The two midfielders are among the 23-man shortlist for the honour and the eventual winner will be revealed Jan 7. ...
06:02 PM, Nov 29, 2012
FIFA have refused Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba permission to leave China's Shanghai Shenhua on loan before the January transfer window. FIFA said they had received a request to be registered outside an open registration period from the former Chelsea forward, whose season in the Chinese Super League is over. The 34-year-old wants to keep himself sharp for the African Nations Cup which begins on January 19. "Any professional player...
10:36 PM, Nov 22, 2012
New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to the national team to play as many friendly matches as possible in 2013-2014 to better their world ranking. The International Football Federation (FIFA) has earmarked 11 days for friendlies and the AIFF at its Executive Committee decided that the national team should utilise, if possible, all the days, to play meaningful matches against good national teams....
08:14 PM, Nov 20, 2012
South Koreans Ulsan Hyundai cruised to their first Asian Champions League title as they outclassed Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia 3-0 in the final on Saturday to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup. Captain Kwak Tae-hwi opened the scoring in the 13th minute with Brazilian forward Rafinha (68th) and midfielder Kim Seung-yong (75th) adding second half goals as the Koreans dominated the final they hosted in Ulsan after a...
08:20 PM, Nov 10, 2012
Moscow: Russia moved into the top-10-ranked football nations this month, FIFA announced on Wednesday. Fabio Capello's team rose three places from 12th to ninth on the back of 1-0 victories over Portugal and Azerbaijan in last month's World Cup qualifiers. World and European champions Spain remain cemented to first place, followed by Germany in second and Argentina, who moved to third following wins over Uruguay and Chile. Portugal were edged...
05:28 PM, Nov 07, 2012
Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo says he is considering retirement after suffering a rib and shoulder injury while playing for Kabuscorp in Angola's top flight. The 40-year-old said on Twitter he would be forced to undergo at least two weeks of physiotherapy, ruling him out for the rest of the season, reports Xinhua. "With this injury the season is practically over for me in Angola. I have...
01:29 PM, Oct 24, 2012
London: FIFA has extended the provisional ban on former presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam for another 45 days, the Qatari's lawyers have said. Bin Hammam had a lifetime ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July but was suspended again one week later, this time for a provisional period of 90 days, as FIFA announced a fresh probe by its ethics investigator Michael Garcia. Now the...
11:01 PM, Oct 23, 2012
Zurich: Goal-line technology providers GoalRef and Hawk-Eye have been authorised to install their systems worldwide after signing licence agreements with FIFA, soccer's world governing body said on Tuesday. As part of the licensing agreement, the two companies have also had to take out liability insurance in case their equipment makes a wrong decision or injures a player. "This policy should provide sufficient insurance coverage for claims being raised by third...
10:49 PM, Oct 23, 2012
New Delhi: Indian football's technical director Rob Baan on Friday said the country should be ashamed of its 168th place in FIFA rankings and work hard to plug the gaping holes in various aspects of the game. Addressing a panel discussion on 'Mission Rank 100: Myth or Reality?' organised by FICCI, Baan said India will have to focus on grassroot and infrastructure development if it wants to rise in FIFA...
02:58 PM, Oct 19, 2012
EA Sports has finally done it. Agreed, FIFA 12 was a success but one that came with very many frowns. But FIFA 13 with its new features has cemented FIFA's status as the world's best football game both on and off the pitch. With apologies to PES 2013 fans, EA Sports' FIFA 13 is the ultimate in football gaming action. EA Sports has been able to fine-tune every aspect of...
02:55 PM, Oct 17, 2012
Paris: Hit by injuries and reeling from a surprise 1-0 loss to Japan, with their strikers struggling to score and a patched-up defense looking far from secure, France have enough to worry about without even thinking about Spain's quality ahead of their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. Both teams won their opening two qualifiers to share the lead in Group I. But while Spain cruised into top gear with a...
07:11 PM, Oct 15, 2012
Rio de Janeiro: An inflatable model of Brazil's 2014 World Cup mascot, a smiling three-banded armadillo, has been removed after being attacked by vandals, the second such incident in less than a week. The seven-metre high inflatable armadillo was removed from its spot near Brasilia's Esplanade of the Ministries, an enormous boulevard flanked by public buildings, after youths attacked it with knives, Brazilian media said. Photographs showed a pile of...
03:18 PM, Oct 10, 2012
New Delhi: India moved a place to be 168th in the FIFA rankings. They had earlier dropped to 169 last month. However, they regained the position when the rankings were released Wednesday. India next play Singapore, ranked 162, in an away friendly Oct 16. The Wim Koevermans-led side recently won the Nehru Cup here last month. ...
12:58 PM, Oct 04, 2012
Paris: Lionel Messi does not deserve to win the next FIFA Ballon d'Or as he has only won one minor trophy this year, his former Barcelona team mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Tuesday. "Messi had a fantastic season but he has not won that much and he has already won the Ballon d'Or three times," Paris St Germain forward Ibrahimovic, who played with Messi in the 2009/10 season, told Eurosport...
03:07 PM, Oct 02, 2012
Moscow: Eleven Russian cities will host the 2018 World Cup, head of the local organising committee (LOC) Vitaly Mutko said on Friday following FIFA's executive board meeting in Zurich. "FIFA has made a decision to use 12 stadiums in 11 cities," Russian Sports Minister Mutko told reporters without naming the two cities who did not make the list. Thirteen Russian cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan,...
04:52 PM, Sep 28, 2012
New Delhi: Three days ahead of India's formal bid for the Under-17 Football World Cup in 2017, the AIFF received a shot in the arm as the central government gave its approval for hosting the prestigious event. The news was conveyed on Monday, to the AIFF in a letter, dated September 19, by Sports Minister Ajay Maken. "It gives me immense pleasure to inform you that the Government supports the...
11:35 AM, Sep 25, 2012
New Delhi: Nobody said it to his face but when All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel said last week India's goal was to qualify for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, his sunny optimism bordered on grim absurdity. With FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke sitting next to him, the AIFF chief announced it minutes before signing a 10-year agreement with soccer's governing body to develop the game...
01:05 PM, Sep 13, 2012
Rio de Janeiro: Brazil midfielder Oscar says his Chelsea teammates are not yet thinking about a possible showdown with Brazil's Corinthians in December's FIFA Club World Cup final. The 10-day tournament in Japan will pit the champions of each of FIFA's continental confederations against one another, reports Xinhua. "Chelsea is involved in many important competitions and there is nobody thinking about the Club World Cup," Oscar told media in Sao...
04:38 PM, Sep 06, 2012
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke is in India with a view to improving football in the country. ...
02:22 PM, Sep 06, 2012
Zurich: Brazil stayed outside the top ten of FIFA's highly questioned ranking system on Wednesday, with England, Denmark and Greece all ahead of the five-times world champions. The South Americans, who hit an all-time low of 13th last month, climbed one place to 12th thanks to a 3-0 friendly win in Sweden. But their placing, one below Greece, is still surprisingly low as they have won 10 of their 13...
04:07 PM, Sep 05, 2012
