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BAGHDAD: Hosts Iraq will face Iran in the final of the WAFF U-23 Championship after the two nations triumphed in the semifinals against Jordan and Oman respectively on Sunday.
The final of the West Asian Football Federation tournament will take place on Tuesday night.
In the first semifinal Iran and Jordan played out a 0-0 draw before the former won 4-3 on penalties in Baghdad.
The second semifinal saw the hosts defeat Gulf neighbors Oman 1-0 in front of a vociferous crowd of almost 30,000 at Al-Madina Stadium in the Iraqi capital. The decisive moment of the game came from an own goal by Oman’s Nasser Al-Rawahi in the 52nd minute.
RIYADH: Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien are through to the group stages of the King Salman Club Cup with a 2-0 win against Sudan’s Al-Hilal S.C. in the second leg.
Mohamed Abdel-Rahman’s first-leg penalty raised Al-Hilal’s optimism, but second-half goals by Aziz Al-Sayihi and Barakat Al-Hamidi in the second leg in Sfax ended all hope for the Omdurman team’s participation in the Arab world’s premier club contest, which Saudi Arabia is hosting this year.
Sayihi’s confident back-post header on the 65th minute drew the home side level on aggregate before Hamidi scored a close-range goal with three minutes to go in the tie.
In Group A, Sfaxien will join Saudi league champions Al-Ittihad, who have spent the summer beefing up their squad with top European signings, including World Cup winners Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante. The two teams will meet at King Fahd stadium in Taif on July 30.
Tunisian side ES Tunis and Iraq’s Al-Shorta are also in Group A.
The competition, also known as the Arab Club Champions Cup, will take place between July 27 and Aug. 12.
LAUSANNE: UEFA on Friday authorized AC Milan, Aston Villa and Brighton to take part in European competitions next season after they made changes to avoid potential conflict with the multiclub ownership rule.
Seven-time European champions Milan share the same US owners, RedBird Capital Partners, as French Cup winners Toulouse, while Villa’s owners have a stake in Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes.
Brighton owner Tony Bloom became the majority shareholder of Union Saint-Gilloise when he bought the Belgian side in 2018.
European football’s governing body had appointed investigators to study the links between the teams in question, but said it was now satisfied “no one has control or decisive influence over more than one club” participating in its competitions.
European football’s governing body had appointed investigators to study the links between the teams in question, but said it was now satisfied ‘no one has control or decisive influence over more than one club’ participating in its competitions.
“Following the implementation of significant changes by the clubs and their related investors, the CFCB First Chamber accepted the admission of the aforementioned clubs to the UEFA club competitions for the 2023/24 season,” UEFA said in a statement.
“The CFCB found that the significant changes implemented brought the clubs into compliance with the multi-club ownership rule.
It added: “These changes substantially restrict the investors’ influence and decision-making power over more than one club, ensuring compliance with the multi-club ownership rule.”
UEFA has multi-club ownership regulations in place to protect the integrity of its competitions when such teams could be drawn to play each other.
Rules do not allow a club to hold or deal in securities or shares of another club playing in a European competition and no club can be a member of any other club participating in UEFA competitions.
Additionally, no person has the power to be “simultaneously involved” in the management, administration or sporting performance of more than one club.
As part of complying with the rules, none of the affected clubs will be able to transfer players to each other, whether permanently or on loan, until September 2024.
Milan are due to play in the Champions League, with Brighton, Union and Toulouse in the Europa League. Villa and Vitoria are both in the qualifying rounds of the Conference League.
LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz swept into the third round of Wimbledon on Friday, beating Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
The Spanish top seed, who reached the last 16 last year, is attempting to become the third-youngest player in the Open era to win the title after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg.
The 20-year-old, seen as the greatest threat to defending champion Novak Djokovic, won his opening match against French veteran Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday.
But heavy rain has played havoc with the schedule at the All England Club — Djokovic, in action later Friday against Stan Wawrinka, is a round ahead of his rival.
A single break was enough for Alcaraz to seal the first set and he won the second-set tiebreak to take an iron grip on the contest.
He broke 84th-ranked Muller again in the eighth game of the third set and served out for the match.
The US Open champion won his first grass court title at Queen’s last month.
“I’m really, really happy to play here again and this time with a win on this really beautiful court,” he said. “I wanted to enjoy every single second and I think I did.”
Alcaraz said he was learning quickly on grass — he is playing in only his fourth tournament on the surface.
“I’m playing really, really well on grass. I’m not an experienced guy like other players but I’m enjoying playing on grass … getting better every match that I play.
“Playing here in Wimbledon is something special. You feel different compared to other tournaments.”
Sabalenka digs deep to reach 3rd round
Earlier, second seed Aryna Sabalenka recovered from a set down to beat France’s Varvara Gracheva 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 and reach the last 32 at Wimbledon on Friday.
Russia-born Gracheva, who recently became a French citizen, broke the Belarusian three times in the first set to take control on No. 1 Court.
The second set was a much tighter affair, with serve dominating until Sabalenka pounced in the 11th game, creating three break points and capitalizing on the second.
She served out for the set, levelling the match when Gracheva went long with a forehand.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka broke early in the decider to take a 2-1 lead and underlined the momentum shift by repeating the feat to stretch her lead to 5-2.
The 25-year-old sealed victory with an ace to set up a third-round clash against Russia’s Anna Blinkova.
Sabalenka reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2021, but was banned last year along with all Belarusian and Russian players due to the invasion of Ukraine
NEWCASTLE: Saudi Arabian sporting events company Sela has been named as the main sponsor of a preseason soccer tournament to be held at Newcastle United’s home ground.
The Sela Cup, held in conjunction with VisitMalta, will take place at St. James’ Park a week before the start of the Premier League season.
The competition will feature Newcastle United — who return to preseason training on Sunday — UEFA Conference League beaten finalists Fiorentina, Spain’s Villarreal and French Ligue 1 outfit Nice. It is expected to become a permanent fixture in the Magpies’ summer schedule for the duration of Sela’s multiyear sponsorship deal.
Eddie Howe’s side will take on Fiorentina, who lost to West Ham United in the Conference League final in May, on Saturday, Aug. 5, before hosting Villarreal the following day. Nice will play Villarreal in an early kickoff on Saturday and Fiorentina on Sunday.
The @Sela Cup, presented by @VisitMalta – coming soon to St. James’ Park!
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“The tournament has been made possible by Newcastle United’s new front-of-shirt partners, Sela, and event sponsors VisitMalta, which promotes travel to the hugely popular Mediterranean island and supports its bustling tourism industry,” the club said.
Newcastle United Women, who became the first professional club in the history of England’s third tier, will also feature in the weekend of football on Tyneside, taking on West Bromwich Albion Women at teatime on Aug. 5.
The tournament format will see teams awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and an additional point per goal scored. On Sunday, following the final match, the winners will be handed the Sela Cup, presented by VisitMalta.
Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales said: “There is huge excitement going into the 2023/24 season, so to be able to give our supporters two days of football involving both our men’s and women’s teams is something that everybody is looking forward to.
“To be able to attract elite clubs from three of Europe’s top leagues shows our ambition to grow as a club and the growing attraction of Newcastle United.
“I would like to sincerely thank our partners, Sela and VisitMalta, for making this possible. Having them on board to offer their expertise in delivering top class events and activations will ensure the tournament is a great weekend for everyone coming to St. James’ Park.”
Ibrahim Mohtaseb, senior vice president at Sela, said: “Since we announced our partnership with Newcastle United, we have seen fantastic support and interest in Sela, both in the UK and in the Middle East.
“To be able to further strengthen our connection with Newcastle’s passionate fan base is truly exciting and we are sure that the Sela Cup will be popular with supporters at a very exciting time ahead of the new season.
“Sela prides itself on creating world class experiences, so for us to bring our resources and expertise to Newcastle is something that we are all very proud to play a key role in and we hope that everybody enjoys what promises to be a great weekend of football.”
Malta’s Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said: “In an era where travel has become an essential part of our lives, sports tourism acts as a catalyst for growth, uniting individuals from diverse backgrounds through the universal language of sports.
“The Sela Cup, presented by VisitMalta, will be a sterling opportunity to strengthen the Maltese island’s prospects in the tourism world.”
RIYADH: Gambian-Swedish fighter Badou Jack could go up against Polish champion Lukasz Rozanski in Saudi Arabia later this year, according to reports on Friday.
Ring Magazine reported the bout could go ahead in the Kingdom, but it has yet to be confirmed.
Jack, who won the WBC cruiserweight belt in the Diriyah Arena in February, will likely challenge Rozanski for his WBC bridgerweight title before Nov. 25 in Saudi Arabia.
The bridgerweight division was first recognized by the WBC in 2020 as an “in-betweener” division between cruiserweight and heavyweight.
Should the fight go ahead, it will be Rozanski’s first defense since emerging victorious in April this year.
If Jack were to beat Rozanski, it would be his fourth WBC belt.
He has previously won the WBC super-middleweight, silver light-heavyweight and cruiserweight belts.
Jack is well established in the Middle East, being based in Dubai and having fought twice in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. He is also promoted by Saudi Arabia’s Skill Challenge Entertainment.