Cristiano Ronaldo says 2026 World Cup ‘definitely’ his last
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday said next year's World Cup would be his last as...
Arts & Culture
First India-Pakistan match since conflict fires up Asia Cup
New Delhi, India -- A blockbuster between India and Pakistan headlines the Asia Cup starting on Tuesday as they face...
Geostrategy
Arts & Culture
Saudi-backed Newcastle face Champions League reality check
Manchester, United Kingdom - Newcastle must overcome the might of Paris Saint-Germain and a mounting injury list if the Magpies' first...
- Damaging back-to-back defeats to Borussia Dortmund have left Eddie Howe's men sitting bottom of a devilishly difficult Group F
- Newcastle are aiming to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City as a state-backed project that can go onto dominate English football and conquer Europe
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Leclerc fastest, Sainz crashes as Ferrari out-pace Mercedes
On a day of mixed fortunes for the 'scarlet scuderia' at the Yas Marina Circuit, the luckless Sainz – who...
- Leclerc topped the times by 0.043 seconds ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, who is chasing the first win of his career, with three-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull third
- Verstappen, who is seeking a record-enhancing 19th win of the season and 54th of his career in Sunday’s race, has won the last three Abu Dhabi events from pole position
Business
Messi’s World Cup jerseys up for $10m auction
If the jerseys sell for above $10m, that could make the sale the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia ever...
- He donned these shirts during the first halves of the group-stage rounds against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, as well as later games against Australia, the Netherlands and Croatia.
- The most expensive individual jersey ever sold at auction was one that basketball legend Michael Jordan wore during his NBA finals run in 1998. It sold for $10.1m.
Arts & Culture
Head breaks India hearts as Australia win sixth World Cup title
Ahmedabad, India -- Opener Travis Head hit a sparkling 137 to power Australia to a record-extending sixth World Cup title with...
- Chasing a tricky 241 for victory in the final, Australia slipped to 47-3 before the left-handed Head hit his second century of the tournament to steer the team home.
- Head's knock and his marathon stand of 192 with Marnus Labuschagne, unbeaten on 58, ended India's dominant run of 10 unbeaten matches at the event.
Economy
Argentine Marcelo Gallardo to coach Saudi club Al Ittihad
The Argentine replaces Nuno Espirito Santo who took Al Ittihad to the Saudi title last season. The Portuguese former Tottenham...
- Gallardo, started as a midfielder with River Plate in his native Buenos Aires, where he won the Copa Libertadores
- He coached Nacional of Montevideo to a Uruguayan title in 2012 and returned to River as coach in May 2014
Business
BCCI yet to hear officially about Saudi interest for stakes in IPL
NEW DELHI, INDIA - Recent reports of Saudi Arabia expressing an interest in buying a stake in the Indian Premier League...
- The plan is being seen as another move by the oil-rich kingdom to be the biggest ‘soft power’ in the West Asian region.
- Saudi Arabia is now the sole bidder for the 2036 FIFA World Cup and the Saudi Pro League boasts the crème de la crème of global footballers
Talisca lifts Al Nassr with Ronaldo away
The Saudi Pro League side, who chose to rest in-form captain Ronaldo, rebounded from Philippe Coutinho’s early opener at the...
- Taslica completed his hat-trick on 65 minutes, sweeping home a fine move after another one-two with Ghareeb
- Al Ain became the first western Asian club to qualify for this year’s knockout stages, courtesy of a 3-2 win at Al Fayha in Riyadh
Ex-Tottenham boss Nuno sacked by Saudi club Al Ittihad
Nuno was under pressure because of their struggles in the Saudi Pro League, and the club brought down the axe...
- Nuno, who enjoyed a successful spell as Wolverhampton Wanderers boss from 2017-2021, had been in charge of Jeddah-based Al Ittihad since July last year
- Assistant coach Hassan Khalifa will take temporary charge while the club finalize a replacement for Nuno, Al Ittihad said in a statement posted on X
Arts & Culture
Saudi set to host FIFA World Cup 2034 in either summer or winter
Despite summer temperatures touching 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in the major cities, Saudi Arabian Football Federation president Yasser al-Misehal...
- Misehal also indicated that Saudi Arabia intends to push ahead and host the tournament alone, without asking its neighbors to hold any games.
- That would make Saudi the first country to organize the newly expanded, 48-team World Cup on its own, after the joint hostings in 2026 and 2030.
Business
Saudi Arabia emerges as only bidder for 2034 World Cup
The Saudi bid comes one year after neighboring Qatar hosted the first World Cup in the Middle East, where the...
- The full bids for 2030 and 2034 will be evaluated by FIFA and put to a vote at two separate congress meetings
- The kingdom made the bid for the 2034 event known on October 4, as soon as the procedure had been launched
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Cristiano Ronaldo says 2026 World Cup ‘definitely’ his last
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday said next year's World Cup would be his last as...
Arts & Culture
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Jet skis in the desert: winter lake creates Saudi watersports oasis
Az Zulfī, Saudi Arabia -- The ear-splitting roar of his jet ski fills the air as Hamza al-Hamm thunders past,...
Arts & Culture
81 percent of Saudi population attends cultural events, activities in 2024: GASTAT
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Nearly 81.6 percent of Saudi individuals visited at least one cultural event or activity in 2024, according...
Arts & Culture
Saudi Arabia’s sports fund invests in DAZN streaming service
Paris, France - Saudi Arabian sports investment fund SURJ, linked to the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, has acquired a minority stake...
Business
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Israeli football supporters back home after Amsterdam violence
Tel Aviv, Israel - A plane bringing Israeli football supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel's Ben Gurion airport on Friday after...
- Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a Europa League football tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered the Mossad spy agency to draw up a plan to prevent unrest at sporting events in the future
UAE to host 2025 Asia-Pacific amateur championship at Emirates Golf Club
Gotemba, Japan -- The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A has announced that the 16th Asia-Pacific...
- Notable past competitors include Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur and the 2021 Masters champion, and Cameron Smith, champion of The 150th Open
- Designed by Karl Litten and established in 1988 as the first grass course in the Middle East, Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course is located south of downtown Dubai
FIFA defers decision on Palestinian request to suspend Israel
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement: "The FIFA Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter...
- At FIFA's congress in Bangkok in May, the Palestinian Football Association called for its Israeli counterpart to be suspended and for Israeli teams to be banned from FIFA event
- FIFA was initially set to hold an extraordinary session of its ruling council before July 20 to review the independent legal analysis and decide how to proceed