Special Package Of Soccer Films At IFFI Goa

Mumbai, Nov 9: The 42nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which begins in Goa from November 23, will have a ‘Soccer in Cinema’ package, to celebrate the game that is passionately followed in the coastal state. The package will be a separate section of films, based on the theme of football, to be showcased everyday from 8 pm to 10 pm at IFFI this year, director of IFFI Shankar Mohan, said in a statement. Films that will be showcased in this section, will not only invoke the euphoria of the game, but also hold high cinematic values in terms of form and treatment. The package will have films from different parts of the world, which are chosen to take a look at how different ethnicities and sensibilities handle the sport and how effectively they have integrated the spirit of the sport into the medium. Films to be showcased in the ‘Soccer in Cinema’ package are: ‘A Barefoot Dream’ (South Korea) - directed by Kim Tae-gyun-Mario Filho, ‘Creators of Crowd’ (Brazil) - directed by Oscar Maron Filho, ‘Foot of God’ (Italy) - directed by Louis Sardiello, ‘Argentina Futbol Club’ (Argentina-USA) - directed by Juan Pablo Rubio, ‘The Best Women in the World’ (Germany) - directed by Britta Becker, ‘More Than Just a Game’ (South Africa)- directed by Junaid Ahmed, ‘Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait’ (France) - directed by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parrenodsax.

Iniesta Gives Barcelona Cup Win Over 3rd-Tier Team

Barcelona, Spain, Nov 10: Andres Iniesta’s first-half goal gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory at third-tier Hospitalet on Wednesday in the first leg of their Copa del Rey series. Iniesta scored with a long-range shot that dipped out of the reach of goalkeeper Jose Moragon in the 42nd minute on the artificial turf at the Feixa Llarga stadium. Despite a lower-tier opponent, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola sent out a near full-strength lineup that included Cesc Fabregas, Xavi Hernandez, David Villa and Carles Puyol, although Lionel Messi is away on international duty. A crowd of 6,294 watched a match that was moved forward to accommodate the Spanish champion’s Club World Cup appearance in December.

Ravichandran Ashwin To Marry Childhood Friend

Chennai, Nov 10 : Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will marry childhood friend Preethi Narayanan on Sunday, his family confirmed. Ashwin and Preethi were engaged earlier this year. Ashwin's father Ravichandran, while reluctant to divulge details, said the marriage, scheduled a day ahead of the second India-West Indies cricket Test in Kolkata, would be restricted to the two families and close friends. Off-spinner Ashwin took nine wickets in his debut Test match that India won against the West Indies in New Delhi on Wednesday. His performance won him the man of the match award. The 25-year old, who made ODI and T20 debuts last year, has gained in status in the past couple of seasons during which he also played a key role in the Chennai Super Kings winning back-to-back titles in the Indian Premier League.

Rod Marsh, Andy Bichel Appointed As Selectors

Melbourne, Australia , Nov 10: Test great Rod Marsh and retired fast bowler Andy Bichel have been appointed to the national selection panel after a shakeup of cricket administration in Australia. Pat Howard, a former rugby international who started work this week as Cricket Australia's general manager for team performance, announced the recruitment of former wicketkeeper Marsh and paceman Bichel on Thursday.The pair will join a panel chaired by former allrounder John Inverarity. The Australians, who have slumped from No. 1 in the test rankings, are playing a two-test series in South Africa and are expected to appoint a new head coach before starting a home series against New Zealand next month. Tim Nielsen opted not to continue as head coach after a review of cricket in Australia conducted by a group of former test captains.Marsh's name is synonymous with Australia's test teams of the 1970s, when he kept wickets to firebrand pacemen Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee.Bichel was one of the stars of Australia's 2003 World Cup win, contributing with bat and ball. "Rod Marsh is quite simply a legend of the game with successful high performance coaching experience in Australia, England and Dubai since he retired as, at that time, Australia's most successful wicketkeeper-batsman," Howard said in a statement from South Africa. "Andy Bichel has had success in the shortest form of the game since his retirement as a test new ball bowler and he and Rod bring complementary skills to the selection table to those of John Inverarity." Marsh and Bichel, who has played county cricket in England and worked as coach in the Indian Premier League since his last test appearance in 2004, will be part-time selectors. Inverarity is the only full-time selector on the panel, which will also comprise the Australia captain and head coach. "I'm excited to be back working for Cricket Australia," Marsh said. "This is an important role and I'm looking forward to watching young Australian cricketers develop and to our established cricketers continuing to improve." Marsh played 96 tests and 92 limited-overs internationals for Australia between 1970-71 and 1983-84, retiring with 355 test dismissals and was the first Australian wicketkeeper to score a test hundred.

Valcke Asks Brazil To Adopt Law Needed For WCup

Sao Paulo, Nov 8: FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke urged Brazilian lawmakers on Tuesday to quickly approve a law establishing the legal framework needed for the 2014 World Cup. Valcke says the country cannot afford to lose more time in its preparations for the monthlong tournament which will begin in less than three years. “We are late, we can’t lose a single day,” Valcke told lawmakers on Tuesday at a congressional committee discussing the proposed law. “We need to start working together now or we won’t start at all.” The new law would regulate commercial rights, alcohol sales and advertising rules for the tournament and deliver the final commitments Brazil’s federal government made to FIFA in its bid to host the World Cup and the 2013 Confederations Cup. Many lawmakers are hesitant, however, saying the law gives FIFA too many powers. “Our goal is not to fight against FIFA, we just want to show to FIFA that it’s not above Brazilian sovereignty,” congressman and former Brazil striker Romario said. One of the concerns regarding the new law involves the sales of cheaper tickets to students and the elderly, something that Brazilian legislators have promised would be offered. Valcke said he is not fond of the differentiated prices, but hinted that it would be possible to create a new ticket category that could benefit students, the elderly and other Brazilians. He said FIFA may make $25 tickets available to people older than 60 for all matches except the opener in Sao Paulo and the final at Maracana stadium. Valcke warned that a ticket for a World Cup match is worth a lot of money in the black market and that it’s important to keep it from getting into the wrong hands. Another controversial issue is an existing Brazilian law that forbids the sale of alcohol inside stadiums during football matches, which would go against some of FIFA’s sponsors. FIFA has said it will sharply defend the commercial rights of all its sponsors—among them being brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, the maker of Budweiser, which has extended its sponsorship of the World Cup through the 2018 edition in Russia and the 2022 event in Qatar. Valcke defended the “controlled” sale of beers at World Cup matches and dismissed concerns that the availability of alcohol would lead to fan violence, a problem often seen in Brazilian stadiums. “Controlled sale means, for example, that the beer will be sold in plastic cups instead of bottles or cans, which could be used as weapons,” Valcke said in Brasilia, the nation’s capital. The proposed bill that was sent to Congress does not mention alcoholic beverages, but states that it would give FIFA and its sponsors the right to sell and promote their brands and products in areas where matches are played. Lower house president Marco Maia hinted the government may make some concessions in the sale of alcohol in stadiums if FIFA agrees to a compromise in the negotiation of ticket prices for students and the elderly. Ricardo Teixeira, president of the local organizing committee and of the Brazilian football federation, also spoke to the congressional committee and asked legislators to hurry up in the approval of the proposed law. “We live in a democracy, it’s healthy to have this debate, but time is not on our side anymore,” Teixeira said. “Brazil made commitments to FIFA and now it’s time to deliver an unforgettable World Cup.” Maia said the new law is expected to be voted on by the end of the year. It would then have to be approved by the senate before it is signed by President Dilma Rousseff. Brazil will host the World Cup for the first time since 1950. The country also will host the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

FIFA Rejects England's Second Poppy Request

London, Nov 9: England’s hopes of wearing an embroidered red poppy on their football shirts to honor Britain’s war dead were again rejected by FIFA on Tuesday, despite a last-ditch and heartfelt intervention by the British government. The Football Association had made a special request to FIFA to relax its stance preventing England from marking Remembrance Day—when Commonwealth countries pay tribute to members of the armed forces who have died on duty since World War I—by wearing the poppies in Saturday’s friendly against Spain at Wembley Stadium. The poppy is an official symbol of remembrance in many countries because they were the first plants that rose from the barren battlefields after World War I. Even Hugh Robertson, Britain’s sports minister, weighed into the affair, sending a letter to FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke stressing how strongly “the British public feel ... about this issue which is seen as an act of national remembrance.” However, FIFA reiterated its policy of banning political, religious or commercial messages on official uniforms and equipment, and urged the FA to consider a number of other options including a period of silence before the game. “We regret to inform you that accepting such initiatives would open the door to similar initiatives from all over the world, jeopardizing the neutrality of football,” FIFA said in a statement released by the FA. “Therefore, we confirm herewith that the suggested embroidery on the match shirt cannot be authorized.” Some figures within FIFA disagreed with their own organization’s stance. FIFA vice president Jim Boyce pleaded with his employers on Tuesday to use “common sense” by allowing players to wear the poppies. “Armistice Day is a very important day in the FA calendar ... and I don’t think it would offend anybody to have a poppy on the shirts,” Boyce said. Robertson issued an emotional appeal to FIFA, saying: “Wearing a poppy is a display of national pride, just like wearing your country’s football shirt. I hope very much that you will approve this request.” Still, FIFA wouldn’t budge. “There are a variety of options where the FA can continue supporting the cause of Remembrance. One of them already was approved by FIFA, the period of silence,” the FIFA statement read. Both England and Wales, which plays Norway in Cardiff on Saturday, plan to observe a minute’s silence before their matches.

Tendulkar Completes 15,000 Runs In Test Cricket

New Delhi, Nov 8: Sachin Tendulkar today achieved another milestone as he became the first cricketer in the history of the game to cross 15,000-run mark in Test cricket. Playing in his 182nd match, Tendulkar reached the mark on the third day of the first cricket Test against the West Indies when he scored his 28th run in India’s second innings with a single off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo. After crossing the coveted milestone, the batting maestro looked up at the heavens and acknowledged the standing ovation given by his teammates from the dressing room as his partner Rahul Dravid congratulated him. The West Indian players also came up after the completion of the over to congratulate the iconic batsman. Tendulkar was 35 runs short of 15,000 before this match and he scored seven in the first innings before being adjidged leg-before off Fidel Edwards. With 14,422 crowd cheering him, Tendulkar, who came in at the fall of Virender Sehwag’s wicket when the team total was 95 for two, played cautiously with India needing 276 runs to win the match. He hit just two fours after facing 76 balls to reach 28. The 38-year-old Tendulkar, the world’s most prolific batsman, now needs just one hundred to complete a historic 100 international tons. He has scored 51 Test tons and 48 ODI hundreds. Rahul Dravid, who was batting at the other end with Tendulkar, is the second highest run-getter in Tests with 12,775 runs before this match while Australian Ricky Ponting is third on the list with 12487 runs.

Better-Prepared Australia Has The Edge, Say Clarke

Cape Town, Nov 7: Australia captain Michael Clarke has described his team’s preparations for the first test against South Africa as “outstanding” and says the tourists have an important early edge in the two-match series. Unusually, his opposite number agrees. South Africa captain Graeme Smith concedes his men have not played enough in the run-in to the series-opener at Newlands, and says “if we’re fair, Australia are better prepared than us. That’s the reality.” Smith’s words on the eve of the first test in Cape Town on Tuesday were welcomed later by Clarke, who said “it was great to hear.” Clarke adds “that’s a real tick in that first box for us that I know we’re 100 percent ready.” Australia is seeking a fifth straight test series win in South Africa.

ED Quizzes Shah Rukh Khan In Connection With IPL 2

Mumbai, Nov 8: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recorded the statement of Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan in connection with alleged irregularities in holding the IPL. “Shah Rukh appeared before us on Saturday and we recorded his statement in connection with IPL 2,” an ED official told PTI. Indian Premier League season 2 was held in South Africa after the venue was shifted from India. There have been allegations of ill-gotten money flowing into the T-20 tournament from foreign tax heavens. Former BCCI president Shashank Manohar and cricketer Ravi Shastri, who were on the IPL governing council headed by Lalit Modi, have so far been questioned in connection with alleged irregularities in conduct of the cash-rich league. ED sources said that Khan has been asked to submit documents relating to the buying of players, advertising, profit and loss and share holding pattern of his franchise to the agency in two weeks.

New Zealand Beats Zimbabwe By 34 Runs In One-off Test

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Nov 6: New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 34 runs on Saturday despite a century by Brendan Taylor on a thrilling final day of the one-off test.

Taylor took Zimbabwe to 265-3 at the tea break, needing 101 runs to pull off an unlikely victory at Queens Sports Club, but he fell to the second ball of the final session.

The hosts still pressed for victory though and collapsed to 331 all out with less than six overs of the match remaining.

Doug Bracewell finished with figures of 5-85. Captain Daniel Vettori took the final wicket to end with 3-71.