Qatar confirms talks over hosting 2036 Games
The country, which hosted soccer's World Cup in 2022 and the Asian Cup in 2024, is the latest to join the race to stage the 2036 Games after confirmed bids from Indonesia, Turkey, India and Chile.
Other Asian countries considering a bid include Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Egypt, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Canada have also shown interest .
"We currently have 95% of the required sports infrastructure in place to host the Games, and we have a comprehensive national plan to ensure 100% readiness of all facilities," Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, the president of QOC, told the state-run Qatar News Agency.
"This plan is rooted in a long-term vision aimed at building a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable legacy."
Qatar's capital Doha is set to host the Asian Games in 2030, having staged the event in 2006.
A successful bid would make Qatar the first country in the Middle East to host the Olympics amid the region's growing influence over major sporting events. Saudi Arabia is set to hold the soccer World Cup in 2034.
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
Stephen McGowan: Tony Bloom's Hearts punt is a bet worth taking
He raked in a fortune for bookmakers Victor Chandler the day he tipped France to beat Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final. He backed Robin Soderling to beat Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals of the French Open and won £1.2million. Now comes a £10m stake on Hearts breaking the stranglehold of Celtic and Rangers in Scottish football. The days of a two-horse race, he claims, are over. The list of things people want to change in Scottish football is longer than the average King's Speech. A bigger Premiership. The Sky television deal. High ticket prices. Pyrotechnic use. VAR and the standard of refereeing. Don't get them started on Neil Doncaster. Celtic and Rangers finish first and second in the SPFL Premiership so often that an uncompetitive league barely merits a mention. People are desensitised to reality. The notion of Hearts disrupting the natural order invites ridicule and derision. On the SPFL's William Hill 'Warm Up' season preview show, former Dundee midfielder Charlie Adam said he thought the best they can hope for is third. Celtic have wrapped themselves so tightly around Scottish football that even Rangers can barely catch a breath. If the champions ever actually spent that £80m in the bank, they'd be out of sight. Brendan Rodgers has pretty much warned his own board that they have four weeks to splash the cash on first-team starters or its Terminado 2, and the expectation is that [[Celtic]] will bring in four players in the final weeks of the window. As yet, no one knows if they'll get their act together before a Champions League play-off or sign players with enough pedigree to persuade the manager to hang around for another year. If he cleared off again, a disgruntled fanbase would be hard pressed to find fault with his thinking this time. More from award-winning sportswriter Stephen McGowan: Rangers should be best placed to take advantage of the unrest across the city. Throwing the usual suspects under a bus after a lacklustre second-half display in the opening day 1-1 draw in Motherwell, Russell Martin sounded equally unhappy with his lot. Despite new owners, a new sporting director and a new manager, old failings were there for the world to see at Fir Park. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Teething troubles at [[Celtic]] and [[Rangers]] should strengthen Bloom's conviction that Hearts can give the Old Firm a run for their money and bookies seem to agree. While Aberdeen and Hibs are priced at 100/1 for the title, Ladbrokes and Coral are quoting the Gorgie outfit at 16/1. You need a long memory to recall the last time the odds on a team outside Glasgow were as stingy as that. A bullish Bloom spent last night taking questions Foundation of Hearts members at Tynecastle. He'll spend this morning explaining to journalists how he plans to sustain a title challenge before tonight's opening league game against Aberdeen. History shows that challenging [[Celtic]] and [[Rangers]] is devilishly difficult. Forty years have passed since [[Aberdeen]] became the last club outwith Scotland's biggest city to win the top flight, and you could count on one hand how often any team has come vaguely close since. Alex Smith's Dons needed a point at Ibrox on the final day of season 1990-1991 and came up short. Hearts finished within touching distance in 1998. And, during the chaotic, ego-driven megalomania of Vladimir Romanov, a Paul Hartley penalty saw the Tynecastle side split Glasgow's big two and secure a place in the Champions League qualifiers. Even that was 19 years ago. When it comes to disruptive acts, Bloom has form. In 2018, he and his business partner Alex Muzio snapped up Belgian outfit USG after they had narrowly avoided relegation to the third tier and hadn't featured in the Pro League since 1973. They utilised smart recruitment of players and coaches to secure promotion in 2020-21 before reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League and the last 16 of the Conference League in successive seasons. In 2024, they won the Belgian Cup and the Belgian Super Cup. Last season, they claimed their first Belgian league title since 1935. Spotting untapped talent, they bought cheap and sold big. Deniz Undaz signed for free and joined Brighton for £6m. Victor Boniface signed for £5m and joined Leverkusen for four times as much. Mohammed Amoura pitched up for £3m and left for £14m. Signed for £3.5m, Franco Ivanovic joined Benfica for £22m. Success in Belgium, or even England's south coast, offers no guarantee of a title challenge at Hearts. What it does offer is the commodity missing from Scotland's footballing landscape for far too long. Hope. When the board of the SFA relaxed their rules on multi club ownership, they were pretty much acknowledging that the league was broken. [[Celtic]] and [[Rangers]] had spent so long banking UEFA's prize money, the rest were drifting further and further off the pace. While the top-six split, the race for Europe and the annual relegation dogfight have their good points, a league is ultimately judged by the number of teams capable of winning it. In Scotland the record has been stuck in the same groove for so long someone needs to shift it. Backed by data and hard evidence, don't bet against Bloom doing the needful. Miracles rarely happen quickly. It took USG seven years to reach the pinnacle of Belgian football and, in mid October, Jamestown were part of the flawed process which ended with the appointment of Neil Critchley as manager. Finishing seventh in the league – 40 points behind champions Celtic and 23 points adrift of runners-up Rangers – the Englishman departed in April. Since then, Hearts have played eight games and won them all. This summer they've brought in nine new signings and, while it's surely too soon for Jamestown's magic dust to start sprouting beanstalks, the season could be more intriguing than Adam and co seem to think. Derek McInnes says Hearts have no plans to go around shooting their mouths off about what they might or might not achieve. Scottish football has a strange micro-climate and McInnes knows better than most how hard it is to shift the thermostat. Celtic and Rangers won't spend the next four weeks standing still. Hibernian have thrown £1m at a new striker. Aberdeen's owners have just ploughed another £8m into the Pittodrie coffers ahead of a visit to Tynecastle likely to have some bearing on the battle for third. Bloom thinks Hearts should aim higher than that. And, unlikely though it sounds, it might be worth staking a tenner on the matter. Just in case.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Forgotten Premier League winner targeting World Cup aged 38 after shock move
Juan Cuadrado played for Chelsea just 15 times but still ended up with two trophies - and now he is gunning to play at the 2026 World Cup at the age of 38 after signing for Serie A newboys Pisa Former Chelsea star Juan Cuadrado has outlined his goal of playing at the 2026 World Cup next year - when he will be 38 years old - after joining Serie A newboys Pisa. The Colombian has had a lengthy career and will be known to English football fans for his brief stint at Chelsea between 2015 and 2017, where he featured just 15 times but still finished with a Premier League winners' medal. He was also part of the team that won the League Cup in 2015. The winger joined Juventus after leaving Chelsea before spells with Inter Milan and Atlanta in the last two seasons. He was eventually released by the latter club despite making 32 appearances across all competitions last season and has now lined up his next challenge. The 37-year-old has decided to join up with newly-promoted Pisa, who are back in the Italian top flight for the first time in 34 years, having finished second in Serie B last season. The team are coached by former AC Milan and Fiorentina star Alberto Gilardino and Cuadrado believes playing for Pisa will give him a chance of playing for Colombia at the World Cup next year, which will be held across North America, despite being close to his forties. "I am ready for this great challenge, I am excited to continue my career in a country that is basically home. 'I spoke to the club, the coach, I also have the dream of battling for a place at the World Cup. "I hope to get to play more regularly, they convinced me, and I said yes straight away,' continued Cuadrado. "I feel very good, very strong, I think the coach and staff will help me reach my peak. When I am 100 per cent fit, I can still give a lot to this team." Cuadrado will be hoping to add to the 116 caps he already has for the Colombia national team so far in his career. That makes him the joint-second highest capped star for Colombia - tied with James Rodriguez. The record for the most caps belongs to goalkeeper David Ospina, who has 128 caps. Cuadrado has made a total of 568 appearances in his football career, which started with local Colombian side Independiente Medellin before spending a majority of the rest of his career in Italy. He has played for Udinese, Fiorentina and Lecce before his long association with Juventus later in his career, where he played 314 times.
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Daily Record
Motherwell star is happy to be in the dark about St Mirren
Elijah Just says he can't over-think about an opponent if he doesn't know much about them Elijah Just knows absolutely nothing about St Mirren – and reckons that could work in his and Motherwell's favour. Just and his team-mates travel to Paisley on Saturday to tackle the Saints, looking to build on their 1-1 draw at home to Rangers on Saturday evening. The 25-year-old New Zealander says being in the dark about their opponents might help. Just, who signed a two-year deal from Danish side Horsens last month, said: 'I'm sure a lot of the lads are quite familiar with St Mirren and the players, but I'm new, so I don't know too much. 'To be honest, I think that works in my favour – I just go into the game not thinking, or over-thinking, just playing my game, and getting stuck in.' Just has impressed since his arrival in ML1, and played a key role in Saturday's draw against Rangers. The midfielder reckons being brave on the ball is playing a major part in their success so far. Just said: 'That was really enjoyable, against a team like Rangers, who have a lot of quality. 'There were times when I was just watching the centre-backs just try and play, they were so courageous. 'When we play them in the first game it's really important that we try to apply ourselves in the way the manager wants us to play, and I think we did a really good job. 'The boys were really courageous, and it was a step in the right direction. We know that if we play with that style we'll create chances and we'll be a good side. 'Where I play, in the middle, it can be tough, but especially at the back, inside out own goal box. That takes a lot of courage, and we were brave on the ball. 'It was very intense, the fans were loud, the pitch was really good, and when I went out to warm up, I thought 'this is proper football' – but when the game got going, I started to feel good and comfortable.' Just says there wasn't much said at half-time, as Motherwell stepped up pressure on Rangers in the second period. He said: 'We made a few small adjustments at half-time, but it was more or less keep doing what we're doing, try to limit the turnovers, and be really smart on the ball. 'As the game went on and we didn't have the equaliser, and there were a few chances, you start to think 'we really need something here'. 'When the goal went in, we pushed on and had another two chances at the end, so we're really happy.' Just is chasing a place in New Zealand's team at the 2026 World Cup, and reckons Motherwell is a good place to show what he can do. He said: 'Personally, it's really important. It's one year to the World Cup and I want to put myself in the best possible position in the national team. 'So I hope I can get a good run of games, and play well, and see what happens. 'I hope I'll be involved next summer. This current group of players we have with the national team are really strong, who are playing all around the world, so competition is really high. 'If I can do well in the Premiership this year, that gives me the best opportunity to play. 'That's a real driver for this move. It's a massive motivation for me, to be in that World Cup squad. There are a lot of players in my position, who are playing in really good clubs around the world, so this is a massive opportunity for me.'
