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FOOTBALL - FIFA News 15 Feb, 2024

FIFA Men’s World Ranking: No changes in the top ten

CAF and AFC nations make moves: Angola and Qatar make biggest stridesSports DeskISLAMABAD: Although it is a case of as you were amongst the ten teams that lead the way in the latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, there is plenty of movement further down the standings following the matches contested in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations and the AFC Asian Cup.Amongst the African sides, Côte d’Ivoire (39th, up 10) reap the rewards of their continental triumph on home soil, secured following an eventful tournament campaign. Beaten finalists Nigeria (28th, up 14) make significant strides but are no match for the Angola side they ousted in the last eight (93rd, up 24), who are the biggest climbers in the latest instalment of the global ranking.In the points stakes, two-time Asian Cup winners Qatar (37th, up 21) chalk up the biggest tally (92.04 points) after capitalising on home comforts to successfully defend their continental crown. Elsewhere, Jordan (70th, up 17), who were edged out by the Maroons in the final, make good ground, as do Thailand (101st, up 12), whose journey came to an end at the last-16 stage.Qatar’s rise sees them enter uncharted territory, with two other teams also recording best-ever rankings. Senegal (17th, up 3), who suffered shoot-out heartbreak at the hands of the eventual winners Cote d’Ivoire in the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16, break new ground, while Tajikistan (99th, up 7) mark their maiden Asian Cup campaign by making a first-ever appearance in the top 100.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 06 Apr, 2023

Argentina spot on top in new FIFA World Ranking after 6 years

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD: Six years after last topping the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, Argentina (1st, plus 1) are once again at the summit of world football. Recent friendly wins against Panama (2-0) and Curaçao (7-0) helped the world champions dethrone Brazil (3rd, minus 2), who paid a high price for defeat in their friendly against Morocco (2-1). Not only did A Seleçao surrender top spot, but they also saw France (2nd, plus 1) move ahead of them. Les Bleus’ ascent to second is down to back-to-back wins in UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying against the Netherlands (4-0) and Republic of Ireland (1-0). Outside the leading trio, there were no other movers among the Top 10. Belgium (4th, -) remain just outside the podium places, closely followed by England (5th, -). In fact, the swapping of places by Senegal (18th, plus 1) and Denmark (19th, minus 1) were the only other notable changes in the Top 20. Further down the Ranking, however, there has been no shortage of movement, with the strides made by Serbia (25th, plus 4), Algeria (34th, plus 6), Egypt (35th, plus 4), and Scotland (36th , plus 6) among the most significant. No less impressive is the progress of Romania (46th, plus 6) and Canada (47th, plus 6), who move into the Top 50 at the expense of Mali (53rd, minus 8) and Saudi Arabia (54th, minus 5). However, the most improved side in this edition are Central African Republic (122nd, plus 10). By twice beating Madagascar, at the time ranked 30 places above them, Les Fauves du Bas-Oubangui rose 10 places in the global standings, outperforming other notable movers such as Namibia (106th, plus 7), Malaysia (138th, plus 7) and The Gambia (120th, plus 6)

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 01 Mar, 2023

FIFA World Cup for Women 2023: Fan Festival

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD: The FIFA Fan Festival™ will be rolled out in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand this year 2023 for the first time ever at a FIFA Women’s World Cup. All nine Host Cities across the two countries will offer a FIFA Fan Festival, all of which will be free to enter. The FIFA Fan Festival goes beyond football, offering fans a vibrant setting to enjoy the best in football, music, entertainment, local culture, food and games FIFA has confirmed that all nine Host Cities will have a FIFA Fan Festival during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023. This is the first time that FIFA Fan Festivals will be rolled out at a FIFA Women’s World Cup, in keeping with the tournament’s theme of firsts. All FIFA Fan Festivals will offer free entry to people of all ages, providing a vibrant destination to celebrate the global game and experience the best in football, music, entertainment, local culture, food and games. Fans will be able to watch the tournament drama unfold on big screens at each venue. FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said: “Whether you are an avid fan or a football newcomer, the FIFA Fan Festival provides an exciting entertainment space that brings people together beyond football." “Our mission is to make football truly global, accessible and inclusive, and these exciting events provide an opportunity to experience football in new ways in a fun festival environment.” There will be a FIFA Fan Festival in every Host City at various times during the tournament, which will run from 20 July to 20 August 2023. To provide the best possible experience for visitors, the events at each venue will be tailored to the local climate, matchdays and kick-off times.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 11 Feb, 2023

FIFA unfolds final three names for FIFA male and female player awards

Sports Bulletin ISLAMABAD: FIFA has announced the finalists for both The Best FIFA Women’s Player and The Best FIFA Men’s Player awards as well as for The FIFA Puskás Award ahead of the 2022 edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards™. Names of final three nominees women Beth Mead (England / Arsenal WFC) Alex Morgan (USA / Orlando Pride / San Diego Wave) Alexia Putellas (Spain / FC Barcelona) Names of final three nominees men Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid CF) Kylian Mbappé (France / Paris Saint-Germain FC) Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain FC) These two awards are given to the outstanding players in women’s and men’s football as voted for by an international jury respectively comprising the current coaches of all women’s/men’s national teams (one per team), the current captains of all women’s/men’s national teams (one per team), one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team and fans registered on FIFA.com. The full voting and award process is detailed in the Rules of Allocation.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 10 Feb, 2023

Finalists for The Best FIFA Coaches males and females revealed

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD: FIFA has announced the finalists for The Best FIFA Women’s Coach and The Best FIFA Men’s Coach awards for the 2022 edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards™. The final three nominees (female coach) Sonia Bompastor (Olympique Lyonnais) Pia Sundhage (Brazilian National Team) Sarina Wiegman (English National Team) The final three nominees (male coach) Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid CF) Pep Guardiola (Manchester City FC) Lionel Scaloni (Argentinian National Team) These two awards are given to the outstanding coaches in women’s and men’s football as voted for by an international jury respectively comprising the current coaches of all women’s/men’s national teams (one per team), the current captains of all women’s/men’s national teams (one per team), one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team and fans registered on FIFA.com. The full voting and award process is detailed in the Rules of Allocation. All the winners of The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 will be crowned at a special ceremony on Monday, 27 February 2023 in Paris.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 09 Feb, 2023

FIFA announces final three nominees for The Best FIFA Goalkeepers

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD: FIFA has announced the finalists for The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper and The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper awards for the 2022 edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards™. These two awards are given to the outstanding goalkeepers in women’s and men’s football as voted for by an international jury respectively comprising the current coaches of all women’s/men’s national teams (one per team), the current captains of all women’s/men’s national teams (one per team), one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team and fans registered on FIFA.com. The full voting and award process is detailed in the Rules of Allocation. All the winners of The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 will be crowned at a special ceremony on Monday, 27 February 2023 in Paris. Nominees for The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeepers: Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea FC Women) Mary Earps (England / Manchester United WFC) Christiane Endler (Chile / Olympique Lyonnais) Nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Morocco / Sevilla FC) Thibaut Courtois (Belgium / Real Madrid CF) Emiliano Martínez (Argentina / Aston Villa FC)

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 09 Jan, 2023

FIFA appoints 33 referees, 55 assistant referees for Women World Cup

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD: FIFA Referees Committee announced the names of the match officials selected for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™. A total of 33 referees, 55 assistant referees and 19 video match officials (VMOs) will form FIFA Team One and have been chosen in close cooperation with the six confederations, based on the officials’ quality and the performances delivered at FIFA tournaments as well as at other international and domestic competitions in recent years. For the first time in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, six female VMOs have also been selected. “As always, the criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected on-field match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide,” said the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina. “We all remember the very successful FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 in France. The high standard of refereeing contributed significantly to that success. The aim for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 is to repeat that success and to convince again with excellent referees’ performances.” “Even though the pandemic affected our activities, we had enough time to provide the candidates with good preparation. As we did for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we are announcing these selections well in advance to be able to work in a purposeful and focused manner with all those who have been appointed for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, monitoring them over the coming months. From the selected referees, we expect a rigorous and focused preparation for the Women’s World Cup, a competition that FIFA and its president hold in the highest of regards,” said Collina.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 25 Oct, 2022

FIFA World Cup 2023: Single match passes on sale today

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD: Single match passes will be on sale from today in Australia (AEDT) and in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZDT) with prices starting at AUD/NZD$20 for adults and AUD/NZD$10 for children Visa cardholders will have priority access from 25 to 31 October 2022, with all fans being able to secure single match passes from 1 November 2022 Single match passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis so fans are urged to act quickly to secure tickets to the biggest women’s sporting event in the world Two-time FIFA Women's World Cup winner Carli Lloyd encourages fans not to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity With the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Draw complete, and 29 of the 32 teams confirmed to be heading to Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in 2023, single match passes are now available to fans at FIFA.com/tickets. Kicking off on 20 July 2023, the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ is set to be an unmissable experience with 32 teams competing in 64 matches across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Tickets are being made available first with a Visa Presale period from 25 to 31 October 2022, before going on sale to the general public from 1 November 2022 until 3 March 2023. The 25 October sales phase will commence at midday in Australia (AEDT) and 2pm in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZDT). For further information on what time tickets will go on sale in your country click here.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 13 Oct, 2022

USA retain top position in the FIFA World Ranking of Women

Sports Bulletin Report Islamabad: United States of America (USA) retained their top position in the latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking, which will be used to determine the seeding for the Draw for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023. The Draw will be held in Auckland (New Zealand) on 22 October, with the Draw for the Play-Off Tournament taking place eight days earlier on Friday 14 October. The three teams at the top in the August 2022 ranking are still there, with one slight change in the order. Though USA (1st, -) remain out front, Sweden (2nd, plus 1) have jumped into second place at the expense of Germany (3rd, minus 1). England (4th, -) and France (5th, -) complete the top five. There is plenty of movement below them. After their 2-0 defeat of USA on Tuesday, Spain (6th, plus 2) climb two places, while Netherlands (8th, minus 2) drop two. No fewer than nine teams between 11th and 20th changed positions, among them Belgium (20th, minus 1), who suffered the biggest points drop in the whole ranking (minus 32.46). Newly qualified for the intercontinental play-offs for Australia & New Zealand 2023, Portugal (23rd, plus 4) were the highest climbers in the Top 50 with a rise of four places and 54.19 points. However, nobody made more progress in the October ranking than Estonia (96th, plus 10), who leapt ten places into the top 100, while Bangladesh (140th, plus 7) rose seven themselves. Two new teams have joined since the publication of the previous ranking in August: Syria (157th) and Pakistan (160th). This takes the total number of FIFA member associations now included in the women’s ranking to 187. FIFA has 211 member associations in all. The following ten teams have qualified for the play-off tournament: Portugal (23rd), Chile (38th), Chinese Taipei (40th), Thailand (41st), Papua New Guinea (50th), Paraguay (51st), Haiti (56th), Panama (57th), Cameroon (58th), Senegal (84th) Leader USA (unchanged) Moves into top 10 None Moves out of top 10 None Matches played in total 133 Most matches played Tanzania, Bangladesh, Bhutan (5) Biggest move by points Portugal (plus 54.19) Biggest move by ranks Estonia (plus 10) Biggest drop by points Belgium (minus 32.46) Biggest drop by ranks Kazakhstan (minus 11) Newly ranked teams Syria, Pakistan Teams that are no longer ranked None

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 05 Aug, 2022

USA Women remain in front, Germany up to second in FIFA Ranking

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD:-July 2022 was a busy month for women’s football, with five major tournaments taking place across the globe. In addition to the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, continental championships were held in Africa, South America, North America and Oceania, all serving as qualifying events for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™. Since 17 June 2022, when the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking was last published, no fewer than 221 matches have been played, generating considerable movement in the standings. And while USA (1st), recent winners of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, remained the team to catch, the Stars and Stripes have a new pursuer in the shape of Germany (2nd, plus 3). The EURO 2022 runners-up move ahead of Sweden (3rd, minus 1), whose own European title ambitions came to an end in the semi-finals. Freshly crowned continental champions, England (4th, plus 4) moved up four places ahead of France (5th, minus 2). Drops for the Netherlands (6th, minus 2), Canada (7th, minus 1), and Spain (8th, minus 1) are the other significant changes in this edition’s Top 10. Like the Lionesses, South Africa (54th, plus 4) also moved up four places on the back of their title triumph at the 2022 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Semi-finalists at that tournament, Zambia (80th, plus 23) are this edition’s most-improved side after surging 23 places. Nigeria (46th, minus 7), who surprisingly went down 1-0 to the She-polopolo in the match for third place, registered the biggest decline in terms of points (minus 69.33). Another notable improver in this edition is Jamaica, who achieved their highest-ever placing (42nd, plus 9), following their third-place at the Concacaf Championship. Also enjoying all-time highs are Iceland (14th, plus 3), the Republic of Ireland (26th, plus 1), Portugal (27th, plus 3) and Zambia. Four new teams have joined the Ranking since June 2022: Cambodia (120th, -), Turkmenistan (137th, -) Timor-Leste (152nd, -) and Guinea-Bissau (169th, -), giving the August 2022 edition a record-breaking 185 FIFA member associations. Leader USA (unchanged) Moves out of top 10: Matches played in total 221 Most matches played England, Philippines, Senegal (9 each) Biggest move by points Zambia (plus 89.78) Biggest move by ranks Zambia (plus 23 places) Biggest drop by points Nigeria (minus 69.33) Biggest drop by ranks Mexico (minus 10 places) Newly ranked teams Cambodia, Turkmenistan, Timor-Leste , Guinea-Bissau Teams that are no longer ranked None