FIFA are investigating <a href="http://www.wionews.com/search?q=Emiliano+Sala">Emiliano Sala</a>'s transfer from Nantes to Cardiff City following a claim from the French club, the global soccer body said on Wednesday.

The Argentine died when the plane carrying him from Nantes to Cardiff crashed in the English Channel, shortly after signing for the English Premier League side.

His body was later recovered from the wreckage, while pilot David Ibbotson remains missing.

Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman has said the club will pay the 15 million pounds ($19.96 million) transfer fee to Nantes for Emiliano Sala “if contractually obliged”.

The clubs had become involved in a dispute over when the first instalment of the fee should be paid although Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock said last week he believed that Nantes had agreed to an extension.

"We can confirm that we have received yesterday evening a claim of a contractual nature from FC Nantes against Cardiff City in connection with the transfer of Emiliano Sala," said a FIFA spokesperson.

"We are looking into the matter and consequently we have no further comments at this stage."

FIFA are investigating Emiliano Sala's transfer from Nantes to Cardiff City following a claim from the French club, the global soccer body said on Wednesday. The Argentine died when the plane carrying him from Nantes to Cardiff crashed in the English Channel, shortly after signing for the English Premier League side.

FIFA are investigating Emiliano Sala's transfer from Nantes to Cardiff City following a claim from the French club, the global soccer body said on Wednesday. The Argentine died when the plane carrying him from Nantes to Cardiff crashed in the English Channel, shortly after signing for the English Premier League side. His body was later recovered from the wreckage, while pilot David Ibbotson remains missing. Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman has said the club will pay the 15 million pounds ($19.96 million) transfer fee to Nantes for Emiliano Sala “if contractually obliged”. The clubs had become involved in a dispute over when the first instalment of the fee should be paid although Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock said last week he believed that Nantes had agreed to an extension. "We can confirm that we have received yesterday evening a claim of a contractual nature from FC Nantes against Cardiff City in connection with the transfer of Emiliano Sala," said a FIFA spokesperson. "We are looking into the matter and consequently we have no further comments at this stage."

FIFA looking into Emiliano Sala transfer after Nantes claim

FIFA have banned <a href="http://www.wionews.com/search?q=chelsea">Chelsea</a> from the next two transfer windows after the Premier League club was found guilty of breaching rules regarding overseas players under the age of 18, soccer's world governing body said on Friday.

In a statement, FIFA said Chelsea had also been fined 600,000 Swiss Francs ($599,460) and had been given 90 days to "regularise the situation".

After a lengthy investigation into how Chelsea register players at academy level, they were found to have breached article 19 of the regulations in the case of 29 minor players.

FIFA added the London club had also breached article 18bis in connection with two agreements it concluded concerning minors and which allowed it to influence other clubs in transfer-related matters.

The ban does not apply to Chelsea's women's team.

England's Football Association was also fined 510,000 Swiss francs and given six months to address the situation concerning the international transfer and first registration of minors.

Both decisions can be contested before FIFA's Appeal Committee with the possibility of the matters ending up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The news is a serious blow to Chelsea who are struggling to finish in the Premier League's top four, having slipped to sixth place.

They have lost five of their last 10 games in all competitions and manager Maurizio Sarri, who took over in July, is already under pressure.

Whether he survives or not Chelsea would need squad-strengthening in the summer, especially with Eden Hazard keen on a potential move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, according to British media reports.

Chelsea were yet to comment on the transfer ban.

FIFA have banned Chelsea from the next two transfer windows after the Premier League club was found guilty of breaching rules regarding overseas players under the age of 18, soccer's world governing body said on Friday.

FIFA have banned Chelsea from the next two transfer windows after the Premier League club was found guilty of breaching rules regarding overseas players under the age of 18, soccer's world governing body said on Friday. In a statement, FIFA said Chelsea had also been fined 600,000 Swiss Francs ($599,460) and had been given 90 days to "regularise the situation". After a lengthy investigation into how Chelsea register players at academy level, they were found to have breached article 19 of the regulations in the case of 29 minor players. FIFA added the London club had also breached article 18bis in connection with two agreements it concluded concerning minors and which allowed it to influence other clubs in transfer-related matters. The ban does not apply to Chelsea's women's team. England's Football Association was also fined 510,000 Swiss francs and given six months to address the situation concerning the international transfer and first registration of minors. Both decisions can be contested before FIFA's Appeal Committee with the possibility of the matters ending up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The news is a serious blow to Chelsea who are struggling to finish in the Premier League's top four, having slipped to sixth place. They have lost five of their last 10 games in all competitions and manager Maurizio Sarri, who took over in July, is already under pressure. Whether he survives or not Chelsea would need squad-strengthening in the summer, especially with Eden Hazard keen on a potential move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, according to British media reports. Chelsea were yet to comment on the transfer ban.

FIFA bans Chelsea for next two transfer windows over under-age signings

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is set to serve a second term after world football's governing body said on Wednesday he would be the only candidate for June's vote.

The 48-year-old has been in charge of FIFA since February 2016, after succeeding the disgraced Sepp Blatter following the corruption scandal which rocked the organisation.

The election will take place on June 5 in Paris ahead of the women's World Cup.

Former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega had announced his intention to stand against Infantino, but failed to garner the required support of five of FIFA's 211 member federations.

Infantino has introduced plans to increase the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 from 2026, with the possibility to bring forward the expansion to the 2022 edition in Qatar.

A decision is expected to be taken next March after a study into the feasibility of holding an extended tournament in the Gulf state.

Michel Platini's former right-hand man at UEFA is also hoping for an enlarged, 24-team Club World Cup from 2021.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin of Slovenia, who will be re-elected on Thursday also as the sole candidate, is opposed to the idea.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is set to serve a second term after world football's governing body said on Wednesday he would be the only candidate for June's vote.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is set to serve a second term after world football's governing body said on Wednesday he would be the only candidate for June's vote. The 48-year-old has been in charge of FIFA since February 2016, after succeeding the disgraced Sepp Blatter following the corruption scandal which rocked the organisation. The election will take place on June 5 in Paris ahead of the women's World Cup. Former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega had announced his intention to stand against Infantino, but failed to garner the required support of five of FIFA's 211 member federations. Infantino has introduced plans to increase the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 from 2026, with the possibility to bring forward the expansion to the 2022 edition in Qatar. A decision is expected to be taken next March after a study into the feasibility of holding an extended tournament in the Gulf state. Michel Platini's former right-hand man at UEFA is also hoping for an enlarged, 24-team Club World Cup from 2021. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin of Slovenia, who will be re-elected on Thursday also as the sole candidate, is opposed to the idea.

FIFA says incumbent Infantino is sole candidate for president

FIFA ranking at the end of the year 2018

A record audience of more than 3.5 billion people watched this year's World Cup in Russia, with the final between France and Croatia attracting 1.12 billion viewers, world soccer's governing body said on Friday.

FIFA said 3.572 billion viewers - more than half of the global population aged four and over - watched some part of the official coverage, which was broadcast live in every territory worldwide from June 14 to July 15.

The global in-home TV audience watching at least one minute of the coverage accounted for almost 3.3 billion viewers, a 2.2 percent increase on the 2014 edition hosted in Brazil, according to FIFA's audit of audience data published on Friday.

A further 309.7 million caught the action on digital platforms, public viewing areas or in bars and restaurants.

France's 4-2 victory in the final, which gave them their second World Cup title following their triumph in 1998, was the most watched game of the competition.

It was followed by England's semi-final defeat to Croatia and the other last-four clash between France and Belgium.

"These figures really do support the claim that Russia 2018 was the best World Cup ever," said FIFA's chief commercial officer, Philippe Le Floc'h.

"The fact that half the world's population watched the FIFA World Cup reflects not just the high quality of our award-winning live coverage, but also that fans everywhere are insatiable for world-class football."

The World Cup coverage reached around 1.6 billion individuals in Asia, with 655.7 million viewers (18.4 percent of the global total) in China, who failed to qualify for the tournament.

The 2022 edition of World Cup will be held in Qatar.

A record audience of more than 3.5 billion people watched this year's World Cup in Russia, with the final between France and Croatia attracting 1.12 billion viewers, world soccer's governing body said on Friday.

A record audience of more than 3.5 billion people watched this year's World Cup in Russia, with the final between France and Croatia attracting 1.12 billion viewers, world soccer's governing body said on Friday. FIFA said 3.572 billion viewers - more than half of the global population aged four and over - watched some part of the official coverage, which was broadcast live in every territory worldwide from June 14 to July 15. The global in-home TV audience watching at least one minute of the coverage accounted for almost 3.3 billion viewers, a 2.2 percent increase on the 2014 edition hosted in Brazil, according to FIFA's audit of audience data published on Friday. A further 309.7 million caught the action on digital platforms, public viewing areas or in bars and restaurants. France's 4-2 victory in the final, which gave them their second World Cup title following their triumph in 1998, was the most watched game of the competition. It was followed by England's semi-final defeat to Croatia and the other last-four clash between France and Belgium. "These figures really do support the claim that Russia 2018 was the best World Cup ever," said FIFA's chief commercial officer, Philippe Le Floc'h. "The fact that half the world's population watched the FIFA World Cup reflects not just the high quality of our award-winning live coverage, but also that fans everywhere are insatiable for world-class football." The World Cup coverage reached around 1.6 billion individuals in Asia, with 655.7 million viewers (18.4 percent of the global total) in China, who failed to qualify for the tournament. The 2022 edition of World Cup will be held in Qatar.

Record audience watched 'best World Cup ever': FIFA

By Tony Westbury

It is no shock that José Mourinho has been sacked by Manchester United. The results on the pitch said it all. The most commercially successful club in the world is having its worst season in 28 years – with its playing assets inevitably depreciating in value as a result.

Mourinho has spent around £390m building this team since his appointment in 2016, yet he recently described it as nowhere near his ideal. In truth, he has roundly failed to create an environment where the players could perform. A new generation of coaches led by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool have developed a high-tempo attacking style which made Mourinho’s more pragmatic approach look dated.

They also have a more collaborative approach to coaching, alongside the likes of Mauricio Pocchetino’s Tottenham and Unai Emery’s Arsenal. These are environments in which trust, honesty and mutual respect are the key building blocks of their teams’ culture.

In contrast, both Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea (2013-15) and his reign at Manchester United have been marred by poor relationships with key players, the media and sometimes, it appears, with himself. From a career zenith in 2010, when he was acclaimed as the FIFA World Coach of the Year, the “Special One” increasingly looks like a man who has come to believe his own hype.

So is there a way back? I believe there is, but it won’t be easy. Self-belief is a prime asset for any consistent high performer in sport, whether athlete or coach. Unlike many struggling sports stars, however, Mourinho has no shortage of this. Though Mourinho’s record in numerous countries certainly entitles him to a sense of satisfaction, his self-aggrandisement appears to know no limits.

I should declare I am not a clinical psychologist, nor have I ever worked in any capacity with Manchester United or Mourinho. But as a sport psychologist who has worked with personalities at the top of numerous sports, Mourinho’s behaviour shows some worrying signs.

Understanding Mourinho

The accepted rubric for diagnosing narcissistic personality disorders is set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as follows:

<ul>
	<li>Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from other people;</li>
	<li>Fixated on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc;</li>
	<li>Self-perception of being unique, superior, and associated with high-status people and institutions;</li>
	<li>Needing continual admiration from others;</li>
	<li>Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others;</li>
	<li>Exploitative of others to achieve personal gain;</li>
	<li>Unwilling to empathise with the feelings, wishes, and needs of other people;</li>
	<li>Intensely envious of others, and the belief that others are equally envious of them;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Pompous and arrogant demeanour.</li>
</ul>

In the past five years, Mourinho’s public behaviour has displayed hints of some similar characteristics. Take the start of this season, after Manchester United lost two of their opening games, including a 3–0 home defeat to Spurs. Mourinho held a bizarre press conference where he demanded more respect from the media. He held three fingers aloft – indicating not how many goals Spurs had scored but how many English championships he had won – “I won more alone than the other 19 managers together. Three for me and two for them”. It was directed specifically at his rival across Manchester, Pep Guardiola.

Mourinho has long had an antagonistic, self-justificatory relationship with journalists. He also shows little empathy with the demands of their job: later the same week, for instance, he held a press conference that many journalists missed because he started it half an hour early. Mourinho dismissed any questions about his relationship with Ed Woodward, the chief executive at Manchester United, and left the room after just four minutes and 19 seconds.

There are also many more examples of arrogant behaviour towards other managers. Famously, for instance, he described Arsene Wenger, one of the most successful managers in English football, as a “specialist in failure”. At the same time, there have also been numerous high-profile fallings out behind the scenes, such as with Chelsea doctor Eva Caneiro in 2015, or more recently the Manchester United star midfielder Paul Pogba.

What next?

Some of Mourinho’s public behaviour could be part of the “act” that high-performance sport arguably demands of managers nowadays. His lack of humility and unwillingness to accept responsibility for any setback, in public at least, are what made him such a successful manager in the first place. For any clinical assessment, the key question is how someone behaves in private.

Treatment for a personality disorder is slow and challenging. It requires specialist support to facilitate a fundamental reassessment of habitual behaviours. The approaches to the type of narcissistic behaviours set out above are based around talking therapies. A good option might be Cognitive Analytic Therapy, which involves a clinician working in collaboration with the patient to identify problems and come up with ways to change behaviour, with particular emphasis on the importance of relationships.

Priorities would include getting the patient to accept responsibility for his actions and learning to relate to people in new ways; showing empathy, tolerating failure and using criticism and reflection as a means of self-improvement; developing a way of regulating emotion so that it doesn’t go from zero to 100 in seconds; and recognising and celebrating the achievements of others.

Pogba could have been the lynchpin of a United team, for instance, but Mourinho appears to have undermined and antagonised him. In my view, Mourinho would greatly benefit from working with a sport psychologist. He appears stuck in 2010, or even before that, when players had less power and football was played in a different way. Most clubs have embraced the term “culture” now – the strongest ones develop from the “bottom up”, not the “top down”. Managers need to adapt to this nowadays.

I would begin by challenging him to work on every aspect of his thinking, feeling and behaving – to relearn how to interact with people without demanding admiration or respect, and in return not labelling others as unworthy or weak. I would anticipate a long involvement since these are well-established habits.

Whatever is going on behind the scenes, I believe it would be very wrong for José Mourinho to try and make another quick return to management. At the very least, he needs to reflect and develop. If there is a way back, he must change. He must want to change and he must work hard at changing. Should he succeed and claw his way back to the top, his place among the greatest managers of all time will be beyond any doubt.

(Tony Westbury is Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Edinburgh Napier University) 
 
(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-there-a-way-back-for-jose-mourinho-as-a-sport-psychologist-i-see-a-hard-road-ahead-109096">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) 
&nbsp;

By Tony Westbury It is no shock that José Mourinho has been sacked by Manchester United. The results on the pitch said it all. The most commercially successful club in the world is having its worst season in 28 years – with its playing assets inevitably depreciating in value as a result.

By Tony Westbury It is no shock that José Mourinho has been sacked by Manchester United. The results on the pitch said it all. The most commercially successful club in the world is having its worst season in 28 years – with its playing assets inevitably depreciating in value as a result. Mourinho has spent around £390m building this team since his appointment in 2016, yet he recently described it as nowhere near his ideal. In truth, he has roundly failed to create an environment where the players could perform. A new generation of coaches led by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool have developed a high-tempo attacking style which made Mourinho’s more pragmatic approach look dated. They also have a more collaborative approach to coaching, alongside the likes of Mauricio Pocchetino’s Tottenham and Unai Emery’s Arsenal. These are environments in which trust, honesty and mutual respect are the key building blocks of their teams’ culture. In contrast, both Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea (2013-15) and his reign at Manchester United have been marred by poor relationships with key players, the media and sometimes, it appears, with himself. From a career zenith in 2010, when he was acclaimed as the FIFA World Coach of the Year, the “Special One” increasingly looks like a man who has come to believe his own hype. So is there a way back? I believe there is, but it won’t be easy. Self-belief is a prime asset for any consistent high performer in sport, whether athlete or coach. Unlike many struggling sports stars, however, Mourinho has no shortage of this. Though Mourinho’s record in numerous countries certainly entitles him to a sense of satisfaction, his self-aggrandisement appears to know no limits. I should declare I am not a clinical psychologist, nor have I ever worked in any capacity with Manchester United or Mourinho. But as a sport psychologist who has worked with personalities at the top of numerous sports, Mourinho’s behaviour shows some worrying signs. Understanding Mourinho The accepted rubric for diagnosing narcissistic personality disorders is set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as follows: Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from other people; Fixated on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc; Self-perception of being unique, superior, and associated with high-status people and institutions; Needing continual admiration from others; Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others; Exploitative of others to achieve personal gain; Unwilling to empathise with the feelings, wishes, and needs of other people; Intensely envious of others, and the belief that others are equally envious of them; Pompous and arrogant demeanour. In the past five years, Mourinho’s public behaviour has displayed hints of some similar characteristics. Take the start of this season, after Manchester United lost two of their opening games, including a 3–0 home defeat to Spurs. Mourinho held a bizarre press conference where he demanded more respect from the media. He held three fingers aloft – indicating not how many goals Spurs had scored but how many English championships he had won – “I won more alone than the other 19 managers together. Three for me and two for them”. It was directed specifically at his rival across Manchester, Pep Guardiola. Mourinho has long had an antagonistic, self-justificatory relationship with journalists. He also shows little empathy with the demands of their job: later the same week, for instance, he held a press conference that many journalists missed because he started it half an hour early. Mourinho dismissed any questions about his relationship with Ed Woodward, the chief executive at Manchester United, and left the room after just four minutes and 19 seconds. There are also many more examples of arrogant behaviour towards other managers. Famously, for instance, he described Arsene Wenger, one of the most successful managers in English football, as a “specialist in failure”. At the same time, there have also been numerous high-profile fallings out behind the scenes, such as with Chelsea doctor Eva Caneiro in 2015, or more recently the Manchester United star midfielder Paul Pogba. What next? Some of Mourinho’s public behaviour could be part of the “act” that high-performance sport arguably demands of managers nowadays. His lack of humility and unwillingness to accept responsibility for any setback, in public at least, are what made him such a successful manager in the first place. For any clinical assessment, the key question is how someone behaves in private. Treatment for a personality disorder is slow and challenging. It requires specialist support to facilitate a fundamental reassessment of habitual behaviours. The approaches to the type of narcissistic behaviours set out above are based around talking therapies. A good option might be Cognitive Analytic Therapy, which involves a clinician working in collaboration with the patient to identify problems and come up with ways to change behaviour, with particular emphasis on the importance of relationships. Priorities would include getting the patient to accept responsibility for his actions and learning to relate to people in new ways; showing empathy, tolerating failure and using criticism and reflection as a means of self-improvement; developing a way of regulating emotion so that it doesn’t go from zero to 100 in seconds; and recognising and celebrating the achievements of others. Pogba could have been the lynchpin of a United team, for instance, but Mourinho appears to have undermined and antagonised him. In my view, Mourinho would greatly benefit from working with a sport psychologist. He appears stuck in 2010, or even before that, when players had less power and football was played in a different way. Most clubs have embraced the term “culture” now – the strongest ones develop from the “bottom up”, not the “top down”. Managers need to adapt to this nowadays. I would begin by challenging him to work on every aspect of his thinking, feeling and behaving – to relearn how to interact with people without demanding admiration or respect, and in return not labelling others as unworthy or weak. I would anticipate a long involvement since these are well-established habits. Whatever is going on behind the scenes, I believe it would be very wrong for José Mourinho to try and make another quick return to management. At the very least, he needs to reflect and develop. If there is a way back, he must change. He must want to change and he must work hard at changing. Should he succeed and claw his way back to the top, his place among the greatest managers of all time will be beyond any doubt. (Tony Westbury is Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Edinburgh Napier University) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Is there a way back for Jose Mourinho?

Luka Modric started the year 2018 with his tremendous performance for Real Madrid and his crucial contributions in the midfield inspired the team to win Champions League after defeating Liverpool in the final.

Croatia's star footballer then looked forward to building on the momentum and continued his preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2018.&nbsp;

In his leadership, Croatia reached the final of football World Cup for the first time in history, however, the team lost to France in the high-octane clash.&nbsp;

Despite the 4-2 defeat by France, more than 500,000 people gave captain Modric and his team a heroic welcome on their return to Croatia's capital city, Zagreb.&nbsp;

The 33-year-old Modric is described as a quick and creative playmaker. He believes in promoting goals and very rare shoots off-mark when he attempts to score.&nbsp;

With great vision, he tries to change the course of the game with a deft pass, or with a solo, long-range effort.

Modric is popular for his ability to pass the ball accurately across long or short distances, his ball control, first touch, positional play, and his ability to retain possession.

Very few would know that Modric is able to play with both feet and with the help of his clever moves, he sets the tempo of the game.

Luka Modric is the first player in history to be awarded the World Cup Golden Ball, UEFA Men's Player, FIFA Best Men's Player and Ballon d'Or in the same year.&nbsp;

In 2002, he was signed by his hometown club's youth team Dinamo Zagreb at age 16.

After three years, in 2005, he made his debut for Dinamo and won three consecutive league titles and domestic cups, being named the Prva HNL Player of the Year in 2007

In 2008, he earned himself a massive opportunity when he was signed by Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record transfer fee of £16.5 million.

After the crucial move, Modric led Spurs to their first UEFA Champions League appearance in almost 50 years, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2010–11 tournament.

In the summer of 2012, Modric joined Real Madrid for a £30 million transfer fee and ever since he continued to flourish as a key player for the Spanish giants.

Luka Modric's journey from Croatian war child to the world's best footballer, a national hero in his home country and crowned the best player on the planet, is world appreciating.

In early years Modric was a child refugee. He flew the burned-out shell of a remote Croatian cottage where he spent part of his childhood.

Hidden in the folds of Velebit mountain, with the nearest neighbours several kilometres away, trees now grow inside the roofless ruin and a sign warns of "Mines - Keep out!"

The player's grandfather, also named Luka, lived in the house, lying on a mountain road winding through the Modrici hamlet.

His grandfather was killed by Serb forces, the house was burned and the family fled to the coastal town of Zadar, some 40 kilometres (19 miles) away.

It was there that Modric, born in 1985, began his footballing odyssey, drawing attention for the first time to his budding abilities. &nbsp;

Modric left Zadar, where he remains a legend, for Dinamo Zagreb in 2000 and then joined English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. After a bidding war he was snapped up by Real Madrid in 2012.

Luka Modric started the year 2018 with his tremendous performance for Real Madrid and his crucial contributions in the midfield inspired the team to win Champions League after defeating Liverpool in the final.

Luka Modric started the year 2018 with his tremendous performance for Real Madrid and his crucial contributions in the midfield inspired the team to win Champions League after defeating Liverpool in the final. Croatia's star footballer then looked forward to building on the momentum and continued his preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2018. In his leadership, Croatia reached the final of football World Cup for the first time in history, however, the team lost to France in the high-octane clash. Despite the 4-2 defeat by France, more than 500,000 people gave captain Modric and his team a heroic welcome on their return to Croatia's capital city, Zagreb. The 33-year-old Modric is described as a quick and creative playmaker. He believes in promoting goals and very rare shoots off-mark when he attempts to score. With great vision, he tries to change the course of the game with a deft pass, or with a solo, long-range effort. Modric is popular for his ability to pass the ball accurately across long or short distances, his ball control, first touch, positional play, and his ability to retain possession. Very few would know that Modric is able to play with both feet and with the help of his clever moves, he sets the tempo of the game. Luka Modric is the first player in history to be awarded the World Cup Golden Ball, UEFA Men's Player, FIFA Best Men's Player and Ballon d'Or in the same year. In 2002, he was signed by his hometown club's youth team Dinamo Zagreb at age 16. After three years, in 2005, he made his debut for Dinamo and won three consecutive league titles and domestic cups, being named the Prva HNL Player of the Year in 2007 In 2008, he earned himself a massive opportunity when he was signed by Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record transfer fee of £16.5 million. After the crucial move, Modric led Spurs to their first UEFA Champions League appearance in almost 50 years, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2010–11 tournament. In the summer of 2012, Modric joined Real Madrid for a £30 million transfer fee and ever since he continued to flourish as a key player for the Spanish giants. Luka Modric's journey from Croatian war child to the world's best footballer, a national hero in his home country and crowned the best player on the planet, is world appreciating. In early years Modric was a child refugee. He flew the burned-out shell of a remote Croatian cottage where he spent part of his childhood. Hidden in the folds of Velebit mountain, with the nearest neighbours several kilometres away, trees now grow inside the roofless ruin and a sign warns of "Mines - Keep out!" The player's grandfather, also named Luka, lived in the house, lying on a mountain road winding through the Modrici hamlet. His grandfather was killed by Serb forces, the house was burned and the family fled to the coastal town of Zadar, some 40 kilometres (19 miles) away. It was there that Modric, born in 1985, began his footballing odyssey, drawing attention for the first time to his budding abilities. Modric left Zadar, where he remains a legend, for Dinamo Zagreb in 2000 and then joined English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. After a bidding war he was snapped up by Real Madrid in 2012.

From football World Cup to Ballon d'Or, year 2018 belongs to Luka Modric

With the 2018 World Cup in Russia behind it, the soccer world’s focus shifts to the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Politics and the Gulf’s internecine political and legal battles have already shaped debate about FIFA’s controversial awarding of World Cup hosting rights to Qatar. The battles highlight not only the sport’s dominance in the Middle East by autocratic leaders but also the incestuous relationship between politics and sports that is at the root of multiple scandals that have rocked the sports world for much of this decade and compromised good governance in international sports.

Three men symbolise the importance of soccer to Gulf autocrats who see the sport as a way to project their countries in a positive light on the international stage, harness its popular appeal in their cultural and public diplomacy campaigns, and leverage it as a pillar of their efforts to garner soft power: Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his nemeses, United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Saudi sports czar, Turki al-Sheikh, one of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s closest associates.

To be sure, the tension between Qatar and its Gulf detractors was spilling onto the soccer pitch long before the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt took their opposition to Qatari policies to a new level with the imposition in June 2017 of a diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar. Since then, debate about the Qatari World Cup has been further politicised with the Gulf crisis driving efforts to deprive Qatar of economic and soft power benefits it derives from its hosting of the tournament, if not of the right to host the mega-sports event.

The UAE-Saudi efforts took on added significance as Qatar and its detractors settled in for the long haul. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt will likely face difficult choices if the Gulf crisis persists when the World Cup, the first such mega-tournament to be held in the Middle East, kicks off in Doha in late 2022.

Difficult choices

The choice would involve potential political risk. It would be between maintaining the boycott that has cut off all air, sea and land links between Qatar and its detractors at the expense of fans in a soccer-crazy part of the world in which little evokes the deep-seated emotions associated with religion and football or effectively breaching the embargo to evade political backlash and ensure that supporters have access to a sports milestone in the region’s history. The starkness of the boycotting states’ dilemma would be magnified if any one of them were to qualify for the Qatar World Cup and would be enhanced if they were to play the host country or, for example, Iran.

The issue of ability to attend is magnified by expectations that the demography of fans attending the World Cup in Qatar may very well be different from that at past tournaments. Qatar is likely to attract a far greater number of fans from the Middle East as well as Africa and Asia. The Asian Football Confederation’s Competition Committee has already urged governments to exempt football teams from travel bans and would almost certainly do the same for fans.

As a result, the UAE-Saudi effort to undermine the Qatar World Cup is about more than seeking to deliver a body blow to Qatar. It is also about avoiding being further tied up into knots in an anti-Qatari campaign that has so far failed to break the Gulf state’s resolve, force it to concede, and garner international support. The campaign is multi-pronged and doesn’t shy away from violating laws as is evident in Saudi bootlegging to deprive beIN, the sports franchise of Qatar’s state-owned Al Jazeera television network, of the fruits of acquired rights to broadcast World Cup tournaments and European competitions at the risk of being penalized and/or taken to court by the likes of FIFA and the English Premier League. Saudi media reports that the government has launched an anti-piracy campaign, confiscating more than 4,000 illegal receivers that hacked beIN failed to put an end to the bootlegging.

Signalling the political importance that men like the crown princes and Sheikh Tamim attribute to sports, a former top UAE security official, Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan, suggested that the only way to resolve the Gulf crisis would be for Qatar to surrender its World Cup hosting rights. "If the World Cup leaves Qatar, Qatar's crisis will be over ... because the crisis is created to get away from it," Khalfan said.

Khalfan spoke at a time that leaked documents from the email account of Yousef Al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador in Washington and a close associate of the country’s crown prince, revealed a UAE plan to undermine Qatar’s currency by manipulating the value of bonds and derivatives. If successfully executed, the plan would have allowed Qatar’s distractors to argue that the Gulf state’s financial problems called into question its ability to organize the World Cup.

Serving national interests

Al-Sheikh, the chairman of the kingdom’s General Sport Authority, makes no bones about harnessing sports to serve the kingdom’s interests. With a career in security rather than sports, he was unequivocal in his assertion on the eve of Saudi Arabia’s debut in the 2018 World Cup in Russia that he made decisions based on what he deemed “Saudi Arabia’s best interest,” reaffirming the inextricable relationship between sports and politics.

Barely 24 hours before the World Cup’s opening match, Saudi Arabia made good on Al-Sheikh’s assertion that the kingdom’s international sports policy would be driven by former US President George W. Bush’s post 9/11 principle of “you are either with us or against us.”

With Morocco’s bid for the 2026 World Cup in mind, Mr. Al-Sheikh had warned that "to be in the grey area is no longer acceptable to us. There are those who were mistaken in their direction … If you want support, it'll be in Riyadh. What you're doing is a waste of time…," &nbsp;Al-Sheikh said. &nbsp;Al-Sheikh was referring to Morocco’s refusal to join the anti-Qatari campaign. Adopting a Saudi Arabia First approach, Mr. Al-Sheikh noted that the United States “is our biggest and strongest ally.” He recalled that when the World Cup was played in 1994 in nine American cities, the US “was one of our favourites. The fans were numerous, and the Saudi team achieved good results.”

Al-Sheikh was manoeuvring at the same time to ensure that the kingdom has greater say in international soccer governance, including issues such as the fate of the Qatari World Cup and a push to extend international isolation of Iran to the realm of sports. To do so, Saudi Arabia backed a proposal to speed up the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams from 32, which is scheduled to kick off in 2026, by making it already applicable to the 2022 World Cup. Saudi Arabia hopes that the expansion would significantly complicate Qatari preparations for the event. Implementing the expansion in 2022 would strengthen UAE and Saudi efforts to petition FIFA to force Qatar to agree to co-hosting of the World Cup by other Gulf states, a proposal that was incorporated in the UAE plan to undermine Qatar’s currency.

In an indication of things to come, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in early 2018 thwarted a UAE-Saudi attempt to get Asian tournament matches that were scheduled to be hosted by Qatar moved to a neutral venue. The AFC warned the two countries that they would be penalized if they failed to play in Doha or host Qatari teams.

Al-Sheikh’s moves were part of a two-pronged Saudi-UAE effort. Global tech investor Softbank, which counts Saudi Arabia and the UAE among its largest investors, is believed to be behind a $25 billion proposal embraced by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to revamp the FIFA Club World Cup and launch of a Global Nations League tournament. If approved, the proposal would give Saudi Arabia a significant voice in global soccer governance.

Complimenting the Saudi FIFA bid is an effort to expand the kingdom’s influence in the 47-nation AFC, the largest of the world soccer body’s constituent regional elements. To do so, Saudi Arabia unsuccessfully tried to create a new regional bloc, the South West Asian Football Federation (SWAFF), a potential violation of FIFA and AFC rules. The federation would have been made up of members of both the AFC and the Amman-based West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) that groups all Middle Eastern nations except for Israel and is headed by Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, a prominent advocate of soccer governance reform.

The initiative fell apart when the Asian members of SWAFF walked out in October 2018 in the wake of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The killing could also jeopardize Saudi efforts to gain control of the AFC with the Al-Sheikh-backed candidacy of Saudi Football Federation chief Adel Ezzat, who resigned in August 2018 to run for the office.

Benefits outstrip reputational risk

Al-Sheikh and his boss, Prince Mohammed, share with the crown prince’s UAE counterpart and namesake, a belief that the public diplomacy and soft power fruits of harnessing sports outstrip reputational risks. Simon Pearce, Abu Dhabi’s director of strategic communications and a director of Manchester City, the British club bought by UAE Crown Prince Mohammed’s brother but controlled by the de facto Emirati ruler’s men, said as much in leaked emails to Al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador in Washington.

The emails discussed the UAE’s registration of a new soccer club, New York City Football Club, as the United States’ Major League Soccer newest franchise. Mr. Pearce argued that Abu Dhabi’s interests in the US political environment are best served by associating New York City FC with City Football Group, the Abu Dhabi government’s soccer investment vehicle, rather than the government itself to evade criticism stemming from the Emirates’ criminalization of homosexuality, its less than stellar record on women’s rights and its refusal to formally recognize Israel despite maintaining close security and commercial relations with the Jewish state.

The UAE’s sports-related investments, guided by the crown prince, much like the acquisition of important Qatari sports stakes on the behest of Sheikh Tamim also give Gulf states political leverage and create additional commercial opportunity. The investments constitute the flip side of large amounts of Gulf money being channelled to influential think tanks, particularly in Washington. In a series of notes in 2012, Mr. &nbsp;Pearce advised Prince Mohammed, a man obsessed with perceived threats posed by any form of political Islam and a driving force in the campaign against Qatar, to tempt than British prime minister David Cameron to counter what he described as Islamist infiltration of the BBC’s Arabic service in exchange for lucrative arms and oil deals.

To illustrate the UAE and Qatar’s sway in European soccer, Nicholas McGeehan, an independent researcher and former Human Rights Watch executive focussed on the region, looked at recent bookies odds for the Champions League. Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City was the favourite followed by Qatar’s Paris Saint-Germain. Third up was Bayern Munich, whose shirts are sponsored by Qatar, fourth was Barcelona, which recently ended a seven-year sponsorship deal with Qatar, and fifth Real Madrid that sold the naming rights to its new stadium to Abu Dhabi.

Saudi and UAE public relations efforts to generate public pressure for a deprival of Qatari hosting rights were at times mired in controversy. The launch in May of the Foundation for Sports Integrity by Jamie Fuller, a prominent Australian campaigner for a clean-up of global soccer governance, backfired amid allegations of Saudi and UAE financial backing and Fuller’s refusal to disclose his source of funding.

Saudi and UAE media together with UK tabloid The Sun heralded the launch in a poche London hotel that involved a reiteration of assertions of Qatari wrongdoing in its successful World Cup bid. Media like Abu Dhabi’s The National and Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya projected the launch as pressure on FIFA to deprive Qatar of its hosting rights. “It is no secret that football’s governing body is rotten to the core. (FIFA) will rightly come under renewed pressure to strip Qatar of the competition and carry out an internal investigation in the wake of the most recent allegations. The millions of fans eagerly anticipating 2022’s festival of football deserve better,” The National said. Saudi-owned Ash-Sharq Al Awsat newspaper reported that a June 2018 FIFA Congress would hold a re-vote of the Qatari hosting. The Congress didn’t.

Qatar remains vulnerable

Despite so far successfully having defeated efforts to deprive it of its hosting rights, Qatar remains vulnerable when it comes to the integrity of its winning bid. The bid’s integrity and Sheikh Tamim’s emphasis on sports as a pillar of Qatari soft power is at stake in legal proceedings in New York and Zurich involving corruption in FIFA and potential wrongdoing in the awarding of past World Cups. Qatar has suffered reputational damage as a result of the question marks even if the Gulf crisis has allowed it to enhance its image as an underdog being bullied by the big boys on the block.

To Qatar’s credit, it has introduced reforms of its controversial kafala or labour sponsorship system that could become a model for the region. In doing so, it cemented the 2022 World Cup as one of the few mega-events with a real potential of leaving a legacy of change. Qatar started laying the foundations for that change by early on becoming the first and only Gulf state to engage with its critics, international human rights groups and trade unions.

Even so, Qatar initially suffered reputational damage on the labour front because it was relatively slow in embracing and implementing the reforms. Qatar’s handling of the Gulf crisis suggests that it has learnt from the failure of its initial response to criticism of its winning 2022 bid when it acted like an ostrich that puts its head in the sand, hoping that the storm will pass only to find that by the time it rears its head the wound has festered, and it has lost strategic advantage.

The integrity issue remains Qatar’s weak point. For activist critics of the awarding of hosting rights to Qatar, there are two questions. One is, who do they want to get in bed with? Qatar’s detractors, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia hardly have stellar human and labour rights records. If anything, their records are worse than that of Qatar, which admittedly does not glow.

The second question critics have to ask themselves is how best to leverage the World Cup, irrespective of whether the Qatari bid was compromised or not. On the assumption that it may have been compromised, the question is less how to exact retribution for a wrongdoing that was common practice in global football governance. Leveraging should focus on how to achieve a fundamental reform of global sports governance that has yet to emerge eight years into a crisis that was in part sparked by the Qatar World Cup. This goes to the heart of the fact that untouched in efforts to address the governance crisis is the corrupting, ungoverned, and incestuous relationship between sports and politics.

Siamese twins: Sports and politics

The future of the Qatar World Cup and the Gulf crisis speaks to the pervasiveness of politics in sports. The World Cup is political by definition. Retaining Qatar’s hosting rights or depriving the Gulf state of the right to host the tournament is ultimately a choice with political consequences. As long as the crisis continues, retaining rights is a testimony to Qatar’s resilience, deprival would be a victory for its detractors.

As a result, the real yardstick in the debate about the Qatari World Cup should be how the sport and the integrity of the sport benefit most. And even then, politics is never far from what the outcome of that debate is. Obviously, instinctively, the optics of no retribution raises the question of how that benefits integrity. The answer is that the potential legacy of social and economic change that is already evident with the Qatar World Cup is more important than the feel-good effect of having done the right thing with retribution or the notion of setting an example. Add to that the fact that in current circumstances, a withdrawal of hosting rights would likely be interpreted as a victory of one side over the other, further divide the Arab and Muslim world, and enhance a sense among many Muslims of being on the defensive and under attack.

The silver lining in the Gulf crisis may be the fact that it has showed up the fiction of a separation of sports and politics. FIFA, the AFC, and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), seeking to police the ban on a mixing of sports and politics, have discovered that it amounts to banging their heads against a wall. Despite their attempts to halt politics from subverting Asian tournaments, domestic and regional politics seeped into the game via different avenues.

As a result, FIFA and its regional confederations have been tying themselves up in knots. In a bizarre and contradictory sequence of events at the outset of the Gulf crisis, FIFA president Infantino rejected involving the group in the dispute by saying that “the essential role of FIFA, as I understand it, is to deal with football and not to interfere in geopolitics." Yet, on the same day that he made his statement, Mr. Infantino waded into the crisis by removing a Qatari referee from a 2018 World Cup qualifier at the request of the UAE. FIFA, beyond declaring that the decision was taken “in view of the current geopolitical situation,” appeared to be saying by implication that a Qatari by definition of his nationality could not be an honest arbiter of a soccer match involving one of his country’s detractors. In FIFA’s decision, politics trumped professionalism, no pun intended.

Similarly, the AFC was less principled in its stand towards matches pitting Saudi Arabia and Iran against one another. Iranian club Traktor Sazi was forced in February to play its home match against Al Ahli of Jeddah in Oman. It wasn’t clear why the AFC did not uphold the principle it imposed on Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the case of Iran. “Saudi teams have been able to select host stadiums and cities, and Saudi teams will host two Iranian football representatives in the UAE and Kuwait. In return, Iranian football representatives should be able to use their own rights to choose neutral venues,” said Mohammad Reza Saket, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Football Federation in a letter to the AFC.

Soccer governance bodies have long struggled to maintain the fiction of a separation in a trade-off that gave regulators greater autonomy and created the breeding ground for widespread corruption while allowing governments and politicians to manipulate the sport to their advantage as long as they were not too blatant about it. The limits of that deal are currently being defined in the Middle East, a region wracked by conflict where virtually everything is politicised. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

With the 2018 World Cup in Russia behind it, the soccer world’s focus shifts to the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Politics and the Gulf’s internecine political and legal battles have already shaped debate about FIFA’s controversial awarding of World Cup hosting rights to Qatar.

With the 2018 World Cup in Russia behind it, the soccer world’s focus shifts to the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Politics and the Gulf’s internecine political and legal battles have already shaped debate about FIFA’s controversial awarding of World Cup hosting rights to Qatar. The battles highlight not only the sport’s dominance in the Middle East by autocratic leaders but also the incestuous relationship between politics and sports that is at the root of multiple scandals that have rocked the sports world for much of this decade and compromised good governance in international sports. Three men symbolise the importance of soccer to Gulf autocrats who see the sport as a way to project their countries in a positive light on the international stage, harness its popular appeal in their cultural and public diplomacy campaigns, and leverage it as a pillar of their efforts to garner soft power: Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his nemeses, United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Saudi sports czar, Turki al-Sheikh, one of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s closest associates. To be sure, the tension between Qatar and its Gulf detractors was spilling onto the soccer pitch long before the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt took their opposition to Qatari policies to a new level with the imposition in June 2017 of a diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar. Since then, debate about the Qatari World Cup has been further politicised with the Gulf crisis driving efforts to deprive Qatar of economic and soft power benefits it derives from its hosting of the tournament, if not of the right to host the mega-sports event. The UAE-Saudi efforts took on added significance as Qatar and its detractors settled in for the long haul. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt will likely face difficult choices if the Gulf crisis persists when the World Cup, the first such mega-tournament to be held in the Middle East, kicks off in Doha in late 2022. Difficult choices The choice would involve potential political risk. It would be between maintaining the boycott that has cut off all air, sea and land links between Qatar and its detractors at the expense of fans in a soccer-crazy part of the world in which little evokes the deep-seated emotions associated with religion and football or effectively breaching the embargo to evade political backlash and ensure that supporters have access to a sports milestone in the region’s history. The starkness of the boycotting states’ dilemma would be magnified if any one of them were to qualify for the Qatar World Cup and would be enhanced if they were to play the host country or, for example, Iran. The issue of ability to attend is magnified by expectations that the demography of fans attending the World Cup in Qatar may very well be different from that at past tournaments. Qatar is likely to attract a far greater number of fans from the Middle East as well as Africa and Asia. The Asian Football Confederation’s Competition Committee has already urged governments to exempt football teams from travel bans and would almost certainly do the same for fans. As a result, the UAE-Saudi effort to undermine the Qatar World Cup is about more than seeking to deliver a body blow to Qatar. It is also about avoiding being further tied up into knots in an anti-Qatari campaign that has so far failed to break the Gulf state’s resolve, force it to concede, and garner international support. The campaign is multi-pronged and doesn’t shy away from violating laws as is evident in Saudi bootlegging to deprive beIN, the sports franchise of Qatar’s state-owned Al Jazeera television network, of the fruits of acquired rights to broadcast World Cup tournaments and European competitions at the risk of being penalized and/or taken to court by the likes of FIFA and the English Premier League. Saudi media reports that the government has launched an anti-piracy campaign, confiscating more than 4,000 illegal receivers that hacked beIN failed to put an end to the bootlegging. Signalling the political importance that men like the crown princes and Sheikh Tamim attribute to sports, a former top UAE security official, Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan, suggested that the only way to resolve the Gulf crisis would be for Qatar to surrender its World Cup hosting rights. "If the World Cup leaves Qatar, Qatar's crisis will be over ... because the crisis is created to get away from it," Khalfan said. Khalfan spoke at a time that leaked documents from the email account of Yousef Al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador in Washington and a close associate of the country’s crown prince, revealed a UAE plan to undermine Qatar’s currency by manipulating the value of bonds and derivatives. If successfully executed, the plan would have allowed Qatar’s distractors to argue that the Gulf state’s financial problems called into question its ability to organize the World Cup. Serving national interests Al-Sheikh, the chairman of the kingdom’s General Sport Authority, makes no bones about harnessing sports to serve the kingdom’s interests. With a career in security rather than sports, he was unequivocal in his assertion on the eve of Saudi Arabia’s debut in the 2018 World Cup in Russia that he made decisions based on what he deemed “Saudi Arabia’s best interest,” reaffirming the inextricable relationship between sports and politics. Barely 24 hours before the World Cup’s opening match, Saudi Arabia made good on Al-Sheikh’s assertion that the kingdom’s international sports policy would be driven by former US President George W. Bush’s post 9/11 principle of “you are either with us or against us.” With Morocco’s bid for the 2026 World Cup in mind, Mr. Al-Sheikh had warned that "to be in the grey area is no longer acceptable to us. There are those who were mistaken in their direction … If you want support, it'll be in Riyadh. What you're doing is a waste of time…," Al-Sheikh said. Al-Sheikh was referring to Morocco’s refusal to join the anti-Qatari campaign. Adopting a Saudi Arabia First approach, Mr. Al-Sheikh noted that the United States “is our biggest and strongest ally.” He recalled that when the World Cup was played in 1994 in nine American cities, the US “was one of our favourites. The fans were numerous, and the Saudi team achieved good results.” Al-Sheikh was manoeuvring at the same time to ensure that the kingdom has greater say in international soccer governance, including issues such as the fate of the Qatari World Cup and a push to extend international isolation of Iran to the realm of sports. To do so, Saudi Arabia backed a proposal to speed up the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams from 32, which is scheduled to kick off in 2026, by making it already applicable to the 2022 World Cup. Saudi Arabia hopes that the expansion would significantly complicate Qatari preparations for the event. Implementing the expansion in 2022 would strengthen UAE and Saudi efforts to petition FIFA to force Qatar to agree to co-hosting of the World Cup by other Gulf states, a proposal that was incorporated in the UAE plan to undermine Qatar’s currency. In an indication of things to come, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in early 2018 thwarted a UAE-Saudi attempt to get Asian tournament matches that were scheduled to be hosted by Qatar moved to a neutral venue. The AFC warned the two countries that they would be penalized if they failed to play in Doha or host Qatari teams. Al-Sheikh’s moves were part of a two-pronged Saudi-UAE effort. Global tech investor Softbank, which counts Saudi Arabia and the UAE among its largest investors, is believed to be behind a $25 billion proposal embraced by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to revamp the FIFA Club World Cup and launch of a Global Nations League tournament. If approved, the proposal would give Saudi Arabia a significant voice in global soccer governance. Complimenting the Saudi FIFA bid is an effort to expand the kingdom’s influence in the 47-nation AFC, the largest of the world soccer body’s constituent regional elements. To do so, Saudi Arabia unsuccessfully tried to create a new regional bloc, the South West Asian Football Federation (SWAFF), a potential violation of FIFA and AFC rules. The federation would have been made up of members of both the AFC and the Amman-based West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) that groups all Middle Eastern nations except for Israel and is headed by Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, a prominent advocate of soccer governance reform. The initiative fell apart when the Asian members of SWAFF walked out in October 2018 in the wake of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The killing could also jeopardize Saudi efforts to gain control of the AFC with the Al-Sheikh-backed candidacy of Saudi Football Federation chief Adel Ezzat, who resigned in August 2018 to run for the office. Benefits outstrip reputational risk Al-Sheikh and his boss, Prince Mohammed, share with the crown prince’s UAE counterpart and namesake, a belief that the public diplomacy and soft power fruits of harnessing sports outstrip reputational risks. Simon Pearce, Abu Dhabi’s director of strategic communications and a director of Manchester City, the British club bought by UAE Crown Prince Mohammed’s brother but controlled by the de facto Emirati ruler’s men, said as much in leaked emails to Al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador in Washington. The emails discussed the UAE’s registration of a new soccer club, New York City Football Club, as the United States’ Major League Soccer newest franchise. Mr. Pearce argued that Abu Dhabi’s interests in the US political environment are best served by associating New York City FC with City Football Group, the Abu Dhabi government’s soccer investment vehicle, rather than the government itself to evade criticism stemming from the Emirates’ criminalization of homosexuality, its less than stellar record on women’s rights and its refusal to formally recognize Israel despite maintaining close security and commercial relations with the Jewish state. The UAE’s sports-related investments, guided by the crown prince, much like the acquisition of important Qatari sports stakes on the behest of Sheikh Tamim also give Gulf states political leverage and create additional commercial opportunity. The investments constitute the flip side of large amounts of Gulf money being channelled to influential think tanks, particularly in Washington. In a series of notes in 2012, Mr. Pearce advised Prince Mohammed, a man obsessed with perceived threats posed by any form of political Islam and a driving force in the campaign against Qatar, to tempt than British prime minister David Cameron to counter what he described as Islamist infiltration of the BBC’s Arabic service in exchange for lucrative arms and oil deals. To illustrate the UAE and Qatar’s sway in European soccer, Nicholas McGeehan, an independent researcher and former Human Rights Watch executive focussed on the region, looked at recent bookies odds for the Champions League. Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City was the favourite followed by Qatar’s Paris Saint-Germain. Third up was Bayern Munich, whose shirts are sponsored by Qatar, fourth was Barcelona, which recently ended a seven-year sponsorship deal with Qatar, and fifth Real Madrid that sold the naming rights to its new stadium to Abu Dhabi. Saudi and UAE public relations efforts to generate public pressure for a deprival of Qatari hosting rights were at times mired in controversy. The launch in May of the Foundation for Sports Integrity by Jamie Fuller, a prominent Australian campaigner for a clean-up of global soccer governance, backfired amid allegations of Saudi and UAE financial backing and Fuller’s refusal to disclose his source of funding. Saudi and UAE media together with UK tabloid The Sun heralded the launch in a poche London hotel that involved a reiteration of assertions of Qatari wrongdoing in its successful World Cup bid. Media like Abu Dhabi’s The National and Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya projected the launch as pressure on FIFA to deprive Qatar of its hosting rights. “It is no secret that football’s governing body is rotten to the core. (FIFA) will rightly come under renewed pressure to strip Qatar of the competition and carry out an internal investigation in the wake of the most recent allegations. The millions of fans eagerly anticipating 2022’s festival of football deserve better,” The National said. Saudi-owned Ash-Sharq Al Awsat newspaper reported that a June 2018 FIFA Congress would hold a re-vote of the Qatari hosting. The Congress didn’t. Qatar remains vulnerable Despite so far successfully having defeated efforts to deprive it of its hosting rights, Qatar remains vulnerable when it comes to the integrity of its winning bid. The bid’s integrity and Sheikh Tamim’s emphasis on sports as a pillar of Qatari soft power is at stake in legal proceedings in New York and Zurich involving corruption in FIFA and potential wrongdoing in the awarding of past World Cups. Qatar has suffered reputational damage as a result of the question marks even if the Gulf crisis has allowed it to enhance its image as an underdog being bullied by the big boys on the block. To Qatar’s credit, it has introduced reforms of its controversial kafala or labour sponsorship system that could become a model for the region. In doing so, it cemented the 2022 World Cup as one of the few mega-events with a real potential of leaving a legacy of change. Qatar started laying the foundations for that change by early on becoming the first and only Gulf state to engage with its critics, international human rights groups and trade unions. Even so, Qatar initially suffered reputational damage on the labour front because it was relatively slow in embracing and implementing the reforms. Qatar’s handling of the Gulf crisis suggests that it has learnt from the failure of its initial response to criticism of its winning 2022 bid when it acted like an ostrich that puts its head in the sand, hoping that the storm will pass only to find that by the time it rears its head the wound has festered, and it has lost strategic advantage. The integrity issue remains Qatar’s weak point. For activist critics of the awarding of hosting rights to Qatar, there are two questions. One is, who do they want to get in bed with? Qatar’s detractors, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia hardly have stellar human and labour rights records. If anything, their records are worse than that of Qatar, which admittedly does not glow. The second question critics have to ask themselves is how best to leverage the World Cup, irrespective of whether the Qatari bid was compromised or not. On the assumption that it may have been compromised, the question is less how to exact retribution for a wrongdoing that was common practice in global football governance. Leveraging should focus on how to achieve a fundamental reform of global sports governance that has yet to emerge eight years into a crisis that was in part sparked by the Qatar World Cup. This goes to the heart of the fact that untouched in efforts to address the governance crisis is the corrupting, ungoverned, and incestuous relationship between sports and politics. Siamese twins: Sports and politics The future of the Qatar World Cup and the Gulf crisis speaks to the pervasiveness of politics in sports. The World Cup is political by definition. Retaining Qatar’s hosting rights or depriving the Gulf state of the right to host the tournament is ultimately a choice with political consequences. As long as the crisis continues, retaining rights is a testimony to Qatar’s resilience, deprival would be a victory for its detractors. As a result, the real yardstick in the debate about the Qatari World Cup should be how the sport and the integrity of the sport benefit most. And even then, politics is never far from what the outcome of that debate is. Obviously, instinctively, the optics of no retribution raises the question of how that benefits integrity. The answer is that the potential legacy of social and economic change that is already evident with the Qatar World Cup is more important than the feel-good effect of having done the right thing with retribution or the notion of setting an example. Add to that the fact that in current circumstances, a withdrawal of hosting rights would likely be interpreted as a victory of one side over the other, further divide the Arab and Muslim world, and enhance a sense among many Muslims of being on the defensive and under attack. The silver lining in the Gulf crisis may be the fact that it has showed up the fiction of a separation of sports and politics. FIFA, the AFC, and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), seeking to police the ban on a mixing of sports and politics, have discovered that it amounts to banging their heads against a wall. Despite their attempts to halt politics from subverting Asian tournaments, domestic and regional politics seeped into the game via different avenues. As a result, FIFA and its regional confederations have been tying themselves up in knots. In a bizarre and contradictory sequence of events at the outset of the Gulf crisis, FIFA president Infantino rejected involving the group in the dispute by saying that “the essential role of FIFA, as I understand it, is to deal with football and not to interfere in geopolitics." Yet, on the same day that he made his statement, Mr. Infantino waded into the crisis by removing a Qatari referee from a 2018 World Cup qualifier at the request of the UAE. FIFA, beyond declaring that the decision was taken “in view of the current geopolitical situation,” appeared to be saying by implication that a Qatari by definition of his nationality could not be an honest arbiter of a soccer match involving one of his country’s detractors. In FIFA’s decision, politics trumped professionalism, no pun intended. Similarly, the AFC was less principled in its stand towards matches pitting Saudi Arabia and Iran against one another. Iranian club Traktor Sazi was forced in February to play its home match against Al Ahli of Jeddah in Oman. It wasn’t clear why the AFC did not uphold the principle it imposed on Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the case of Iran. “Saudi teams have been able to select host stadiums and cities, and Saudi teams will host two Iranian football representatives in the UAE and Kuwait. In return, Iranian football representatives should be able to use their own rights to choose neutral venues,” said Mohammad Reza Saket, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Football Federation in a letter to the AFC. Soccer governance bodies have long struggled to maintain the fiction of a separation in a trade-off that gave regulators greater autonomy and created the breeding ground for widespread corruption while allowing governments and politicians to manipulate the sport to their advantage as long as they were not too blatant about it. The limits of that deal are currently being defined in the Middle East, a region wracked by conflict where virtually everything is politicised. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Gulf rivalries spill onto the soccer pitch

The head of soccer's world governing body said here Thursday that FIFA is considering a plan to increase the number of teams taking part in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 32 to 48.&nbsp;

While the decision to shift to a 48-team format was approved last year by FIFA, the change was not supposed to take effect until 2026.

But FIFA president Gianni Infantino has suggested advancing the implementation to 2022.

"We gathered the opinions as well of our members, the federations," he said Thursday during a press conference in Doha, the Qatari capital.

"So far, of course, the majority are in favor because 16 more teams participating not only means that 16 more countries will have World Cup fever, but 50 or 60 countries will be able to dream of qualifying for the World Cup," Infantino said.

"Whether it is feasible or not is a different question," he acknowledged.

FIFA will make a final decision in March, Infantino said, adding that some matches might have to be in other countries if Qatar could not accommodate the expanded schedule.

"Of course, I'm not naive enough to not know and read the news, and what's going on, but we are in football not in politics and in football sometimes dreams come true," the FIFA president, alluding to the current tensions between Qatar and neighbors such as Saudi Arabia.

The head of soccer's world governing body said here Thursday that FIFA is considering a plan to increase the number of teams taking part in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 32 to 48.

The head of soccer's world governing body said here Thursday that FIFA is considering a plan to increase the number of teams taking part in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 32 to 48. While the decision to shift to a 48-team format was approved last year by FIFA, the change was not supposed to take effect until 2026. But FIFA president Gianni Infantino has suggested advancing the implementation to 2022. "We gathered the opinions as well of our members, the federations," he said Thursday during a press conference in Doha, the Qatari capital. "So far, of course, the majority are in favor because 16 more teams participating not only means that 16 more countries will have World Cup fever, but 50 or 60 countries will be able to dream of qualifying for the World Cup," Infantino said. "Whether it is feasible or not is a different question," he acknowledged. FIFA will make a final decision in March, Infantino said, adding that some matches might have to be in other countries if Qatar could not accommodate the expanded schedule. "Of course, I'm not naive enough to not know and read the news, and what's going on, but we are in football not in politics and in football sometimes dreams come true," the FIFA president, alluding to the current tensions between Qatar and neighbors such as Saudi Arabia.

FIFA: Most countries back expanding 2022 World Cup to 48 teams

FIFA on Wednesday suspended the president of the Afghanistan Football Federation Keramuddin Karim for 90 days pending an investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse against the national women's team.&nbsp;

FIFA's independent ethics committee said in a statement that the provisional ban "may be extended pending proceedings on the merits of the case."&nbsp;

Karim is barred from all football-related activities at both the national and international level, the statement said.

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani has ordered an investigation into claims of abuse by male officials against members of the women's team, which were first reported in Britain's Guardian newspaper.

The Guardian cited what it described as senior figures associated with the women's team who said the abuse had taken place in Afghanistan, including at the AFF headquarters, and at a training camp in Jordan last February.

The story quoted former captain Khalida Popal -- who fled the country after receiving death threats and has spoken out previously about the discrimination women face in Afghanistan -- as saying male officials were "coercing" female players.

Afghanistan has made strides to promote female football. Four years ago, it launched its first all-women's football league that ran in parallel with the men's. 
In 2017 the female teams were sidelined by a lack of funding.

FIFA on Wednesday suspended the president of the Afghanistan Football Federation Keramuddin Karim for 90 days pending an investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse against the national women's team.

FIFA on Wednesday suspended the president of the Afghanistan Football Federation Keramuddin Karim for 90 days pending an investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse against the national women's team. FIFA's independent ethics committee said in a statement that the provisional ban "may be extended pending proceedings on the merits of the case." Karim is barred from all football-related activities at both the national and international level, the statement said. Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani has ordered an investigation into claims of abuse by male officials against members of the women's team, which were first reported in Britain's Guardian newspaper. The Guardian cited what it described as senior figures associated with the women's team who said the abuse had taken place in Afghanistan, including at the AFF headquarters, and at a training camp in Jordan last February. The story quoted former captain Khalida Popal -- who fled the country after receiving death threats and has spoken out previously about the discrimination women face in Afghanistan -- as saying male officials were "coercing" female players. Afghanistan has made strides to promote female football. Four years ago, it launched its first all-women's football league that ran in parallel with the men's. In 2017 the female teams were sidelined by a lack of funding.

FIFA bans Afghan football chief pending sex abuse probe

Football's world governing body FIFA is looking into claims of sexual and physical abuse on the Afghanistan national women's team, it confirmed in a statement Saturday.

The allegations against officials including the Afghanistan Football Federation's president Keramuddin Karim were reported in Britain's Guardian newspaper. The AFF has "vigorously" rejected claims.

"The serious subjects mentioned are being looked in to by FIFA," the global body said in a statement, adding that it has a "zero tolerance policy" on such violations.

Given the sensitivity of the allegations, particularly in deeply conservative, patriarchal Afghanistan, it said it was addressing the matter in a "do no harm" way and working with reputable entities to establish the facts.

The Guardian cited what it described as senior figures associated with the women's team who said the abuse had taken place in Afghanistan, including at AFF headquarters, and at a training camp in Jordan last February.

It quotes former captain Khalida Popal, who fled the country after receiving death threats and has spoken out previously about the discrimination women face in Afghanistan, as saying male officials were "coercing" female players.

"The story is not true," Sayed Alireza Aqazada, secretary general of the AFF, told reporters in Kabul Saturday, adding: "No sexual harassment has been committed against any girl football player."

"It is easy for us to cancel or eliminate the girls football team due to the presence of the Taliban and the mullahs, but we don't want to go backwards, we support the girls football team," he continued.&nbsp;

He also disputed the Guardian's claim that Danish sportswear company Hummel had withdrawn its sponsorship due to the allegations. Hummel has not responded to queries from AFP.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the AFF also said it had not been directly contacted by the accusers and been given no information to investigate the allegations.

Afghanistan has made strides to promote female football -- as well as the national side, four years ago it launched its first all-women's football league that ran in parallel with the men's.

In 2017 the female teams were sidelined by a lack of funding.

Football's world governing body FIFA is looking into claims of sexual and physical abuse on the Afghanistan national women's team, it confirmed in a statement Saturday.

Football's world governing body FIFA is looking into claims of sexual and physical abuse on the Afghanistan national women's team, it confirmed in a statement Saturday. The allegations against officials including the Afghanistan Football Federation's president Keramuddin Karim were reported in Britain's Guardian newspaper. The AFF has "vigorously" rejected claims. "The serious subjects mentioned are being looked in to by FIFA," the global body said in a statement, adding that it has a "zero tolerance policy" on such violations. Given the sensitivity of the allegations, particularly in deeply conservative, patriarchal Afghanistan, it said it was addressing the matter in a "do no harm" way and working with reputable entities to establish the facts. The Guardian cited what it described as senior figures associated with the women's team who said the abuse had taken place in Afghanistan, including at AFF headquarters, and at a training camp in Jordan last February. It quotes former captain Khalida Popal, who fled the country after receiving death threats and has spoken out previously about the discrimination women face in Afghanistan, as saying male officials were "coercing" female players. "The story is not true," Sayed Alireza Aqazada, secretary general of the AFF, told reporters in Kabul Saturday, adding: "No sexual harassment has been committed against any girl football player." "It is easy for us to cancel or eliminate the girls football team due to the presence of the Taliban and the mullahs, but we don't want to go backwards, we support the girls football team," he continued. He also disputed the Guardian's claim that Danish sportswear company Hummel had withdrawn its sponsorship due to the allegations. Hummel has not responded to queries from AFP. In a statement on its Facebook page, the AFF also said it had not been directly contacted by the accusers and been given no information to investigate the allegations. Afghanistan has made strides to promote female football -- as well as the national side, four years ago it launched its first all-women's football league that ran in parallel with the men's. In 2017 the female teams were sidelined by a lack of funding.

FIFA investigates sex abuse claims on Afghanistan women's team

Nothing saddens me more than to see actors wrap their heads around their own illusory stardom and strut around with the attitude that one would expect a man of Mr Bachchan's stature to adopt.

But wait, Mr B doesn't behave like a star. He has never made me feel that he is a star. In a room full of people, he moves forward and hugs you like a long lost-friend. He makes you feel special without trying.

No, I've never had to worry about Mr Bachchan or Anil Kapoor, Dharmendra, Asha Parekh, Jackie Shroff, Waheeda Rehman, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan or Akshay Kumar changing.

It is the ones that are stars in their own heads who bother me. I've seen the change in in a lot of the younger actors who have come in through family connections. Some of them, like Harshvardhan Kapoor and Sooraj Pancholi, don't even have one success to their credit. And still, they behave like stars, empowered as they are by parents who have slogged hard to get their place in the hierarchy.

I made the mistake of telling these two newcomers that they were underwhelming in their debut film. They stopped all conversation with me, wrote me off as an enemy.

Stardom is a crippling notion. It stops all growth in the one who believes he is a star. The very talented Nawazuddin Siddiqui has lately become repetitive. The same dark roles being done over and over again. He needs to emerge from the blinding darkness of his characters and enjoy some light.

But who is going to tell him? And will he listen?

The biggest star of the our Hindi cinema Rajesh Khanna stopped listening to criticism. He only liked yes-men around. Anyone who pointed out the flaws in his fabulous success streak was an enemy.

It takes a lot of courage to face up to criticism when you are riding the crest of success. It takes even more courage to point out mistakes in a successful star.

The most useless exercises in self-congratulations are film premieres, where everyone makes the 'right noises'. No one says the truth at these premieres. Not as long as the star is in hearing distance. Once out of premiere, they bitch the films out.

I've heard only one filmmaker tell the truth to another even at the risk of causing great offence. It was Vidhu Vinod Chopra at the premiere of a Sanjay Bhansali film. Mr Chopra didn't like the film, and he didn't hesitate in telling his ex-protégé so.

How refreshingly removed is this from this other filmmaker whom I heard praising the same film on Sanjay Bhansli's face during intermission. Minutes later, he was sending bulk texts messages to the entire film industry. Only two words: "Shit Film."

The tragedy of our entertainment industry is that it has better actors off the camera than on it. And some of these brilliant off-camera actors are not even professional actors.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Stardom is a crippling notion. It stops all growth in the one who believes he is a star.

Nothing saddens me more than to see actors wrap their heads around their own illusory stardom and strut around with the attitude that one would expect a man of Mr Bachchan's stature to adopt. But wait, Mr B doesn't behave like a star. He has never made me feel that he is a star. In a room full of people, he moves forward and hugs you like a long lost-friend. He makes you feel special without trying. No, I've never had to worry about Mr Bachchan or Anil Kapoor, Dharmendra, Asha Parekh, Jackie Shroff, Waheeda Rehman, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan or Akshay Kumar changing. It is the ones that are stars in their own heads who bother me. I've seen the change in in a lot of the younger actors who have come in through family connections. Some of them, like Harshvardhan Kapoor and Sooraj Pancholi, don't even have one success to their credit. And still, they behave like stars, empowered as they are by parents who have slogged hard to get their place in the hierarchy. I made the mistake of telling these two newcomers that they were underwhelming in their debut film. They stopped all conversation with me, wrote me off as an enemy. Stardom is a crippling notion. It stops all growth in the one who believes he is a star. The very talented Nawazuddin Siddiqui has lately become repetitive. The same dark roles being done over and over again. He needs to emerge from the blinding darkness of his characters and enjoy some light. But who is going to tell him? And will he listen? The biggest star of the our Hindi cinema Rajesh Khanna stopped listening to criticism. He only liked yes-men around. Anyone who pointed out the flaws in his fabulous success streak was an enemy. It takes a lot of courage to face up to criticism when you are riding the crest of success. It takes even more courage to point out mistakes in a successful star. The most useless exercises in self-congratulations are film premieres, where everyone makes the 'right noises'. No one says the truth at these premieres. Not as long as the star is in hearing distance. Once out of premiere, they bitch the films out. I've heard only one filmmaker tell the truth to another even at the risk of causing great offence. It was Vidhu Vinod Chopra at the premiere of a Sanjay Bhansali film. Mr Chopra didn't like the film, and he didn't hesitate in telling his ex-protégé so. How refreshingly removed is this from this other filmmaker whom I heard praising the same film on Sanjay Bhansli's face during intermission. Minutes later, he was sending bulk texts messages to the entire film industry. Only two words: "Shit Film." The tragedy of our entertainment industry is that it has better actors off the camera than on it. And some of these brilliant off-camera actors are not even professional actors. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Opinion: Delusion of stardom is Bollywood's unspoken tragedy

Asian&nbsp;Football&nbsp;Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa warned against a return to "turmoil and instability" on Wednesday as he launched his bid to retain his position at the helm of the continent's governing body.

Sheikh Salman, who is seeking a third term in office, was first elected AFC president in 2013 to complete the term of disgraced former president Mohammed bin Hammam.

Bin Hammam was banned for life by FIFA, the game's governing body, in 2011 and the AFC was led by interim president Zhang Jilong until Sheikh Salman's successful election.

The Bahraini was reelected to his post in 2015 and is seeking another term in office when the confederation's elections are held on April 6 next year.

"We all remember only too well the problems of the past, that period of turmoil and instability," he told the AFC Congress on Wednesday.

"No one wants to return to that image of the AFC and I'm determined we shall not. We also need to protect the AFC and the member associations from unwanted third-party interference.

"That will not only damage the game, but also drag the organisation and member associations down. My colleagues on the executive committee and I will defend AFC and our member associations."

Sheikh Salman's hopes of retaining his position were boosted when the Congress passed an amendment to rules governing the election process allowing candidates to be nominated by member associations other than their home federation.

Former Saudi Arabia&nbsp;Football&nbsp;Federation President Adel Ezzat publicly stated his intention to stand against Sheikh Salman last year. However, his hopes of building a power base suffered a blow on Tuesday when members of the South Asian&nbsp;Football&nbsp;Federation withdrew from the Saudi-created South West Asian&nbsp;Football&nbsp;Federation.

Sheikh Salman also pledged his support to the reelection campaign of Gianni Infantino, who defeated the Bahraini in the FIFA presidential election in 2015.

"We will be full supporting you to do your work at FIFA," he told Infantino.

"There is still a lot of work to do and you are the man to complete that task. You can count on us and you can count of Asia, Mr President."

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa warned against a return to "turmoil and instability" on Wednesday as he launched his bid to retain his position at the helm of the continent's governing body.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa warned against a return to "turmoil and instability" on Wednesday as he launched his bid to retain his position at the helm of the continent's governing body. Sheikh Salman, who is seeking a third term in office, was first elected AFC president in 2013 to complete the term of disgraced former president Mohammed bin Hammam. Bin Hammam was banned for life by FIFA, the game's governing body, in 2011 and the AFC was led by interim president Zhang Jilong until Sheikh Salman's successful election. The Bahraini was reelected to his post in 2015 and is seeking another term in office when the confederation's elections are held on April 6 next year. "We all remember only too well the problems of the past, that period of turmoil and instability," he told the AFC Congress on Wednesday. "No one wants to return to that image of the AFC and I'm determined we shall not. We also need to protect the AFC and the member associations from unwanted third-party interference. "That will not only damage the game, but also drag the organisation and member associations down. My colleagues on the executive committee and I will defend AFC and our member associations." Sheikh Salman's hopes of retaining his position were boosted when the Congress passed an amendment to rules governing the election process allowing candidates to be nominated by member associations other than their home federation. Former Saudi Arabia Football Federation President Adel Ezzat publicly stated his intention to stand against Sheikh Salman last year. However, his hopes of building a power base suffered a blow on Tuesday when members of the South Asian Football Federation withdrew from the Saudi-created South West Asian Football Federation. Sheikh Salman also pledged his support to the reelection campaign of Gianni Infantino, who defeated the Bahraini in the FIFA presidential election in 2015. "We will be full supporting you to do your work at FIFA," he told Infantino. "There is still a lot of work to do and you are the man to complete that task. You can count on us and you can count of Asia, Mr President."

AFC must avoid return to 'turmoil and instability': Sheikh Salman

FIFA will raise the prize money for the Women's World Cup from $15 million to $30 million starting with next year's edition in France, president Gianni Infantino announced on Friday, though critics immediately said the increase was not enough.

Following a FIFA council meeting in Rwanda, the Swiss-Italian also said that $20 million would be made available for pre-tournament preparations, meaning that $50 million in total would be allocated across the 24 participating nations.

The prize money is double the amount awarded in the 2015 World Cup in Canada and for the first time clubs will be rewarded for their players taking part in the tournament, as is the case in the men's edition.

"It's a very important message for women's football. It will certainly boost this World Cup even more," Infantino told a news conference.

However, global footballers' union FIFpro said the changes were not enough to redress the inequality between men's and women's football worldwide.

"FIFPro notes the willingness of FIFA to increase prize money for the Women's World Cup and make structural improvements to support women’s football. However, despite these changes football remains even further from the goal of equality for all World Cup players regardless of gender," a FIFpro statement said.

"In reality, the changes actually signify an increase in the gap between men’s and women’s prize money. This regressive trend appears to contravene FIFA’s statutory commitment to gender equality.

"We strongly support our members, women's national team players in multiple countries, who have written to FIFA in recent days expressing their dismay about the distribution of prize money."

Players' unions in Australia, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand had written to world soccer's governing body to protest that even with women's prize money being doubled, the rewards in the men's game still dwarf the new amounts.

The total prize money for this year's men's World Cup in Russia was $400m, with champions France receiving $38m.

The letter from Australia's PFA argued: "For the group stage alone, Socceroos players have shared $2.4 million for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, while the Matildas will only share $0.225 million, less than 10 percent.

"If the Matildas are to become World Champions, they will only receive 50 percent of what the Socceroos received for qualifying for Russia."

US&nbsp;women, the world's most successful squad and winners of three of the seven Women's World Cups, also called for an increase in prize money.

"The USWNT Players Association is thankful for the women and men who tirelessly work on a daily basis to advance women’s football within institutions like FIFA and US&nbsp;Soccer, as well as within fellow unions like FIFPro and its members," it said in a statement.

"The common objective of all these institutions - both management and labour - is ultimately to grow the game. Substantial investment is required to overcome generations of inequality and discrimination in the women's game, to make football the world’s preeminent sport for women and girls.

"We are committed to ... have continuous dialogue around how FIFA and US&nbsp;Soccer can fulfil their respective statutory obligations of gender equality, including the prize money for the 2019 World Cup, which is an area we feel immediate and impactful investment can be made.”

Infantino said that FIFA was committed to consistently increasing investment and cited the launch of a new strategy for women's football earlier this month which included plans to strengthen the game in all 211 member associations.

"Clearly... we want to invest more and earmark more for women's football and not only for the best 24 teams in the world who play the World Cup, for which we have increased significantly the allocations and prize monies, but we have a duty to do so all over the world," he said.

"Also in these regulations there are specific requirements for all associations in the world that in order to receive the necessary grants they have to organise women's competitions, otherwise they don't receive these grants."

FIFA will raise the prize money for the Women's World Cup from $15 million to $30 million starting with next year's edition in France, president Gianni Infantino announced on Friday, though critics immediately said the increase was not enough.

FIFA will raise the prize money for the Women's World Cup from $15 million to $30 million starting with next year's edition in France, president Gianni Infantino announced on Friday, though critics immediately said the increase was not enough. Following a FIFA council meeting in Rwanda, the Swiss-Italian also said that $20 million would be made available for pre-tournament preparations, meaning that $50 million in total would be allocated across the 24 participating nations. The prize money is double the amount awarded in the 2015 World Cup in Canada and for the first time clubs will be rewarded for their players taking part in the tournament, as is the case in the men's edition. "It's a very important message for women's football. It will certainly boost this World Cup even more," Infantino told a news conference. However, global footballers' union FIFpro said the changes were not enough to redress the inequality between men's and women's football worldwide. "FIFPro notes the willingness of FIFA to increase prize money for the Women's World Cup and make structural improvements to support women’s football. However, despite these changes football remains even further from the goal of equality for all World Cup players regardless of gender," a FIFpro statement said. "In reality, the changes actually signify an increase in the gap between men’s and women’s prize money. This regressive trend appears to contravene FIFA’s statutory commitment to gender equality. "We strongly support our members, women's national team players in multiple countries, who have written to FIFA in recent days expressing their dismay about the distribution of prize money." Players' unions in Australia, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand had written to world soccer's governing body to protest that even with women's prize money being doubled, the rewards in the men's game still dwarf the new amounts. The total prize money for this year's men's World Cup in Russia was $400m, with champions France receiving $38m. The letter from Australia's PFA argued: "For the group stage alone, Socceroos players have shared $2.4 million for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, while the Matildas will only share $0.225 million, less than 10 percent. "If the Matildas are to become World Champions, they will only receive 50 percent of what the Socceroos received for qualifying for Russia." US women, the world's most successful squad and winners of three of the seven Women's World Cups, also called for an increase in prize money. "The USWNT Players Association is thankful for the women and men who tirelessly work on a daily basis to advance women’s football within institutions like FIFA and US Soccer, as well as within fellow unions like FIFPro and its members," it said in a statement. "The common objective of all these institutions - both management and labour - is ultimately to grow the game. Substantial investment is required to overcome generations of inequality and discrimination in the women's game, to make football the world’s preeminent sport for women and girls. "We are committed to ... have continuous dialogue around how FIFA and US Soccer can fulfil their respective statutory obligations of gender equality, including the prize money for the 2019 World Cup, which is an area we feel immediate and impactful investment can be made.” Infantino said that FIFA was committed to consistently increasing investment and cited the launch of a new strategy for women's football earlier this month which included plans to strengthen the game in all 211 member associations. "Clearly... we want to invest more and earmark more for women's football and not only for the best 24 teams in the world who play the World Cup, for which we have increased significantly the allocations and prize monies, but we have a duty to do so all over the world," he said. "Also in these regulations there are specific requirements for all associations in the world that in order to receive the necessary grants they have to organise women's competitions, otherwise they don't receive these grants."

FIFA approves prize money increase for 2019 Women's World Cup

FIFA have set up a task force to examine president Gianni Infantino's plans for a new Club World Cup and Global Nations League, avoiding a damaging split with UEFA over the controversial proposals.

Infantino told a news conference that the task force would present its findings at a council meeting in Miami on March 14.

“On the topic that heated some of the media, we have taken a decision to create a task force at least," said Infantino, who had intended to put his plans to a vote on Friday.

"We have taken a decision to establish a task force to bolster the consultation process, the prospects of a revamped FIFA Club World Cup and worldwide Nations League, to discuss and make concrete proposals,” Infantino said.

Infantino's plans had been opposed by the World Leagues Forum and the European Leagues, representing the top club competitions internationally, who had urged the FIFA chief to step back from a quick vote.

European governing body UEFA had also been vocal in their criticism of the plans after details emerged in May, raising the prospect of a split in the global game.

Infantino said the task force would "work on details of these competitions which are of high interest in many parts of the world where some agree, others disagree".

"There are different points of views, different opinions. It’s perfectly normal,” Infantino said, adding that he welcomed proposals and ideas for the tournaments.

Infantino's plans for the Club World Cup have included holding the tournament every four years with 24 teams and also an idea for an annual competition.

The Nations League format began under UEFA's auspices in Europe in September while CONCACAF, in North and Central America and the Caribbean, has also begun a Nations League tournament.

Infantino's idea is for a 'Final Eight' tournament bringing together the winners of various continental Nations League competitions.

"Two confederations already have Nations League, for which rights are already sold, in particular when it comes to Europe until 2022. But others don‘t," said the FIFA president.

"But there are certainly ways and possibilities to look into seeing what can be done maybe already in other parts... or maybe the whole world after 2022. We are open to every idea and every proposal.”

FIFA have set up a task force to examine president Gianni Infantino's plans for a new Club World Cup and Global Nations League, avoiding a damaging split with UEFA over the controversial proposals.

FIFA have set up a task force to examine president Gianni Infantino's plans for a new Club World Cup and Global Nations League, avoiding a damaging split with UEFA over the controversial proposals. Infantino told a news conference that the task force would present its findings at a council meeting in Miami on March 14. “On the topic that heated some of the media, we have taken a decision to create a task force at least," said Infantino, who had intended to put his plans to a vote on Friday. "We have taken a decision to establish a task force to bolster the consultation process, the prospects of a revamped FIFA Club World Cup and worldwide Nations League, to discuss and make concrete proposals,” Infantino said. Infantino's plans had been opposed by the World Leagues Forum and the European Leagues, representing the top club competitions internationally, who had urged the FIFA chief to step back from a quick vote. European governing body UEFA had also been vocal in their criticism of the plans after details emerged in May, raising the prospect of a split in the global game. Infantino said the task force would "work on details of these competitions which are of high interest in many parts of the world where some agree, others disagree". "There are different points of views, different opinions. It’s perfectly normal,” Infantino said, adding that he welcomed proposals and ideas for the tournaments. Infantino's plans for the Club World Cup have included holding the tournament every four years with 24 teams and also an idea for an annual competition. The Nations League format began under UEFA's auspices in Europe in September while CONCACAF, in North and Central America and the Caribbean, has also begun a Nations League tournament. Infantino's idea is for a 'Final Eight' tournament bringing together the winners of various continental Nations League competitions. "Two confederations already have Nations League, for which rights are already sold, in particular when it comes to Europe until 2022. But others don‘t," said the FIFA president. "But there are certainly ways and possibilities to look into seeing what can be done maybe already in other parts... or maybe the whole world after 2022. We are open to every idea and every proposal.”

FIFA set up task force over new tournament plans

Belgium surpassed France to acquire the top spot in FIFA's world rankings released on Thursday.&nbsp;

Belgium and France had been tied at the top last month and while both sides won one game and drew another in October, the Belgians, with 1,733 points, moved ahead by a single point under the formula for calculating the rankings.

Belgium defeated Switzerland in the Nations League and drew with the Netherlands in a friendly.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, world champions France beat Germany in the Nations League and were held by Iceland in a friendly.

Brazil, one of only two non-European sides in the top 10 along with Uruguay, remain third, followed by Croatia and England.

Gibraltar, who only became FIFA members in 2016, rose eight places to their best ranking of 190th, thanks to their Nations League wins in Armenia and at home Liechtenstein.

Belgium surpassed France to acquire the top spot in FIFA's world rankings released on Thursday. Belgium and France had been tied at the top last month and while both sides won one game and drew another in October, the Belgians, with 1,733 points, moved ahead by a single point under the formula for calculating the rankings.

Belgium surpassed France to acquire the top spot in FIFA's world rankings released on Thursday. Belgium and France had been tied at the top last month and while both sides won one game and drew another in October, the Belgians, with 1,733 points, moved ahead by a single point under the formula for calculating the rankings. Belgium defeated Switzerland in the Nations League and drew with the Netherlands in a friendly. Meanwhile, world champions France beat Germany in the Nations League and were held by Iceland in a friendly. Brazil, one of only two non-European sides in the top 10 along with Uruguay, remain third, followed by Croatia and England. Gibraltar, who only became FIFA members in 2016, rose eight places to their best ranking of 190th, thanks to their Nations League wins in Armenia and at home Liechtenstein.

FIFA world rankings: Belgium becomes new no. 1

The 2018 World Cup added more than $14 billion to the Russian economy, more than one percent of the country's gross domestic product, tournament organisers said in Doha on Tuesday.

The figure was revealed in a report on the economic, social and environmental impact of the tournament by Alexey Sorokin, the CEO of Russia's World Cup organising committee.

"The figure the report comes up with is quite surprising," Sorokin told a football conference in Qatar, which is the host of the next World Cup in 2022.

It calculated that the impact of the World Cup on Russian GDP between 2013 and 2018 was 952 billion roubles ($14.5 billion, 12.5 billion euros).

This was the equivalent of 1.1 per cent of GDP.

The report, prepared by Russian World Cup organisers, also said that the tournament created up to 315,000 jobs per year in Russia and would still have an impact on the economy over the next five years.

Despite warnings prior to the tournament over hooliganism and the political situation involving Russia and Western countries, the 2018 World Cup was considered a success.

It is not clear if the figures were subjected to any independent scrutiny.

The 2018 World Cup added more than $14 billion to the Russian economy, more than one percent of the country's gross domestic product, tournament organisers said in Doha on Tuesday.

The 2018 World Cup added more than $14 billion to the Russian economy, more than one percent of the country's gross domestic product, tournament organisers said in Doha on Tuesday. The figure was revealed in a report on the economic, social and environmental impact of the tournament by Alexey Sorokin, the CEO of Russia's World Cup organising committee. "The figure the report comes up with is quite surprising," Sorokin told a football conference in Qatar, which is the host of the next World Cup in 2022. It calculated that the impact of the World Cup on Russian GDP between 2013 and 2018 was 952 billion roubles ($14.5 billion, 12.5 billion euros). This was the equivalent of 1.1 per cent of GDP. The report, prepared by Russian World Cup organisers, also said that the tournament created up to 315,000 jobs per year in Russia and would still have an impact on the economy over the next five years. Despite warnings prior to the tournament over hooliganism and the political situation involving Russia and Western countries, the 2018 World Cup was considered a success. It is not clear if the figures were subjected to any independent scrutiny.

FIFA World Cup 2018 added $14 billion to Russian economy, say organisers

All you need to know about FIFA World Cup 2018

FIFA World Cup 2018, the biggest sporting event on earth, has already begun. The 21st edition of FIFA World Cup is scheduled from June 14 to July 15. The mega event, hosted by Russia, will be keenly followed by thousands of fans around the world. Here is the complete list of fixtures in IST time, venues, participating countries and squad list. Here is the complete fixture (IST time) June 14 08:30 PM | Russia vs Saudi Arabia 8:30 PM Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow Denis Cheryshev strikes twice as Russia thrash Saudi Arabia in opener June 15 05:30 PM | Egypt vs Uruguay | Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg Defender Jose Gimenez's late header helps Uruguay to beat Egypt 08:30 PM | Morocco vs Iran | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Iran stun Morocco with stoppage-time own goal 11:30 PM | Portugal vs Spain | Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi Ronaldo scores hat-trick as Portugal draw with Spain in 6-goal thriller June 16 03:30 PM | France vs Australia | Kazan Arena, Kazan France beat Australia as technology plays its part 06:30 PM | Argentina vs Iceland | Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow Messi misses penalty as two-times Champion Argentina held by debutant Iceland 09:30 PM | Peru vs Denmark | Mordovia Arena, Saransk Poulsen's winner for Denmark ruins Peru's World Cup return June 17 12:30 AM | Croatia vs Nigeria | Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad Croatia cruise to 2-0 win over Nigeria 05:30 PM | Costa Rica vs Serbia | Cosmos Arena, Samara Captain Kolarov strikes as Serbia beat Costa Rica 08:30 PM | Germany vs Mexico | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow Lozano shines as Mexico beat holders Germany 11:30 PM | Brazil vs Switzerland | Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don Brazil held to 1-1 draw by Switzerland June 18 05:30 PM | Sweden vs South Korea | Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod VAR-aided penalty gives Sweden 1-0 win over South Korea 08:30 PM | Belgium vs Panama | Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi Lukaku strikes twice as Belgium beat Panama 11:30 PM | Tunisia vs England | Volgograd Arena, Volgograd 'Hurri-Kane' saves England from Tunisian threat June 19 05:30 PM | Colombia vs Japan | Mordovia Arena, Saransk Yuya Osako scores winner as Japan beat 10-man Colombia 08:30 PM | Poland vs Senegal | Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow Poland's blooper help Senegal to claim victory 11:30 PM | Russia vs Egypt | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Russia on brink of knockout stage after win over Egypt June 20 05:30 PM | Portugal vs Morocco | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow Cristiano Ronaldo scores winner as Portugal eliminate Morocco 08:30 PM | Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia | Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don Uruguay defeat Saudi Arabia to reach last 16 11:30 PM | Iran vs Spain | Kazan Arena, Kazan Diego Costa shines as Spain beat stubborn Iran June 21 05:30 PM | Denmark vs Australia | Cosmos Arena, Samara Captain Jedinak makes Australia's point against Denmark 08:30 PM | France vs Peru | Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg 11:30 PM | Argentina vs Croatia | Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod Lionel Messi's side on the brink of premature exit as Croatia beat Argentina June 22 05:30 PM | Brazil vs Costa Rica | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Neymar in tears as Brazil registers first win, Costa Rica crash out 08:30 PM | Nigeria vs Iceland | Volgograd Arena, Volgograd Nigeria bounce back with win against Iceland 11:30 PM | Serbia vs Switzerland | Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad Serbia must take hard road after painful loss to Switzerland June 23 05:30 PM | Belgium vs Tunisia | Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow Hazard, Lukaku net braces as Belgium rout Tunisia 08:30 PM | South Korea vs Mexico | Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don Mexico continue winning run against South Korea 11:30 PM | Germany vs Sweden | Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi Kroos’ stunning late winner against Sweden keeps Germany alive June 24 05:30 PM | England vs Panama | Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod Harry Kane hits hat-trick as England beat Panama to reach last 16 08:30 PM | Japan vs Senegal | Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg Senegal, Japan play out 2-2 thriller 11:30 PM | Poland vs Colombia | Kazan Arena, Kazan Falcao, Cuadrado and Mina star as Colombia defeat Poland June 25 07:30 PM | Uruguay vs Russia | Cosmos Arena, Samara Uruguay beat already qualified Russia to reach knockout stage 07:30 PM | Saudi Arabia vs Egypt | Volgograd Arena, Volgograd Salah scores but Egypt lose to Saudi Arabia 11:30 PM | Iran vs Portugal | Mordovia Arena, Saransk Portugal held by Iran after Ronaldo misses penalty 11:30 PM | Spain vs Morocco | Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad Spain enter last 16 as Iago Aspas scores last-gasp goal June 26 07:30 PM | Denmark vs France | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow France, Denmark in Round of 16 after 1st goalless draw 07:30 PM | Australia vs Peru | Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi Peru defeat Australia but both teams crash out 11:30 PM | Nigeria vs Argentina | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Ivan Perisic scores winner to end Iceland's World Cup dream 11:30 PM | Iceland vs Croatia | Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don Argentina beat Nigeria to cruise to knockout stages June 27 07:30 PM | South Korea vs Germany | Kazan Arena, Kazan Defending champions Germany lose to South Korea, crash out of World Cup 07:30 PM | Mexico vs Sweden | Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg Sweden beat Mexico 3-0 but both through to last 16 11:30 PM | Serbia vs Brazil | Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow Brazil outclass Serbia to set up Mexico clash 11:30 PM | Switzerland vs Costa Rica | Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod Draw lets Switzerland advance, Costa Rica leave on high note June 28 07:30 PM | Japan vs Poland | Volgograd Arena, Volgograd Japan reach last 16 despite loss to Poland 07:30 PM | Senegal vs Colombia | Cosmos Arena, Samar Colombia through as Senegal suffers yellow peril 11:30 PM | England vs Belgium | Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad Januzaj gives Belgium 1-0 win over England and top spot 11:30 PM | Panama vs Tunisia | Mordovia Arena, Saransk Tunisia beat Panama to end campaign on a high Round of 16 June 30 07:30 PM | France vs Argentina | Kazan Arena, Kazan 'Messy' Argentina succumb to Mbappe's brace, crash out of tournament 11:30 PM | Uruguay vs Portugal | Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi Ronaldo's Portugal knocked out of tournament by Uruguay July 1 07:30 PM | Spain vs Russia | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow Russia beat Spain on penalties to reach quarter-finals 11:30 PM | Croatia vs Denmark | Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod Croatia beat Denmark in penalty shoot out July 2 07:30 PM | Brazil vs Mexico | Cosmos Arena, Samara Neymar shines as Brazil advance to quarter-finals 11:30 PM | Belgium vs Japan | Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don Belgium snatch 3-2 win over Japan to set up Brazil clash July 3 07:30 PM | Sweden vs Switzerland | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Sweden enter quarter-finals after defeating Switzerland 11:30 PM | Colombia vs England | Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow England beat Colombia on penalties to reach quarter-finals Quarter-finals July 6 07:30 PM | Uruguay vs France | Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod France beat Uruguay, become first country to reach semi-finals 11:30 PM | Brazil vs Belgium | Kazan Arena, Kazan Belgium enter semi-final for the 2nd time after 1986 July 7 07:30 PM | Sweden vs England | Cosmos Arena, Samara England beat Sweden 2-0 to reach World Cup semis 11:30 PM | Russia vs Croatia | Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi Croatia crush Russia's 2018 FIFA World Cup dream, enter semi-finals Semi-finals July 10 11:30 PM | France vs Belgium | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Samuel Umtiti's header sends France into final July 11 11:30 PM | Croatia vs England | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow Croatia create history, enter first World Cup final after defeating England in semis Third place July 14 07:30 PM | England vs Belgium | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Belgium beat England to secure third place FINAL July 15 08:30 PM | Croatia vs France | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow Les Bleus seal second World Cup triumph with 4-2 win over spirited Croatia × Champions France Coach: Didier Deschamps Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Benoît Costil Defenders: Raphaël Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Patrice Evra, Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna, Benjamin Pavard, Adil Rami, Lucas Digne Mid-fielders: Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet, N'Golo Kanté, Blaise Matuidi, Mathieu Valbuena, Nabil Fekir Forwards: Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappé, Alexandre Lacazette, Alexandre LacazetteBafétimbi Gomis

FIFA 2018 World Cup | Schedule, venue, timings, participating countries, squad list, results

Well, that's all from the first match of FIFA World Cup.

Thanks for joining us!

<hr />
Final Whistle

Russia have won the first match of the 21st edition of FIFA World Cup 2018 by defeating Saudi Arabia 3-0 at Luznicki stadium, Moscow on Thursday. Mid-fielder Yury Gazinsky scored the first goal of the tournament in the first half of the tournament. The lead was further extended by Denis Cheryshev. He came as a substituted in the 43rd minute of the game scored the goal to gave a 2-0 advantage, he then struck against and became the second&nbsp;player after Oleg Salenko, in the history of World Cup to score more than once for Russia.

One goal after another

GOAL

RUSSIA 5-0 SAUDI ARABIA

A foul helped Russia in the injury time to seal the victory with a score of 5-0.

After a beautiful assit Golovin culred a fine strike from the free-kick. Golovin lifted the ball and the landed inside the post after confusing the goalkeeper.

<hr />
Super goal!!!&nbsp;Denis Cheryshev strikes again

The host Russia have&nbsp;started the tournament on a high note. What else one wants in the first match of the World Cup campaign.

GOAL

RUSSIA 4-0 SAUDI ARABIA

Amazing goal by&nbsp;Denis Cheryshev in the extra time. The way Russians have played tonight, it shows that they are aiming for the golden trophy.

<hr />
10:10 PM IST

There isn't much time left for Saudi Arabia team. They need to work on the&nbsp;passing accuracy as they have suffered a lot of bloopers in the match and a fragile defence is also a reason for their 0-3 deficit.

<hr />
10:05 PM IST

Artem Dzyuba enters in style

GOAL

RUSSIA 3-0 SAUDI ARABIA

Striker Artem Dzyuba scored the third goal for Russia has sealed the victory.

A mesmerizing showcase of team effort when&nbsp;Golovin promoted the goal from the right side and Dzyuba, making no mistakes, stunned the Saudi goalkeeper to net the ball.

<hr />
10:00 PM IST

Change for Russia

IN: Artem Dzyuba

OUT: Fyodor Smolov

<hr />
09:55 PM IST

64th minute

Another substitution for Russia

IN: Daler Kuzyayev

OUT: Aleksandr Samedov

Change for Saudi Arabia

IN: Fahad Al-Muwallad

OUT: Abdullah Otayf

<hr />
Prediction is here, but we are not&nbsp;Cat Achilles

WION users have given their verdict for the first match of FIFA World Cup 2018.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FifaWorldCup2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FifaWorldCup2018</a> Kick-off tomorrow! Who are you supporting?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RUSvsKSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RUSvsKSA</a>
— WION (@WIONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews/status/1006882008541229056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<hr />
HALF-TIME

Russia have taken the advantage by scoring&nbsp;two goals in the first half of the opener match. The first half was entirely dominated by Russians as mid-fielder Yury Gazinsky and&nbsp;Denis Cheryshev scored to give a 2-0 lead. Gazinsky became the first player to score and Denis Cheryshev became the first substitute to score a goal in the 21st edition of football world cup. The second half will be crucial for the Saudi Arabia team.

Stay tuned for the further updates.

<hr />
09:13 PM IST

GOAL

RUSSIA 2-0 SAUDI ARABIA

Russia have extended the lead further by scoring the second goal in the concluding minutes of the first half.

Denis Cheryshev who was substituted in the 43rd minute of the game scored the goal to gave a 2-0 advantage to the team. 

<hr />
08:42 PM IST

GOAL

RUSSIA 1-0 SAUDI ARABIA

Russia took&nbsp;the advantage by scoring a goal in the initial minutes of the tournament.

Mid-fielder Yury Gazinsky scored the first goal of the tournament.

<hr />
08:35 PM IST

Both the teams are ready to lock horns in the first match of the tournament.

<hr />
08:30 PM IST

Confirmed squad:

Russia (4-2-3-1)

Igor Akinfeev (capt); Mario Fernandes, Ilya Kupetov, Sergey Ignashevich, Yury Zhirkov; Yury Gazinsky, Roman Zobnin; Alan Dzagoev, Aleksandr Golovin, Alexander Samedov; Fedor Smolov

Saudi Arabia (4-5-1)

Abdullah Al-Muaiouf; Osama Hawsawi (capt), Omar Hawsawi, Mohammed Al-Burayk, Yasser Al-Shahrani; Salman Al-Faraj, Yahia Al-Shehri, Abdullah Otayf, Taiseer Al-Jassam, Salem Al-Dawsari; Mohammed Al-Sahlawi

<hr />
Match 1: Russia vs Saudi Arabia 

<hr />
<hr />
That's it from the opening ceremony you stay tuned to get the quick updates of the first match which is between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

08:25 PM IST

FIFA president Gianni Infantino welcomed the fans.

<hr />
08:20 PM IST

Putin says, "Wellcome to Russia"

After a pulsating performance by legend Robbie Williams, it's Russia's President&nbsp;Vladimir Putin shared his words ahead of the biggest sporting tournament.

<hr />
08:10 PM IST

"I sit and wait 
Does an angel contemplate my fate 
And do they know 
The places where we go 
When we're grey and old 
'Cause I have been told 
That salvation lets their wings unfold 
So when I'm lying in my bed 
Thoughts running through my head 
And I feel the love is dead 
I'm loving angels instead"

The beautiful lyrics of "Angels" song which is sung by English singer Robbie Williams is echoing in the stadium. He sang another very popular song "Rock DJ"

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Robbie Williams performs during the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCup</a> opening ceremony <a href="https://t.co/Kw5MZ85aw3">pic.twitter.com/Kw5MZ85aw3</a>
— Elliot Wagland (@elliotwagland) <a href="https://twitter.com/elliotwagland/status/1007271678689374208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Worldcuprussia2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Worldcuprussia2018</a> opening ceremony is on with Robbie Williams <a href="https://t.co/c9AeBkJao8">pic.twitter.com/c9AeBkJao8</a>
— GossipBoyz.com (@GossipBoyz) <a href="https://twitter.com/GossipBoyz/status/1007272601650126849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<hr />
08:00 PM IST

It begins!

Robbie Williams has entered the stadium with mike in his hand. This is historic!!!

<hr />
07:56 PM IST

Amid&nbsp;all the buzz!

Russia's players including defender Fedor Koudryashov (C) warm up prior to the first Group A match.

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<hr />
07:51 PM IST

The trophy is here!

Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas and Russian model Natalia Vodianova stand next to the World Cup trophy during the opening ceremony.

32 nations, one trophy one dream!!!

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<hr />
07:40 PM IST

The opening ceremony is set to start&nbsp;Robbie Williams, Will Smith and Brazilian soccer legend, Ronaldinho will take part.

<hr />
07:35 PM IST

All eyes are on the host country Russia as they will play their first match on day one of the tournament&nbsp;against Saudi Arabia.

Watch the preview of Russia vs Saudi Arabia

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<hr />
07:25 PM IST

Watch: The preparations are going on

The opening ceremony will take place at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow and in the same stadium, the finale will take place on July 15.&nbsp;Luzhniki Stadium is the main stadium for the World Cup 2018. It was originally built to host the first nationwide summer Spartakiad in 1956. It also hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics. It has a capacity of 80,000.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/all-you-need-to-know-about-stadiums-hosting-fifa-world-cup-2018-matches-142851#photo-142845">All you need to know about stadiums hosting FIFA World Cup 2018 matches</a>

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Preperations for the opening ceremony starting. <a href="https://t.co/JbLDjMR4lw">pic.twitter.com/JbLDjMR4lw</a>
— Mootaz Chehade (@MHChehade) <a href="https://twitter.com/MHChehade/status/1007257320580177920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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In position for the opening ceremony of the <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FIFAWorldCup</a> and Russia v Saudi Arabia on <a href="https://twitter.com/5liveSport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@5liveSport</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/markchapman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@markchapman</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/jjenas8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jjenas8</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Russia2018WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Russia2018WorldCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/RWfDO0BauE">pic.twitter.com/RWfDO0BauE</a>
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) <a href="https://twitter.com/alanshearer/status/1007256809130942464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<hr />
07:08 PM IST

Who will perform tonight?

It is confirmed that Robbie Williams will be performing tonight at the opening ceremony. Also, Will Smith alongside artists Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi have released anthem song for the 21st edition of football world cup.&nbsp;

So it is expected that American singer, Will Smith will perform today. One more song was released, the song "Colours" which is written by an American singer-songwriter Jason Derulo and the song is serving the purpose of anthem for FIFA WC 2018.

Let's wait and watch who all will perform!

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Very excited to be returning to Russia to perform at the opening of the <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FIFAWorldCup</a> - tune in early on Thursday for an unforgettable show! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/skwCwt21SM">pic.twitter.com/skwCwt21SM</a>
— Robbie Williams (@robbiewilliams) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbiewilliams/status/1006053779370921984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<hr />
06:50 PM&nbsp;IST

The fans have started gathering around the&nbsp;Luzhniki Stadium ahead of the opening ceremony.

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? | استمرار توافد الجماهير.. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%83_%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%B6%D8%B1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#معاك_يالأخضر</a> ???<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCup2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCup2018</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Green_falcons?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Green_falcons</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RUSKSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RUSKSA</a> <a href="https://t.co/B3bjNgGp9N">pic.twitter.com/B3bjNgGp9N</a>
— المنتخب السعودي (@SaudiNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/SaudiNT/status/1007247172218302465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<hr />
06:30 PM&nbsp;IST 

The wait is finally over!

It's June 14 and the four-year wait is finally over. The 21st edition of FIFA World Cup has started. The event will begin with a glitzy opening ceremony followed by the first match of the tournament which is between the host Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium. Thirty-two countries from different confederations have qualified for the tournament and will go for the kill to clinch the most decorated trophy in the sporting world, the golden hand-and-ball. The event has attracted tourists from all over the world to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars playing the world cup match.

All eyes are on the host country Russia as they will play the first match on day one of the tournament. Amidst several controversies and adversities, the most awaited tournament is finally underway.

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Hello! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Zabivaka?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Zabivaka</a> <a href="https://t.co/mBR7GtMbXD">pic.twitter.com/mBR7GtMbXD</a>
— FIFA World Cup ? (@FIFAWorldCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/1006131965051985920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Know the mascot

This year's official mascot is a wolf named Zabivaka which means "the one who scores" in Russian. Zabivaka is charming, confident and social and has always dreamt of becoming a football star.

32 nations 1 dream

Five-time winners Brazil are there, as are defending champions Germany, plus Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Iceland, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and Uruguay set to claim the title of world champions.

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Yury Gazinsky and Denis Cheryshev scored to give a 2-0 lead to Russia against Saudi Arabia in the opener match of football World Cup 2018

Well, that's all from the first match of FIFA World Cup. Thanks for joining us! Final Whistle Russia have won the first match of the 21st edition of FIFA World Cup 2018 by defeating Saudi Arabia 3-0 at Luznicki stadium, Moscow on Thursday. Mid-fielder Yury Gazinsky scored the first goal of the tournament in the first half of the tournament. The lead was further extended by Denis Cheryshev. He came as a substituted in the 43rd minute of the game scored the goal to gave a 2-0 advantage, he then struck against and became the second player after Oleg Salenko, in the history of World Cup to score more than once for Russia. One goal after another GOAL RUSSIA 5-0 SAUDI ARABIA A foul helped Russia in the injury time to seal the victory with a score of 5-0. After a beautiful assit Golovin culred a fine strike from the free-kick. Golovin lifted the ball and the landed inside the post after confusing the goalkeeper. Super goal!!! Denis Cheryshev strikes again The host Russia have started the tournament on a high note. What else one wants in the first match of the World Cup campaign. GOAL RUSSIA 4-0 SAUDI ARABIA Amazing goal by Denis Cheryshev in the extra time. The way Russians have played tonight, it shows that they are aiming for the golden trophy. 10:10 PM IST There isn't much time left for Saudi Arabia team. They need to work on the passing accuracy as they have suffered a lot of bloopers in the match and a fragile defence is also a reason for their 0-3 deficit. 10:05 PM IST Artem Dzyuba enters in style GOAL RUSSIA 3-0 SAUDI ARABIA Striker Artem Dzyuba scored the third goal for Russia has sealed the victory. A mesmerizing showcase of team effort when Golovin promoted the goal from the right side and Dzyuba, making no mistakes, stunned the Saudi goalkeeper to net the ball. 10:00 PM IST Change for Russia IN: Artem Dzyuba OUT: Fyodor Smolov 09:55 PM IST 64th minute Another substitution for Russia IN: Daler Kuzyayev OUT: Aleksandr Samedov Change for Saudi Arabia IN: Fahad Al-Muwallad OUT: Abdullah Otayf Prediction is here, but we are not Cat Achilles WION users have given their verdict for the first match of FIFA World Cup 2018. #FifaWorldCup2018 Kick-off tomorrow! Who are you supporting?#RUSvsKSA — WION (@WIONews) June 13, 2018 × HALF-TIME Russia have taken the advantage by scoring two goals in the first half of the opener match. The first half was entirely dominated by Russians as mid-fielder Yury Gazinsky and Denis Cheryshev scored to give a 2-0 lead. Gazinsky became the first player to score and Denis Cheryshev became the first substitute to score a goal in the 21st edition of football world cup. The second half will be crucial for the Saudi Arabia team. Stay tuned for the further updates. 09:13 PM IST GOAL RUSSIA 2-0 SAUDI ARABIA Russia have extended the lead further by scoring the second goal in the concluding minutes of the first half. Denis Cheryshev who was substituted in the 43rd minute of the game scored the goal to gave a 2-0 advantage to the team. 08:42 PM IST GOAL RUSSIA 1-0 SAUDI ARABIA Russia took the advantage by scoring a goal in the initial minutes of the tournament. Mid-fielder Yury Gazinsky scored the first goal of the tournament. 08:35 PM IST Both the teams are ready to lock horns in the first match of the tournament. 08:30 PM IST Confirmed squad: Russia (4-2-3-1) Igor Akinfeev (capt); Mario Fernandes, Ilya Kupetov, Sergey Ignashevich, Yury Zhirkov; Yury Gazinsky, Roman Zobnin; Alan Dzagoev, Aleksandr Golovin, Alexander Samedov; Fedor Smolov Saudi Arabia (4-5-1) Abdullah Al-Muaiouf; Osama Hawsawi (capt), Omar Hawsawi, Mohammed Al-Burayk, Yasser Al-Shahrani; Salman Al-Faraj, Yahia Al-Shehri, Abdullah Otayf, Taiseer Al-Jassam, Salem Al-Dawsari; Mohammed Al-Sahlawi Match 1: Russia vs Saudi Arabia That's it from the opening ceremony you stay tuned to get the quick updates of the first match which is between Russia and Saudi Arabia. 08:25 PM IST FIFA president Gianni Infantino welcomed the fans. 08:20 PM IST Putin says, "Wellcome to Russia" After a pulsating performance by legend Robbie Williams, it's Russia's President Vladimir Putin shared his words ahead of the biggest sporting tournament. 08:10 PM IST "I sit and wait Does an angel contemplate my fate And do they know The places where we go When we're grey and old 'Cause I have been told That salvation lets their wings unfold So when I'm lying in my bed Thoughts running through my head And I feel the love is dead I'm loving angels instead" The beautiful lyrics of "Angels" song which is sung by English singer Robbie Williams is echoing in the stadium. He sang another very popular song "Rock DJ" Robbie Williams performs during the #WorldCup opening ceremony pic.twitter.com/Kw5MZ85aw3 — Elliot Wagland (@elliotwagland) June 14, 2018 × #Worldcuprussia2018 opening ceremony is on with Robbie Williams pic.twitter.com/c9AeBkJao8 — GossipBoyz.com (@GossipBoyz) June 14, 2018 × 08:00 PM IST It begins! Robbie Williams has entered the stadium with mike in his hand. This is historic!!! 07:56 PM IST Amid all the buzz! Russia's players including defender Fedor Koudryashov (C) warm up prior to the first Group A match. 07:51 PM IST The trophy is here! Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas and Russian model Natalia Vodianova stand next to the World Cup trophy during the opening ceremony. 32 nations, one trophy one dream!!! 07:40 PM IST The opening ceremony is set to start Robbie Williams, Will Smith and Brazilian soccer legend, Ronaldinho will take part. 07:35 PM IST All eyes are on the host country Russia as they will play their first match on day one of the tournament against Saudi Arabia. Watch the preview of Russia vs Saudi Arabia × 07:25 PM IST Watch: The preparations are going on The opening ceremony will take place at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow and in the same stadium, the finale will take place on July 15. Luzhniki Stadium is the main stadium for the World Cup 2018. It was originally built to host the first nationwide summer Spartakiad in 1956. It also hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics. It has a capacity of 80,000. All you need to know about stadiums hosting FIFA World Cup 2018 matches Preperations for the opening ceremony starting. pic.twitter.com/JbLDjMR4lw — Mootaz Chehade (@MHChehade) June 14, 2018 × In position for the opening ceremony of the @FIFAWorldCup and Russia v Saudi Arabia on @5liveSport with @markchapman and @jjenas8 #Russia2018WorldCup pic.twitter.com/RWfDO0BauE — Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) June 14, 2018 × 07:08 PM IST Who will perform tonight? It is confirmed that Robbie Williams will be performing tonight at the opening ceremony. Also, Will Smith alongside artists Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi have released anthem song for the 21st edition of football world cup. So it is expected that American singer, Will Smith will perform today. One more song was released, the song "Colours" which is written by an American singer-songwriter Jason Derulo and the song is serving the purpose of anthem for FIFA WC 2018. Let's wait and watch who all will perform! Very excited to be returning to Russia to perform at the opening of the @FIFAWorldCup - tune in early on Thursday for an unforgettable show! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/skwCwt21SM — Robbie Williams (@robbiewilliams) June 11, 2018 × 06:50 PM IST The fans have started gathering around the Luzhniki Stadium ahead of the opening ceremony. ? | استمرار توافد الجماهير.. #معاك_يالأخضر ???#WorldCup2018#Green_falcons#RUSKSA pic.twitter.com/B3bjNgGp9N — المنتخب السعودي (@SaudiNT) June 14, 2018 × 06:30 PM IST The wait is finally over! It's June 14 and the four-year wait is finally over. The 21st edition of FIFA World Cup has started. The event will begin with a glitzy opening ceremony followed by the first match of the tournament which is between the host Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium. Thirty-two countries from different confederations have qualified for the tournament and will go for the kill to clinch the most decorated trophy in the sporting world, the golden hand-and-ball. The event has attracted tourists from all over the world to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars playing the world cup match. All eyes are on the host country Russia as they will play the first match on day one of the tournament. Amidst several controversies and adversities, the most awaited tournament is finally underway. Hello! #Zabivaka pic.twitter.com/mBR7GtMbXD — FIFA World Cup ? (@FIFAWorldCup) June 11, 2018 × Know the mascot This year's official mascot is a wolf named Zabivaka which means "the one who scores" in Russian. Zabivaka is charming, confident and social and has always dreamt of becoming a football star. 32 nations 1 dream Five-time winners Brazil are there, as are defending champions Germany, plus Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Iceland, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and Uruguay set to claim the title of world champions.

FIFA World Cup 2018: Russia defeat Saudi Arabia | As it happened

Tenors Placido Domingo and Juan Diego Florez, among other opera stars, on Wednesday, gave their musical tribute to the World Cup in a grandiose gala held at nightfall on the magic stage of Moscow's Red Square one day before the iconic sports event gets underway. 
 
With Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance, several thousand people filled the stands set up on the huge square to enjoy a concert in which soprano Anna Netrebko, one of the greatest voices in Russia, also participated. 
 
"This is our musical tribute to the World Cup," famous pianist and World Cup ambassador Denis Matsuev said in introducing the event, going on to play Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1" accompanied by the Mariinski Theater Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Valery Gergiev. 
 
Both he and the other host at the gala, Russian model and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova, emphasized how at the inauguration of the Italy World Cup in 1990, with the legendary performance of the three tenors - Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and Domingo - "thousands of soccer fans who had never been to the opera became fans of the classic&nbspmusic." 
 
Domingo, who was presented as a "legend," first sang - as a baritone - the duo of Felipe and Rodrigo from the opera "Don Carlos," by Giuseppe Verdi accompanied by another opera great, Ildar Abdrazakov, a bass. 
 
Peru's Florez, meanwhile, received resounding applause for his aria as Tonio from Gaetano Donizetti's "The Daughter of the Regiment." 
 
The other well-known performers at the gala were Yusif Eyvazov, Aida Garifullina and Albina Shagimuratova. 
 
Domingo will travel on Thursday to Sochi to attend the Spanish team's first match against Portugal the next day. 
 
Before Wednesday's concert, he recalled that he had also attended the 2010 South Africa World Cup, at which he hefted the Cup aloft after Spain won it, saying that he was confident La Roja would do the same this time around.

Tenors Placido Domingo and Juan Diego Florez, among other opera stars gave their musical tribute to the World Cup

Tenors Placido Domingo and Juan Diego Florez, among other opera stars, on Wednesday, gave their musical tribute to the World Cup in a grandiose gala held at nightfall on the magic stage of Moscow's Red Square one day before the iconic sports event gets underway. With Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance, several thousand people filled the stands set up on the huge square to enjoy a concert in which soprano Anna Netrebko, one of the greatest voices in Russia, also participated. "This is our musical tribute to the World Cup," famous pianist and World Cup ambassador Denis Matsuev said in introducing the event, going on to play Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1" accompanied by the Mariinski Theater Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Valery Gergiev. Both he and the other host at the gala, Russian model and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova, emphasized how at the inauguration of the Italy World Cup in 1990, with the legendary performance of the three tenors - Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and Domingo - "thousands of soccer fans who had never been to the opera became fans of the classic&nbspmusic." Domingo, who was presented as a "legend," first sang - as a baritone - the duo of Felipe and Rodrigo from the opera "Don Carlos," by Giuseppe Verdi accompanied by another opera great, Ildar Abdrazakov, a bass. Peru's Florez, meanwhile, received resounding applause for his aria as Tonio from Gaetano Donizetti's "The Daughter of the Regiment." The other well-known performers at the gala were Yusif Eyvazov, Aida Garifullina and Albina Shagimuratova. Domingo will travel on Thursday to Sochi to attend the Spanish team's first match against Portugal the next day. Before Wednesday's concert, he recalled that he had also attended the 2010 South Africa World Cup, at which he hefted the Cup aloft after Spain won it, saying that he was confident La Roja would do the same this time around.

Domingo, Florez, other opera stars open World Cup in Red Square

Bare feet kicking a soccer ball down a potholed alley has become a common sight in Lyari,&nbspone&nbspof Pakistan's&nbsppoorest&nbspand crime-infested slum&nbspareas.

The Karachi neighbourhood has often made headlines over the last 15 years for spates of gang violence that have killed hundreds of people.

However, it is also widely known for its love for soccer and the game's star players.

With the&nbspWorld&nbspCup&nbsp-&nbspone&nbspof the biggest sporting events in the&nbspworld&nbsp- set to kick off in Russia later this week, the notorious hub of drug abuse is now awash with flags of Germany, Brazil, Spain and Argentina flying over ramshackle buildings.

Portraits of Brazilian striker Neymar and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo have been painted onto the walls of Lyari, known as Pakistan's mecca of football.

While sport in Pakistan usually means cricket and occasionally hockey, in Lyari the two most popular sports are football and boxing.

But gang wars, drugs and politics have damaged the sporting reputation of the neighbourhood that has produced some of Pakistan's more prominent soccer players, like Abdul Ghafoor, Musa Ghazi and Turab Ali.

Brazilian coach Romildo Pereira Sanches, who visited Karachi in 2017, was very impressed by the talent on display in Lyari, but Pakistan, which became Asia's worst soccer team when they plummeted to an all-time low of 201st in the FIFA rankings in 2015, has never qualified for theWorld&nbspCup&nbspfinals.

For the soccer fans of Lyari, they will have to choose another nation to root for when the tournament kicks off on Thursday (June 14).

Sport in Pakistan usually means cricket and occasionally hockey, in Lyari the two most popular sports are football and boxing

Bare feet kicking a soccer ball down a potholed alley has become a common sight in Lyari,&nbspone&nbspof Pakistan's&nbsppoorest&nbspand crime-infested slum&nbspareas. The Karachi neighbourhood has often made headlines over the last 15 years for spates of gang violence that have killed hundreds of people. However, it is also widely known for its love for soccer and the game's star players. With the&nbspWorld&nbspCup -&nbspone&nbspof the biggest sporting events in the&nbspworld - set to kick off in Russia later this week, the notorious hub of drug abuse is now awash with flags of Germany, Brazil, Spain and Argentina flying over ramshackle buildings. Portraits of Brazilian striker Neymar and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo have been painted onto the walls of Lyari, known as Pakistan's mecca of football. While sport in Pakistan usually means cricket and occasionally hockey, in Lyari the two most popular sports are football and boxing. But gang wars, drugs and politics have damaged the sporting reputation of the neighbourhood that has produced some of Pakistan's more prominent soccer players, like Abdul Ghafoor, Musa Ghazi and Turab Ali. Brazilian coach Romildo Pereira Sanches, who visited Karachi in 2017, was very impressed by the talent on display in Lyari, but Pakistan, which became Asia's worst soccer team when they plummeted to an all-time low of 201st in the FIFA rankings in 2015, has never qualified for theWorld&nbspCup&nbspfinals. For the soccer fans of Lyari, they will have to choose another nation to root for when the tournament kicks off on Thursday (June 14).

Football World Cup fever grips one of Pakistan’s poorest areas

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has backed England to shine at the World Cup due to the depth of experience in the squad.

"They have a good group of young but experienced players," Mourinho told British media.

"All of them play in the most competitive competition in the world, the Premier League, all of them playing for the best teams with experience of playing in the Champions League, which is a high level of football, obviously."

Mourinho said favourites Brazil and Germany had the most balanced squads and he did not expect the World Cup to see a shock winner in Russia.

"They have good squads but good squads don't always make good teams... (but) I don't think the underdogs will make a big surprise," he added. "In the end, the top teams in South America and Europe are the ones that will be fighting for the title."

Mourinho said favourites Brazil and Germany had the most balanced squads and he did not expect the World Cup to see a shock winner in Russia.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has backed England to shine at the World Cup due to the depth of experience in the squad. "They have a good group of young but experienced players," Mourinho told British media. "All of them play in the most competitive competition in the world, the Premier League, all of them playing for the best teams with experience of playing in the Champions League, which is a high level of football, obviously." Mourinho said favourites Brazil and Germany had the most balanced squads and he did not expect the World Cup to see a shock winner in Russia. "They have good squads but good squads don't always make good teams... (but) I don't think the underdogs will make a big surprise," he added. "In the end, the top teams in South America and Europe are the ones that will be fighting for the title."

FIFA World Cup: Jose Mourinho confident England will impress in Russia

The 21st edition of football World Cup has started and the&nbspfirst match will be played between host Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow. Want to know who will win the first match of the World Cup? The cat's out of the bag: it's Russia. At least that's the prediction of Achilles, a cat in St Petersburg reputed to have psychic powers.

Offered a choice of two bowls of food, the white feline hesitated before choosing one with the Russian flag, dismissing Saudi Arabia's chances of a win in Moscow on Thursday - a relief to the host nation, considered one of the weakest sides in the tournament despite the home advantage.

Achilles, who lives in St Petersburg's Hermitage museum, is deaf, something his minders say means he will not be easily distracted by onlookers while making his prediction. They did not say whether the sight of the national flags might sway his choice.

The World Cup will be played at venues across Russia until the final on July 15.

The prediction of Achilles, a cat in St Petersburg reputed to have psychic powers

The 21st edition of football World Cup has started and the&nbspfirst match will be played between host Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow. Want to know who will win the first match of the World Cup? The cat's out of the bag: it's Russia. At least that's the prediction of Achilles, a cat in St Petersburg reputed to have psychic powers. Offered a choice of two bowls of food, the white feline hesitated before choosing one with the Russian flag, dismissing Saudi Arabia's chances of a win in Moscow on Thursday - a relief to the host nation, considered one of the weakest sides in the tournament despite the home advantage. Achilles, who lives in St Petersburg's Hermitage museum, is deaf, something his minders say means he will not be easily distracted by onlookers while making his prediction. They did not say whether the sight of the national flags might sway his choice. The World Cup will be played at venues across Russia until the final on July 15.

Russia vs Saudi Arabia: Cat Achilles predicts winner of opener match

The 21st edition of FIFA World Cup has started with a glamorous opening ceremony. Russian President Vladimir Putin officially opened the World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium. A houseful 80,000-seat stadium enjoyed the thrilling performance of British singer Robbie Williams.

While addressing the crowd, Putin said, "I congratulate all of you at the start of the most important championship in the world."

"Love for football unites the entire world in one team, regardless of people's language or ideology," Putin said.

He said Russia had approached preparations for the most-watched event in the world "responsibly, doing everything to make sure fans can enjoy this celebration."

"This grand sporting event is taking place in Russia for the first time, and we are truly happy," he said.

"In our country, football is not just a popular sport, not just the most beautiful sport -- people here truly love it," the Russian leader said.

After Putin's speech, FIFA President also shared his warm wishes to all the fans.

The opening ceremony was followed by the first match of World Cup 2018 between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

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Thought that Saudi marking on the back post was suspect for the Russia goal, but not match-fixing suspect, until I saw MBS and Putin shaking hands in front of a smiling Infantino. I laughed. <a href="https://t.co/bBvJd2tBtr">pic.twitter.com/bBvJd2tBtr</a>
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&nbsp

Putin says, 'I congratulate all of you at the start of the most important championship in the world'

The 21st edition of FIFA World Cup has started with a glamorous opening ceremony. Russian President Vladimir Putin officially opened the World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium. A houseful 80,000-seat stadium enjoyed the thrilling performance of British singer Robbie Williams. While addressing the crowd, Putin said, "I congratulate all of you at the start of the most important championship in the world." "Love for football unites the entire world in one team, regardless of people's language or ideology," Putin said. He said Russia had approached preparations for the most-watched event in the world "responsibly, doing everything to make sure fans can enjoy this celebration." "This grand sporting event is taking place in Russia for the first time, and we are truly happy," he said. "In our country, football is not just a popular sport, not just the most beautiful sport -- people here truly love it," the Russian leader said. After Putin's speech, FIFA President also shared his warm wishes to all the fans. The opening ceremony was followed by the first match of World Cup 2018 between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Thought that Saudi marking on the back post was suspect for the Russia goal, but not match-fixing suspect, until I saw MBS and Putin shaking hands in front of a smiling Infantino. I laughed. pic.twitter.com/bBvJd2tBtr — Miriti Murungi (@NutmegRadio) June 14, 2018 ×

'Love for football unites entire world,' says Putin at World Cup opening ceremony

Russian women should avoid sex with non-white foreign men during the soccer World Cup because they could become single mothers to mixed race children, a senior lawmaker in Moscow said on Wednesday.

Even when Russian women marry foreigners the relationships often end badly, said Tamara Pletnyova, head of parliament's committee for families, women and children. Women are often stranded abroad or in Russia but unable to get their children back, she said.

She spoke in response to a question from a radio station about the so-called "Children of the Olympics" after the Moscow Games in 1980, a time when contraception was not widely available in the country.

The term was used during the Soviet era to describe non-white children conceived at international events after relationships between Russian women and men from Africa, Latin America, or Asia. Many of the children faced discrimination.

"We must give birth to our children. These (mixed race) kids suffer and have suffered since Soviet times," Pletnyova told Govorit Moskva radio station.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pics:-celebrating-88-years-of-fifa-world-cup-legacy-144108#photo-144095">88 years of the Football World Cup</a>

"It's one thing if they're of the same race but quite another if they're of a different race. I'm not a nationalist, but nevertheless I know that children suffer. They are abandoned, and that's it, they stay here with mum," she said.

Pletnyova said she that she would like Russian citizens to get married "out of love regardless of their ethnicity".

Another lawmaker said foreign fans could bring viruses to the World Cup and infect Russians.

In comments to Govorit Moskva radio station, Alexander Sherin also said Russians should be careful in their interactions with foreigners as they might try to circulate banned substances at the tournament.

Thousands of soccer fans from 31 countries are travelling to the World Cup in Russia that kicks off on Thursday with an opening ceremony in the capital followed by a match between the host team and Saudi Arabia.

FIFA and the Russia 2018 organising committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Pletynova's remarks.

Pletnyova is a lawmaker for the KPRF Communist Party, a nominally opposition party that backs President Vladimir Putin's Kremlin on most key issues.

Russians make up the majority ethnicity in the country but there are dozens of minority groups, as well as a large labour migrant force predominantly from Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

The comment was made by Tamara Pletnyova, head of parliament's committee for families, women and children. The Football World Cup kicks off in Russia today

Russian women should avoid sex with non-white foreign men during the soccer World Cup because they could become single mothers to mixed race children, a senior lawmaker in Moscow said on Wednesday. Even when Russian women marry foreigners the relationships often end badly, said Tamara Pletnyova, head of parliament's committee for families, women and children. Women are often stranded abroad or in Russia but unable to get their children back, she said. She spoke in response to a question from a radio station about the so-called "Children of the Olympics" after the Moscow Games in 1980, a time when contraception was not widely available in the country. The term was used during the Soviet era to describe non-white children conceived at international events after relationships between Russian women and men from Africa, Latin America, or Asia. Many of the children faced discrimination. "We must give birth to our children. These (mixed race) kids suffer and have suffered since Soviet times," Pletnyova told Govorit Moskva radio station. Also read: 88 years of the Football World Cup "It's one thing if they're of the same race but quite another if they're of a different race. I'm not a nationalist, but nevertheless I know that children suffer. They are abandoned, and that's it, they stay here with mum," she said. Pletnyova said she that she would like Russian citizens to get married "out of love regardless of their ethnicity". Another lawmaker said foreign fans could bring viruses to the World Cup and infect Russians. In comments to Govorit Moskva radio station, Alexander Sherin also said Russians should be careful in their interactions with foreigners as they might try to circulate banned substances at the tournament. Thousands of soccer fans from 31 countries are travelling to the World Cup in Russia that kicks off on Thursday with an opening ceremony in the capital followed by a match between the host team and Saudi Arabia. FIFA and the Russia 2018 organising committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Pletynova's remarks. Pletnyova is a lawmaker for the KPRF Communist Party, a nominally opposition party that backs President Vladimir Putin's Kremlin on most key issues. Russians make up the majority ethnicity in the country but there are dozens of minority groups, as well as a large labour migrant force predominantly from Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Russian women should avoid sex with foreign men during World Cup: Lawmaker

At last, the high mass of the global game will begin. After all the lobbying, politicking and campaigning by Morocco and the joint United 2026 bid for the World Cup in eight years time, the focus will turn to the football, with the opening game between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia.

At Red Square, fans from all over the world have begun gathering. Colourful and dancing Peruvians, who are celebrating their return to the finals for the first time in 36 years, singing Colombians, who have purchased more than 60,000 tickets, Argentines with Lionel Messi shirts and Socceroos fans, who have come all the way from Australia.

As the evening progressed on Tuesday they watched the fireworks to commemorate Russia day, the national day of the hosts. Security was reinforced, but all passed without incident as World Cup fever hit Moscow. On Wednesday, more fans flooded the historical centre of the Russian capital, taking in the beautiful architecture, the historical monuments and the Lenin's tomb.

Russian fans haven't warmed up to the tournament yet. The Zbornaya return to the world stage, but with fear of humiliation. At last year's Confederations Cup Russia were very underwhelming, crashing out in the first round in a modest group with Mexico, New Zealand and Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo and his team dismantled the hosts with ease.

The worry for Russia is that they have declined since then, playing high-profile friendlies, including Brazil and France. Russia remain very fragile at the back and have little firepower up front, in spite of Fedor Smolov, a talented striker, who hasn't found the net enough.

Still, against Saudi Arabia, they have a chance. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, was optimistic in general terms, speaking about the tournament as "a dream for Russia." He emphasised that Russia did everything to deliver a perfect world championship.

That depends, not just on how the outside world sees and experiences Russia, but also on how the tournament develops, with the football on display. Germany and Brazil are sky-high favourites to progress to the final, but there are other challenges who may disturb their dreams, such as, France and Spain.

Still, in the end, on July 15, the day of the final, the Peruvian and Colombian fans mat they be still celebrating, not in Red Square, but just as a memory and how well they did.

Russia have a chance against Saudi Arabia in the first match of FIFA World Cup 2018

At last, the high mass of the global game will begin. After all the lobbying, politicking and campaigning by Morocco and the joint United 2026 bid for the World Cup in eight years time, the focus will turn to the football, with the opening game between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia. At Red Square, fans from all over the world have begun gathering. Colourful and dancing Peruvians, who are celebrating their return to the finals for the first time in 36 years, singing Colombians, who have purchased more than 60,000 tickets, Argentines with Lionel Messi shirts and Socceroos fans, who have come all the way from Australia. As the evening progressed on Tuesday they watched the fireworks to commemorate Russia day, the national day of the hosts. Security was reinforced, but all passed without incident as World Cup fever hit Moscow. On Wednesday, more fans flooded the historical centre of the Russian capital, taking in the beautiful architecture, the historical monuments and the Lenin's tomb. Russian fans haven't warmed up to the tournament yet. The Zbornaya return to the world stage, but with fear of humiliation. At last year's Confederations Cup Russia were very underwhelming, crashing out in the first round in a modest group with Mexico, New Zealand and Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo and his team dismantled the hosts with ease. The worry for Russia is that they have declined since then, playing high-profile friendlies, including Brazil and France. Russia remain very fragile at the back and have little firepower up front, in spite of Fedor Smolov, a talented striker, who hasn't found the net enough. Still, against Saudi Arabia, they have a chance. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, was optimistic in general terms, speaking about the tournament as "a dream for Russia." He emphasised that Russia did everything to deliver a perfect world championship. That depends, not just on how the outside world sees and experiences Russia, but also on how the tournament develops, with the football on display. Germany and Brazil are sky-high favourites to progress to the final, but there are other challenges who may disturb their dreams, such as, France and Spain. Still, in the end, on July 15, the day of the final, the Peruvian and Colombian fans mat they be still celebrating, not in Red Square, but just as a memory and how well they did.

FIFA World Cup 2018: Russia eye winning start against Saudi Arabia

FIFA World Cup 2018 has begun with its first controversy hitting the tournament and creating turmoil.

Even before the teams took their position on the ground, coaches and football associations have levelled allegations against each other, with some even preferring to change their sides.&nbsp;

With less than 24 hours left for the carnival to start, Spanish national team has been plunged into crisis after its former coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked by the country's football association after reports emerged of him signing a three-year-contract with Real Madrid.&nbsp;

Left with no option, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) announced it had dismissed the 51-year-old because negotiations occurred without any information to the football association.&nbsp;

The termination was surely a first of its kind incident in FIFA World Cup's history, with the association describing it as an "obligation".&nbsp;

Hours later, another news surfaced that Spain sporting director Fernando Hierro replaced Lopetegui with immediate&nbsp;effect and will coach the team which is already in Russia for the tournament.

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Lopetegui became Spain's manager in 2016 following Vicente del Bosque's retirement and remained unbeaten through his reign. Under him, Spain won 14 of 20 games with Lopetegui in charge, drawing the remaining six.

The stats highlight two reasons behind his exit - either he made a foolish decision or it was a forced one.&nbsp;

Though Spain is not a team of World-Cup contenders but they surely a tough competitor.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The country will now be coached by a footballer with 89 caps for Spain, but will he be able to turn the tables in his team's favour, is yet to be seen.&nbsp;

Coaches and football associations have levelled allegations against each other

FIFA World Cup 2018 has begun with its first controversy hitting the tournament and creating turmoil. Even before the teams took their position on the ground, coaches and football associations have levelled allegations against each other, with some even preferring to change their sides. With less than 24 hours left for the carnival to start, Spanish national team has been plunged into crisis after its former coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked by the country's football association after reports emerged of him signing a three-year-contract with Real Madrid. Left with no option, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) announced it had dismissed the 51-year-old because negotiations occurred without any information to the football association. The termination was surely a first of its kind incident in FIFA World Cup's history, with the association describing it as an "obligation". Hours later, another news surfaced that Spain sporting director Fernando Hierro replaced Lopetegui with immediate effect and will coach the team which is already in Russia for the tournament. × Lopetegui became Spain's manager in 2016 following Vicente del Bosque's retirement and remained unbeaten through his reign. Under him, Spain won 14 of 20 games with Lopetegui in charge, drawing the remaining six. The stats highlight two reasons behind his exit - either he made a foolish decision or it was a forced one. Though Spain is not a team of World-Cup contenders but they surely a tough competitor. The country will now be coached by a footballer with 89 caps for Spain, but will he be able to turn the tables in his team's favour, is yet to be seen.

Ahead of kick off, FIFA World Cup hit by first controversy

Six Saudi female teenagers slated to serve as their country's flag bearers at the World Cup's opening match in Moscow on Thursday will be replaced by Russians after their trip was cancelled due to "logistical circumstances", organisers said.

Named flag bearers as part of a programme run by Coca-Cola, the girls, aged 13 to 17, were supposed to lead the Saudi national team onto the pitch at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium ahead of their match against Russia.

But the organisers said they could no longer make it.

"Due to unforeseen logistical circumstances, the Saudi flag bearers' delegation will unfortunately no longer be able to attend the opening of the 2018 FIFA World Cup," Coca-Cola said in a statement to Reuters.

Omar Bennis, public affairs director at Coca-Cola Middle East, declined to disclose the nature of the logistical issues.

He said it was not related to their gender.

It is "a mix of everything", he said, adding that the company was working with Saudi sports authorities to try to have the girls attend the country's other matches.

"The chances are low, but we're still pushing," he said.

The young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose public appearances have dwindled recently, will attend the match.

Women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to attend soccer matches for the first time this year, as the deeply conservative Muslim country takes steps to ease some restrictions on them.

Saudi Arabia recently lifted a ban on women driving, although that has been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent.

One of the girls told Reuters that the delegation would not only be missing the first match but the entire World Cup, where Saudi Arabia is playing in Group A with Russia, Egypt and Uruguay. She did not give the reason for the cancellation, referring questions to Saudi sports authorities and Coca-Cola.

The World Cup has received special attention this year in the kingdom as its team will play for the first time since 2006.

Named flag bearers as part of a programme run by Coca-Cola, the girls, aged 13 to 17, were supposed to lead the Saudi national team onto the pitch at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium ahead of their match against Russia

Six Saudi female teenagers slated to serve as their country's flag bearers at the World Cup's opening match in Moscow on Thursday will be replaced by Russians after their trip was cancelled due to "logistical circumstances", organisers said. Named flag bearers as part of a programme run by Coca-Cola, the girls, aged 13 to 17, were supposed to lead the Saudi national team onto the pitch at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium ahead of their match against Russia. But the organisers said they could no longer make it. "Due to unforeseen logistical circumstances, the Saudi flag bearers' delegation will unfortunately no longer be able to attend the opening of the 2018 FIFA World Cup," Coca-Cola said in a statement to Reuters. Omar Bennis, public affairs director at Coca-Cola Middle East, declined to disclose the nature of the logistical issues. He said it was not related to their gender. It is "a mix of everything", he said, adding that the company was working with Saudi sports authorities to try to have the girls attend the country's other matches. "The chances are low, but we're still pushing," he said. The young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose public appearances have dwindled recently, will attend the match. Women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to attend soccer matches for the first time this year, as the deeply conservative Muslim country takes steps to ease some restrictions on them. Saudi Arabia recently lifted a ban on women driving, although that has been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent. One of the girls told Reuters that the delegation would not only be missing the first match but the entire World Cup, where Saudi Arabia is playing in Group A with Russia, Egypt and Uruguay. She did not give the reason for the cancellation, referring questions to Saudi sports authorities and Coca-Cola. The World Cup has received special attention this year in the kingdom as its team will play for the first time since 2006.

Female Saudi flag bearers to miss World Cup opener vs Russia

Sweden's former striker&nbsp;Zlatan&nbsp;Ibrahimovic said on Thursday that they should simply&nbsp;enjoy&nbsp;themselves at the World Cup because without him in the team there was no expectation.

"I think&nbsp;Sweden, they have less pressure when I'm not there, because when I'm there we're supposed to win everything," the 36-year-old said with customary candour.

"Just&nbsp;enjoy. No pressure, because I'm not there," the larger-than-life character told reporters.

The LA Galaxy forward, who played 116 times for&nbsp;Sweden over 15 years, was in Moscow to promote Visa cardless payment systems.

Sweden are in Group F with world champions Germany, Mexico and South Korea and open their account against the Koreans on Monday in Nizhny Novgorod.

Germany, though, will be the mountain to climb.

"Germany is the Deutsche-machine. You know they will do good, and they always do good," Ibrahimovic said.

"And I always say a good team doesn't have 11 players, they have 22 fantastic players. And with Germany, it's not like you have a star I think the team is the star, and that's why they're so strong."

Ibrahimovic also said he thought Brazil "will do something out of the limits", as they look to rebound from their nightmare 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals in their own country.

"Just enjoy. No pressure, because I'm not there," the larger-than-life character told reporters

Sweden's former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Thursday that they should simply enjoy themselves at the World Cup because without him in the team there was no expectation. "I think Sweden, they have less pressure when I'm not there, because when I'm there we're supposed to win everything," the 36-year-old said with customary candour. "Just enjoy. No pressure, because I'm not there," the larger-than-life character told reporters. The LA Galaxy forward, who played 116 times for Sweden over 15 years, was in Moscow to promote Visa cardless payment systems. Sweden are in Group F with world champions Germany, Mexico and South Korea and open their account against the Koreans on Monday in Nizhny Novgorod. Germany, though, will be the mountain to climb. "Germany is the Deutsche-machine. You know they will do good, and they always do good," Ibrahimovic said. "And I always say a good team doesn't have 11 players, they have 22 fantastic players. And with Germany, it's not like you have a star I think the team is the star, and that's why they're so strong." Ibrahimovic also said he thought Brazil "will do something out of the limits", as they look to rebound from their nightmare 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals in their own country.

FIFA World Cup: Just enjoy yourselves, Zlatan Ibrahimovic tells Swedes

Happy World Cup day!

The day has come for which we all were waiting, it's June 14 and the football World Cup will start from today. The event will start with a glitzy opening ceremony followed by the first match of the tournament which is between the host <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/fifa-world-cup-2018-russia-saudi-arabia-square-off-in-opener-144156">Russia and Saudi Arabia</a> at Luzhniki Stadium.

Thirty-two countries from different confederations have qualified for the tournament and will go for the kill to clinch the most decorated trophy in the sporting world, the golden hand-and-ball.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/fifa-2018-world-cup--schedule-venue-timings-participating-countries-squad-list-134023">FIFA 2018 World Cup | Schedule, venue, timings, participating countries, squad list</a>

A month-long carnival has attracted tourists from all over the world and the matches will be played in 12 beautiful stadiums of Russia and the finale will take place on July 15 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. All of the stadium venues are in European Russia to keep travel time manageable.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/all-you-need-to-know-about-stadiums-hosting-fifa-world-cup-2018-matches-142851">All you need to know about stadiums hosting FIFA World Cup 2018 matches</a>

All eyes are on the host country Russia as they will play the first match on day&nbspone of the tournament. Amidst several controversies and adversities, the most awaited tournament is finally underway.

Five-time winners Brazil are there, as are defending champions Germany, plus Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Iceland, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and Uruguay set to claim the title of world champions.

Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot, similarly, Russia also unveiled their mascot for the upcoming World Cup. The mascot designs represent a characteristic feature of the host country.

This year's official mascot is a wolf named Zabivaka which means "the one who scores" in Russian. Zabivaka is charming, confident and social and has always dreamt of becoming a football star.

<img alt="fifa 2018 Russia.jpg" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="430" src="http://images.wionews.com/iniline-images/sports/fifa%202018%20Russia.jpg" width="770" />

Thirty-two countries from different confederations have qualified for the tournament and will go for the kill to clinch the most decorated trophy in the sporting world

Happy World Cup day! The day has come for which we all were waiting, it's June 14 and the football World Cup will start from today. The event will start with a glitzy opening ceremony followed by the first match of the tournament which is between the host Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium. Thirty-two countries from different confederations have qualified for the tournament and will go for the kill to clinch the most decorated trophy in the sporting world, the golden hand-and-ball. FIFA 2018 World Cup | Schedule, venue, timings, participating countries, squad list A month-long carnival has attracted tourists from all over the world and the matches will be played in 12 beautiful stadiums of Russia and the finale will take place on July 15 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. All of the stadium venues are in European Russia to keep travel time manageable. All you need to know about stadiums hosting FIFA World Cup 2018 matches All eyes are on the host country Russia as they will play the first match on day&nbspone of the tournament. Amidst several controversies and adversities, the most awaited tournament is finally underway. Five-time winners Brazil are there, as are defending champions Germany, plus Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Iceland, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and Uruguay set to claim the title of world champions. Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot, similarly, Russia also unveiled their mascot for the upcoming World Cup. The mascot designs represent a characteristic feature of the host country. This year's official mascot is a wolf named Zabivaka which means "the one who scores" in Russian. Zabivaka is charming, confident and social and has always dreamt of becoming a football star.

FIFA World Cup 2018: 32 countries, 1 trophy and 1 dream

By:&nbspOluwatoyosi Owoeye*

We love "the beautiful game."

Exciting times are here again. The 2018 World Cup in Russia brings the best teams and players from around the globe to compete for the most famous trophy in the world. (And as was just announced, it's coming to Canada, the United States and Mexico in 2026.)

Do you play or know someone that plays soccer (or football, as it's known outside of North America), either recreationally or competitively? Or perhaps you just love to watch the beautiful game? For me, it is a "yes" to both questions, including a commitment to the science and medicine of soccer.

Engagement in soccer is always fun, whether as a player or as a spectator. However, it only stays fun for as long as it stays safe.

Exercising regularly is challenging for many people, either because of a lack of motivation or time. This means many people take up sports — a more enjoyable and sustainable way of getting the weekly physical activity recommended by many national guidelines and international health organizations.

The many health benefits of soccer

Soccer is a high-intensity contact sport involving endurance, running and frequent changes in direction. Participation in soccer has many benefits including socio-economic and health benefits.

Taking part in recreational soccer has been shown in a recent study to have multiple broad-spectrum health benefits, including improved blood pressure, resting heart rate, blood cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein) and fat mass.

Read more: &nbspHow to prevent injury from sport and exercise

Unfortunately, regular participation in soccer exposes individuals to the risk of injuries. Once an injury occurs, the likelihood of reoccurrence is high.

Furthermore, most injuries resulting in medical attention and loss of time have long-term health consequences — including post-traumatic osteoarthritis of the knee and ankle joints.

Chance of injuries are high

How often injuries and concussions occur in soccer varies, depending on sex, age, level and continent of participation.

Current evidence shows the incidence of injuries to be high among soccer players. Specifically, injury risk is higher in males than in females and in games than in practises. There are also more injuries during adult tournaments than during youth tournaments.

Conversely, more injuries happen during training in male elite youth than in male professional adults.

The incidence of concussion in youth soccer is low across all levels of soccer participation. A &nbsphigher concussion incidence has been consistently reported in females. Although they don't happen very often, the consequences of a concussion can be severe if not properly managed.

Common injuries in soccer include ankle, knee, hamstring and groin injuries. Certain factors have been identified to influence the risk of injuries in soccer, including poor balance, poor strength in the lower legs, improper landing technique, having a higher body mass index (BMI) and history of lower limb injury.

Most of these factors are modifiable and they present opportunities for injury prevention.

How are injuries prevented?

There are evidence-informed resources available online to help people stay active and safe while playing soccer.

Specific injury prevention strategies include risk pattern recognition, training/practice load optimization, strength/neuromuscular training programs such as the 11+ warm-up (available on YouTube), proper equipment use and timely concussion management.

Unfortunately, even with proper prevention, there's no guarantee a player won't be injured.

Accurate diagnosis and careful injury management protocol are the best ways to prevent an injury from reoccurring.

There is an ongoing effort to understand the best rehabilitation practices for specific injuries, including when someone with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury should return to play.

Are you ready?

There is also emerging evidence for new strategies to prevent long-term health consequences of soccer injuries — such as post-traumatic knee and ankle osteoarthritis years after a significant knee or ankle injury in youth sport.

The health benefits of participating in soccer are huge. The risks of injury are also high and the consequences are a big deal. Nonetheless, the health benefits of regular participation in soccer far outweigh the risks.

To stay active in this beautiful game and keep your health goals, you need to stay injury-free as much as possible. The challenge is to adopt and maintain these injury prevention strategies. There is ongoing research to understand implementation and behaviour change challenges among injury prevention end-users. This will hopefully drive better uptake and adherence to soccer injury prevention programs for the best public health impact possible.

Before you engage in your next soccer practice or game, be sure you have taken all possible injury prevention protocols, including avoiding a training load spike and doing a structured warm-up exercise.

(*Oluwatoyosi Owoeye is a Post-Doctoral Fellow, Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, University of Calgary.)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-catch-world-cup-fever-heres-how-to-prevent-injuries-98070">article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Engagement in soccer is always fun, whether as a player or as a spectator. However, it only stays fun for as long as it stays safe

By: Oluwatoyosi Owoeye* We love "the beautiful game." Exciting times are here again. The 2018 World Cup in Russia brings the best teams and players from around the globe to compete for the most famous trophy in the world. (And as was just announced, it's coming to Canada, the United States and Mexico in 2026.) Do you play or know someone that plays soccer (or football, as it's known outside of North America), either recreationally or competitively? Or perhaps you just love to watch the beautiful game? For me, it is a "yes" to both questions, including a commitment to the science and medicine of soccer. Engagement in soccer is always fun, whether as a player or as a spectator. However, it only stays fun for as long as it stays safe. Exercising regularly is challenging for many people, either because of a lack of motivation or time. This means many people take up sports — a more enjoyable and sustainable way of getting the weekly physical activity recommended by many national guidelines and international health organizations. The many health benefits of soccer Soccer is a high-intensity contact sport involving endurance, running and frequent changes in direction. Participation in soccer has many benefits including socio-economic and health benefits. Taking part in recreational soccer has been shown in a recent study to have multiple broad-spectrum health benefits, including improved blood pressure, resting heart rate, blood cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein) and fat mass. Read more: &nbspHow to prevent injury from sport and exercise Unfortunately, regular participation in soccer exposes individuals to the risk of injuries. Once an injury occurs, the likelihood of reoccurrence is high. Furthermore, most injuries resulting in medical attention and loss of time have long-term health consequences — including post-traumatic osteoarthritis of the knee and ankle joints. Chance of injuries are high How often injuries and concussions occur in soccer varies, depending on sex, age, level and continent of participation. Current evidence shows the incidence of injuries to be high among soccer players. Specifically, injury risk is higher in males than in females and in games than in practises. There are also more injuries during adult tournaments than during youth tournaments. Conversely, more injuries happen during training in male elite youth than in male professional adults. The incidence of concussion in youth soccer is low across all levels of soccer participation. A &nbsphigher concussion incidence has been consistently reported in females. Although they don't happen very often, the consequences of a concussion can be severe if not properly managed. Common injuries in soccer include ankle, knee, hamstring and groin injuries. Certain factors have been identified to influence the risk of injuries in soccer, including poor balance, poor strength in the lower legs, improper landing technique, having a higher body mass index (BMI) and history of lower limb injury. Most of these factors are modifiable and they present opportunities for injury prevention. How are injuries prevented? There are evidence-informed resources available online to help people stay active and safe while playing soccer. Specific injury prevention strategies include risk pattern recognition, training/practice load optimization, strength/neuromuscular training programs such as the 11+ warm-up (available on YouTube), proper equipment use and timely concussion management. Unfortunately, even with proper prevention, there's no guarantee a player won't be injured. Accurate diagnosis and careful injury management protocol are the best ways to prevent an injury from reoccurring. There is an ongoing effort to understand the best rehabilitation practices for specific injuries, including when someone with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury should return to play. Are you ready? There is also emerging evidence for new strategies to prevent long-term health consequences of soccer injuries — such as post-traumatic knee and ankle osteoarthritis years after a significant knee or ankle injury in youth sport. The health benefits of participating in soccer are huge. The risks of injury are also high and the consequences are a big deal. Nonetheless, the health benefits of regular participation in soccer far outweigh the risks. To stay active in this beautiful game and keep your health goals, you need to stay injury-free as much as possible. The challenge is to adopt and maintain these injury prevention strategies. There is ongoing research to understand implementation and behaviour change challenges among injury prevention end-users. This will hopefully drive better uptake and adherence to soccer injury prevention programs for the best public health impact possible. Before you engage in your next soccer practice or game, be sure you have taken all possible injury prevention protocols, including avoiding a training load spike and doing a structured warm-up exercise. (*Oluwatoyosi Owoeye is a Post-Doctoral Fellow, Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, University of Calgary.) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: If you catch World Cup fever, here’s how to prevent injuries

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