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FOOTBALL - FIFA News 23 Dec, 2021

Belgium and Canada take 2021 honours

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, only 352 full internationals were played in 2020. Not since 1987 (323 matches) had so few games been played in a calendar year. By contrast, planet football made up for lost time in 2021 with a record breaking 1116 matches played. And while the quantity of games changed radically from one year to the next, the top ranked team in the FIFA/ Coca-Cola World Ranking has remained the same! For the fourth year in a row, Belgium (1st) ends the calendar year in pole position, albeit only just ahead of Brazil (2nd) by 2.1 points. France was (3rd) to complete the podium for 2021. For their part, Canada (40th) are the year’s ‘Most Improved Side’ having picked up no fewer than 130.32 points over the last 12 months. Their journey to the semi-finals of the 2021 Gold Cup, as well as the impressive results in FIFA World Cup Qatr 2022™ qualifying, have been major factors in their rise. Winners of UEFA EURO 2020 and the Copa America 2021 respectively, Italy (6th + 115.77 points compared to December 2020) and Argentina (5th +108.51 points compared to December 2020), have also seen their points tally increase dramatically this year. The same goes for the USA (11th + 103.51 points compared to December 2020) and England (4th + 85.52 points compared to December 2020). Equatorial Guinea (114th + 59.78 points compared to December 2020) made the most impressive progress among African teams, while Saudi Arabia (51st + 81.71 points compared to December 2020) did the same in Asia. However, just in terms of last month, the most improved Asian team are Indonesia (164th + 11.13 points). Winners of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021™, Algeria (29th +3) jointly made the best progress in terms of places, along with Qatar (48th + 3), who finished third at the tournament, and Thailand (115th +3).

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 19 Dec, 2021

Arabic proposed as fifth official FIFA language

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-Today marks the UN’s World Arabic Language Day, and the culmination of the inaugural FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™. In recognition of the importance of the Arabic language, which is spoken not only by the 450 million people that live in the more than 20 Arabic-speaking countries but also by millions of Arabs worldwide, the FIFA President will propose that Arabic becomes an official language of FIFA. The FIFA President’s proposal stems from long-term discussions with stakeholders in Qatar and those across the MENA region, and coincides with the conclusion of the FIFA Arab Cup, which successfully brought together 23 national teams in a celebration of football and unity across the Middle East and Arab world. Currently, the four FIFA languages are English, French, German and Spanish.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 16 Dec, 2021

Punjab to stage Pakistan Football League

LAHORE (Sports Report):-Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti has announced plans to organize Pakistan’s biggest Football League in near future. “Pakistan’s biggest Football League will be an important step for the promotion of sports at regional level in accordance with the vision of the Prime Minister,” he made this announcement in a statement on Wednesday. Announcing the details of the League, Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said the Under-23 players from across the province are eligible to register themselves for the grand Football League from Dec 15 to 22, 2021. “The interested players can register themselves through online form, QR Code, Divisional and District Sports offices”. Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti urged all the talented football players to register themselves for the coveted league. “Director General Sports Punjab will supervise all the arrangements and trials of the Football League”. Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said that a dream team of Punjab will be selected through the biggest Football League. “The members of Punjab’s dream team will be given Monthly scholarships”. Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti further said that Punjab’s open football trials will be conducted at district level. “In the first phase the divisional level football teams will be formed while Lahore will host league football matches of all divisions in the next phase”. He further said that the winning team would be awarded a cash prize of Rs 1000,000, runners-up Rs 500000 while the third position holder team will pocket Rs 300000 as cash prize,” he added.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 21 Nov, 2021

FIFA World Cup 2022 first time in Middle East

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD (November 21, 2021):-The first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab World will begin as the world’s best national teams meet in Qatar. The tournament will be like no other, offering fans the opportunity to discover the culture of the host country, and the chance to attend more than one match per day during the group stage. “We will enjoy being all together in one place,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “Fans will be treated to top-class football in eight state-of-the art stadiums. We are looking forward to the opportunity to bring people from different backgrounds together. “What I see here is a country that is preparing to welcome the whole world, and every fan, but also looking into where improvements are needed and taking real steps to do so in many different areas, particularly in relation to human rights and workers’ welfare.” The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will kick off at the stunning Al Bayt Stadium, which will be inaugurated just in a few days’ time when Qatar face Bahrain in the opening match of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™. On the same day, the innovative Stadium 974 (Ras Abu Aboud) will also open its doors for the first time, leaving only one of the eight FIFA World Cup arenas – Lusail Stadium, the venue for the final – to be inaugurated early next year. “We are thrilled to celebrate the one-year-to-go milestone. We are on track to deliver a tournament that will set new benchmarks for social, human, economic and environmental development, a tournament that will forever be remembered as innovative, sustainable and transformative, when people came from all over the world to visit the Middle East and Arab world for the first time and have life-changing experiences,” added HE Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. “This is a unique and special moment for Qatar as the host country. After 11 years of hard work and lasting progress, we are well on the way towards delivering the first World Cup in our region, one that will leave a profound legacy for Qatar, the region and the entire world.”

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 20 Nov, 2021

FIFA World Cup Qatar: Draw for play-offs on November 26

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD (November 20, 2021):-The draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ intercontinental play-offs will be held in Zurich, Switzerland, on Friday, 26 November 2021. The fixtures that will determine who plays who between the AFC, Concacaf, CONMEBOL and the OFC in the contest for the last two spots at football’s flagship global event will be decided after the European play-off draw, which will start at 17:00 CET. Both draws will be streamed live on FIFA.com for all territories. Following the draw, a dramatic conclusion to the FIFA World Cup 2022 preliminary competition looms with the two intercontinental play-off matches to take place over a single leg on 13 and 14 June 2022. The play-offs were originally scheduled to take place in March 2022 but were rescheduled to June 2022 as a result of the unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the scheduling of FIFA World Cup qualifiers globally. Four years ago, Australia and Peru secured passage to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ via the intercontinental play-offs with wins over Honduras and New Zealand respectively.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 19 Nov, 2021

Diplomatic Football League kicks off from Saturday

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (November 19, 2021):-The Diplomatic Football League (DFL) 2021-22 will be kicked off from Saturday, as five matches will be played on the opening day. Thailand will meet Kazakhstan in the first match of the prestigious football league. All matches will be played at Check Shahzad football ground. Saturday’s Fixtures: Thailand Vs Kazakhstan at 1:00 pm RBS Vs Malaysia at 1:35 pm Golden Stars Vs Japan at 2:05 Europe Vs Saudi Arabia at 2:35 Thailand Vs Indonesia at 3:05

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 12 Nov, 2021

RBS Diplomatic Football League Season-5 kicks off next week

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (November 12, 2021):-The Royal Business Solutions (RBS) Diplomatic Football League 2021-22 Season-5 will kick off next week in the capital city Islamabad, as 11 teams will take part in the prestigious diplomatic football league including defending champions Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia (KSA). League will conclude in March next year. The launching ceremony was held on Friday at a local hotel. The trophy was unveiled on this occasion, as diplomats and countless sports lovers were present on this eve. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Royal Business Solutions (RBS) Adeel Riaz was also present in the wonderful and colourful ceremony. Besides defending champions Saudi Arabia, Thailand A, Thailand B, Gold Stars, Kazakhstan, Japan, Diplomatic, Gerry, Indonesia, Europeans Team, and Malaysian and RBS Diplomats teams will fight for top honours. Diplomats from 27 different countries will be in action during the tournament. The matches will be played on Saturday and Sunday of each week. Title sponsor of the League were RBS Royal Business Solution, powered by Gerrys , Marriot Hotel Islamabad , Comet Sports, Joshila and Alamco Duty free. The League is being organized by Mubasher Sanjrani, a former international football player of Pakistan, representing Sanjrani Oxen Enterprises. The previous diplomatic Gerry’s League was won by Saudi Embassy Team after beating in the final Brazilian team. Adeel Riaz CEO from Royal Business Solutions, David Richard General Manager Marriot hotel and Fahad Jahangir, Head of Customer Care Gerry’s were present on this occasion. During the event all the participating teams uniforms were presented along with their logos and in the end the trophy was unveiled. The Diplomatic Football League is the only platform that provides a healthy activity and brings people from different parts of the world closer through the lovely game football for a joyful time, especially for diplomatic community residing in Pakistan to shows them the soft image of our country Pakistan.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 07 Nov, 2021

PPFL: Muslim Club beat Pakistan Navy 2-1

SPORTS REPORTER RAWALPINDI (November 7, 2021):-Muslim Club beat Pakistan Navy by 2-1 goal in the 13th Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) while Pakistan Army and Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) played match goalless draw at Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi. The first match of day was played between Pakistan Army and KRL. In the 36th minutes of the first half, Munir Ahmed scored one goal for KRL and Mateen Tariq equalized the match 1-1 in the injury time of the second half. Danish Hameed and Mateen Tariq received one yellow card for Pakistan Army for playing foul. Nasir and Mateen played well for Pakistan Army while Alamgir and Mohammad Asad were proformed best during the match. In the 2nd match, Mulsim Club defeated Pakistan Navy by 2-1 goals. Muslim Club took 2-0 lead in the first half and Pakistan Navy reduced the margin in the injury time of the second half. In the 6th minute of the first half, Aqeel Qahir scored first goal for Muslim Club and Qudratullah doubled the score 2-0 in the 38th minute. Noman of the Pakistan Navy reduced the margin 2-1 goal in the injury time of the second half. Abdul Qadir and Qudratullah played well for Muslim Club while Noman and Naveed were outstanding for Pakistan Navy.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 06 Nov, 2021

PPFL 2021: Lyallpur Club beat Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority 1-0

Haroon Zulfiqar RAWALPINDI (November 6, 2021):-Lyallpur Club, Faisalabad beat Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority by 1-0 goal in the 13th Pakistan Premier Football League at Municipal Stadium, here. Both team played well and were engaged 0-0 draw at the end of the first half. In the 75th minute of the first half, Adeel Ali scored a lone goal for Lyallpur Club. Players of PCCA tried to equalised the margin but they could not succeed. Lyallpur Club missed three corners and four were wasted by PCCA. Adeel Ali and Hussnain Shah received one yellow card each for Lyallpur Club for foul playing while the same were obtained by Najeeb Ahmed, Shahzad Taj, Mudasir Ali and Junaid Shah for the loser team. Secretary General, Pakistan Football Federation, Naveed Akram, President, Rawalpindi District Football Association, Raja Ishtiaq Ahmed, Tournament Coordinator, Timur Kiani and a large number people were also present.

FOOTBALL - FIFA News 04 Nov, 2021

PPFL 2021: PCAA and WAPDA clinch victories

Areej Fatima RAWALPINDI (November 4, 2021):-Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and Pakistan WAPDA have won their respective matches in the 13th Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) 2021 at Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi. The first match was played between Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and Muslim Club, Chman and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority won 1-0 goal. Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority took 1-0 lead in the first half and a lone goal was scored by Faisal Ali for PCAA in the 29th minute of the first half. Muslim Club tried to equalize the score but could not succeed. Mohammad Bilal received a yellow card for PCAA while Mirajuddin also obtained the same. In the second match, Pakistan WAPDA defeated Pakistan Navy by 2-0 goal. Both teams fought well and were engaged 0-0 draw at the end of the first half. In the 71st minute, Larosh Khalid scored the first goal for WAPDA and Amir Aslam doubled the score 2-0 in the 87th minute. The match was locked 2-0 at the end of the stipulated period. Amjad Hussain and Adnan Saeed received one yellow card each for WAPDA while the same was got by Farman Ullah for the loser team. On Friday, SNGPL will face with Pakistan Air Force at 3.00 p.m. while Lyallpur Club Faisalabad will meet with Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority at 6.00 p.m at same venue.

Sports Bulletin