PARIS: FIFA has invited football’s national federations to an online summit on September 30 to discuss the international calendar, in its push to hold the World Cup every two years instead of four.
World football’s governing body wants to launch a “new consultation phase” for the international women’s and men’s calendar, set to expire at the end of 2023 and 2024 respectively.
“There is a broad consensus within the game that the international match calendar should be reformed and improved,” FIFA said in a statement Monday.
“Following invitations to stakeholders, including all confederations, at the beginning of September, discussions are being organized in the coming weeks.
“FIFA also invited its member associations to a first online summit on 30 September 2021. This is one of several opportunities to establish a constructive and open debate, at a global and regional level, over the coming months.”
The proposal for a biennial World Cup was revived in March by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, now head of global football development at FIFA.
The idea would be to have an international tournament each year from 2025-2026, alternating World Cups and continental tournaments like the European Championship and Copa America.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is fiercely opposed to the proposal and threatened that European nations would boycott a biennial World Cup.
South American confederation CONMEBOL said the project had “no sporting justification.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has promised decisions on staging a World Cup every two years would be made by the end of the year.
Last week FIFA published an online poll that claimed a majority of football fans support the idea of a “more frequent” World Cup.
The results of the survey came in stark contrast to the opposition of numerous national supporters groups worldwide.
Global players’ union FIFPro has denounced “the absence of a real dialogue” on the subject, pointing out the “natural physiological limits” of footballers.
“Without the agreement of the players, who bring all competitions to life on the pitch, no such reforms will have the required legitimacy,” said FIFPro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann.
FIFA to consult football leaders on international calendar
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FIFA to consult football leaders on international calendar
- World football's governing body wants to launch a "new consultation phase" for the international women's and men's calendar
- UEFA president is fiercely opposed to the proposal and threatened that European nations would boycott a biennial World Cup
PSG ‘dead’ unless they keep improving: Luis Enrique
- PSG played an entertaining attacking style with three forward on their way to Champions League glory
ATLANTA: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said Friday his team will keep adapting and improving to pursue future success and if they failed to do so they would be “dead.”
The European champions face German giants Bayern Munich on Saturday in the Club World Cup quarter-finals in Atlanta and the Spanish coach said they will not keep relying on the same system.
PSG played an entertaining attacking style with three forward on their way to Champions League glory, but Luis Enrique said one day he would diverge.
“We will change it because teams adapt — in football there is nothing magical,” Luis Enrique told reporters.
“When you overcome the press, your opponent adapts, when you create superiority in an area, your opponent adapts, there is no magic formula.
“There is no coach who has a system or a move, and that’s it, that’s the difficulty of modern football, all coaches are prepared, all players are better physically and technically than ever.”
“So you adapt, you improvise, and you become unpredictable for your opponent, or you are dead.”
Luis Enrique said playing the same way that led PSG to a first treble this season would not suffice going forward.
“It’s not enough to do what we’ve done this past season in the next, we have to change, we have to improve things,” added Luis Enrique.
Bayern Munich beat PSG 1-0 in November in the Champions League group stage, before the French side found their stride and went on to triumph in the competition for the first time.
“We have a little bit of revenge to take, we know they’re a tough team, but we’re much stronger than in November,” said Ousmane Dembele, who was sent off in Munich.
“A lot has changed — the players have clearly raised their level, I’ve raised my level too, and we have a lot of confidence. We know what we need to do on the field, we can beat any team.”
The 28-year-old is a leading Ballon d’Or contender after a superb campaign, although has only made a brief cameo as a substitute in the Club World Cup thus far.
Dembele suffered a quadriceps injury during the Nations League at the start of June and came on in PSG’s 4-0 romp against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
The forward said he is now “100 percent” fit but it is up to Luis Enrique whether he starts against Bayern at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It’s not the time to give information to my opponent — we’ll see tomorrow,” said Luis Enrique.
Fluminense beat Al Hilal 2-1 to reach Club World Cup semis
ORLANDO: Substitute Hercules struck a 70th-minute winner as Brazil’s Fluminense defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 2-1 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Club World Cup.
A fine left-foot finish from Matheus Martinelli had put the Rio club ahead in the 40th minute but Al Hilal’s Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo levelled six minutes into the second half before Hercules stole the show to the delight of the vast majority of the 43,091 crowd.
Fluminense could yet face an all-Brazilian semifinal if their rivals from Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, are able to overcome Premier League outfit Chelsea in Friday’s other quarter-final.
Al Hilal had pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, beating Manchester City 4-3, to reach the last eight and Simone Inzaghi’s side fought hard until the end to keep their adventure alive.
They bow out of the tournament having been unbeaten through the group stage, including holding Real Madrid to a draw, and having truly made their mark on the world stage.
There was a moment’s silence before the kick-off in memory of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva, who died in the early hours of Thursday after their car veered off a motorway in Spain and burst into flames.
Al Hilal’s line-up featured two of Jota’s Portugal team-mates in Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo.
The first half was a tight and tactical affair with few chances until Martinelli opened the scoring when he picked the ball up from Gabriel Fuentes inside the box and span out to give himself space for a left-foot shot that rocketed past Yassine Bounou.
Al Hilal went close to a quick response when Kalidou Koulibaly’s header forced Fluminense’s 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio into a fine save.
The Saudi side were awarded a penalty when Samuel Xavier was ruled to have brought down Marcos Leonardo in the box but Dutch referee Danny Makkelie was eventually sent to the monitor where he overturned his own decision after seeing there had been no contact between the two players.
After going in at the break trailing by a goal, Al Hilal came out strongly for the second half and drew level when Koulibaly headed a Neves corner down to Marcos Leonardo who poked home.
Al Hilal’s Brazilian full back Renan Lodi had a let off when his poor backpass fell straight at the feet of German Cano but the Fluminense striker’s attempt to round Bounou was denied by the smart work of the Moroccan keeper.
But the outcome was settled with 20 minutes remaining when half-time sub Hercules saw a shot from distance blocked but from the loose ball Samuel headed the ball back to the forward who raced into the box and fired past Bounou to make it 2-1.
Al Hilal produced a flurry of corners and some intense pressure in the final minutes as they desperately sought a way to keep their dream alive but the Brazilians were good value for their victory.
“We didn’t have many chances but we made the most of them, the entire group worked and were committed,” said Fluminense coach Renato Gaucho.
“Our fans here in the USA and those in Brazil, they can be proud and I ask them to wear a jersey, in the mall, street, beach, wherever, wear that shirt — they should all be proud to wear that jersey,” he said.
The Fluminense coach was full of praise for the performance of his 40-year-old central defender Thiago Silva who ensured the Brazilians were able to withstand the second half pressure from Al Hilal.
“Thiago Silva is huge for us, I worked with him 15 years ago, he is a coach on the pitch, very helpful and conveys calm and experience to the others. He is our captain and a leader and in hard matches like these against big clubs, its important to have people like him. He is key and fundamental,” he said.
Al Hilal coach Inzaghi said his side had been unfortunate to end on the losing side.
“It has been a good World Cup for us but clearly we leave with a little bit of a bitter taste in our mouth because after what happened in that second half, we deserved much more,” he said.
“It was a tight match, decided by episodes, as happens in football. Fluminense are very well organized team that are having an excellent tournament,” he added.
“A Beautiful Gift“: Swiss women pioneers celebrate the game’s transformation
- The mascot of the tournament, a Saint Bernard puppy, bears her name, Maddli, in recognition of her role in advancing women’s football in Switzerland
- There are now 40,000 registered women players and 134 female referees in Switzerland, according to the Swiss FA
SION, Switzerland: On the terrace of a restaurant in the Swiss city of Sion sits a group of pioneers of women’s football in Switzerland who have seen the beautiful game change beyond recognition.
For 72-year-old Madeleine Boll, seeing the city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland hosting three games in the Women’s European Championship, which is being staged across the country, is a proud moment.
The mascot of the tournament, a Saint Bernard puppy, bears her name, Maddli, in recognition of her role in advancing women’s football in Switzerland.
At 12 years old in 1965, Boll became the first woman in Switzerland to obtain a license to play football, with FC Sion’s boys’ youth team. But just months later it was taken away from her after the club said it had made an error.
“I was the happiest little girl. But the day they took away my license, I was the unhappiest because I didn’t understand why I was forbidden to play,” Boll told Reuters.
However, it marked the first in a series of landmark moments that enabled women’s inclusion in Swiss football.
By 1970 the first Swiss Women’s Football League was created, with Boll’s father, Jean Boll, its president. Madeleine later played for FC Sion, one of the earliest women’s football clubs in Switzerland.
“It’s a beautiful gift because it’s here that the beginnings of Swiss women’s football took root,” she said.
KEY MOMENT
A lot has changed since Boll and her generation played. There are now 40,000 registered women players and 134 female referees in Switzerland, according to the Swiss FA.
“It was different. We didn’t have jerseys, we didn’t have means to travel ... We had to make people understand that we are capable of playing,” said 72-year-old Rosemarie Siggen, from Sion who started playing football toward the end of the 1960s.
For Siggen and Boll, who were joined by four other footballing pioneers in the women’s game in Sion, this year’s tournament is a key moment to make strides in supporting women’s football.
“The Euros will be a catalyst,” Boll told Reuters, pointing to it as an opportunity for greater investment in the women’s game.
The Swiss hosts are hoping the legacy of the tournament — being played across eight cities over the next month — will bolster female football in the country as Euro 2022 did for champions England. It is aiming to double the number of female players by 2027, according to the Swiss FA.
“It’s a bit difficult for these young girls. They need help. I think there should be stronger support, a real investment ... we want to see them progress because they can bring many beautiful things,” said Siggen.
Boll hopes that the Switzerland side, who lost their first match of the tournament 2-1 to Norway, can continue to make strides with more financial support.
“If we want to have a good Swiss team ... it will be important that girls become professional because it is difficult ... to achieve results while having a job or being a student,” Boll said.
UEFA, the governing body for European soccer, announced a record 600,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament. Basel will host the final on July 27 at St. Jakob-Park, the largest football stadium in Switzerland.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah ‘truly lost for words’ after Diogo Jota death
- ‘Teammates come and go but not like this,’ Salah wrote on X
- Jota and brother Andre Silva died when Lamborghini they were in veered off a road and burst into flames
BEIRUT: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah paid tribute to his teammate Diogo Jota on Friday, after the Portuguese international died in a car crash on Thursday in northern Spain.
“I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break,” Salah said on social media platform X.
Jota perished alongside his brother, Andre Silva, when the Lamborghini they were in veered off a road and burst into flames, Spanish police said Thursday.
Having been teammates since Jota joined the Premier League champions in 2020, Salah wrote on X: “Teammates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back.
“My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.”
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was “heartbroken” to learn about Jota’s death.
Klopp, who is Red Bull’s head of global soccer, had persuaded the Liverpool board to pay $62 million for Jota after he impressed at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“This is a moment where I struggle! There must be a bigger purpose! But I can’t see it! I’m heartbroken to hear about the passing of Diogo and his brother Andre. Diogo was not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father!” Klopp posted on Instagram.
The Spanish Guardia Civil said 28-year-old Jota and 25-year-old Silva were found dead near the northwestern city of Zamora. Jota’s death comes just weeks after he married his long-time partner, Rute Cardoso, while on vacation from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the Premier League title.
Upon getting married, Cardoso wrote in a social media post, “Yes to forever.” He leaves behind three children, the youngest born last year.
Russian foreign minister praises Al-Hilal’s ‘well-deserved’ win over Man City
- Sergey Lavrov hails victory in meeting with Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan
- SPL team will play Fluminense in quarterfinal of Club World Cup on Friday
BEIRUT: Russia’s foreign minister on Friday congratulated Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal following the team’s defeat of Manchester City in their FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 match earlier in the week.
“It was a remarkable and dramatic match and well-deserved victory,” Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Moscow.
“I would like to conclude with congratulations to your football team Al-Hilal on a 4-3 win against Manchester City at the Club World Cup,” he said.
The meeting was part of the prince’s official visit aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries.
Lavrov’s comments caused a buzz on social media. One Russian user said on X: “Saudi Al-Hilal shines even in the corridors of power in Moscow!”
Several major news outlets also reported on Lavrov’s comments.
Sports editor Essa Aljokm wrote on X: “Al-Hilal on the political table … A team that translated the support of the leadership and the state, may God protect them, into the giant Saudi sports project. This time, it’s Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister.”
Al-Hilal made history on Monday night when they beat the English Premier League giants in Orlando. The Saudi Pro League team will now play Fluminense in the quarterfinal of the Club World Cup on Friday.
The Brazilian side beat Inter Milan 2-0 earlier on Monday.
