MOSCOW: Playing football surrounded by brick walls and bureaucracy might not sound so unique for a group of Palestinian and Israeli youths forced to overcome barriers on a daily basis.
Yet for the past week, the likes of 16-year-old Janna Al-Khatib from Jericho and 16-year-old Daniella Povchar from Be’er Sheva have been revelling in their surroundings.
Here in Moscow, in the center of the city’s famous Red Square and flanked by the high-walls of the Kremlin and the stunning St. Basil’s Cathedral, a makeshift football pitch has been erected as part of the quadrennial FIFA Foundation Festival, formerly known as Football for Hope.
The week-long event brought together underprivileged young people from 51 non-governmental organizations from some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones — including Iraq, Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Pakistan — to learn about other cultures and, of course, play the “beautiful game.”
The Peres Center for Peace organized for two Israelis and two Palestinians to come to Russia.
“It was way more than we could have ever expected,” said Lior Shalom, the peace education programs manager at the Peres Center.
“It is so unique for us to have this attention. For them to build an actual pitch in the middle of Red Square and for people to come out and watch, all focused on football for good. It was a very proud moment to see it all come together.”
The tournament followed a concept called football3, which is not only divided into three periods, but also has no referees. Mixed-gender teams decide the rules before the games start and then reconvene at the final whistle to reflect on their behavior. Points are awarded not only for goals, but also fair play.
Al-Khatib, Povchar and 15-year-old Asad Abusalman from Jericho all reached the final, playing alongside other participants from Ireland, South Africa and the Philippines. While meeting people from all over the world will never be forgotten, the most important aspect was creating a lasting bond with each other, their neighbors, said Al-Khatib.
“Before coming here, whenever I searched for Moscow online, it would always be Red Square that would come up, so to play football there was unbelievable,” she said in Arabic.
“To share this experience together — boys and girls, Israelis and Palestinians — is super important. We want to project that image to the world; to show that we can live in peace.
“For me, everyone has been like a family to me this week and it was so important to see that even when someone knows where you are from and your background they still show you support and encouragement and cheer for you when you are playing. I have found everyone so warm.”
The sight of Palestinians and Israelis laughing and playing together, representing the two flags and speaking both Arabic and Hebrew, attracted curious looks from youths from other countries. Shalom, however, explained that such a reaction was expected among the eight-person delegation and only served to stress the potential for a positive impact.
“The situation in Palestine and Israel is a scary topic for kids from around the world who don’t know what it’s like there,” said Shalom, who has worked at the Peres Center since 2015. “So when they see us being one united team, it’s so simple and straightforward. We are together, we are united and we are proving that football can create a different reality.”
Tomer Shoham is 18 and from Srigim, Jerusalem. If the objective is, as Federico Addiechi, FIFA’s head of sustainability and diversity, said, “to drive positive change”, then Shoham is the perfect example. He said this week’s events have forced him to look at some of his beliefs and change his mindset.
“It’s changed me, 100 percent it has,” he said.
“I knew a lot about the situation and the Arab side of things, but I’d never spoken to a Palestinian, not as a friend. I love it. We are traveling here together and it’s difficult with the language, but you find a way to communicate and we have a lot more in common than we thought.”
Shoham added he hopes to keep in contact with his new friends and may even now to try to visit them.
“It is difficult to meet them, but not impossible,” he said.
“If they come to more events through the Peres Center, for example, or maybe I can visit Jericho. With the likes of WhatsApp and other social media it makes it easier too, so I really hope we keep in touch.”
Palestinian and Israeli children pitching for peace at the World Cup
Palestinian and Israeli children pitching for peace at the World Cup
India withdraws from Pakistan-hosted T20 Blind World Cup after failing to secure clearance— ESPNcricinfo
- Pakistan is scheduled to host T20 Blind Cricket World Cup from Nov. 22-Dec. 3
- Political tensions have limited cultural exchanges and sports contests between both sides
ISLAMABAD: The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) announced on Wednesday that its blind cricket team was withdrawing from the upcoming T20 Blind Cricket World Cup in Pakistan, citing its failure to secure clearance from New Delhi to travel to the neighboring country, sports website ESPNcricinfo reported.
The T20 Blind Cricket World Cup was scheduled to be held in Pakistan from Nov. 22 — Dec. 3. Political tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have restricted cultural exchanges and bilateral sports events between the two nations.
Both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
“While this is a significant setback for the team, CABI fully respects the government’s concerns and the decision for the same,” the board said in a statement, as per ESPNcricinfo. “The team had been training rigorously and was eager to compete. However, we prioritize the government’s guidance and remain steadfast in our commitment to the continued development of Blind Cricket in India.”
Durga Rao Tompaki, the captain of the Indian men’s cricket team for the blind, said the decision was “disheartening” for his team.
“However, we know that the next World Cup is just around the corner, and we remain committed to our training and preparation,” Tompaki said.
India’s decision takes place 100 days ahead of the start of the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is also set to be held in Pakistan in February/March next year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the ICC this month that India will not travel to Pakistan for the tournament.
The ICC informed the PCB following which Pakistan demanded an explanation. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it will not agree for the tournament to be shifted to another country and has insisted India travel to the country for the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid hosting model for the tournament. Several months later Pakistan traveled to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Political tensions between the countries have led to the India team avoiding travel to Pakistan since 2008 and the two have tended to only compete together in multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups. Pakistan also traveled to India in 2012 for a bilateral ODI series.
6 things we learned from the latest 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers
- We are bringing you instead of the usual five things we learned from a breathless eight hours or so of action across Asia, we are bringing you five
Tuesday saw a fitting end to this year’s 2026 World Cup qualification matches. It had everything — so much so, we are bringing you that instead of the usual five things we learned from a breathless eight hours or so of action across Asia, we are bringing you five.
No “new manager bounce” and no complaints for Saudi Arabia
Indonesia’s 2-0 win over the Green Falcons — their first — came as no big surprise, given the 1-1 draw in Jeddah back in September. But the fact this was a deserved victory for the hosts was worrying.
When Herve Renard was brought back last month, it was hoped he’d bring with him some of the old magic from the 2022 tournament qualifiers. But it there was a sign of it in last week’s 0-0 draw in Australia, there was none in Jakarta.
Indonesia hit the post in the opening minute and seemed more energetic, more determined and more prepared for the following 90 or so. There were queries about a few refereeing decisions, but that is not why Indonesia won. They were the better team.
No Al-Dawsari — no creativity, no goals
The defeat means there have been three goals scored in six games, two from the head of Hassan Kadesh in China. There have been none in the last four and little threat of any.
The injury to Salem Al-Dawsari, whose status as the country’s best player is reinforced in his absence, was felt deeply. There was nobody to get their foot on the ball, nobody able to run at the defense and nobody who could find that killer pass. There were far too many aimless crosses into the area.
Saudi Arabia perhaps underestimated Indonesia, who were much improved and had a clear game plan.
Luck still on the Saudi side
At this stage in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Saudi Arabia had 16 points. They currently have six. Last time, there was a sense they were on the march to Qatar. That’s not the case now. Such results four years ago would have meant that famous win against Argentina never happened.
But it is not over by a long shot. The bright spot is that with Japan running away with one of the top two automatic qualification places, no other team is managing to win much either.
Renard will have been relieved Australia did not taste victory in Bahrain to go three points clear in second; their 2-2 draw means the Socceroos have seven points and the rest — Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, China and Bahrain — are all on six.
The group could not be tighter and, while exciting for the neutral, Saudi Arabian fans will be expecting an improvement in 2025.
Bahrain in late drama again
In a dramatic encounter, Bahrain drew 2-2 with Australia. It is hard to say how the two teams will feel about the result but, for the third time in four home games, there was huge excitement late on. The Reds left it until deep into injury time to get a point against Indonesia in October, and had a late goal disallowed against China only to lose in added time.
This was even more exciting. When Kusini Yengi put Australia ahead in the opening minute, it looked as if the Socceroos would get revenge for their home defeat in September. But then came two goals in three second-half minutes from Mahdi Abduljabbar, putting Bahrain on the brink of a famous victory and into second place in the group. However, Yengi struck again, 95 minutes after his first. The spoils were shared and a tight group got tighter still.
Five-star UAE dash Qatar’s automatic dreams
Two teams with seven points apiece met in Abu Dhabi. Both expected a tight encounter but it proved anything but — the UAE thrashed Qatar, the Asian champions, 5-0. It was a stunning victory and a stunning performance from Fabio Lima, who scored all but one against a hapless Qatari defense.
The signs were there, with 12 goals conceded from the first five games, but there were huge gaps for the hosts to enjoy themselves just as they did with that 3-1 away win on the opening day.
With three away games to come for the UAE this was a must win, keeping them in the hunt for second, three points behind Uzbekistan who beat North Korea 1-0. Qatar are surely out of the running as they trail by six points with just four games remaining. If the 2022 World Cup hosts are going to qualify, they will have to do it the hard way.
Palestine frustrate the stars of Korea, Iraq moving smoothly
For the second time in two months, Palestine held the mighty South Korea to a draw. It was 0-0 in Seoul and 1-1 in Amman, and both results were a credit to their spirit, determination and skill.
Zaid Al Qunbar opened the scoring after 12 minutes, capitalizing on a mistake from Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae. Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min soon equalized, but that was that. This was not one-way traffic; Palestine, playing in front of a largely empty stadium, gave as good as they got and are just three points off fourth.
Iraq, meanwhile, picked up a 1-0 win in Oman to move two points clear of Jordan in third. It is the kind of quiet victory that takes teams to the World Cup. There is still work to do — but the same can be said of all but two or three teams out of the 18.
2025 will be unmissable.
Tatum stars as Celtics end Cavaliers unbeaten start with a 120-117 victory in NBA Cup
- Tatum admitted that ending Cleveland’s unbeaten record, which has left them sitting on top of the Eastern Conference, had motivated the Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 116-115
LOS ANGELES: Jayson Tatum scored 33 points as the Boston Celtics ended the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 15-game unbeaten start to the season with a hard-fought 120-117 victory in the NBA Cup on Tuesday.
The Celtics unleashed a barrage of 22 three-pointers to overwhelm Cleveland, who clawed their way back to within two points of the lead late in the game after trailing by 21 early in the second half.
But despite the Cleveland fightback, reigning NBA champions Boston held their nerve and kept the scoreboard ticking over to close out a deserved win.
Tatum’s 33 points included six three-pointers while the Boston star added 12 rebounds and seven assists in an all-round Celtics effort that saw six players finish in double figures.
Tatum said Boston’s championship pedigree had helped the Celtics over the line as Cleveland threatened late in the game.
“We’ve played a lot of basketball, we’ve played in the biggest games,” Tatum said. “NBA is a bunch of talented teams — guys are gonna make plays, they’re gonna make shots.
“I say it all the time — how you respond shows your growth and how special your team is.”
Tatum admitted that ending Cleveland’s unbeaten record, which has left them sitting on top of the Eastern Conference, had motivated the Celtics.
“They came in 15-0 feeling like they were the best team; we felt like we were the best team — it’s all competition. We were ready to play today,” Tatum said.
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said his team had been caught off-guard by Boston’s superior intensity.
“The they had playoff force and physicality — we had regular season force and physicality,” Atkinson said. “That’s why we were down by whatever we were down. Second half we turned it up, but it was kind of too late. We’re just going to have to put it in the bank and make adjustments.”
Boston were quickly into their stride, rattling in five early three-pointers to sprint into an 18-8 in the opening minutes of the first quarter.
Cleveland rallied to reduce the deficit to 26-20 at the end of the first quarter, but the Celtics kept up the pressure in the second.
Tatum drained a superb three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half to give Boston a commanding 65-48 lead at the break.
The Celtics stretched into a 21-point lead early in the second half, but the Cavaliers clicked into gear and came roaring back to close the gap to two points at 88-86.
Tatum though had the last word, nailing an imperious three-pointer to give Boston a five-point lead heading into the final quarter.
A nip-and-tuck final period saw Cleveland repeatedly close to two points but Boston pulled clear in the final minutes to seal victory.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland’s scoring with 35 points while Evan Mobley added 22 with 11 rebounds and six assists.
In other early games on Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 116-115 thanks to a 34-point display from Cameron Johnson.
Argentina beat Peru to close in on World Cup spot; Brazil and Uruguay draw
- Ecuador won 1-0 at Colombia with a goal by Enner Valencia in the seventh minute
- Bolivia and Paraguay drew 2-2 in a match between teams that could end up fighting for the seventh position in the region’s qualifying
BUENOS AIRES: Lautaro Martinez’s goal gave Argentina a 1-0 win over Peru on Tuesday in a South American qualifying match in Buenos Aires and left the hosts close to a spot in the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada.
Their main continental rivals Brazil drew 1-1 against Uruguay in Salvador, Brazil with two impressive goals in an otherwise lackluster match. Federico Valverde gave Uruguay the lead with a curled shot from the edge of the box, and Gerson netted his first for Brazil in similar fashion at the Arena Fonte Nova.
Argentina lead South American qualifying with 25 points from 12 matches, five points clear of their closest competitor, Uruguay. Ecuador and Colombia are next with 19 points each.
Brazil lag in fifth position with 18 points after several uninspiring performances, still hoping that striker Neymar will return from injury and fit in again. Paraguay, with 17 points, are in sixth place.
South American qualifying will give six direct berths in the next World Cup. Seventh-place Bolivia, with 13 points, are in the international playoff position. Venezuela (12), Chile (9), and Peru (7) are out of qualifying spots.
The next round of South American World Cup qualifying will be played in March.
Uninspiring Argentina
Martinez’s goal was his 32nd for the national team, which puts him level with the legendary Diego Maradona.
Until Martinez scored, Argentina’s best chance was in the 21st minute, when striker Julian Alvarez hit the Peruvian goalkeeper’s right post. Messi once again had a modest performance, as he did in his team’s 2-1 defeat at Paraguay on Thursday.
Messi crossed the ball in the penalty area in the 55th minute to give Martinez one of the few clear opportunities of the match. The striker moved his body with more grace than power to put the ball in the back of the next.
Despite the disappointing performance at home, Lionel Messi’s team will finish the year with few question marks beyond its performances in November.
“We won Copa America, we lead South American World Cup qualifying,” said goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. “We must be proud of ourselves.”
Jeers for Brazil
Brazil fans at home in Salvador jeered their team after the final whistle. In a match with few opportunities for either side, Uruguay seemed closer to winning for most of the second half.
Valverde opened the scoring in the 55th minute after Brazilian defenders failed three times to clear the ball from their penalty area. The Real Madrid midfielder hit the ball to the left corner to score. Gerson equalized in the 61st minute.
Striker Raphinha said he understood the frustration from his team’s fans, but disagreed with them.
“We played great. We did everything we could to leave here with a victory. We must have our heads high up, it will be very tough to beat us,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, Ecuador won 1-0 at Colombia with a goal by Enner Valencia in the seventh minute, in which he dribbled through three players before scoring. Ecuador lost defender Piero Hincapié to a red card in the 34th minute but held on for the win.
Bolivia and Paraguay drew 2-2 in a match between teams that could end up fighting for the seventh position in the region’s qualifying. Chile, one of the worst performing teams in the region this year, showed some fighting spirit and beat Venezuela 4-2.
'I have left a legacy': Nadal retires from tennis
- Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, enjoyed a glittering and historic career over the past 23 years
- Nadal was celebrated with a video montage on the many screens around the Martin Carpena arena in Malaga where over 10,000 fans saw his career come to a close
MALLORCA: Rafael Nadal said he has left both a sporting and personal legacy after retiring from professional tennis on Tuesday at the Davis Cup.
The 38-year-old was beaten in the opening singles rubber of the quarterfinals as Netherlands defeated Spain 2-1 to reach the final four.
Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, enjoyed a glittering and historic career over the past 23 years.
“I leave with the peace of mind that I have left a legacy, which I really feel is not just a sporting one but a personal one,” Nadal told fans in Malaga in a speech during a ceremony to honor his retirement.
“I understand that the love I have received, if it was just for what happened on the court, would not be the same.”
Nadal paid credit to many who have helped him along the way, including his uncle Toni Nadal, who coached him as a child and for a large part of his career.
“The titles, the numbers are there, so people probably know that, but the way that I would like to be remembered more is like a good person, from a small village in Mallorca,” continued Nadal.
“I had the luck that I had my uncle that was a tennis coach in my village when I was a very, very small kid, and a great family that supports me in every moment...
“I just want to be remembered as a good person, a kid that followed their dreams and achieved (even) more than what I had dreamed.”
Nadal was celebrated with a video montage on the many screens around the Martin Carpena arena in Malaga where over 10,000 fans saw his career come to a close.
Former rival Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and other tennis greats left messages in the video, alongside former Spanish football stars including Raul and Andres Iniesta, who retired from playing in October.
“I leave the world of professional tennis having encountered many good friends along the way,” said Nadal in his emotional speech.
The Spaniard said he hoped to be a “good ambassador” for tennis in the years to come and was not afraid to begin his retirement.
“I am calm because I have received an education to take on what is coming next,” he explained.
“I have a great family around me who help me with everything that I need every day.”
