GAZA: Trading jabs and punches, young Palestinian girls competed in a female boxing tournament on Friday in the Gaza Strip, where the sport is mostly popular with men.
Friday’s contest featured female boxers as young as seven years old, and was attended by dozens of spectators.
One boxer, Hala Ayoub, said she hoped the contest would show people that boxing is not only a man’s sport.
“My ambition is to become a famous boxer and to raise the flag of Palestine and fight in local and international contests,” said Ayoub, 15.
“It (boxing) taught me how to defend myself, and how to release bad energy,” she said.
The number of female boxers in Gaza has doubled in the past six months since an initial 18-member all-girl team was formed. It now has 45 athletes, according to captain Osama Ayob.
Ali Abdel-Shafi, deputy chairman of the Palestinian Boxing Federation, said some of the girls from Friday’s competition would be selected to join the Palestinians’ boxing team and take part in a competition in Kuwait in February.
“This is the first championship I’ve taken part in...There is tension because of the audience and the noise but I am excited as well,” said Malak Mesleh, 15.
Women make up half of the Gaza Strip’s two million people.
Citing security concerns with Gaza’s ruling group Hamas, Israel and Egypt have long maintained border restrictions.
Palestinian girls compete in a rare Gaza boxing contest
https://arab.news/jpsep
Palestinian girls compete in a rare Gaza boxing contest
- One boxer, Hala Ayoub, said she hoped the contest would show people that boxing is not only a man’s sport
- “My ambition is to become a famous boxer and to raise the flag of Palestine,” said Ayoub
Palmeiras ease past Al Ahly in Club World Cup
- The match was suspended in the 63rd minute because of a weather warning
- Victory took Palmeiras provisionally top on four points
EAST RUTHERFORD, USA: Palmeiras drew first blood in Club World Cup Group A with a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly on Thursday in New Jersey.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami face Porto later on in the group’s other clash after two goalless draws in the first round of fixtures.
The match was suspended in the 63rd minute because of a weather warning, with players and fans at the MetLife Stadium instructed to “take shelter” because of a nearby storm.
Palmeiras were leading by two goals at the time, with a Wessam Abou Ali own goal sending the Brazilians ahead in the 49th minute before Flaco Lopez doubled their lead on the Egyptians 10 minutes later.
Victory took Palmeiras provisionally top on four points, with the other three sides level on one point each.
It was the third match at the tournament affected by adverse weather at the tournament.
On Tuesday Mamelodi Sundowns game against Ulsan HD was suspended just before kick-off for just over an hour due to a weather alert.
Then on Wednesday RB Salzburg’ s match against Pachuca was suspended in the second half for 97 minutes because of a storm.
Palmeiras, led by talented youngster Estevao Willian, who is set to join Chelsea, played well but were held by Porto in their opening clash.
Al Ahly kept them at bay in a tight first half, in which English referee Anthony Taylor sent off Palmeiras midfielder Raphael Veiga for a foul on Ahmed Zizo, before overturning his decision following a VAR review.
Palestinian striker Abou Ali headed Anibal Moreno’s free-kick into his own net to hand Palmeiras the lead.
Lopez finished coolly for the Brazilians’ second after Mauricio played him through on goal.
After the suspension of around 45 minutes for the weather warning, Palmeiras played out the remainder of the match comfortably without risking their advantage.
South American sides have come into the tournament strongly, in good condition given they are in the middle of their domestic seasons, and have stayed unbeaten to this point.
Man City fined more than a million pounds for delayed kickoffs
- The club accepted and apologized for the rule breaches
- City are awaiting the verdict of 115 unrelated charges of alleged breaches of the FFP rules
MANCHESTER: Manchester City have been fined more than one million pounds by the Premier League for breaching the rules around delayed kickoffs and restarts nine times last season, England’s top-flight league said on Thursday.
The fine comes a year after City paid 2 million pounds ($2.56 million) to the league for breaching the same game-delay rules.
The club accepted and apologized for the rule breaches, and confirmed they have reminded their players and staff of their responsibilities in complying with the rules.
“Rules relating to kick-offs and re-starts help ensure the organization of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs,” the league said in a statement.
“It also ensures the broadcast of every Premier League match is kept to schedule.”
Fines totalling 1.08 million pounds were imposed relating to City’s home games against Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, West Ham United and Newcastle United and their away fixtures against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town.
The longest game delays were two minutes 22 seconds each for restarts v West Ham and Ipswich.
City are awaiting the verdict of 115 unrelated charges of alleged breaches of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
The charges cover a period starting from 2009 and continuing into the 2022-23 season. City have always denied any wrongdoing.
Soccer fans storm field in Libya and a Portuguese referee is injured during a suspended match
- The match was suspended in the 39th minute
- Al-Ittihad’s bus was set on fire, the club said in a statement
TRIPOLI: A highly-anticipated derby in Libya’s top soccer league was suspended after fans stormed the pitch and officials said Thursday the Portuguese referee and some fans were injured.
The match Wednesday between Al-Ahly Tripoli and Al-Ittihad was suspended in the 39th minute when Al-Ahli substitutes and fans stormed the pitch in protest of Al-Ittihad players’ celebration of their opening goal.
Al-Ittihad’s bus was set on fire, the club said in a statement.
Players and soccer officials fled the stadium amid a fan disturbance outside the facility. Footage circuited online showed clashes between fans and security forces in and around the stadium.
Al-Ahly blamed what they called a “provocative act” by one of Al-Ittihad players for the disturbance.
They said in a statement that security forces used “excessive force and live fire” against fans at the club’s headquarters.
Local media reported that Portuguese referee Fábio José Costa was injured.
FIFA hands four-match bans to Boca Juniors players sent off in Club World Cup opener
- Boca disagreed with the sanctions imposed on their players
- “We have already contacted FIFA to submit an appeal,” said the club
MIAMI: Boca Juniors players Ander Herrera and Nicolas Figal were handed four-match bans by FIFA after being sent off in their Club World Cup opener against Benfica, a spokesperson for the Argentine club told Reuters on Wednesday.
Boca disagreed with the sanctions imposed on their players after Benfica’s Andrea Belotti received a two-match ban for catching Ayrton Costa in the head with a high boot in the 72nd minute.
“We have already contacted FIFA to submit an appeal,” said the club spokesperson.
Spanish midfielder Herrera, who was subbed off due to a muscle injury, was shown a red card in the 45th minute after protesting to Mexican referee Cesar Ramos from the bench over a penalty awarded to the Portuguese side.
Defender Figal was sent off in the 88th minute with a straight red card for a foul on Florentino Luis when the match was tied at 2-2.
Boca will face Bayern Munich at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday in their second match in Group C.
Biaggio Ali Walsh gets support from Muslim community ahead of SmartCage return
- Grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali takes on Ronnie Gibbs on June 27 as part of PFL World Championship semifinals
DUBAI: Undefeated fighter Biaggio Ali Walsh has revealed how the Muslim community in Las Vegas, Nevada, is supporting him ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Professional Fighters League’s SmartCage.
Family, friends and members of the community gathered at Masjid As-Sabur, the oldest mosque in Las Vegas, on June 13 to show their support for Walsh ahead of his upcoming fight — a showcase lightweight bout against Ronnie Gibbs on June 27, which is part of the 2025 PFL World Championship semifinals, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Walsh explained: “Some people from the community, family and friends, came and helped, supporting my fight coming up.
“I’m just super grateful for all the love and support; I feel it radiating throughout me.”
It was a special night of fellowship as everyone prayed, enjoyed food, and wished Walsh well.
Walsh, who is the grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, spoke about the importance of faith and how essential it is to have a deep relationship with God.
He said: “Faith is everything in life, period. I feel like if you have good faith and deep faith in God and trust God, you can do anything.
“It’s everything, it’s the only thing I know, and that’s the only thing that helps calm me before these kinds of fights.”
He added: “I’m really excited for the fight … thank you guys so much for coming out, and inshallah, I will come back victorious.”
Initially making waves as a standout collegiate football player, the 26-year old found his way to mixed martial arts and ultimately made the full-time leap.
It was this transition to combat sports that, he said, helped strengthen his faith and his relationship with God.
In 2024, shortly after turning pro in MMA, Walsh deepened his devotion by partaking in Umrah, the spiritual journey to Makkah.
Coming from a family of elite fighters, it is no surprise that Walsh is making an impact on the MMA scene.
In addition to the Muhammad Ali connection, Walsh’s aunt is world champion boxer Laila Ali. His younger brother Nico is also a professional boxer.
Now with a 2-0 record in his professional MMA career, Walsh is determined to carry on the Ali legacy into a new era — and with faith, family, and community behind him, he has never been more ready.
