arabnews.com - Zidane’s son Luca ‘proud’ to play for Algeria

Zidane’s son Luca ‘proud’ to play for Algeria

“It makes me proud and I will give everything at 100 percent to make the Algerian people proud,” the goalkeeper saidHe received his first call up for Algeria in a 26-man squad for the next two qualifiersORAN, Algeria: French football legend Zinedine Zidane’s son Luca said on Wednesday he is “proud” to represent Algeria ahead of the north African country’s World Cup qualifier against Somalia.Luca Zidane, 27, turned out for France’s youth team but has chosen to play for Algeria where his grandparents were born.“I’m very happy to be here. It makes me proud and I will give everything at 100 percent to make the Algerian people proud,” the goalkeeper told a press conference in Oran.Zidane junior, who plays for Spanish second tier side Granada, changed sporting nationality last month having never represented France at senior level.He received his first call up for Algeria in a 26-man squad for the next two qualifiers.“All my family are proud of me and back my choice, my grandfather is happy that I’m in Algeria and that I’ve made this decision,” he added.His father, who was a World Cup winner for France in 1998, “had his journey, his career.

Jeddah Season gearing up to host 4th round of F1 Powerboat World Championship

JEDDAH: The city of Jeddah is gearing up to host the fourth round of the Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship on Nov. 27-29.

La Liga confirm ‘historic’ Barcelona match in Miami

BARCELONA: Barcelona will face Villarreal in Miami in a La Liga match on December 20, the Spanish top flight said Wednesday, making it the first European league fixture to be played abroad. Earlier this week, European football governing body UEFA said they opposed the idea of games being played overseas but would permit it on an exceptional basis, along with a Serie A match in Australia in February between AC Milan and Como. “With this match we take a historic step that projects La Liga and Spanish football into a new dimension,” said La Liga president Javier Tebas in a statement. “We understand and respect the concerns that this decision may generate, but it is important to put it into context — it is a single match out of the 380 that make up the season.” The game was due to be played at Villarreal’s home stadium but will now take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in the United States, in Florida. Villarreal will take measures to compensate season ticket holders after the game was moved. “Villarreal season ticket holders will be able to travel for free to the match, and those who choose not to travel to Miami will enjoy a 30 percent discount on their season ticket price as part of the measures designed to reward their support and loyalty,” said La Liga. In September a total of 18 fan groups from both teams involved expressed their “complete opposition” to the match taking place abroad. La Liga have attempted to play matches overseas dating back to 2017 but the Spanish football federation (RFEF) frequently resisted, despite hosting the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia themselves. Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid have also expressed their disapproval at the decision to take a La Liga game abroad. They said in August hosting

Salah scores twice as Egypt qualify for 2026 World Cup

CASABLANCA: Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored twice to help Egypt beat Djibouti 3-0 in Casablanca on Wednesday and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Conceicao named as new coach of Al-Ittihad

RIYADH: Former AC Milan manager Sergio Conceicao will take over as coach of Al-Ittihad following the sacking of Laurent Blanc, the Saudi Arabian Pro League club announced on Wednesday. The Portuguese coach, who also won 52 caps as a player, was revealed in a video on social media titled “The King Rules the Game.” “Victory is not a choice,” says Conceicao, 50, in the video.

Calculators at the ready to determine African World Cup aspirations

CAPE TOWN: African fans will need their calculators over the next week of World Cup qualifiers to figure out if their favored team remains in contention for a place at next year’s finals in North America. The nine group winners all qualify automatically and will be determined when the group qualifying program ends on Tuesday. While that is simple enough, there is the possibility of an additional 10th African team reaching next June’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States via a lengthy playoff route. The four best runners-up from the nine groups will go into a playoff next month to determine a sole African representative for a further intercontinental playoff planned for March. Calculating the four best runners-up from the nine African groups would have been easy had Eritrea not withdrawn before the start of the campaign, but after the draw was made, and left one of the groups with five teams instead of six. Therefore, because the five countries in Group E played eight qualifiers instead of 10 in all the other groups, the four best runners-up will be determined not by their overall points tally but by their results only against the third, fourth and fifth-placed sides in their respective groups. In other words, any points that the runners-up accumulated in matches against the last-placed finisher are expunged, the Confederation of African Football has confirmed. The penultimate round of qualifiers began on Wednesday and with two rounds to play, there are only two confirmed group winners, no confirmed runners-up and four teams condemned to last place. Morocco and Tunisia last month secured top place in their respective groups, and a ticket to the 2026 World Cup, while Djibouti (Group A), Seychelles (F), Somalia

Motor racing-FIA list raises prospect of Ben Sulayem being re-elected unopposed

LONDON: FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the head of Formula One’s governing body, could be re-elected unopposed in December after a list published on Wednesday left rivals seemingly unable to secure the necessary support to stand. The International Automobile Federation named 29 people who are eligible for its World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), from which list each presidential candidate must draw a team of seven potential vice presidents for sport in order to progress to a vote. Two must come from Europe and one each from South America, North America, Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East/North Africa. South America has only one person on the list, however: Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone, who is a current vice president for sport representing the continent and one of the most senior women at the FIA as well as being the wife of former F1 supremo Bernie. The FIA said the absence of any other candidate from South America on the list could be due to no other member club putting anybody forward or to someone failing to secure the approval of the FIA nominations committee. The deadline for putting forward candidates for the WMSC list was September 29.

Cristiano Ronaldo becomes football’s first billionaire, says Bloomberg

RIYADH: Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo has become football’s first billionaire player, according to figures released Wednesday in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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Zidane’s son Luca ‘proud’ to play for Algeria

Jeddah Season gearing up to host 4th round of F1 Powerboat World Championship

La Liga confirm ‘historic’ Barcelona match in Miami

Salah scores twice as Egypt qualify for 2026 World Cup

Conceicao named as new coach of Al-Ittihad

Calculators at the ready to determine African World Cup aspirations

Motor racing-FIA list raises prospect of Ben Sulayem being re-elected unopposed

Cristiano Ronaldo becomes football’s first billionaire, says Bloomberg