The Women’s World Cup will take place in South America for the first time after Brazil was chosen to host the 2027 edition at a FIFA congress Friday marked by debate about the onslaught in Gaza.

After the success of Australia and New Zealand in 2023, which earned a record $570 million in commercial revenue, FIFA chose to continue its push to expand women’s football to new continents.

Delegates meeting in Bangkok voted by 119 votes to 78 to send the 10th Women’s World Cup to the land of samba football, which beat a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

The decision sparked jubilant celebrations from the Brazilian bid team. Brazil, home of women’s football great Marta, scored higher than its European rival in FIFA’s evaluation report.

The FIFA inspectors noted the “tremendous impact on women’s football in the region” that South America hosting the Women’s World Cup would have.

Brazil’s bid includes 10 stadiums used for the men’s World Cup in 2014, with Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana lined up for the opening match and final.

But work needs to be done, in particular to the Amazonia stadium in Manaus which has stood almost unused for a decade.

The Brazilian Football Confederation has also been in turmoil with legal challenges to its president. Unlike their male counterparts, who have won five World Cups, Brazil’s women have never lifted the trophy and made a group-stage exit in 2023.

Last year’s tournament defied fears that increasing the size from 24 to 32 teams would dilute the spectacle, with over 1.4m fans streaming through the turnstiles to witness a host of shocks, dramatic turnarounds and breakthrough results.

Gone were the lopsided scorelines that were a feature of the previous eight World Cups, reflecting a growth in the standard of women’s football.

Seven teams notched their first World Cup wins and the United States and Germany, who between them had won six of the previous eight tournaments, were both dumped out early.

The only sour note came in the aftermath of last year’s final in Sydney, in which Spain beat England 1-0.

Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales sparked outrage when he forcibly kissed midfielder Jenni Hermoso during the medal ceremony, and now faces prosecution for sexual assault.

Gaza debate

The 74th FIFA congress, making its debut in Thailand, made its choice by open vote for the first time as the organisation seeks to move on from the corruption and shady dealing that dogged it in the past.

Delegates had their choice simplified last month when the United States and Mexico withdrew their joint bid, deciding instead to focus on trying to win the right to stage the 2031 edition.

As the Brazil tournament approaches, the focus will be on the huge financial disparity between men’s and women’s football.

Prize money for the 2023 Women’s World Cup was a record $110m, but still far short of the $440m on offer to teams at the 2022 men’s finals in Qatar.

The congress also heard a call from the Palestinian FA (PFA) to suspend Israel from the world body and ban Israeli teams from FIFA events.

PFA head Jibril Rajoub said the Israeli FA (IFA) had broken FIFA rules, adding: “FIFA cannot afford to remain indifferent to these violations or to the ongoing genocide in Palestine.” His Israeli counterpart Shino Moshe Zuares rejected the call as “cynical, political and hostile”, insisting the IFA had not broken any FIFA rules.

FIFA supremo Gianni Infantino said the body would take independent legal advice on the matter and decide by July 20 what action to take, if any.

Statute changes

The congress also approved changes to FIFA statutes, removing the rule fixing the organisation’s headquarters in Zurich, where it has been since 1932.

The rule now says the location of the HQ will be “determined by a decision passed by the congress” — opening the way for it to move from the Swiss city.

Delegates also voted to multiply the number of committees from seven to 35, reversing steps taken in 2016 to clean up FIFA after it was rocked by a wave of corruption scandals.

The remits of the new committees include women’s football, the fight against racism and eSports, but critics say they risk re-establishing a patronage system the reforms had sought to abolish.

ISLAMABAD: Praising the national hockey team for clinching silver medal in the recently-held Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday ordered the formulation of a policy to employ athletes through departments in order to ensure their financial security and promote sports in Pakistan.

The prime minister said this while addressing a ceremony held at the PM House in the federal capital to felicitate the hockey team on earning second spot at the six-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia earlier this month.

The Ammad Shakeel Butt-led green-shirts remained unbeaten to qualify for the final, their first of the Azlan Shah Cup in 13 years, where they fought tooth and nail before losing to Japan in a shootout.

The prime minister tasked chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, with personally overseeing the policy of providing jobs to athletes and ensure its implementation within a week.

PM Sharif said jobs for promising athletes would free them from the struggles of earning livelihood, thus helping them to focus on sports.

On the occasion, the prime minister gave a cheque of Rs1 million to each member of the hockey squad.

Lauding the hockey team’s outstanding show in Ipoh, the PM termed it a step to revive the glory of the national sport.

“The way you came up with a challenging and competing spirit in the final shows a high potential of several victories in future,” the prime minister told the hockey squad.

PM Sharif said the government was taking steps to promote sports in the country with a special focus on hockey.

“The renewed interest in hockey throughout Pakistan signals a promising trend for the future,” he added.

“The days are not far when the glory of hockey will be revived in Pakistan and we will have legends like Islahuddin [Siddiqui], Samiullah [Khan] and Shahbaz [Senior].”

Appreciating the hard work of team, coaches and officials of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, the PM announced to soon invite PHF officials concerned to discuss with them in detail ways for reviving hockey in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Ammad expre­ssed his passion to keep up the spirit of the team and bring more laurels to the country.

Legends including Samiullah, Islahuddin and Shahbaz on the occasion lauded the interest expressed by the prime minister for promoting the national sport.

Later, the prime minister at the ceremony handed a Rs1 million cheque also to Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s star javelin thrower.

Pakistan’s Kashmala Talat and her team, who qualified for the rifle shooting event at this year’s Paris Olympics, were also rewarded with Rs1 million. Usman Khan, who will be participating in the equestrian event in the Olympics, was given £25,000.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2024

FANO: Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe’s early break paid off as the Soudal Quick-Step rider bravely held off the chasers to win stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday, with Tadej Pogacar maintaining his hold on the leader’s jersey.

The 193-km ride from Martinsicuro to Fano featured enough climbs to give a chance to those willing to risk attacking and deny the sprinters another stage win, and Alaphilippe’s tactics paid off.

Alaphilippe has won six stages at the Tour de France and a stage of the Vuelta a Espana, and completed his full set of grand Tour wins in his first-ever Giro d’Italia.

He joined a breakaway group which grew to 10 riders with 130 kilometres still to race, but then took off along with Mirco Maestri and the pair held off a large chasing pack behind them.

“The plan wasn’t to do 125km like this but with a big group,” the winner said. “The cooperation with Mirco Maestri was excellent. He also deserved the stage win.”

Maestri ran out of steam and Alaphilippe went alone with less than 15km left and with Quinten Hermans and Jhonatan Narvaez closing in, the French rider had the legs to make it to the line, with Ecuador’s Narvaez taking second ahead of Hermans.

“I always believed I could win but until the last kilometres I had to push full gas. The chasers were close behind me,” Alaphilippe said.

Alaphilippe came close to winning stage six as part of a three-man breakaway but was beaten on the line by Pelayo Sanchez, but this time he had 31 seconds to spare at the finish.

Narvaez of Ineos Grenadiers, who won stage one, looked to have another victory in his sights but was unable to reel in the leader, and the 31-year-old could finally celebrate a stage win at the Giro, three years after his last grand Tour victory.

“The chasers were close behind me. It was my dream to win a stage at the Giro d’Italia. It makes me really happy. It’s an important win for me after difficult times,” Alaphilippe said.

Race leader Pogacar was happy to sit back in the peloton which finished over five minutes behind the winner, and the Slovenian, who came in 13th, maintains his two minutes and 40 seconds lead over Daniel Felipe Martinez of Bora-Hansgrohe.

“Alaphilippe showed that he’s back. What he did is actually incredible. This is what champions do,” Pogacar said.

“Luckily for us we have a good gap on GC (general classification). It’s a stage I would have liked to try and win if I wasn’t here for GC but I prefer to do GC.”

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2024

BANGKOK The Asian Football Confederation gave its backing to Palestine’s proposal to suspend Israel from FIFA due to the ongoing war in Gaza at its congress in Bangkok on Thursday, as the regional body also abolished term limits for its senior office bearers.

AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa voiced his support for the Palestine Football Association’s motion ahead of Friday’s FIFA congress, which seeks to “adopt immediate and appropriate sanctions against Israeli teams”.

“The AFC is only as strong as its members and when one suffers, all its other members are affected,” Sheikh Salman told delegates.

“The AFC stands together with the Palestine FA, and we join them in seeking effective football-related solutions to the grievances raised by the Palestine FA in their proposal.

“It is our duty to support the Palestine FA for a swift and effective resolution in line with the rules, regulations and statutes of the AFC and FIFA.”

The proposal was sent by the Palestinians to FIFA on March 11 and will be discussed during the body’s annual gathering after being added to the agenda with the support of the Algerian, Jordanian, Syrian and Yemeni federations.

AFC delegates stood for a minute’s silence in remembrance of the victims of the Israel-Gaza war and were shown a video produced by the Palestine FA highlighting the destruction caused by Israeli forces.

Gaza has been devastated by almost constant bombardment and a subsequent invasion since an incursion into Israeli territory by Hamas on Oct. 7 left almost 1,200 dead and hundreds taken hostage.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino touched on the matter in remarks to delegates as he called for a united front in efforts to deal with issues both within and outside the sport.

“We are all suffering with what is going on in Palestine. We pray for the mothers who lose their children and we pray for the mothers who lose their children everywhere in the world,” he said.

“Football can do only very little because to change situations everywhere in the world which are tragic, all we can do is to show unity because football is what unites everyone.”

The move came as delegates approved a motion to remove term limits for the president and members of the body’s executive committee, allowing them to rule indefinitely, scrapping reforms brought in after the scandals that rocked FIFA a decade ago.

Only Australia and Jordan voted against the motion to eradicate the restrictions, which had seen office bearers limited to three terms of four years in their positions.

The change paves the way for Sheikh Salman, currently in his third term as AFC president, to seek re-election in 2027 when he had been due to step down.

The Bahraini royal said in a statement that the changes were a “clear signal of our intent to ensure that we remain a model confederation that continues to uphold the highest ethical standards and best governance practices for the future generations of our great game”.

The AFC said in a statement that it is “committed to good governance, transparency and integrity in its operations”.

“There are robust checks and balances within the AFC which acknowledge the changing dynamics of football governance and enable the AFC to operate more effectively in a rapidly evolving landscape,” the statement said.

Sheikh Salman took the reins in 2013 with the AFC in disarray after his predecessor, Qatari businessman Mohamed bin Hammam, was banned from football for life following bribery claims and conflict-of-interest violations.

The huge corruption scandal that engulfed FIFA in 2015 led to governance changes such as term limits being introduced by a number of regional confederations.

Removing presidents after no more than 12 years were then seen as essential to curb networks of patronage and loyalty that can enable corruption and poor governance.

However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been allowed by a subsequent statutes amendment he oversaw to stay in office for 15 years until 2031, and UEFA voted in February to ensure its president Aleksander Ceferin can seek to stay beyond his 11th year in 2027. Ceferin later said he will not stand for re-election.

Even the International Olympic Committee is still weighing a members’ request last October to change legal rules to let their president, Thomas Bach, seek a third election next year. That would go beyond the 12-year limit set after the Salt Lake City bidding corruption scandal 25 years ago.

The AFC has trumped both FIFA and UEFA in removing all barriers to its president and executive committee members staying in place.

One legal barrier still remains for Sheikh Salman at FIFA. Its statutes currently block him from continuing beyond 2031 as a FIFA vice president and member of its ruling council.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2024

It would not be Pakistan cricket if it were elaborate, calculated, and structured. There has to be an element of uncertainty. It is, after all, that “mercurial” tag that makes Pakistan cricket so intoxicating.

How else would you define a side that suffered a shocking loss to a team that rarely plays against bigger nations and, despite all its promise, ranked outside the top 10 in the format before pouncing back with dominating wins following a template it vowed not to?

Pakistan’s cricket discourse has been (and will continue to be until the T20 World Cup next month) dominated by numbers.

Numbers that reflect how quickly a batsman scores. Numbers that suggest what number and in what phase a batsman is more successful than others are. And, many a times, numbers that reflect how Pakistan have been falling behind in the scoring rates against teams around the world.

These numbers have often been thrown at Pakistan players and coaches in press conferences. They have been backed with fancy words like “anchor”, “finisher”, “power-hitter”, “low-value wicket” and “high-value wicket”, but the most concession that the throwers have gotten in return is the admission that the team often leave some runs in the middle.

The numbers, of course, reflect an inherent flaw in the approach towards the demanding format that is T20, which by no means is an adaptation of the one-day format. Soon, it reflected in the results. The philosophy and the template, nonetheless, remained the same as, Pakistan, in a format that has rapidly transformed into a contest of outscoring the opposition, with audacious batting becoming the very essence of it, have relied on poise and elegance.

It was not until the start of this year that Pakistan decided to do something about it. The pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, two of the most successful batters in the format, have scored heaps of runs for Pakistan together as openers. 2,400, to be precise, at a remarkable average of 49. No other opening pair in T20Is come close. The second best — India’s Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan — stands almost 700 runs away at 1,743 at 33.51.

It has often been a surreal partnership. It has given cricket those prodigious moments on which sports thrive. Remember that epic 152-0 against India in format’s biggest stage? The two had done wonders when chasing the targets, it was just that their scoring rates weren’t at the desired rates when Pakistan had to set the totals. Take for example this stat: since the 2022 T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s scoring rate when batting first is 8.08 and batting second is 9.28.

So, Pakistan decided to do away with the template of starting cautiously, building in the middle, and going berserk in death. It was going to be bang, bang right from the beginning as teams around the world are doing.

Saim Ayub was a natural choice. This young left-hander had upended games with his ferocious, yet gorgeous, shots in domestic tournaments and the Pakistan Super League. That he scored heaps in the first class recently underscored his solid technique. He was even given a Test debut in Australia. But, in T20Is, he never clicked in the way Pakistan hoped he would.

Saim has opened in 11 consecutive T20Is, since the start of this year, with Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam rotating as his partners, and has only been able to score 161 at an average of 14.63 and a strike rate of 137.60. His overall numbers in T20Is, since his debut in March 2023, have also been underwhelming — 284 runs in 18 innings at an average of 15.77 and a strike rate of 130.87. It can be tough to replicate the returns of domestic or league cricket in the international arena right away. The demands and toil of international cricket are unparalleled. There is a palpable gap between international cricket and domestic cricket/leagues around the world. So, no matter how hard you prepare yourself for the ultimate challenge, you, more often than not, find yourself lacking in preparation when you set foot in international cricket.

Pakistan backed Saim to the hilt and persisted with him at the top of the order. That rarely happens with youngsters in Pakistan. Even against New Zealand at home last month, when Pakistan extensively rotated players, they continued to open with Saim. Ireland was supposed to be Saim’s arrival on the international stage. He got going in the first match, thundering his way to 45 in 29 balls after a jittery start, but failed to build on it, scoring 20 off 16 balls across the next two matches.

Saim’s promotion to the top of the order had knock-on effects on the rest of the top four. It pushed Fakhar Zaman further down to number four and moved Babar to one drop.

There have been attempts to utilise Fakhar’s big-hitting abilities in the middle order, but none of them proved to be as successful as this time. Since being asked to bat at four, Fakhar has hit a fifty every third innings and accumulated 328 runs at a scintillating 154.71 strike rate. That’s 22.31 runs better than his career strike rate. His average has also hiked by almost 13 runs.

Though Babar has batted at number three and in the middle order at the start of his career, since April 2018, the Pakistan captain had permanently moved up the order. There had been sporadic instances in 2021 when he moved to number three, then also in the hope of Pakistan finding an explosive opener.

This year, he has batted at three in eight of the 12 innings. He has scored 345 runs at a strike rate of 144.35, which is almost 25 runs better than his career’s, and struck five fifties. His average in these eight innings has been 43.12. In the four innings in which Babar opened, he scored 14 at 108, 37 at 128, 5 at 125, and 69 at 157.

But, a strike rate of almost 145 and an average of 43 reflect consistent solid scores at the brisk rate that Pakistan had longed, especially the latter bit.

Pakistan had been hoping to put their combinations in order since last month. But, in terms of top order, each match seems to have left them with more questions than answers. With only four games out of the World Cup and Saim struggling to hit form, they may be tempted to alter the opening pair. They may want to replace him with the experience of Babar and Fakhar, but with the two flourishing in their new roles, would it make sense to change their batting positions again?

They may be tempted to use the firepower of Usman Khan at the top of the order, but is it the risk worth taking so close to the World Cup?

It wouldn’t be fun if there was an answer.

India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra predictably won gold in his first competition at home in three years, but refused to read too much into his below-par 82.27 metre throw as he prepares to defend his Olympic title in Paris.

Chopra began his season with a second-place finish at the Diamond League meeting in Doha on Friday, immediately dashing home to compete in the Federation Cup in the east Indian city of Bhubaneswar.

Chopra sealed the top of the podium with his fourth attempt and did not take the final two throws in his first home contest since winning India’s first athletics gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

“I came here after competing in Doha and there was not much recovery time,” Chopra told reporters on Wednesday. “I competed in this kind of weather after a while. I was not feeling that good … so I decided to stop after four throws.”

“Let’s not talk about the throw, it was not up to the mark. This one is not my consistent type of throw.”

Asked about his chances of hitting the 90-metre mark, Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m, said it would come at the right time and place.

The 26-year-old was the centre of attention at the home meet. He did not start the press conference until another event was over and hung around later to greet fellow athletes, enquire about their training and oblige selfie-seekers.

“It felt great to compete in India after a long time with so many people turning up to support me,” he said.

Chopra is scheduled to compete in the Czech Republic and Finland before defending his Olympic title in Paris.

“It’s going to be really tough competition in Paris,” he said. “In Doha too, the competition was intense. I have a couple of more events before the Olympics, and will try to throw better.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan’s volleyball team stretched their unbeaten run to four games as they thrashed Kyrg­y­zstan 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 27-25) in the Central Asian Volle­y­ball Championship here at the Liaquat Gymn­asium of the Pakistan Sports Complex on Wednesday.

With their fourth successive win in the tournament, the national team all but ensured their spot in the final.

Pakistan claimed the first set rather comfortably but the visiting team’s aggressive showing in the following sets made the fixture a bit tricky. The national team reciprocated the visitors’ aggression and with brilliant teamwork and determination prevailed after a hard fought battle.

Led by Murad Jehan, the hosts are now poised to reach the final, having already defe­ated Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.

In the day’s other match, Iran suffered their second consecutive defeat in the event as Sri Lanka stunned the favourites 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-21).

Iran, the Asian champion, is fielding a second-tier team as most of its top players are engaged in foreign leagues.

Meanwhile, Turkmenistan overcame Afghanistan 3-1 (18-25, 33-31, 25-17, 25-17) in a thrilling encounter.

The second finalist will be decided after Thursday’s mat­c­hes, with Turkmenistan and Iran having won two matches each.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024

DUBLIN: With the T20 World Cup in mind, Pakistan captain Babar Azam says that the team will continue to play with the same positive intent against England which the green-shirts displayed in the last two games of the Ireland series that ended on Tuesday.

In a post-match conversation with the PCB YouTube channel in Dublin on Tuesday night, Babar said the team had improved on many areas of the game during the series, in batting as well as bowling.

“We will carry the same momentum in the [forthcoming] T20 series against England,” Babar said.

Pakistan bagged the three-match T20 series 2-1 in Dublin after winning the third game by six wickets through extraordinary performances from fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar and wicket-keeper/batter Mohammad Rizwan.

The tourists after electing to field first chased down 179 in 17 overs courtesy belligerent strokeplay from Babar (75 off 42 balls) and opener Rizwan (56 off 38). Babar’s ruthless knock featured six fours and five sixes, including four in one over of leg-spinner Ben White.

Earlier, Shaheen excelled with the ball claiming three wickets for just 14 runs to help Pakistan take control after Ireland had raced to 100-mark in the 11th over for the loss of just one wicket. Captain Lorcan Tucker (73 off 41) leading the way.

Pakistan are now due to leave for England, the incumbent T20 world champions, to play a four-match T20 series there from May 22 to 30 after which the green-shirts embark on the T20 World Cup which will be staged in West Indies and the US from June 1 to 29.

On the improvements, Babar said Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman had given good performances in the middle order in the second and third T20s against Ireland, adding that their form was a good omen for the country.

“We were struggling in the lower middle order [in the past] but Azam Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed played good knocks during the series,” the right-handed batter stated.

“The team played with a positive intent after defeat in the first game against Ireland and they achieved the game plan they were given,” he said, adding that the tourists had struggled after the first six overs of powerplay in the first match of the series but overcame the weakness in the last two games.

The skipper hailed senior bowlers Shaheen and Mohammad Amir who led from the front in the last two T20s, while acknowledging that young Abbas Afridi has acclimatised well to the pressure of international cricket.

Babar was all praise for Imad Wasim for playing an important role in the Ireland series, saying the seasoned all-rounder rescued the team from difficult situations with his bowling. Imad, a slow left-arm orthodox spinner, had announced retirement from international cricket late last year before making himself available for national duty after this year’s edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Babar resolved to make amends for the mistakes committed during the Ireland series, adding that there are only four matches prior to the departure for T20 World Cup.

On the fans who witnessed the T20 series in Dublin, the Pakistan captain said that the team enjoyed great support from the fans at the Castle Avenue ground, acknowledging that Pakistan fans had travelled from across Europe to watch them play in Ireland.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024

NEW DELHI: The newly-built Nassau County Intern­ational Cricket Stadium, near New York, was launched on Wednesday with the sport’s world body “excited” to conquer new territories through the T20 World Cup in June.

The 34,000-capacity stadium, with infrastructure from the Las Vegas Formula 1 circuit and drop-in pitches prepared in Florida, will host the hotly-anticipated India-Pakistan clash on June 9, among its eight scheduled World Cup games.

The showpiece 20-over event will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States starting June 1 with New York, Florida and Dallas as venues.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) remains happy with the focus on the India-Pakistan clash and the Nassau project as part of bringing the game to the US.

“Yeah, absolutely! We can run that game anywhere and the interest in the fixture would be immense,” Chris Tetley, the ICC’s head of events, told reporters in a media roundtable. “The news stories that we have seen and the media coverage in the US itself as well as amongst the cricket media around the world. I have not seen that before around an ICC event.”

Tetley added: “We are really excited to bring the T20 World Cup cricket to the US and the opportunity that it presents to the sport and from what I can see there is an audience really waiting for us to come.”

T20 Cricket will also feature as one of five new sports at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Making a cricket stadium in Nassau remained a huge challenge for the ICC, who got in Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough for the job.

Hough created the first drop-in pitch in Adelaide in 2013 and the latest strips at the Nassau County ground promise good cricket and balance between bat and ball.

“People shouldn’t be concerned about drop-in pitc­hes,” said Hough. “They are proven around the world, definitely in Australia.”

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024