Israel out of Euro 2024 chase, Ukraine in dramatic fightback
Israel's hopes of reaching the European Championships for the first time against the background of bloody conflict at home were...
Saudi football body suspends, fines Ronaldo over gesture
Sports newspaper Al-Riyadiya reported Ronaldo as saying he respected all football clubs and that the gesture expressed "strength and victory"...
Arts & Culture
Women attend Iran-Iraq match in Tehran stadium
The last time Iranian women were allowed to attend a football match of their national team, after decades of being...
- FIFA ordered Iran in September 2019 to allow women access to stadiums without restriction and in numbers determined by ticket demand
- A month later, women were able to attend the 2022 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Cambodia in the Azadi Stadium
Geostrategy
UNHCR partners with Qatari climber for refugee welfare
The UNHCR announced the partnership with Qatari athlete Sheikha Asma Al-Thani in a statement on its official website.
- The UN refugee agency partnered with Sheikha Asma Al-Thani to raise awareness on the plight of refugees
- She is also expected to help the agency advocate for the rights of those forced to flee due to conflict and persecution
Business
Football transfer values hit 5-year low in 2021: FIFA
A total of 18,068 transfers were registered, against 17,190 in 2020, a rise of 5 percent. The top 10 transfers...
- Spending on transfer fees was $4.86 billion, down 13.6 percent from 2020 and 33.8 percent from the record levels of 2019
- Players from France accounted for the highest amount of spending, with $643 million, displacing Brazil from the top spot
Arts & Culture
Morocco looks to win Africa Cup of Nations title
Morocco head to Cameroon hoping to end a 46-year wait for a second Africa Cup of Nations title.
- Morocco along with Ghana has not lifted the Cup of Nations trophy for a long time
- Ghana is likely to finish runners-up to Morocco at worst and could prove awkward knockout opponents
Geostrategy
Iran federation defends footballer in jersey row
Mehdi Mahdavikia recently wore a jersey featuring the flags of all FIFA member countries, including Israel, during a friendly match...
- Mehdi Mahdavikia ‘must apologize to the Iranian people for his act and must stand trial because he has betrayed the Iranian nation’ an MP has said
- ‘He is one of the greats of Iranian football’ and ‘a symbol of pride for the Islamic Republic of Iran’, the federation has said
Arts & Culture
Kuwait Gulf Games deferred, will be held in May 2022
Kuwait will host the third Gulf Games from May 11-21, Secretary-General of Kuwait Olympic Committee Husain Al-Musallam said on Sunday....
- The Gulf Games include football, handball, volleyball, basketball, swimming, athletics, karate, Judo and others.
Arts & Culture
AfCon to be held as planned despite Omicron surge
The Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe has confirmed that AFCON 2021 will go ahead as planned in January...
- The AFCON will take place in Cameroon starting from January 9 to February 6, 2022 despite deadly surge of the Omicron virus
- Nobody would be allowed to set foot in the stadiums without a negative PCR test
Business
Qatar and Iraq discuss cooperation in transportation sector
Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, and Minister of Transport of the Republic of Iraq Nasser Hussein Bandar...
- The total number of passengers who used the Doha Metro during the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 exceeded 2.5mn with an average of 130,000 passengers daily.
- According to Qatar Rail, the Doha Metro operated 50,000 trips during the tournament, covering 885,000km, and the average time between trains was 2.5 minutes
Business
New Dubai adventure: Eco-friendly surfing
What makes Dubai a tourist hub and an essential market for sustainable surfing is the region’s proximity to the sea?...
- What makes Dubai a tourist hub and an important market for sustainable surfing is the region’s proximity to the sea
- Artificial surfing has now takers in countries like Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Egypt which also boast of a strong community of surfers
Business
Here’s why FIFA wants a biennial World Cup
A controversial proposal of staging the FIFA World Cup championship every two years rather than the current four-year cycle is...
- FIFA is to hold an online global summit to discuss the feasibility of biennial world cups
- An association of 54 of FIFA's 211 members, the Confederation of African Football' supports the idea
Israel out of Euro 2024 chase, Ukraine in dramatic fightback
Israel's hopes of reaching the European Championships for the first time against the background of bloody conflict at home were...
Company News
Riyadh to host Peace and Sport Middle East Forum in Oct
Arts & Culture
Latest News
China fans cheer for Syria after ‘another embarrassing defeat’
Beijing, China - Angry China fans turned on their team and applauded the visiting Syrians off the pitch after what Chinese...
Saudi clubs spent $875.4m on new players from June 1- Sept 1, says FIFA
Spending by Saudi Arabian football clubs in the transfer window just closed was second only to that by teams in...
Arts & Culture
Demarai Gray quits Everton to join Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ettifaq
London, United Kingdom - Demarai Gray has left Everton for Al-Ettifaq ahead of Thursday's transfer deadline in the Saudi Pro League.The...
Arts & Culture
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Geostrategy
Saudi and Iran to resume home-and-away matches: AFC
The move by the two countries' football federations would contribute to "fostering closer ties between their respective footballing communities, allowing...
- Saudi Arabia and Iran severed ties in 2016 after Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked during protests over Riyadh's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
- The AFC then decided that football matches between the two countries would take place on neutral ground, an arrangement it described at the time as "most unfortunate".
Economy
Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur enters last 16 at US Open
Jabeur, who will now face China's Zheng Qinwen in the last 16 on Monday, said her punishing training regimen in...
- Tunisian fifth seed Jabeur, whose own US Open campaign has been disrupted by a flu virus, completed a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory to subdue Bouzkova in 2hr 56min
- A contest of high drama on the Arthur Ashe Stadium saw Bouzkova play virtually half of the match on one leg after suffering a thigh injury midway through the second set
Arts & Culture
Liverpool turns down Al-Ittihad $190m offer for Mohamed Salah
LONDON, UK - Liverpool have rejected a blockbuster £150 million ($190 million) offer for Mohamed Salah from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad,...
- Egypt star Salah has been linked with a move to the Gulf State for several weeks and it is believed a verbal offer was made to Liverpool by Al-Ittihad.
- His agent had publicly ruled out a switch to Saudi during the close-season amid a host of Premier League stars opting to accept lucrative offers from the Gulf State.