Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Melbourne/Naarm: The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Trophy Tour Send-Off event took place in Melbourne / Naarm on Saturday, coinciding with the arrival of the Unity Pitch in the city. The Trophy Tour’s Skills Drills will inspire women and girls worldwide to get involved in the excitement and show support for their country ahead of FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ The stage is set for an extraordinary FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Trophy Tour after a special Send-Off event in Melbourne / Naarm on Saturday marked the start of a global journey that will inspire the next generation of female football stars. The celebration took place in the shadow of the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, which will host six matches during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, ahead of the first official stop on the Trophy Tour in Japan on 25-26 February. The Send-Off event coincided with the arrival of the Unity Pitch, which was in Melbourne / Naarm for the day and will tour all nine Host Cities ahead of the start of the tournament. Female Football Freestyle world champion Lia Lewis was on hand to help open the Unity Pitch by inspiring dozens of youngsters in attendance with an astonishing display of her skills before passing on her tips.  “Before freestyle football, I was a ballet dancer. I did 18 years of ballet, five years ago, thinking back, I couldn’t kick a ball. Five years later, I can’t believe I’m here,” Lia Lewis said. “This Trophy Tour is all about Going Beyond, and through the Skills Drills, we are making football accessible, creative and fun. Skills Drills will showcase incredible women’s talent and, more importantly, inspire women and girls worldwide to take part in something inspirational.” USA national team legend Kristine Lilly, the most capped international footballer of all time, was also in attendance, engaging with the youngsters and sharing her Women’s World Cup experiences. Speaking in anticipation of the tournament, she said: “The growth of the women’s game and the support behind it has been incredible. To be at 32 teams in the World Cup is so great for so many reasons – for all these countries who haven’t had the opportunity but now they do, it’s incredible.” “The growth of the game and how many teams are going to be competing in this World Cup is going to create so much more hype and excitement and challenge those countries that have been there for a while. So, it’s going to be exciting to watch the games and you can get your tickets now, so please do, and support the women’s game.” The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Trophy Tour will visit all 32 of the tournament’s participating nations, and will return to Melbourne / Naarm on 14-16 June, inspiring people across the globe ahead of the big kick-off on 20 July.

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD: FIFA has revealed that over half-a-million tickets have been sold to fans from more than 120 countries for the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, taking place this July and August in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The first-ever 32-team FIFA Women’s World Cup will be a truly global celebration of football and welcome teams qualified for the first time ever in their history from Morocco, Zambia, Philippines, Vietnam and the Republic of Ireland. FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said: “Ticket sales for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 are off to a great start and it’s not just home fans in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand purchasing tickets! Fans residing in the United States of America, England, Qatar, Germany, China PR, Canada, the Republic of Ireland and France are the top 10 purchasers of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 tickets so far. This highlights the fantastic pull of the female game and the passion it evokes among the global football fandom.

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD: The three times Asian Champions, Saudi Arabia will host the 2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Football Cup, as India withdrawn from his bit to get the rights of holding mega football event of the Asian nations. According to AFC statement, after All India Football Federation’s decision of withdrawal, Saudi Arabia remained single bidder of the said event, as AFC has awarded the tournament to Saudi Arabia to host the mega soccer fixture of the Asian countries. “The Asian Football Confederation has been officially notified by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) of their decision to withdraw their bid from the AFC Asian Cup 2027 host selection process,” the regional body said Monday without elaborating. Saudi Arabia defeated two times world champions Argentina 2-1 in their opening clash of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 at the different venues of Qatar.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: The South African FIFA-certified female referee Akhona Makalima has arrived here on Tuesday to conduct an international course on ‘women's leadership and career mentorship in sports’ on the invitation of Galaxy Sports Academy (GSA). Akhona Makalima, who is South Africa's first FIFA female referee and has honor of refereeing the FIFA U19 Women World Cup held in Costa Rica this year, has been conducting the course entitled as 'Career Mentorship in Women Sports and Football Refereeing’ at Government College University (GCU) Lahore till November 25 under the patronage of the US Department of State Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP).  International hockey player and Pakistan's first female Olympic volunteer Rabia Qadir, who is also an alumna of the GSMP class of 2016, invited Akhona Makalima for the second time to Pakistan to train and prepare the next generation for female mentors and sports leaders.  Currently, there is no Pakistani female referee on the FIFA panel. So during this course, Makalima will train 25 national and international athletes about how they move forward in life after their playing career and become mentors and leaders. She will also guide the participants about the pathway how to become a referee at the international level.  Government College University Vice Chancellor Dr. Asghar Zaidi has taken a keen interest in the course and provided local hospitality and world-class facilities for the FIFA-certified female referee. During this visit, Akhona Makalima will also participate in different events, where she will celebrate the FIFA World Cup, which is being hosted for the first time by an Islamic country.

faisal ISLAMABAD:-Muslim Hands Pakistan Under-16 Street Child’s Football team will take part in the Street Child Football World Cup 2022, which will kick-off from October 7 in Doha, Qatar. While indulging the details the Country Head of Muslim Hands, Syed Zia Al-Noor flanked with Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shiza Fatima Khawaja and team captain Mohammad Junaid, told reporter in a press conference at national Press Club on Thursday that 10 players and 3 officials would visit Qatar to represent the Pakistan in an international soccer fixture. “Pakistan has taken part in the previous two events and our players earned 3rd and 2nd positions respectively in 2014 and 2018, “he added. Responding to a question head of the Muslim Hands further disclosed that 28 teams from different 25 countries would take part in the 3rd edition of Street Child Football World Cup 2022. “14 boys’ teams and as many as 14 girls’ teams will be the part of the mega Under-19 football showpiece, “he maintained. To another question regarding the team selection Zia Noor said, “We picked up the boys on merit. We do not have a selection committee, as the all responsibilities are on the shoulders of Coach Abdul Rasheed, who is the best coach in Pakistan. There is no player in the team from Baluchistan, as the four players were in the training camp and they could not maintain their place in the last selected guys, “he said. “They are selected after trials from the established football academies after which they are trained in the main football academy of Mirpur Azad Kashmir. I hope this team will make the nation proud by showing good game skills”. On this occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Shiza Fatima Khawaja said, “Pakistani athletes have made the name of Pakistan famous all over the world despite limited resources. The green flag can hoist all over the world and Pakistani children are our pride and national asset. Sports are an important means of improving the character of children, hopefully the Pakistani children will return with victory in the Street Child Football World Cup starting from October 7 in Qatar”.  

SPORTS BULLETIN ISLAMABAD:-ISF Socca World Cup 2022 is in full swing at the Mazsa Ter Square of Budapest, Hungary with more than 40 nations competing. This is the third edition of the small sided World Cup with Pakistan placed in Group G amongst football giants like Mexico, Ireland, Scotland and Mauritius. Mauritius emerging as one of the promising sides in the world cup shares the group G with Team Pakistan. In a stellar showdown today, Mauritius was given a tough time by Pakistan players, who didn’t look minnows in any way in their second group game of the Six-a-side Socca World Cup underway in Budapest, Hungary. According to information made available here, team green took the lead right off the foot with Hamza Ibrahim Khan scoring the first goal in the first minute of kick off. Pakistan players keeping their aggressive attacking style intact continued to lead as the second goal was scored by Shabban Hussain making the score-line 2-0 against Mauritius. By the conclusion of the first half, the score-line showed as 3-1 with Pakistan leading them game. In the second half, the match saw a lot more aggression from both sides, a few yellow cards and some heated exchange of arguments. Mauritius scored two more goals in the second half of the match bringing the score-line to 3-3. From team Pakistan, Hamza Ibrahim Khan scored 2 goals while Shabban Hussain scored a single while for Mauritius, M.Soobye, J.Sarah, J.Ernest scored a goal each. The final score settled at 3-3 making the match a draw between the two sides and 1 point each being awarded in the league table. Head coach Gohar Zaman said: Pakistan’s participation in three back to back Socca World Cups and this could have been a great win for us but this was football is all about, anything can happen till the last minute. This is the first breakthrough for team green in getting a point in the league table since the last two world cups and is a moment of praise for the country and time to reflect and come back stronger.