.”
Paul will play Nicolas Jarry in the semifinals after the 28-year-old Chilean stunned sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his first Masters semifinal in Rome on Thursday.
Hurkacz, who knocked Rafa Nadal out in the Rome second round, was unable to get his massive serve up to speed as he faced Paul, winner over defending champion Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.
Hurkacz won the clay title in Estoril last month and suffered only his third loss on clay this spring.
