Latest news with #qualifying
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Basketball Ireland ‘assessing next steps' after women's team drawn in group with Israel
Basketball Ireland has said it is assessing its 'next steps' after being drawn in a qualifying group for the women's European basketball championships that includes the Israeli national team. The organisation said it was 'extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza ', and did not confirm that it would play the fixture as scheduled. It said it was 'awaiting clarifications on a number of matters' with Fiba Europe, the European basketball governing body. A spokesperson for Basketball Ireland declined to provide details to The Irish Times on what matters it had raised with Fiba Europe and what clarifications had been sought from the body. READ MORE Basketball Ireland said it 'will also be liaising with players, coaching staff, Sport Ireland, the Government, and other stakeholders over the coming days'. The organisation expects to provide an update on the situation next week. A spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport said Basketball Ireland was an independent body and was 'autonomous in their decision making, including regarding the organisation of and participation in international sporting competitions'. 'Neither the Minister nor the department has any role in this regard and there has been no communication recently on this matter between the department and Basketball Ireland,' a spokesperson said. The Irish women's squad is ranked 81st in the world, while the Israeli national team is 47th. The two teams are first scheduled to play each other on November 18th in Israel, the Irish squad's final fixture in the early stages of the qualifying round. Basketball Ireland would suffer a fine of up to €80,000 if the team failed to play the game after the qualifying competition started, the organisation said. 'Failure to play the return game would lead to a fine of up to €100,000' and removal from the next two European basketball championships, in 2027 and 2029, it added. 'Should Basketball Ireland elect to withdraw from the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers campaign entirely before they commence, a fine of up to €30,000 would be applied', as well as 'additional sanctions' from FIBA Europe which could include 'exclusion from future competitions'. Basketball Ireland secured a core grant from Sporting Ireland last year of €900,000, with a €63,908 grant earmarked for 'women in sport'. Financial statements showed the organisation was working at a €188,000 deficit last year. The Irish team also expressed discomfort with fulfilling fixtures against the Israeli team last year. Basketball Ireland said it could not 'guarantee the safety of the Israeli team' playing a fixture in Dublin due to 'the likelihood of protests' over their presence in the State. [ From the archive: Basketball Ireland CEO on playing Israel game: 'I'm not prepared to destroy my sport for a gesture that will have no impact' Opens in new window ] Israeli team member Dor Saar said last year that 'it's known that they [Ireland] are quite anti-Semitic, it's not a secret', which Basketball Ireland strongly denied and condemned. The fixtures were played, although 'traditional prematch arrangements', such as players shaking hands and exchanging gifts, were not carried out. [ How did the Irish women's basketball team become embroiled in controversy over Israel? Opens in new window ] Israel won both the first game, which led to the terse exchange of words, and the return fixture, both taking place in Riga.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hibs must 'stay in game' as McGrath eyes 'rocking' return
Hibs midfielder Jamie McGrath has stressed the importance of keeping the Europa League qualifying tie against Midtjylland alive for next week's return at "rocking" Easter Road. The Republic of Ireland international, a summer arrival from Aberdeen, is set to make his Hibs debut in the first leg in Denmark on Thursday night. "I've really settled in really well," 28-year-old McGrath told BBC Scotland. "Hopefully we can show what we're about and hit the ground running for the season. "Obviously they're a very good team. They're used to group-stage football and we'll have our work cut out. "But on the flip side, we're also very dangerous on the counter. Hopefully we can bring it back to Easter Road next week and get the place rocking. "Away games in Europe are tough, so you have to stay in the game, but we know we can score goals against anybody. "Let's try to bring it back to Easter Road next week. The boys showed last season they're more than capable of beating anybody at home. That's certainly what we'll be looking to do."
BBC News
13 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Hibs must 'stay in game' as McGrath eyes 'rocking' return
Hibs midfielder Jamie McGrath has stressed the importance of keeping the Europa League qualifying tie against Midtjylland alive for next week's return at "rocking" Easter Republic of Ireland international, a summer arrival from Aberdeen, is set to make his Hibs debut in the first leg in Denmark on Thursday night."I've really settled in really well," 28-year-old McGrath told BBC Scotland."Hopefully we can show what we're about and hit the ground running for the season."Obviously they're a very good team. They're used to group-stage football and we'll have our work cut out."But on the flip side, we're also very dangerous on the counter. Hopefully we can bring it back to Easter Road next week and get the place rocking."Away games in Europe are tough, so you have to stay in the game, but we know we can score goals against anybody."Let's try to bring it back to Easter Road next week. The boys showed last season they're more than capable of beating anybody at home. That's certainly what we'll be looking to do."
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
UEFA Conference League 2025/26: Key dates, match schedule & final
In 2025/26, the UEFA Conference League returns for its fifth edition and its second under the new format following a resounding success in 2024/25. Building on a successful debut, Europe's newest club competition kicks off on July 10 and continues until the final in Leipzig on May 27, 2026. Here's a look at all the key dates for the upcoming season of Europe's third-tier club competition, along with details on how to watch the matches live. How to watch the 2025/26 Conference League season? All games in Europe's newest club competition during the 2025/26 season will be available to watch online via Conference League live streams. When do Conference League qualifying fixtures start? A total of 155 teams will compete in the 2025/26 Conference League qualifying cycle – significantly more than those contesting in the UEFA Champions League (53) or UEFA Europa League (53). Like in the other two competitions, the structure includes the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 21 teams in the Champions Path and 134 in the Main Path. Twenty-four clubs to win their play-off ties will advance to the league phase, where they'll join 12 teams eliminated from the Europa League play-offs. Qualification began on July 10 and will run until August 25. When is the Conference League group stage draw? The 2025/26 UEFA Conference League group stage draw will take place on August 29, the day after the conclusion of the play-offs. When does the Conference League opening phase start? While the Champions League and Europa League newly formatted league phase gets underway in September, Europe's tertiary club tournament kicks off the following month. The 2025/26 Conference League opening stage begins at the start of October, with the first matches set for October 2. Last season's winners, Chelsea, qualified automatically for the Europa League but will have a seat at Europe's top table due to their domestic league finish. Beaten finalists Real Betis locked down a Europa League berth by finishing sixth in the 2024/25 La Liga season, leaving Fiorentina as the only former finalists in the competition. When does the knockout stage of the Conference League start? Like last season, the newly formatted knockout phase gets underway with a play-off round in late February. The play-off round runs from February 19-26, after which the 32 remaining teams face off in the round of 16 on March 12 and 19. Teams compete in the quarter-final first legs on April 9, then play the return fixtures on April 16. The semi-finals commence on April 30, with second-leg clashes scheduled for May 7. When and where is the Conference League final in 2026? The 2025/26 Conference League showpiece, scheduled to take place at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig on May 27, will be the first final held at the home of Bundesliga giants RB Leipzig. Despite never hosting a major European final, this 47,000-capacity stadium staged five matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and four games at the 2024 European Championship. Winning the trophy guarantees a spot in next season's Europa League, if the champions haven't already qualified through their domestic league. 2025/26 Conference League Schedule – In Summary Conference League Qualifying Fixtures First qualifying round: July 10 & 17, 2025 Second qualifying round: July 24 & 31, 2025 Third qualifying round: August 7 & 14, 2025 Play-offs: August 21 & 28, 2025 Conference League Opening Phase Matchday 1: October 2, 2025 Matchday 2: October 23, 2025 Matchday 3: November 6, 2025 Matchday 4: November 27, 2025 Matchday 5: December 11, 2025 Matchday 6: December 18, 2026 Knockout Stage Knockout phase play-offs: February 19 & 26, 2026 Round of 16: March 12 & 19, 2026 Quarter-finals: April 9 & 16, 2026 Semi-finals: April 30 & May 7, 2026 Final: May 27, 2026 (Leipzig) Conference League Draws First qualifying round: June 17, 2025 Second qualifying round: June 18, 2025 Third qualifying round: July 21, 2025 Play-offs: August 4, 2025 League phase: August 29, 2025 Knockout phase play-offs: TBC Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final: February 27, 2026 Conference League Final Venue: Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany.
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Thomasberg expects 'interesting' tie against 'strong' Hibs
Head coach Thomas Thomasberg expects Hibernian to play "with heart and brain" against his Midtjylland side in their Europa League second round qualifying Hibs take on the Danish club at the MCH Arena in Herning on Thursday before the return a week later at Easter Road, where Thomasberg says "everyone struggles" against David Gray's finished runners-up in the Danish Superliga last season and reached the knockout phase play-off round of the Europa League where they lost to Real is well aware of the threat Hibs pose, telling BBC Scotland: "We know we are meeting a good, strong team who have a lot of qualities. "We know there is also a great away game, with a good atmosphere, so hopefully we can get as good a result at home as possible."We need to be prepared to defend, to be smart and clever because I know Hibs have a good counter-attack."If they get to control the game, they can also do something offensively, fill up the box where they have good strikers, but I hope it will go the way we hope and expect."It's a club that have been in a very good period, I can see at home everybody struggles against them. "I know they will play with heart and brain, so we are ready for two interesting games, the first one tomorrow."
