Page 15 - Fifa World Cup

Moving the goalposts: Qatar's tarnished WC too big for brands to boycott

Human rights groups are in uproar over everything from the treatment of LGBTQ people in a country where homosexuality is illegal to the deaths of construction workers building the stadia

FIFA World Cup 2022 Opening Ceremony: When and where to watch Live in India

FIFA World Cup 2022 Opening Ceremony Live: Watch it in India on the Sports 18 and Sports 18 HD channels and catch Nora Fatehi performing at the biggest stage of them all

Team must shut out 'noise' in World Cup opener: Qatar coach Felix Sanchez

Qatar coach Felix Sanchez says criticism of the World Cup host will not be allowed to destabilize his team. Qatar kicks off the tournament against Ecuador on Sunday with the eyes of the world on the emirate, which has faced criticism for its human rights record, including its treatment of migrant workers and the LGBTQ community. Sanchez, a Spaniard who led Qatar to triumph in the 2019 Asian Cup, said he and his players have had to shut out the issues that have surrounded the conservative Muslim nation in the run-up to the tournament. The best thing that can happen is to focus on football, keep calm and avoid the noise and rumours, he said Saturday. Obviously we don't like it when people criticize our country. We managed to have great preparation, kept calm and that's how we planned this. Sanchez dismissed as misinformation an unsubstantiated rumour that attempts had been made to bribe Ecuador players ahead of the match. For many, many years we've been training and preparing. We a

FIFA head Gianni Infantino says fans should be able to abstain at World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino downplayed Qatar's last minute ban on the sale of beer at World Cup stadiums as nothing more than a brief inconvenience to spectators. "If this is the biggest problem we have, I'll sign that (agreement)," Infantino said Saturday, a day after the conservative Muslim emirate did an about-face on the deal it had made to secure the soccer tournament. Infantino blamed "crowd flows" in Doha for the decision, though it appeared to be a ruling by Qatar's autocratic government to placate its conservative Wahhabi citizens who already have been angered by some events around the tournament they view as Western excesses. Infantino said the beer ban at stadiums was made jointly by Qatar officials and FIFA. "We tried until the end to see whether it was possible," Infantino said of allowing alcohol sales. "If for 3 hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive. Maybe there is a reason why in France, in Spain, in Scotland, alcohol is banned in stadiums. Mayb

Advertisers take position as Viacom18 goes digital with FIFA World Cup

Viacom18's initiative to offer the tournament for free on JioCinema app expected to boost viewership

FIFA 2022: Prejudice off the ball

At Qatar, everybody acknowledges that African or African origin players will play key roles in most big teams. Yet of the 32 teams, only four coaches are black, and they represent African teams

Here's all you need to know about $300 bn controversial Qatar World Cup

It's set to the biggest sporting event ever held in the Middle East -- and in a conservative, majority-Muslim country to boot.

Sale of beer with alcohol to be banned at Qatar World Cup stadiums

The sale of all beer with alcohol at the eight World Cup stadiums was banned Friday, only two days before the soccer tournament is set to start. Non-alcoholic beer will still be sold at the 64 matches in the country. Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from ... stadium perimeters, FIFA said in a statement. Champagne, wine, whiskey and other alcohol is still expected to be served in the luxury hospitality areas of the stadiums. Outside of those places, beer is normally the only alcohol sold to regular ticket holders. Ab InBev, the parent company of World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AB InBev pays tens of millions of dollars at each World Cup for exclusive rights to sell beer and has already shipped the majority of its stock from Britain t

FIFA World Cup Group C and D analysis: Argentina, Denmark to make headlines

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar: Here's a detailed analysis of which two teams will qualify for the knockouts from Group C and D of the tournament

FIFA World Cup 2022 Group A and B analysis: England, Netherlands favourites

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar: Here's a detailed analysis of which two teams will qualify for the knockouts from Group A and B of the tournament

Why FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on Sunday, will be one of its kind

Qatar on yellow card with accusations of sportswashing, curbs on fan freedom; many high-profile players to retire

Jio announces new international roaming plans ahead of Fifa world cup 2022

The plans launched by Jio for Fifa world cup 2022 will be functional in Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia

Fifa WC: Spain coach Enrique to become online streamer for tournment

'The idea is simply to establish a direct relationship with the fans who could be interested in live information about the team, from a personal point of view of mine and the training staff'

Man United duo criticises decision to hold Fifa World Cup in Qatar

Just minutes after finishing the last Premier League match before the World Cup, Manchester United duo Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen both questioned the decision to stage the tournament in Qatar. Fernandes said the World Cup should be done in a better way, criticizing the timing of the tournament and highlighting Qatar's treatment of migrant workers. The Qatar World Cup which starts next weekend is the first to be played in November and December rather than in June-July because of the desert nation's searing heat in the summer. Qatar has also faced intense scrutiny of its treatment of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who were needed in the tiny emirate since the World Cup hosting rights were won 12 years ago. Amnesty International says dozens may have died from apparent heat stroke. Qatar's views on homosexuality which is criminalized in the country has also been heavily criticized and the comments by Fernandes indicated that players will not hesitate to spe

Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar will be great football but an ugly game

The next few weeks will be a reminder of how the clash in values of the liberal West and the rich Arab states can play out in the international arena to everyone's dissatisfaction

FIFA World Cup 2022: How to get tickets, reach Qatar, watch the game live

FIFA World Cup 2022: Know all the information about how to get tickets for Qatar 2022, how to reach Doha, and how to watch the matches on TV, mobile phones, and laptops in India

Football: FIFA has named 3 women to referee World Cup matches in Qatar

Japanese referee Yoshimi Yamashita knows that being one of three women picked to officiate matches at the World Cup the first time a woman will be in charge on the game's biggest stage is not simply about soccer. Stephanie Frappart of France and Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda must be of the same mind. They are in a pool of 36 referees listed for Qatar the rest are all men. FIFA has also named three female assistant referees in a pool of 69: Neuza Back of Brazil, Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico and Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States. Yamashita is aware that her selection put the focus on Japan's low ranking on most measures of equal pay for women, and in global studies of gender equality. I would be very happy if women could play an active role in sports in this way, and if sports and especially soccer could lead this, Yamashita said in an interview with The Associated Press. "In Japan, there is still a long way to go in the world of soccer (regarding participation of women), so it wo

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Demand for private jets from India soars

The FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held in Qatar from November 20 to December 18

Women's football is seeing growing revenues globally: FIFA report

Women's soccer is seeing growing revenues globally from sponsorships, broadcast deals and merchandising, while also seeing greater interest from fans, according to a new survey by the game's governing body. FIFA released its second benchmarking report on women's soccer on Friday as the sport gains momentum ahead of next summer's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The organisation surveyed 30 of the top leagues and 294 clubs, building on the first benchmarking report released last year. While COVID-19 impacted club revenue in the prior report, the latest survey found growth across the board from matchday, broadcast, commercial and prize money sources. Clubs reported year-on-year commercial revenue growth of 33 per cent indicating growing interest from sponsors. It found that 77 per cent of leagues had a title sponsor, up from 11 per cent in 2021. Year-on-year broadcast revenue grew 22 per cent. Ten leagues reported broadcast revenue compared to nine in the previous ...

India lose to Morocco by 0-3 in FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup match

The Indian U-17 Women's Team went down to fellow debutants Morocco 0-3 in their second match of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Friday