British Gorkha Cup Football distrubing the South Asian Games Preparation

British Gorkha Cup

The ongoing British Gorkha Cup Football tournament is distrubing the South Asian Games 2010 (SAG)Preparation. All the track and field events preparation for the SAG is done in the Dasarath Stadium but the ongoing British Gorkha Cup have halted the preparation of track and field events. Boxing, taekwondo, karate, judo and athletics preparation for the SAG are also distrubed and halted due to the British Gorkha Cup. Despite the coaches and players objection for not to lend the stadium for British Gurkha Cup Football, National Sports Council lend the field to ANFA for British Gurkha Cup. National Sports Council should know that the Preparation of SAG is related to national pride and even the medal-winning probable games cannot do regular training because of the British Gorkha Cup. ANFA also should understand that for the sake of one tournament, they are distrubing the preparation of many sports for SAG 2010. ANFA should have looked for other option to conduct the British Gorkha Cup. and ANFA also should know that they are distrubing the probable medal-winning games preparation for SAG. NSC and ANFA should immidiately rethink about the preparation of other sports also.

Andre has potential to become a giant

ESPN analyst Kevin Keegan is one of English football's most respected figures and he will be writing for ESPNsoccernet throughout the season. As a player, Kevin represented Liverpool with distinction, winning numerous titles in domestic and European football, and was twice named European Footballer of the Year during his time at Hamburg. Kevin has managed England, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Fulham and is one of the most respected voices in the English game.

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ESPN analyst Kevin Keegan is one of English football's most respected figures and he will be writing for ESPNsoccernet throughout the season. As a player, Kevin represented Liverpool with distinction, winning numerous titles in domestic and European football, and was twice named European Footballer of the Year during his time at Hamburg. Kevin has managed England, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Fulham and is one of the most respected voices in the English game.

Andre Villas-Boas may be younger than some of his players, but they will respect his record

It's very early to judge what sort of impact Andre Villas-Boas is going to make at Chelsea and those throwing criticism his way after last week's draw should perhaps step away and give him a chance. Coming away from Stoke with a 0-0 is a reasonable result from a tough first outing as a Premier League manager and I think there were positives to be taken from the game.

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He had to make some big decisions - leaving big name players like Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka is not a move that could have been made lightly - and the major plus was the performance of Fernando Torres. The Torres we saw against Stoke was the one we were used to watching at Liverpool. He had a great work-rate and was determined, eager and hungry - all the things he hasn't been since January. He looks like he will be part of Chelsea's future in a big way and Villas-Boas deserves some credit there.

What Torres, Villas-Boas and Chelsea really need, though, is a creative spark in midfield. If you look through their entire squad, they haven't got a world-class inventive midfielder. Chelsea brought Deco in a couple of years ago and things didn't quite work out; they've got Yossi Benayoun but he's never looked like a permanent fixture and young Josh McEachran is also around the first team, but is not the finished article.

That's why they're trying to get Luka Modric. They need a player like that and it doesn't necessarily have to be Modric. A Fabregas, a Nasri, even a Charlie Adam; someone who can open a door when Plan A isn't quite working. Chelsea have always been more of an effective team than an exciting team and though they've changed the manager, they haven't changed the staff - Villas-Boas can only play a certain way with the players he's got at the moment.

One criticism of the Chelsea boss I've felt is particularly unfair is that he has never made it as a top player. Obviously there are some benefits of having had a successful playing career. You can stand in front of your players and they look at you and say 'this guy has been there, he's played for teams that have won the league, he's played for his country, he's won these honours'. That gives you a level of respect. But they will still only listen to you and do what you ask of them if they trust in you, believe in you, and think what you're saying is right. Just having a name and having won things in your career isn't enough, that's been proved by a lot of top players who have struggled to make the grade in management.

People seem to forget that Arsene Wenger wasn't a top class player, Sir Alex Ferguson wasn't a top class player and, of course, Jose Mourinho was not a top class player. Villas-Boas should not be judged on what he hasn't achieved on the pitch as a player, but what he has won as a manager. You might get lucky winning the odd cup, but he managed to bring home three trophies last season with Porto and go through the league unbeaten. His track record speaks for itself.

The main thing is, regardless of experience, you've got to get results. You can change the team, drop players - you can get away with anything really, as long as you're winning. It's certainly not fair to write Villas-Boas off so early, he has so many challenges ahead before he can be properly judged. He will have to try to please the fans, who have paid £60-£70 for a ticket wanting to see more than a 1-0 win and they will want him to bring a certain style to Stamford Bridge. Then there's the players; rotation is such a big part of the modern game and he will need to choose the right time to rest players, ensuring he keeps them fresh and motivated.

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Roy Hodgson has the experience needed to help West Brom become an established Premier League side

He's a young man of course and it's a big job, a big challenge for him. There are players in John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba who are older than him, but he will be respected in the dressing-room for what he achieved in Portugal. However, the players will talk about how good they think training is, they will judge him on his tactical acumen, what they see from him day in day, how he treats them and how well he can tell them what the opposition are about and how to play. They'll probably make their minds up over the next six-eight weeks. As well as his football knowlege, a major factor in his favour is that his English is excellent. When you think about the likes of Fabio Capello and Claudio Ranieri, he's way ahead of any them in his ability to communicate with his players.

West Brom are the opposition for Villas-Boas and Chelsea on Saturday evening and there will be a very different manager in the away dugout at Stamford Bridge. Roy Hodgson is a man who has been all over the world, has experienced ups and downs, knows what it's like winning things and also knows what it likes to get the sack. He has ambitions for West Brom to become an established Premier League side, just as he did with Fulham, and he has certainly taken them in the right direction. It'll be difficult for Roy to get a result at Chelsea, though; the Baggies have never beaten them in the Premier League and they got hammered there last season. It looks like they'll be without last season's top scorer Peter Odemwingie and Jerome Thomas, too, and I think if neither of them win their fitness battles, it could be a tough evening for West Brom.

Neil Lennon defended Georgios Samaras after the Celtic striker bore the brunt of the fans' frustrations during the 0-0 draw against Sion.

Lennon stands

The Hoops fans booed when Anthony Stokes and not Samaras was replaced by Shaun Maloney in the second half of their Europa League play-off and then cheered when the Greece international's number was held up to allow Paddy McCourt to come on with minutes remaining.

Asked if he understood the supporters' frustrations, the Celtic boss said: "I understand the frustration at times but he brings a lot to the team.

"He did a good job at set-pieces.

"He missed some decent chances and he knows himself that he can play better.

"But I think he gets a lot of criticism that is sometimes unwarranted."

Lennon is still confident of progressing through to the group stages.

He said: "I feel we have enough in the team to score goal. I was delighted with the clean sheet and the tie is far from over.

"But it was disappointing. We had enough chances in the second half to win it.

"We needed better quality in the final third.

"We snatched at things and our decision-making wasn't as good as it should have been.

"But we have a clean sheet and I am hoping that we have more personnel for next week."

In the end, Celtic found goalkeeper Andris Vanins just too formidable a barrier.

Sion's inspired keeper had good saves from Charlie Mulgrew, Kris Commons and substitute Maloney to keep the tie in the balance.

Sion coach Laurent Roussey was pleased with his players for sticking to his game-plan but does not believe the tie has necessarily swung in their favour.

"Not at all," he said. "It was a 0-0 draw, so it is 50-50 although there is always a bit of a home advantage if it goes to extra time."

The Frenchman insists he did not expect better from Celtic.

"Not really," he said. "We looked at them before the game, we knew we had to be organised and we were.

"It was very physical and intense game, not what we are used to in Swiss league.

"But we played the way I wanted them to, we kept the ball.

"I think we played better as the match went on and I felt Celtic were under pressure near the end.

"So I am satisfied with the draw and looking forward to next week."

Queensland to host ICC U19 WC 2012

Queensland to host ICC U19 WC 2012
Cricket Australia (CA) and the Queensland Government announced that Queensland will host the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012.

The partnership between the International Cricket Council (ICC), CA, Queensland Cricket and Events Queensland will see Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Townsville hosting teams from around the globe in August next year, with Australia, as current defending champion, aiming to go back-to-back on home soil.

Nepal is one of the qualifiers to participate in the event.

It will be the second time the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup has been held in Australia, after the inaugural event in 1988, and will showcase the world’s best emerging players, broadcasting their talents around the globe to millions of television viewers in India, England, New Zealand and South Africa amongst many others via ESPN STAR Sports.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said everyone was looking forward to seeing the exciting young talent on show and was very pleased to have the support of Events Queensland.

“The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is the showcase event for best young cricketers in the world and is where the next Cameron White or Yuvraj Singh gets their first real taste of top-level international cricket,” Mr Sutherland said.

“It was only a couple of years ago we saw Mitch Marsh captain the Australia Under-19 team to victory in New Zealand with talents such as Josh Hazlewood, Alister McDermott and Alex Keath alongside him.

“We are very grateful to Queensland Cricket and Events Queensland for their support in hosting this tournament and I think all the teams and supporters will enjoy their time in Australia’s sunshine state.

“We are building towards hosting the senior ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015 and this tournament will play a big part in getting ready for that event,” he said.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said: “This is great news for Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Townsville because it will bring the best young cricketers in the world here to play locally.

“This is a first for Queensland and it’s the only the second time Australia has hosted the competition – the last time being in 1988 in Melbourne and Adelaide.

“This event will deliver an economic shot in the arm to the host communities and showcase Queensland to the world – attracting 400 players and officials from 16 countries and generating an expected 7000 bed nights for the local tourism industry.

“In addition, it will be televised into the homes of cricket fans in more than 100 countries including in Asia, the UK and South Africa via ESPN STAR Sports.”

Queensland Sports Minister Phil Reeves said the event had also previously been held in countries including New Zealand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa.

“This is a truly international event that further cements Queensland’s status as the sporting events capital of Australia,” Mr Reeves said.

“It’s particularly exciting to be hosting it in 2012 because Australia is the current defending champion after winning the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in 2010.

“Having this event here in Queensland as the chosen location in Australia next year is a vote of confidence in our ability to host major sporting events of international significance.”

Ms Bligh and Mr Reeves thanked the ICC, Cricket Australia, Queensland Cricket and Events Queensland for their partnership which had delivered the event to Queensland.

Queensland Cricket Chief Executive Officer Graham Dixon said Queensland Cricket was looking forward to hosting the tournament.

“Queensland Cricket is thrilled at the decision to bring the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup to our state, and especially with the decision to play in two important regional centres, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast, with the resulting positive economic impact on those areas,” he said.

“The support of the State Government and the Events Queensland will enable Queensland to provide an international showcase around this tournament, which has grown into a significant event on the world cricket stage.

“Queensland Cricket is acutely aware that the ICC Cricket World Cup will be staged in Australia and New Zealand in 2015 and so tournaments like the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup are an important proving ground for us, and for Cricket Australia, as it gets closer to hosting that major event,” he said.

“The support of government at all levels will be a vital part of our collective preparations for 2015, but I know that Queensland Cricket is looking forward to working closely with all of our stakeholders to make the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup a memorable and successful event.”

The 2012 tournament will be the ninth ICC U19 Cricket World Cup after the inaugural event was held in Australia in 1988.

Australia has won the event on three occasions, taking home the inaugural title in 1988, then again in 2002 and most recently in 2010 at the last event held in New Zealand.

Nepal grouped with Australia, England

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Nepal is drawn with defending champions and hosts Australia, 1998-winner England and Ireland in Group A for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2012.

“The event will get underway in Queensland exactly one year from today and Scotland will be there as the leading Associate after winning eight of its nine matches during the qualifiers, which took place in Dublin and Derry,” International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a release.

Group B is made up of the last event’s runner-up and two-time winner Pakistan, New Zealand, Scotland and Afghanistan while 2000 and 2008 champion India has been drawn in Group C along with West Indies, Zimbabwe and PNG.

Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh and Namibia make up Group D.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is a very important tournament for us and I want to congratulate those six teams who have qualified to take part in Queensland next year.”

“This tournament has proved to be an important stepping stone for elite young cricketers aspiring to play international cricket. It’s an opportunity for them to develop and test their skills in a high-pressure situation against the world’s best at this level.

“We also use it as an opportunity to educate them on several important issues like anti-corruption, anti-doping and social responsibility expected of international cricketers while also exposing them to the ICC Code of Conduct and media attention.

“In the past, we have seen some quality players come through the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, including star players like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yuvraj Singh, Brian Lara, Ian Bell, Virat Kohli, Eoin Morgan, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla. I expect next year’s event to be no different in producing future world stars.”

ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012: Groupings

Group A: Australia (1), England (8), Nepal (12), Ireland (13)
Group B: Pakistan (2), New Zealand (7), Scotland (11), Aghanistan (14)
Group C: West Indies (3), India (6), Zimbabwe (10), PNG (15)
Group D: Sri Lanka (4), South Africa (5), Bangladesh (9), Namibia (16)

First Phase ticket sales will kick off on 11 September on FIFA.com

fifa 2014
FIFA announced today that the first phase of ticket sales for the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2011presented by TOYOTA will kick off on 11 September exclusively on FIFA.com. Tickets will be available in this initial phase until 25 September.

The seventh edition FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled to be played from 8 to 18 December 2011, will take place in the Japanese cities of Yokohama and Toyota City. The competition will feature CF Monterrey of Mexico (CONCACAF Champions League winners), Santos FC of Brazil (CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores winners), Auckland City FC of New Zealand (OFC Champions League winners), FC Barcelona of Spain (UEFA Champions League winners) as well as the winners of this year’s AFC Champions League, the CAF Champions League winners and a club from Japan’s J.League representing the host nation.

However, if a Japanese team wins the AFC Champions League, the J League champions will be replaced by the highest placed non-Japanese team from the 2011 edition of the AFC Champions League. Both the AFC and CAF competitions are currently at the quarter final stage, with the respective finals to be held in mid-November.

For further information on ticket sales, the competition’s match schedule, the final stages of the AFC and CAF qualifying competitions and details of previous FIFA Club World Cups, please visit the competition’s official webpage on FIFA.com via the link on the right.