Category: Sports

Doha: The Qatar Stars League (QSL) organized a virtual workshop on sports integrity, in collaboration with the International Center for Sport Security (ICSS).

The two-day event brought together players, coaching and administrative staffs of the Expo Stars League clubs, and the second division clubs.

CEO of the QSL, Hani Taleb Ballan and CEO of the ICSS, Massimiliano Montanari were also in attendance along with several officials and stakeholders.

The event tackled the negative repercussions of match-fixing, the importance of integrity, fair play and the principle of equal opportunities among all competing teams.

Ballan said that cooperation with the ICSS in organizing this workshop aims to consolidate the principle of integrity and the dangers of tampering with results, stressing the importance of achieving football integrity.

The QSL will not tolerate any behavior that threatens the integrity of football competitions, and stresses its commitment to continuing to work accurately and transparently with all
parties concerned to ensure the integrity of competitions, he added.

The workshop also is part of the QSL’s efforts to help clubs meet the requirements of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Club Licensing Regulations.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Japan started their AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 campaign with a 1-0 win over China at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Group B on Tuesday.

Japan played most of the game with 10 men following Ryuya Nishio’s early sending off.

Kuryu Matsui gave Go Oiwa’s side an eighth minute lead only for Nishio to see red nine minutes later for violent conduct, but a stand-out performance in goal from Leo Kokubo ensured the 2016 champions started the tournament with a win, the AFC website reported.

Victory gives the Japanese the perfect start to their challenge for a second title and a place at a eighth consecutive Olympic Games in a challenging group that also features Korea Republic and the United Arab Emirates.

Oiwa’s side had dominated the early exchanges, with Matsuki finding space in the fifth minute to meet Hiroki Sekine’s ball with his chest and attempt to flick a shot goalward from inside the six yard box that was easy for Huang Zihao to collect.

Three minutes later, though, the FC Tokyo midfielder made no mis
take from similar range.

The Japanese stroked the ball around with Sekine bursting into the box before laying off for Fuki Yamada to deliver the centre from which Matsuki gave his side the lead with a volleyed finish.

Japan were comfortably in control when, in the 16th minute, referee Casey Reibelt was called to the pitch side monitor by VAR officials following a clash between Nishio and Jia Feifan.

Replays showed the Cerezo Osaka central defender swung his arm towards Jia after the Chinese midfielder had pushed him in the back and Reibelt had little hesitation in showing Nishio the red card.

The expulsion gave the Chinese a boost, with Baihelmai Abuduwaili directing Tao Qianglong’s cross from the right over the bar with his thigh before Tao crashed a 20-yard shot against Kokubo’s crossbar.

Kokubo then saved Abuduwaili’s 43rd minute header at full stretch to his left before going the other way three minutes later to keep out Zhu Yue’s effort from distance as China PR finished the half on top.

The goalke
eper rescued his team again less than two minutes after the restart, denying substitute Xie Wenning at close range as he latched onto Du Yuezheng’s perfectly weighted through ball.

Since going down to 10 men the Japanese struggled to impose themselves on the game, with only Matsuki threatening with a 72nd minute free kick from distance that Huang shovelled wide for a corner.

Xie shot high over the bar as the end of regulation time approached as China PR searched in vain for an equaliser that never came.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Kuwait will face Vietnam with both teams determined to kick off their respective AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Group D campaigns with a win at the Al Janoub Stadium on Wednesday.

With Uzbekistan and Malaysia also in the group, a win for either side will give them an early advantage in the race for a quarter-final spot with the tournament also serving as the qualifier for the Paris Olympic Games.

Kuwait head coach Emilio Peixe hopes to lead the team to the qualifying rounds for the first time, relying on a group of promising players, including striker Salman Mohammed, who scored four goals in the qualifiers, and Mohsen Falah and Sultan Al Faraj.

With seven players from the senior team, including Nguyen Thi Son and Quant Van Cang, in the squad, Vietnam recorded its best achievement in 2018 by occupying second place in the tournament and also reached the knockout rounds for the second time in 2022, when it reached the quarter-finals.

In the same group, the Uzbek team, champion of the 2018 edition and ru
nner-up in the previous edition, will meet Malaysian team which is making its third continental appearance at Khalifa Stadium.

After reaching the semi-finals in the past three editions, Uzbekistan seeks to go far in the sixth edition, where 19-year-old Fayzullaev will be part of the strongest midfield in the tournament, along with Khojimat Erkinov and Diyor Kholmatov.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Qatar SC coach Helio Sousa stressed his team’s readiness for their match against Al Rayyan at Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League match against Al Rayyan, postponed from Week 13, Sousa said: “We know that we are facing a very strong match against Al Rayyan. The matches of the two teams are always characterized by strength and excitement, and we hope that the match will turn out to be enjoyable for the fans.

“We have prepared in the appropriate manner and are seeking to continue victories after we succeeded in achieving a 2-1 victory during our last match against Al Shamal. We are looking forward to achieving victory in our next match so that we can continue to move forward in the league table.

“Qatar SC will treat the remaining three matches in the league championship as if they were final matches in order to achieve victory and obtain the largest possible number of points before the end of the tournament. I have confidence in the capabili
ties of the Qatar SC team members and their great desire to provide the best possible level during the remaining matches,” said Souza.

For his part, Al Rayyan coach Leonardo Jardim stated: “We have an important match against Qatar SC, which is an integrated team and its level does not reflect its current position in the standings, and we must give everything we have in order to get the three points. Regarding the standings, we will continue fighting until the end to achieve victory to obtain the best position in the ranking table.

“We have a rule that we work by, which is to play with the available players, and in this match, the same available players will be the ones who participated in our last match in the league against Muaither.

“Al Rayyan always play to achieve the best results. Sometimes we go through good periods and sometimes we go through not good periods, and the Al Rayyan team has a list of the best names in the league,” said Jardim.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Riyadh: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced the postponement of the match between Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia for 24 hours due to weather conditions after it was scheduled to be played this evening at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain in the first leg of the AFC Champions League semi-finals.

The AFC said in a statement on its official website that the postponement of the match between Al Ain of the UAE and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia during the first leg of the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League 2023-2024 was due to weather conditions.

The match was scheduled to kick-off at 8:00 pm UAE time, but following the directives of the authorities in the UAE, the UAE Football Association suspended all football activities today, Tuesday in order to maintain the safety of fans, players and all parties. The match is rescheduled to be held tomorrow, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in the same stadium and at the same time.

Since Monday, the UAE has been hit by a strong storm
accompanied by heavy rain. The UAE government announced remote work and study for employees and students, and the sports federations postponed all scheduled activities for Tuesday.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Advisor Turki bin Abdulmohsen Al Alshaikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), announced the partnership between Riyadh Season and the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Highlighting the significance of this collaboration, he said “This partnership represents a vital step forward for Riyadh Season’s mission to elevate Saudi Arabia’s entertainment sector”, adding that WBC’s standing as a leading and respected organization in the boxing world makes the alliance particularly impactful.

Al Alshaikh said Riyadh Season strives to unite audiences worldwide through a captivating and diverse range of entertainment experiences, and as such, “this collaboration with WBC presents a unique opportunity to attract a global audience,’ according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Mauricio Sulaiman, WBC President, said: ‘We are pleased to welcome the Riyadh Season as a new official partner of the World Boxing Council. The Riyadh Season is a huge event, considered one of the larges
t entertainment events in the world, and the sport of boxing has recently been linked to it, as Riyadh has become internationally recognized as the capital of boxing sport, where three exciting fights were held during the previous Riyadh season.”

Adding that the cooperation between the two entities will generate many ‘distinctive and unique opportunities’, Sulaiman stressed that ‘we look forward to participating in this growing passion in Saudi Arabia”.

‘This partnership will create opportunities and memories that will extend into the lives of many boxing fans around the world through social responsibility programs that include ‘WBC Cares’ programs in hospitals, orphanages, and schools, in addition to awareness programmes with experts in the fields of addiction, bullying, domestic violence, and mental health,” Sulaiman said.

Source: Bahrain News Agency