Hosts Ivory Coast to face Nigeria in Africa Cup of Nations group stage play
ABIDJAN: Hosts Ivory Coast were joined in Group A by Nigeria in the draw for the Africa Cup of Nations in Abidjan on Thursday.
Green Falcons Sport News
Blitzers and Braves make final of ILT20 Development Tournament
DUBAI: The ILT20 Development Tournament ends with the Blitzers taking on the Braves in the final at the ICC Academy Oval 1 on Tuesday night — with 13 spots for UAE players up for grabs to compete in the DP World ILT20 season two.
Mancini puts Green Falcons through their paces in Portugal
RIYADH: The Green Falcons have begun their training program in Lagos, Portugal, in preparation for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, which is being held in Qatar from Jan. 2 to Feb. 10, 2024.
Saudi Arabia’s medal tally upped to 10 in Asian Games
HANGZHOU, China: Saudi Arabia’s 18-year-old jiu-jtsu fighter Omar Nada on Saturday won a bronze medal in the under-85 kg weight category at the 19th Asian Games in Hanbgzhou. The youngest athlete to represent the Kingdom’s delegation, Nada defeated his Kyrgyz contender Abdulrahman Hajj to win the bronze and become the youngest winner in the history of Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Asian Games, a media statement said. His victory increased Saudi Arabia’s medal tally to 10 — four gold, two silver and four bronze — in the event that concludes tomorrow. In the karate competitions, Fajr Al-Nashri was eliminated following his defeat to Jordan’s Mohammed Al-Jaffar, in the round of 16 in the 84 kg weight category, with a score of 1-5. During the Kingdom’s participation in the Asian Games, the Green Falcons have collected a total of 71 medals (29 gold, 15 silver, 27 bronze), since the Bangkok games in 1978. The Kingdom won a single bronze medal in New Delhi 1982, a single silver medal in Seoul 1986, one bronze medal in Beijing 1990, and nine medals in Hiroshima 1994 (one gold, three silver, five bronze). Saudi athletes also won nine medals in Busan in 2002 (seven gold, one silver, one bronze), 14 medals in Doha in 2006 (eight gold, six bronze), 13 medals in Guangzhou in 2010 (five gold, three silver, five bronze), seven medals in Incheon in 2014 (three gold, three silver, one bronze), six medals in Jakarta in 2018 (one gold, two silver, three bronze), and ten medals in Hangzhou in 2022 (four gold, two silver, four bronze).
Saudi show jumper, karate player, up Kingdom’s medal tally to 9 in Asian Games
HANGZHOU: A gold medal in show jumping and a bronze in karate on Friday upped Saudi Arabia’s medal tally to nine in the 19th Asian Games, being held in Hangzhou, China. In the individual show jumping competition, Saudi rider Abdullah Al-Sharbatly won gold after completing the final round in 39.68 seconds. Saudi athletes have so far collected four gold, two silver, and three bronze medals in Hangzhou 2022. Al-Sharbatly ranked first ahead of his UAE contenders, who came in second and third. With a spectacular performance in the first and second rounds of individual show jumping, he qualified for the final round without committing an error with times of 77.95 and 75.14 seconds.
Jiu-jitsu bronze makes it 7 medals for Saudi Arabia at Asian Games
HANGZHOU, China: Saudi Arabian Abdulmalik Almurdhi collected the Kingdom’s seventh medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou after defeating his Jordanian opponent at jiu-jitsu on Thursday. Almurdhi took the bronze in the under-62 kg weight category after beating Jordan’s Khalil Alarnaut, a media statement reported. Saudi Arabia’s medal count has now gone up to seven: three golds, two silvers, and two bronze medals. Osama Qandeel was eliminated in the round of 16 in the under-69 kg weight category at jiu-jitsu after losing against his Kazakh contender 9-0. Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s weightlifter Ali Al-Khazal finished in first place in Group Two of the men’s 109 kg competition on Thursday.
Arab countries support Saudi World Cup 2034 bid
RIYADH: Arab nations have started throwing their weight behind Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom announced its bid to host the World Cup 2034.
Morocco, Spain and Portugal to host 2030 World Cup, three games in S America
Morocco, Spain and Portugal have been named hosts of the 2030 World Cup, while Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host the opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary, FIFA said on Wednesday. The joint bid from Morocco, Portugal and Spain was the sole candidate to host the tournament. The inaugural World Cup in 1930 was held in Uruguay and won by the hosts. It marks the first time the World Cup will be staged across three continents and six countries. “The FIFA Council unanimously agreed that the sole candidacy will be the combined bid of Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, which will host the event in 2030 and qualify automatically from the existing slot allocation,” FIFA said in a statement. “Additionally, having taken into account the historical context of the first-ever FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Council further unanimously agreed to host a unique centenary celebration ceremony in the country’s capital, Montevideo...