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Arab Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Arab Times
Kuwait is still in the hunt for a World Cup playoff spot despite long odds
KUWAIT CITY, June 2: Kuwait launched an internal training camp today as part of its preparations for two decisive matches against Palestine and South Korea. These fixtures, set for Thursday and the following Tuesday, mark the ninth and tenth (final) rounds of Group B in the AFC qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Blues currently sit in sixth and last place in Group B with five points. South Korea tops the group with 16 points, followed by Jordan (13), Iraq (12), Oman (10), and Palestine (6). Despite the odds, National Teams Director Saud Al-Mujammed believes Kuwait still has a mathematical chance to reach the Asian play-offs. 'Everyone is holding on to this hope, even though it is slim,' he said. Al-Mujammed noted that qualification now hinges on the outcomes of other group matches. 'It's no longer in our hands,' he acknowledged, 'but the team is determined to give its best and achieve positive results in both games.' He also confirmed that Argentine coach Juan Antonio Pizzi and his technical staff are fully in charge of player selection, expressing optimism that the squad will perform at a high level and fight for victories. Midfielder Hussein Ashkanani underwent an X-ray after experiencing minor muscle discomfort, as advised by Dr. Abdul Majeed Al-Bannai, head of the Football Association's Medical Committee. Dr. Al-Bannai confirmed Ashkanani will continue training under medical supervision. He also pointed out that some drop in physical condition is expected, as the domestic season has concluded, and players may lack proper recovery training. 'The medical staff is closely monitoring all players to ensure full readiness for both matches,' he said. The Asian Football Confederation has appointed a Tajik officiating crew for Kuwait's clash against Palestine. Sadullo Gulmoradi will serve as the referee, assisted by Hasan Karimov and Farkhad Karilov, with Abdul Davalitov as fourth official. Emirati referees Mohammed Obaid and Yahya Al-Mulla will manage VAR duties. The Palestinian national team began its preparations with a training session yesterday at Thamer Stadium and will hold a second session this evening at the same venue. Their final practice before the match will take place tomorrow night at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, where the game is scheduled to be played on Thursday.
Observer
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Oman U16 basketball team gears up for Asian qualifiers
Muscat, May 22 The Oman national under-16 basketball team continues its intensive preparations for the upcoming Gulf region qualifiers for the Asian Championship, scheduled to be held in Bahrain from July 7 to 12. The top two teams from this stage will qualify for the final continental tournament, making the upcoming competition highly competitive. As part of their preparation, the team has entered a closed training camp at the Al Buraimi Sports Complex from May 22 to 24, under the supervision of Tunisian head coach Zouheir al Ayachi and his assistant, Omani coach Ali al Balushi. This camp is considered a crucial step in the team's training plan, aiming to raise the players' technical, physical, and tactical readiness and boost team cohesion ahead of the qualifiers. The camp's first training session was held on Wednesday night, focusing on developing individual skills such as dribbling, passing, and shooting, in addition to training on quick transitions between offence and defence, team defensive coverage, and improving physical fitness. The team is conducting two training sessions daily — morning and evening — and will conclude the camp with a friendly match against the UAE U-16 national team on Sunday, to be held in the United Arab Emirates. This match is expected to be a vital test of the team's readiness. Fifteen players are participating in the camp: Saddam bin Ali al Shezawi, Khuzaimah bin Ibrahim al Shibli, Rashid bin Salem al Issai, Mohammed bin Ali al Shezawi, Abdul Rahim bin Abdullah al Roshdi, Elias bin Suleiman al Obaidani, Al Mulhim bin Said al Obaidani, Abdul Samad bin Said al Subhi, Muhannad bin Mansour al Batashi, Nawar bin Abdulaziz al Bahlouli, Adam bin Suleiman al Hinai, Jayid bin Hazem al Kindi, Saif bin Suleiman al Yahyai, Sami bin Faisal al Busaidy and Sultan bin Salem al Sanani. Also present at the camp are Ghassan al Busaidy, Director of National Teams, and Amer al Zaydi, physiotherapist. In an exclusive statement, Coach Zouheir al Ayachi explained that the Al Buraimi camp is a continuation of earlier short camps held at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher. Those camps included several important friendly matches, such as three games against the U18 national team and others against the youth teams of Seeb and Al Amerat clubs — both bolstered by U18 players. He added that the team greatly benefited from these matches, as they allowed the coaching staff to evaluate the players' performance in real-game situations and work on both weaknesses and strengths. The team also recently played a friendly match against the 'Gym Sports' Basketball Academy in Dubai, which ended in a narrow 70–76 defeat. The match was highly competitive, and all players were given an opportunity to participate. The quarter scores were as follows: Q1 (8–16), Q2 (18–19), Q3 (23–23), and Q4 (21–18). Several players stood out during the game, notably Al Mulhim al Obaidani, who scored 19 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, delivered 4 assists, made 3 blocks, and intercepted 4 passes. Adam al Hinai added 17 points and 7 steals, while Saif Al Yahyai scored 16 points, and Rashid al Issai contributed with 8 assists. Al Ayachi emphasised that such matches are instrumental in improving the team's performance, noting that the technical staff continues to work on enhancing the players' skills and readiness. He expressed confidence in the young squad's potential, seeing them as a promising foundation for the future of Oman basketball.
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
CBS Sports acquires U.S. broadcast rights for men's and women's Rugby World Cups
CBS Sports and its Paramount+ streaming platform have acquired the exclusive rights in the United States to broadcast both the men's and women's Rugby World Cups through to 2029 as the sport seeks to crack America ahead hosting the men's World Cup in 2031 and the women's edition in 2033. The CBS deal, which will be announced Thursday, encompasses the men's World Cup in 2027 and the next two women's World Cups, which will be held in later this year and 2029. Advertisement Games will split across linear and streaming, meaning select matches will air on CBS Sports and the rest will be streamed on Paramount+, in a similar way to CBS' coverage of the UEFA Champions League in soccer. The World Cup has most recently been aired by NBC, which remains the broadcaster of the Olympic Games and therefore will retain the rights to Rugby Sevens, the seven-a-side version of the sport, during the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. As part of the contract agreed with World Rugby, the sport's governing body, CBS will also become the home of not only every men's and women's World Cup match but also men's and women's USA national team matches. The deal also includes coverage of the Pacific Nations Cup, the HSBC SVNS (an annual series of international Rugby Sevens) and WXV (an annual women's competition between national teams). The women's World Cup, which will be hosted by England in August and September, will now be on CBS and Paramount+, with supporters in the U.S. able to follow star names such as Ilona Maher. As part of the package, CBS has also bought the rights to show the men's test match between New Zealand and Ireland at Soldier Field in Chicago on November 1. World Rugby says there are 800,000 registered rugby players in the U.S., which makes it a top-five most populous market, while adding that by seizing just one per cent of the sports rights market in the U.S., they would double rugby's global economy. This deal is the latest notable investment within the sport from the U.S., after Michele Kang, who has major investments in women's soccer, last year gave $4m to USA Rugby to help the U.S. women's Rugby Sevens team go for gold in 2028. The team won bronze in the Paris Olympics in 2024. The U.S. women's rugby team also broke its record attendance this month as over 10,000 supporters turned out to support the team in Kansas City in a defeat against Canada. Advertisement World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin describes the CBS deal as a 'generational moment for rugby'. He said it will be 'instrumental' in building on a strong momentum in the U.S. market and claimed rugby already has a fanbase of nearly 40 million people in the country. In an interview with The Athletic, Gilpin added that World Rugby had been 'quite deliberate' about not selling the rights for too long. The deal is until 2029, meaning there is room to capitalise on growth before the men's and women's World Cups being held in 2031 and 2033 in the U.S. 'We believe the value is going to grow significantly and we've had sensible conversations with media rights partners about that and with this partner (CBS) in particular who absolutely want to be part of that journey,' Gilpin said. 'They're shaping up to be a really good partner who will make sure we get some great national coverage for rugby when that's when that's possible but they'll also get a lot of content out there and work hard with it.' (Photo of South Africa's Siya Kolisi lifting The Webb Ellis Cup in 2023:)
NDTV
13-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Ronaldo's Son, Cristiano Jr Makes Portugal Debut In 4-1 Win Against Japan U-15
All-time international top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo's son, Cristiano dos Santos made his debut for the Portugal U-15 National Team as they defeated Japan 4-1 on Tuesday in the first match of the Vlatko Markovic International Tournament. Ronaldo took to Instagram to congratulate his son for following in his footsteps. "Congratulations on your @portugal debut son. Very proud of you!," posted Ronaldo on Instagram. As for the game, the first few minutes were very competitive, with both teams looking to press their opponents high up. Clear-cut opportunities were scarce, although danger occasionally loomed at both goals. However, the score was broken midway through the first half. With a great pass, Lourenço Fernandes found Rafael Cabral alone and he, one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper, made no mistake and fired a shot to make it 1-0. Portugal thus took the lead on the scoreboard, with the first clear opportunity they had (20'). We didn't have to wait long to see another change in the score. Rafael Cabral, in the 22nd minute, once again took on the role of protagonist of the play and in a different move he once again showed his skills as a striker. The number 18 received the ball in the penalty area, turned on his opponent and shot into the back of the Japanese goal. Another great goal from the Portuguese striker and doubled the advantage in the match. Until the end of the first half, Japan pushed up the lines and controlled the Portuguese team's quick attacks well. Even so, André Marques' goal was not threatened very often, nor with much danger, with the most notable move being a dangerous cross that almost deceived the Portuguese goalkeeper. In the second half, Japan tried to target the Portuguese goal more often, but the Portuguese goalkeeper was getting the job done. However, it was the Portuguese team that scored. Rafael Cabral fell in the area, the referee awarded a penalty and the number 18 converted it, in a truly dream afternoon for the young Portuguese international, who thus completed the hat-trick. With the score at 3-0, Japan accepted the defeat without ever stopping to look for the Portuguese goal. Portugal was already managing and promoting more debutants in the team, and one of these debutants would even score the fourth Portuguese goal. Henrique Amen, who came on in the 72nd minute, scored his first goal in the same minute as his debut, a true dream start for the young athlete. A shot that crowned an excellent quick transition by Joao Santos' team and gave the match the contours of a rout. Until the end of the match, Japan, already in injury time, managed to reduce the deficit through Toa Fujisawa. Vlatko Markovic made his international tournament debut, with moments of great brilliance and maturity from the youngest team in the National Teams, on a morning marked by many debuts. The Quinas Team will play three more matches in this competition against Greece (May 14) and England (May 16). The fourth and final match will take place on May 18, with the opponent yet to be defined.
Arab Times
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Arab Times
Kuwait youth team reaches final of Arab Squash Championship
KUWAIT CITY, April 15: The Kuwait youth team advanced to the final of the 29th Arab Squash Championship, currently taking place at the Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah Center in Kuwait. Kuwait earned its spot in the final after a strong performance against Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals. It is now set to face Jordan in the title match, following Jordan's victory over Qatar. Representing Kuwait in this category are Abdulrahman Al-Maghribi, Jassim Al-Gharib, Khaled Al-Fawzan, and Abdullah Hani. Kuwait has already claimed an impressive haul in the championship, winning five medals in individual events and two in the team competitions, which concluded yesterday. Commenting on the success, Abdullah Al-Subaie, Director of National Teams, credited the achievements to the comprehensive support provided by the Federation. He highlighted the importance of the preparation plan devised by the National Teams Committee, the players' commitment to training, and the coaching staff's focus on both physical and technical development. 'These results reflect the players' dedication and the quality of preparation leading up to the tournament. The efforts of everyone involved brought our athletes to peak performance, and the results speak for themselves,' Al-Subaie said.
