Canadian men add friendly match against Bahrain ahead of Qatar World Cup

20.10.2022 - 16:21 cbc.ca

Canada has finalized its pre-World Cup plans, adding a warm-up game and camp in Bahrain ahead of next month's soccer showcase in Qatar.

The Canadian men, ranked 41st in the world, will face No. 85 Bahrain on Nov. 11 in Manama ahead of a previously scheduled game Nov.

17 against No. 24 Japan in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Bahrain match, to be played at the Al-Khalifa Stadium, will be Canada's last international test before the full squad gets together when the official FIFA international window opens for the World Cup.

Canada has never played Bahrain before. Bahrain failed to advance out of the second round of Asian World Cup qualifying, finishing third at 4-1-3 in a group behind leader Iran and Iraq.

FIFA Sporting cup John Herdman Qatar Belgium Croatia Portugal Canada Uae Japan Morocco Iran Bahrain Uruguay county Canadian Iraq Manama

ZURICH : A few dozen people protested in front of the FIFA Museum in Zurich on Tuesday to press for the rights of the LGBT+ community ahead of the World Cup hosted by Gulf state Qatar.

'They have to accept our rules here' - Qatar World Cup ambassador makes anti-gay comments

A Qatar World Cup ambassador has told German television broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was "damage in the mind", as the Gulf state prepares to host the global tournament in less than two weeks. In an interview filmed in Doha and to be screened later on Tuesday, former Qatar international Khalid Salman addressed the issue of homosexuality, which is illegal in the conservative Muslim country. Some players have raised concerns over the rights of fans travelling to the event, especially LGBTQ+ individuals and women, whom rights groups say Qatari laws discriminate against. The country expects more than one million visitors for the World Cup. "They have to accept our rules here," Salman said, in an excerpt of the interview. "(Homosexuality) is haram. You know what haram (forbidden) means?" he said. When asked why it was haram, Salman said: "I am not a strict Muslim but why is it haram? Because it is damage in the mind." The interview was then immediately stopped by an accompanying official. Qatar's World Cup organisers, when contacted by Reuters, declined to comment. World football's ruling body FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. Organisers have repeatedly said everyone was welcome in Qatar during the World Cup. Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup but the small nation has come under intense pressure in recent years for its treatment of foreign workers and restrictive social laws.

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