FOOTBALL HEADLINES

Thursday 21 December 2017

Thailand FA to apply VAR technology in Thai League 1 next year



The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) will apply the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in some local football competitions, the governing body announced at the Wednesday meeting.
FAT president Somyot Poompanmuang confirmed that the first trial for the VAR would be applied at the Thailand Champions Cup game between Thai League 1 champions Buriram United and FA Cup winners Chiang Rai United early next year.
Moreover, the FAT will reportedly introduce the technology in 2018 Thai League 1, which will kick off on 9 February.
On the other hand, Somyot also required the national governing body to study the effectiveness of using the technology.

Thursday 14 December 2017

AFC Cup 2018 draw confirmed




With the AFC Cup continuing to be split into zones, Air Force Club - who last month defeated Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol to claim a second successive continental crown - find themselves in West Asia’s Group A, where they will have Malkiya Club from Bahrain, Jordan’s Al Jazeera and a yet to be determined Play-off winner for company.

Meanwhile, defeated finalists Istiklol will look to make amends for their 2017 disappointment when they begin their latest title assault from Group D in the Central Zone. They will face FC Alay from Kyrgyzstan, the Central Zone’s Play-off winner and a representative from Turkmenistan.

The fixtures for the Preliminary and Play-off stages – as well as the clubs competing in them – were also finalised at the event.

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Draw Results

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West Asia Zone

Group A
Malkiya Club (BHR)
Al Jazeera (JOR)
Air Force Club (IRQ)
Winner of PO WEST 3 (OMA/PLE)

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Group B
Al Ahed (LIB)
Manama Club (BHR)
Al Jaish (SYR)
Al Zawraa Club (IRQ)

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Group C
Al Faisaly or AL Wendat (JOR)
Al Ansar FC (LIB)
Dhofar Club (OMA)
Al Wahda (SYR)



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Central Zone

Group D
FC Istiklol (TJK)
Turkmenistan 1st Club
FC Alay (KGZ)
PO - winner (TJK/TKM/KGZ)

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South Zone

Group E
Aizwl FC (IND) or Mohun Bagan (IND)
New Radiant SC (MDV)
Bangladesh 1st Club
PO - Winner (IND/MDV/BHU)

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ASEAN ZONE

Group F
Philippines 1st Club or 3rd club
Home United FC (SIN)
Shan United (MYA) or Yadanarbon FC (MYA)
Winner of PO Asean 3 (LAO/CAM)

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Group G
Bali United FC (IDN) or Madura United (IDN)
Philippines 2nd Club
FLC Than Hoa (VIE) or Hanoi FC (VIE)
Yangon United FC (MYA)

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Group H
Tampines Rovers (SIN) or Geylang International FC (SIN)
Persija Jakarta (IDN)
Johor Darul Ta'zim (MAS) or Selangor FA (MAS)
Song Lam Nghe An FC (VIE)

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South Zone

Group I
4.25 SC (PRK)
Hang Yuen FC (TPE)
Benfica Macau (MAC)
PO - Winner (PRK/MNG)

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Preliminary Stage and Play-off Stage Match Schedule

West Play-off

22 January - Hilal Alquds Club (PLE) vs. Al Suwaiq (OMA)

29 January - Al Suwaiq (OMA) vs. Hilal Alqudsclub (PLE)

Manama Club (BHR) & Al Ansar FC (LIB) – receive bye to AFC Cup 2018 Group Stage

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ASEAN Play-off

22 January - Cambodia 1st club vs. Philippines 2nd Club

29 January - Philippines 2nd Club vs. Cambodia 1st Club

22 January - Lao Toyota FC (LAO) vs.Home United FC (SIN)

29 January - Home United FC (SIN) vs.Lao Toyota FC (LAO)

Yangon United FC (MYA) – receive bye to AFC Cup 2018 Group Stage

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Central Preliminary

January 23 - Dordoi FC (KGZ) vs. Turkmenistan 2nd Club

January 30 – Turkmenistan 2nd Club vs.Dordoi FC (KGZ)

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Central Play-off

February 13 - Winner PS 2 vs. FC Khujand

February 20 - FC Khujand (TJK) vs. Winner PS 2

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South Preliminary

January 23 – Transport United (BHU) vs. JSW Bengaluru FC (IND)

January 30 – JSW Bengaluru FC (IND) vs.Transport United (BHU)

January 23 – Bangladesh 2nd Club vs. Maldives 2nd Club

January 30 - Maldives 2nd Club vs. Bangladesh 2nd Club

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South Play-off

February 13 - Winner PS 2 vs. Winner PS 1

February 20 - Winner PS 1 vs. Winner PS 2

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East Play-off

February 13 - Erchim FC (MNG) vs. Hwaepul SC (PRK)

February 20 - Hwaepul SC (PRK) vs Erchim FC (MNG)

Friday 10 November 2017

AFC Futsal Championship Qualifiers (West Zone)


During the opening game of the AFC Futsal Championship qualifiers Jordan beat Qatar by 3-1 in the Group B encounter to lead the group which consists of Jordan,Qatar and Lebanon.Jordan got an early lead at 2' when Ahmed Amer Samara tucked a neat heel flick in the box to give them an early momentum in the encounter.It wasn't long before Sameer Samir doubled the lead at 6' to lead 2-1 with a 15 yard strike from a free kick to crash at the back of the net.
In the first half Qatar managed to pull one back at 15' through a thunderous strike from free kick by Said Albulushi and looked to claw their way back into the game.
The second half was an end-to-end battle as both team looked for possession and openings but eventually Jordan pressed hard to get their cushion lead of 3-1 with a 37 minutes strike by no. 10 Samer Samih Aldeen to cruise to a 3-1 lead.
The win gives Jordan huge boost for the qualification process as a win against Lebanon could ensure their play off clash in the Group B encounter.

In Group A,Asian powerhouse Iraq took on Bahrain in the opening game encounter and in a hard fought encounter Bahrain managed to sneak in a 3-2 victory in a game that could have of gone to either side.In the Arabian derby Saudi Arabia held to 1-1 draw with UAE  as Alhoshani scored for UAE at opening minute and was responded with a prompt equalizer from S Alasiri on the 4th minute.The remaining of the game there were many chances created by both teams but none failed to break the deadlock ending in 1-1 draw.

Tuesday 7 November 2017

IWL - INDIAN WOMEN'S LEAGUE 2017-18 QUALIFIERS FIXTURES ANNOUNCED



The fixtures for the upcoming qualifiers of the Indian Women's League (IWL) 2017-18 were announced today (November 06, 2017. A draw of lots was held at Football House in New Delhi to determine the fixtures of the qualifiers to be held later this month in Kolhapur from November 25. The schedule is as follows:

November 25 - Rising Student Club vs J&K State Sports Council

November 25 - Baroda Football Academy vs Sethu FC

November 25 - Capital Complex Sporting Club vs Indira Gandhi Academy for Sports & Education

November 26 - Hans Women Football Club vs SAI Women's Football Team

November 26 - Rush Soccer vs Eastern Sporting Union

November 26 - United Warrior Sporting Club vs Krypsha

November 27 - J&K State Sports Council vs Sethu FC

November 27 - Indira Gandhi Academy for Sports & Education vs Baroda Football Academy

November 27 - Capital Complex Sporting Club vs Rising Student Club

November 28 - Chandney Sporting Club vs SAI Women's Football Team

November 28 - United Warrior Sporting Club vs Hans Women Football Club

November 28 - Krypsha vs Rush Soccer

November 29 - Baroda Football Academy vs J&K State Sports Council

November 29 - Sethu FC vs Capital Complex Sporting Club

November 29 - Rising Student Club vs Indira Gandhi Academy for Sports & Education

November 30 - Eastern Sporting Union vs United Warriror Sporting Club

November 30 - SAI Women's Football Team vs Krypsha

November 30 - Hans Women Football Club vs Chandney Sporting Club

December 01 - Indira Gandhi Academy for Sports & Education vs Sethu FC

December 01 - Rising Student Club vs Baroda Football Academy

December 01 - J&K State Sports Council vs Capital Complex Sporting Club

December 02 - Eastern Sporting Union vs Chandney Sporting Club

December 02 - Rush Soccer vs SAI Women's Football Team

December 02 - Krypsha vs Hans Women Football Club

December 03 - Sethu FC vs Rising Student Club

December 03 - Indira Gandhi Academy for Sports & Education vs J&K State Sports Council

December 03 - Baroda Football Academy vs Capital Complex Sporting Club

December 04 - Hans Women Football Club vs Eastern Sporting Union

December 04 - Rush Soccer vs United Warrior Sporting Club

December 04 - Chandney Sporting Club vs Krypsha

December 06 - SAI Women's Football Team vs United Warrior Sporting Club

December 06 - Chandney Sporting Club vs Rush Soccer

December 06 - Eastern Sporting Union vs Krypsha

December 08 - United Warrior Sporting Club vs Chandney Sporting Club

December 08 - SAI Women's Football Team vs Eastern Sporting Union

December 08 - Rush Soccer vs Hans Women Football Club

Monday 6 November 2017

KOREA REPUBLIC AND JAPAN SEAL SPOTS IN AFC FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2018



Bangkok: Korea Republic and Japan sealed automatic qualification to the 2018 AFC Futsal Championship after finishing as group winners on Monday, while Chinese Taipei will face China PR in a play-off match to decide the final qualification slot.
Group B: China PR 2-5 Korea Republic
Prior to the match, both sides had secured the top two spots in Group C, but a win would mean automatic qualification, while the runners-up would have to go into a play-off match with the Group A runners-up for the third and final East Zone slot allocation. 
It was evenly matched at the start with neither side playing too defensively or offensively.
China's Li Jianjia had the closest attempt in the opening minutes, but his shot struck the left post. 
Korean duo Kim Gyeong-geun and Chun Jin-woo were a sight to see, as they had numerous opportunities but China's captain and goalkeeper Zhu Bei was quick to deny them. 
However in the seventh minute, Gyeong-geun opened the scoring for Korea Republic courtesy of Chun's pass into the box. 
Zhuang Jianfa found the equaliser for China with a twist and turn shot to beat Seo Jung-woo in the 16th minute. 
Both sides could have scored goals on numerous occasions, but one too many bad passes kept the score 1-1 at half-time at the Bangkok Arena. 
Korea Republic regained their lead in the 25th minute when a swift counter-attacksaw three Korean forwards against Zhu Bei and Lee Sun-ho scored from close range. 
With a direct qualification slot on the line, both sides were much more aggressive than the first half as China racked up five fouls 29 minutes in, while Korea Republic had two. 
At the half-hour mark, Korean skipper Shin Jong-hoon hit home, which left the Chinese ustounded as he took the shot from a distance. 
Zhuang reduced China's deficit two minutes later after some impressive passes led to him sliding the ball in. 
With two minutes left, China switched to their power play tactics, but it quickly back fired when Kim Min-kuk scored into an unguarded goal, before scoring again in similar fashion in the final seconds of the game. 
China will go into the play-off match on Wednesday with Chinese Taipei. 

Li Xin: China PR Head Coach
"We didn't create enough opportunities today, and we slowly lost the advantage later into the game. We will face either Japan or Chinese Taipei next. For Japan, they are one of Asia's best with a strong sense of teamwork, while Chinese Taipei's futsal in a whole has gotten so much better over the years. Both will be a tough match."
Lee Sang-jin: Korea Republic Head Coach
"Before the tournament, we would train our tactics against China. We trained our players both mentally and physically for this matchup. The Chinese players are very individually skilled and No. 6, Xu Yang, was exceptional. Overall, I am satsified with out result, but we would still need to continue training and improve for the Finals next year. With this win, I hope we can show our countrymen that our futsal team is strong as well, so keep believing in us."

Group A: Japan 8-1 Chinese Taipei
In a battle for Group A supremacy and a direct slot to the 2018 Finals, both sides entered the match with two wins each.
Shimizu Kazuya was in Japan’s starting five again, and he lived up to his performances in the past two days by opening the scoring once more in the third minute, before Hoshi Shota doubled their lead in the first five minutes.  
Shortly after, Chinese Taipei keeper Chiang Hsin Wei infringed the four-second rule, when he held the ball for far too long, but only because Japan kept immense pressure on every player.
With an indirect free-kick from the goal line, Nibuya Kazuhiro positioned himself nicely in the box to triple the advantage.
However, it didn’t break Chinese Taipei’s spirits, especially when a successful counter-attack led Huang Tai-hsiang surging down the left flank alone before shooting into the top right corner of the net in the eighth minute.
Tomoaki Watanabe ran around Chinese Taipei’s backline, creating ample space for Shota to score his second in the 13th minute, and Nibuya Kazuhiro etched his name on the scoresheet minutes later.
After the breather, Chinese Taipei returned with the tenacity they had shown in their first two matches, but Japan’s Shota was  on a different level with his crisp touches and fine finishing. He completed his hat-trick in the 25th minute, to give Japan a five-goal lead.
Chinese Taipei showed signs of life every once in awhile, but the gap in goal difference definitely had an affect on their confidence, and further goals from Madenochi Matias Hernan (32nd) and Yoshikawa Tomoki (35th) made sure that Chinese Taipei had no chance of a comeback.
Shih Pei Jen’s side will face China on Wednesday for the play-off match to determine the third best team and the last qualification slot.

Shih Pei Jen: Chinese Taipei Head Coach
“Our players gave their best today. And this match was a very good opportunity for our players to learn. We weren’t focused in the beginning and were fighting against a top Asian team like Japan. Their attack was just too great and we had a hard time shutting them down. We will do our preparation for the game against China in the play-offs and keep playing the game we have been playing and give our all.”
Bruno Garcia: Japan Head Coach
“We are really tired but happy that we qualified of course and played a game that spectators can enjoy. The way we played today made it difficult for them to play aggressively. Any team that participate in this tournament means that futsal development will continue to be better, and Chinese Taipei has showed that they have improved. I am happy with Kazuya and Shota's performance, but I am happy for the whole team because we worked hard for this tournament as a team. I would like to dedicate our wins to our fans and our staff who have helped us prepare for this tournament."

Macau 2-6 Mongolia
Macau and Mongolia were only playing for pride, having already been knocked out from contention for a top two finish after suffering two consecutive defeats.
A win, however, would help their ranking and both went in search of three points.
Mongolia’s Munguntulga Battsagaan scored the first goal of the game with his right foot in the third minute.
Shortly after, a quick counter-attack saw Batbaatar Battulga cross from the left finding Erdenebat Bat-Orgil who made no mistake to double their lead.
Bat-Orgil scored again minutes later, before Purevdorj Erdenebat furthered their advantage courtesy of Ganzorig Erdene-Ochir’s accurate passing.
Battsagaan added another goal to his name, before Kwok Siu Tin made sure that Macau had a goal of their own a minute before half-time.
However, Mongolia’s playmaker Ganzorig gave Altantulga Pagamsuren the perfect opportunity in the final seconds and he scored to regain their five-goal lead.
In the second half, Mongolia continued their pursuit for more goals but Macau had tightened their defence.
Macau’s Cheong Loi scored the only goal in the second-half in the 38th minute but Mongolia secure their only win in this year’s qualifiers.

Ku Chan Kuong: Macau Head Coach
"We had a very poor start, and maybe it's because our players weren't in their best condition. Our urge to win and score made the team nervous and that led to conceding too many goals. But in the second half, with such a huge goal difference, the players became less nervous and started palying the right formation. We will return home now to find for more younger players, as some of our seniors will be retiring soon. We want to come back to the next qualifiers with some fresh and talented players."
Erdene-Ochir Sandagdorj: Mongolia Head Coach
"Our team played very well today. In the beginning we had a lot of chances and scored. But in the second-half, we weren't looking to score, but to focus more on our tactical plays. I am proud of my team's performance."
Photos: Football Association of Thailand

Air Force Club down Istiklol to retain AFC Cup




Air Force Club became only the third team in history to win back-to-back AFC Cup titles after beating FC Istiklol 1-0 in Saturday’s final.
Following a goalless first half at the Hisor Central Stadium, Emad Mohsin popped up to score with an unstoppable effort in the 68th minute to win it for the Iraqi outfit.
And while there were scenes of jubilation from the Air Force camp at the final whistle, the disappointment for Istiklol was evident as they lost came up short at the last hurdle on home soil for the second time in three years.
Despite Istiklol enjoying the majority of the support in Tajikistan, it was the visitors who started the brighter of the two teams.
Just six minutes in, they were unlucky not to draw first blood when Sebastijan Antic met Humam Tariq’s corner with a towering header, only to see it come back off the foot of the post with Nikola Stosic left stranded.
Awakened by that early scare, Istiklol began to show more initiative as they gained the upper hand in the possession stakes, while Manuchekhr Dzhalilov and Dmitry Barkov started to come to life in the final third.
Still, it was Air Force who looked the likelier to open the scoring and they had a golden opportunity to do so eight minutes after the break, when Tariq won a penalty after going down under a challenge by Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev inside the area.
The usually-deadly Hammadi Ahmad stepped up to the spot and, while he fired away a decent effort, Stosic pulled off a fine save to keep out his effort at full stretch.
Having survived another close shave, it seemed as though it was only a matter of time before Istiklol – buoyed by the vociferous support of their fans – would go on to claim the ascendancy.
Instead, it was Air Force who finally broke the deadlock in the 68th minute through an excellent team effort.
Receiving a cross from Samed Saeed, Hammadi produced a brilliant first-time layoff to divert the ball to Mohsin, who proceeded to lash a piledriver into the top corner.
With the hosts pushing more and more men forward as the final entered its closing stages, gaps also started to appear for Air Force to exploit.
Hammadi had a couple of gilt-edged opportunites to put the result beyond doubt, only to be let down by his finishing, as well as some desperate defending from the opposition defence.
Nonetheless, it mattered little in the end as Air Force held on till the end, following in the footsteps of Al Faisaly and Al Kuwait in securing a second consecutive AFC Cup crown.
FC ISTIKLOL: Nikola Stosic, Oleksandr Stetsenko, Artem Baranovskiy, Siyovush Asrorov, Akhtam Nazarov, Jahongir Aliev (Romish Jalilov 88’), Nurridin Davronov (Amirbek Juraboev 73’), David Mawutor, Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev, Manuchekhr Dzhalilov (Dilshod Vasiev 74’), Dmitry Barkov.
AIR FORCE CLUB: Fahad Talib, Sameh Saeed, Samal Saeed, Sebastijan Antic, Ali Bahjat, Zaher Midani, Khaled Mbayed, Karrar Ali (Ahmed Abdul-Ridha 90’), Emad Mohsin (Saif Salman 78’), Humam Tariq, Hammadi Ahmad.

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Cristiano Ronaldo retained his FIFA men's player of the year crown on Monday night, beating Lionel Messi and Neymar to earn the accolade of the world's best footballer.

FIFA's Best 2017


Cristiano Ronaldo was duly crowned the world’s best player for the second year running at FIFA’s Best Awards gala on Monday but that didn’t tell the whole story.
Real Madrid’s Portuguese superstar, who scored twice against Juventus in the Champions League final to help Real become the first team to retain the trophy in its current format, gained 43.16% of the  vote – made by national team coaches and captains, selected journalists and, for the first time, an online poll of fans – ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (19.25%) and Brazil’s Neymar (6.97%).
He was also one of five Madrid players selected in the FIFPro Team of the Year while boss Zinedine Zidane was Coach of the Year.
The  World Player of the Year award was merged with the Ballon d’Or in 2010 but  they are now separate occasions after FIFA ended the association and shifted its ceremony, now in its second year and staged for the first time in London,  from the traditional January slot to October so players are judged across a European season  rather than the calendar year.
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud won the Puskas Award for the best goal of the year, the Frenchman’s scorpion kick against Crystal Palace, and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon was declared best goalkeeper.
The Netherlands’ Lieke Martens who scored in the Euro 2017  final win over Denmark, won the female player’s award.  She gained 21.72% of the vote over American Carli Lloyd 16.28%, who won last year. Third was US-based Venezuelan teenager Deyna Castellanos while the Netherlands’s Sarina Wiegman collected the women’s coaching accolade.
The ceremony also included  a Fair Play Award, which recognised the gesture by Togo’s Francis Kone for performing life-saving first aid on Bohemians 1905 goalkeeper Martin Berkovec during a Czech League game in February.
As star-studded ceremonies go, FIFA did its best to add a light-hearted touch to the slick formalities, with hand-picked fans joining a Who’s Who of celebrities in the audience at the Palladium theatre in London. Actor Idris Elba, host for the night, couldn’t resist snapping a couple of selfies with the finest footballers on the planet.
The class act of the night was Buffon, who at 39 helped Juve to a sixth consecutive Serie A title, shrugging off the offer of a translator to deliver a moving speech in heavily accented English.
But there was widespread dismay about one particular accolade – Celtic picking up over half the votes to win the fans’ award. The Scottish champions won for putting on an impressive full-stadium green and white display of support during the final match of the Scottish league season, acknowledging the 50th anniversary of the club’s European Cup triumph in 1967.
Yet the award came on the day Celtic were handed their 12th UEFA sanction in six years, this time following a supporter running on to the pitch and aiming a kick at Kylian Mbappe during the recent Champions league clash again Paris St Germain.
Incredibly Celtic, who have been sanctioned for numerous other misdemeanours over the years including displaying sectarian banners, won the prestigious prize ahead of the special gestures made by Borussia Dortmund and FC Copenhagen respectively.
Dortmund’s fans offered spontaneous overnight shelter to Monaco supporters when a bomb attack on the Dortmund team bus resulted in a Champions League game between the two sides being postponed for 24 hours. And Copenhagen put celebrations on hold after making a point of letting disabled fans lift the trophy after the club won the Danish Cup – including a wheelchair-bound supporter.
“If Celtic fans won the best fans in the world surely PSG should win a financial fair play award,” said one sarcastic Tweet.
Here is the full list of awards:
Men’s Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Women’s Player of the Year: Lieke Martens (Netherlands)
Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Male coach of the year: Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
Female Coach of the Year: Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands)
Fans of the Year: Celtic
Puskas Best Goal: :Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
Fair Play Award: Francis Kone
FIFPro Team of the Year: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy) – Dani Alves (Juventus/Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Milan, Italy), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain), Marcelo (Real Madrid, Brazil) – Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, Germany), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid, Croatia) – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), Neymar (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil).