Qualifying games in Asia for the 2022 World Cup intensify this month with two war-affected nations unable to host home games, and with updated FIFA rules implemented to help protect players’ health and ensure match highlights are seen more widely.
Yemen and Afghanistan are to play their first “home” games in five-team qualifying groups in neutral countries for security reasons.
FIFA on Friday said that Yemen would host Saudi Arabia on Sept. 10 in Bahrain’s national stadium, and Afghanistan are to face Bangladesh in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe.
Syria has their first “home” game next month against the Maldives, and are also to host in a neutral country with the venue still to be confirmed by FIFA.
The 40-team first Asian group stage is to see regional powers Iran, Japan, South Korea and Australia kick off their bids to try to advance to Qatar.
Action from all games — which would include the first preliminary round in Africa from Wednesday, among about 800 matches played over two-and-a-half years — should be seen by more fans globally.
FIFA has updated its 2022 tournament rules to insist that broadcast rights holders give soccer’s world body “15 minutes of action footage per match.”
“FIFA shall use this footage free of charge for promotional purposes in the preliminary competition and in football worldwide,” the rule states.
Seeking to safeguard players’ health, World Cup rules now demand stricter medical checks, including for potential heart issues, before a team’s first qualifying game.
The medical assessments were previously only required before the 32-team finals tournament.
A concussion protocol for players sustaining head injuries is also specified in more detail.
Stricter checks on players’ nationality are now made before they can be named on a team sheet.
For the 2014 qualifiers, players could provide an identity card to prove who they were. For last year’s edition, passports were needed.
Tightening the demand further, FIFA now insists that players produce a “valid permanent international passport” before the game for official match delegates to inspect before being selected.
In Asia, the eight five-team groups in the upcoming qualifying round are to play through June next year.
Group winners and the four best runners-up advance to another group stage, played from September next year to October 2021. Those same 12 teams also qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup.
Four Asian teams are to qualify directly for the 32-team World Cup. A fifth nation can advance to Qatar in an intercontinental playoff round in March 2022.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Lewis Hamilton on Thursday said there was a “racial element” to International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Mohammed ben Sulayem’s recent comments regarding drivers swearing during Formula 1 races. In an interview with motorsport.com, Ben Sulayem said: “We have to differentiate between our sport — motorsport — and rap music” when referring to drivers having a responsibility to stop swearing on the radio. “We’re not rappers, you know,” Ben Sulayem said. Responding to those remarks ahead of tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix, seven-time champion Hamilton said: “With what he said, I don’t like how he has expressed it. Saying ‘rappers’ is very stereotypical.” “If you