SPORTS
Moment of Truth Here for Qatar as FIFA World Cup Begins
The moment of truth for Qatar’s ability to organize the FIFA World Cup after years of failed overtures and criticism over labor rights and strict laws has come.
Predicaments began mounting as early as December 2010 when it was announced that Qatar would host the finals amid a storm of international criticism.
“For me it is clear: Qatar is a mistake, a bad choice,” Sepp Blatter, the former president of world football’s governing body FIFA, said last week.
But it was his administration that oversaw the awarding of the 2022 event’s hosting rights to Qatar.
Always held during the close season of the majority of leagues, it was difficult to maintain such a schedule now.
Temperatures are presently reaching more than 45 degrees Celsius in Qatar’s blazing summers.
Two studies carried out by FIFA in 2014 and 2015 were enough to conclude that it would be impossible to hold the tournament in June/July, prompting the move to November and December.
Constructing the new stadiums witnessed many controversies regarding labour rights, amid media reports that thousands of foreign workers either lost their lives or were mistreated in the process.
Qatar responded by altering its labour laws to contain global dismay.
Additionally, Qatar’s strict Islamic laws against LGBT rights or alcohol consumption faced yet another storm of criticism.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, dispelled widespread fears recently.
He told the United Nations General Assembly last September that his government was ready to welcome everyone from around the world without discrimination.
Qatari Olympic high jump champion Mutaz Barshim, a World Cup ambassador, said the tournament is an opportunity to unite people.
“The World Cup will positively impact our society by showcasing our culture to the world and by helping people create friendships and build networks.
“It is a golden opportunity to change negative perceptions about the region and create new and meaningful connections,” he said in an interview with the Qatar 2022 website on Wednesday.
Qatar will be the first team since Italy in the second World Cup in 1934 to participate in the finals for the first time as a host.
This is a team hosting without having previously qualified for the tournament.
They need to avoid a similar fate to that of Switzerland, Chile and South Africa, who all hosted but exited the finals in the group stages in 1954, 1962 and 2010.
That is why the Qatari team has undergone a thorough process of preparing for the tournament.
It started by appointing Spanish coach Felix Sanchez in 2017, whose knowledge of the region helped him guide Qatar to the 2019 Asian Cup title, winning all matches in the process.
Sanchez’s men raised eyebrows with a number of notable performances, including a 3-1 defeat of Japan in the final.
The team continued its preparations by rubbing shoulders with South America’s best through their participation in the 2019 Copa America.
Nonetheless, the experience proved to be a little too much for the team as they finished bottom of their group following defeats by Colombia and Argentina and a draw against Paraguay.
Qatar, similarly and upon special request, took part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup last year.
There they showed improvement by topping their group and beating El Salvador in the quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to the U.S in the semi-finals.
The team will be under pressure by fans to achieve the desired results on home soil.
This is especially after the Qatari Federation’s decision not to allow their players to play for their domestic clubs since the beginning of the current season.
This was in order to devote themselves to preparations for the finals.(Reuters/NAN)
SPORTS
Results of Match Day 2 Fixtures in 2024/2025 NPFL
Following are the results of Match Day 1 fixtures in the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), played on Sunday and dates of the remaining fixtures:
Akwa United FC 1-1 Abia Warriors FC
Bayelsa United FC 1-1 Kano Pillars FC
Katsina United FC 1-1 Bendel Insurance FC
Niger Tornadoes FC 0-0 Nasarawa United FC
Shooting Stars FC 1-1 Plateau United FC
El Kanemi Warriors Vs Kwara United FC (postponed )
The following Match Day two fixtures
Would be played on Sept.
25:Ikorodu City FC Vs Enugu Rangers international FC
Enyimba international FC Vs Lobi stars FC .
(NAN)SPORTS
Match Day 1 Remaining Results in 2024/2025 NPFL
Following are the results of remaining Match Day one fixtures played on Sunday in the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL)Heartland FC 1-3 Enyimba international FCKwara United FC 1-2 Niger Tornadoes FCBendel Insurance FC 0-0 Rivers United FCPlateau United FC 1-0 Katsina United FCKano Pillars FC 3-0 Ikorodu City FCSunshine Stars FC 3-0 Bayelsa United FCAbia Warriors FC 0-2 Remo Stars FCNasarawa United FC 1-1 Shooting Stars FC.
(NAN)SPORTS
Morocco 2025: Super Eagles can Beat any Team, Eguavoen Boasts
The interim coach of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen, said his team can beat any team with the quality of players in the team.
Eguavoen stated this after his team spanked the Cheetahs of Benin Republic 4-0 in the 2025 African Cup Of Nations (AFCON) at the Godswill Akpabio stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom on Saturday.
“We have quality players to beat any team but we respect team anyway.
Any coach can come in and do the same job with the Super Eagles.“It is a mindset, we have the potential and how you perceived your opponent, given the information about them and then go out and do the job,“he said.
Equavoen attributed the victory to the formation adopted by the technical crew, adding that any formation could be used to ensure that the team was successful.
“We can decide to use any system. It is something we discussed and I slept over it. I know with the caliber of players that we have, we can decide to play any formation.
“Football is about you win, lose and draw, I don’t believe we have a poor result,” he said.
He, however, said that the former Super Eagles coach didn’t do a good job but it has to do with believe, what is at stake and what you want to achieve.
“Psychologically as a group, we are agreed, where we are and where we are going to be. We will definitely achieve it,” Equavoen said.
He commended the performance of the defence , describing it as superb, adding that the team had been training together for one week.
The coach said that asking six players to warm up for the second half was to buy time, adding that there was no need to rush to change.
He said the Cheetahs of Benin Republic were a good team, adding that they came with a good game plan.
Report says that Eguavoen was appointed interim coach after the deal between the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) and coach Bruno Labbadia failed.
NFF explained in a statement that it failed due to the stringent regulations of German tax authorities.(NAN)