Priority will be improvement in quality of football: AIFF's new secretary general
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Churchill Brothers put up a spirited fight before crashing out of the AFC Cup after losing 1-2 to Kuwaiti powerhouse Al Qadsia in the single-leg pre-quarterfinal match in Kuwait City.
Nepal have been kicked out of the Asian Football Confederation's under-16 championships in India next year after being found guilty of fielding an over-age player in the qualifying tournament.
Bagan adopted a completely different approach from the first leg. They had 16 shots in the first half but just three on target. It took them just three minutes to sound a warning.
Al-Ittihad's Asian Champions League match with Iran's Sepahan was called off on Monday after the Saudi team refused to leave their dressing-room due to a statue of an assassinated Iranian general being placed at the entrance to the pitch.
Their three-goal lead did not seem enough but Dempo survived an Al Faisaly onslaught for an impressive 4-3 victory in the AFC Cup football tournament at the Amman International Stadium.
Alwyn George scored the lone goal as India went down fighting 1-2 against Iraq in their second match of the U-22 AFC Championship at the Royal Oman Police Stadium, in Muscat.
Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa inaugurated the refurbished Cooperage stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday and said hosting the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 will boost development of the game in the country. The refurbishing of Cooperage was done under FIFA's 'Win in India, With India' project.
India salvaged some pride by drubbing Kuwait 3-0 in their last Group C match, their second consecutive win, in the AFC Under-19 Championships qualifiers at Arbil, Iraq.
Winger Steven Dias got the axe as India, on Wednesday announced 30 probables for the preparatory camp for next month's AFC Challenge Cup football tournament in Kathmandu.
Hosts India have been grouped with Tajikistan and Turkmenistan for the second edition of the AFC Challenge Cup.
East Bengal's chances of progressing to the next round of the AFC Cup tournament received a further jolt when they were blanked 0-2 by Iraqi outfit Arbil SC in a Group B match in Kolkta on Wednesday. The Kolkata giants suffered their third successive defeat in the tournament having been beaten 0-1 by Al Orouba of Yemen and 0-3 by Kazma of Kuwait in their earlier group matches.
India's miserable campaign in the AFC Challenge Cup ended with a 0-4 rout by strong contenders DPR Korea in their last league encounter at the Dashrath Stadium, in Kathmandu, on Friday.
Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri on Tuesday warned his players against complacency if they have to defend the AFC Challenge Cup which begins in Kathmandu on March 8.
Dempo failed to qualify for the AFC Cup quarter-finals after suffering a 1-3 defeat to Kuwait Sports Club in the round of 16 match in Kuwait City. Dempo, without key defender Mahesh Gawli, who had to sit out because off a booking, were the second-best team for most part of the single-leg pre-quarter-final at the Kuwait SC Stadium on Tuesday night.
Arsenal were held to a 1-1 Premier League draw by London rivals Fulham on a grey wet Sunday at Craven Cottage as Raul Jimenez scored early for the hosts and William Saliba equalised for the visitors at the start of the second half.
Climax Lawrence struck in injury time to take India to a 1-0 victory over Afghanistan in their first match of the AFC Challenge Cup at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The delay in installation of floodlights at the Nehru stadium in Margao, Goa, has forced the state's football association to ask the All Indian Football Federation to shift Dempo's AFC Cup quarter-final to another venue. This is a big blow to India's National League champions, who are scheduled to play their AFC Cup home match against Singapore's Home United on September 16.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday night.
Dempo paid for their profligacy with an own goal by their captain to go down 2-3 to Sur Club of Oman in the AFC Cup Group A thriller at Nizwa. The I-League champions, who beat Lebanese powerhouse Al Ansar in their opening pool match, wasted a couple of clear chances and conceded an own goal by star playmaker Climax Lawrence.
Dempo Sports Club exploited the shaky rival defence scoring a 3-1 win over Lebanon's Al Ansar in the opening group match of the AFC Cup at the Nehru Stadium in Margao on Tuesday.
History beckons trailblazers Bengaluru FC as they lock horns with Air Force Club of Iraq in the summit clash of AFC Cup in Doha on Saturday, aiming to become the first Indian football club to clinch a continental title. Bengaluru FC have already created history by becoming the first Indian club to qualify for the final of a continental tournament after they defeated defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim in the semifinals on 4-2 aggregate last month. Before this, the farthest an Indian club had advanced in a continental tournament was the two AFC Cup semifinal appearances by Dempo in 2008 and East Bengal in 2013.
The National Football League champions scored a 2-0 away victory over Singapore Armed Forces FC.
Football captain Sunil Chhetri wants India to "set a benchmark" by regularly qualifying for AFC Asian Cup, the continent's premier tournament.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Mahindra United drew with Al Nejmeh 3-3 in the away match in Beirut and lost the AFC Cup tie on 5-4 aggregate.
Ranti Martins and Chidi Edeh struck a brace each to outplay Sur Club of Oman 5-2 in their final Group A match and take their side to their maiden AFC Cup quarter-finals in Margao on Wednesday.
High on confidence but low on performance, India will look to put behind the recent reverses when they take on Chinese Taipei in their opening match of the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying tournament in Yangon on Saturday.
No continent has escaped the 'cancer' of football match-fixing and it is too big a problem for one organisation to tackle alone, AFC acting president Zhang Jilong warned as the regional body and INTERPOL kicked off a two-day seminar on the issue on Wednesday.
East Bengal became the first Indian team to qualify for the AFC Cup knock-out round with an unbeaten record after thrashing Vietnam outfit Sai Gon Xuan Thanh 4-1 in their concluding Group H league match at the Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Tuesday.
India's top clubs were drew 2-2 with Brothers Union of Bangladesh and Turkmenistan's Merv respectively in the second round.
Sushil Kishku scored a brace as the Indian under-19 football team blanked Pakistan 5-0 in their Group B qualifying match for the AFC Championship.
Hosts Dempo SC went down tamely 0-4 to Nasaf FC of Uzbekistan in a Group-A encounter of the AFC Challenge Cup, at the Balewadi Sports Complex, in Pune, on Tuesday.
Holders Korea Republic thrashed Jordan 3-0 while Japan beat North Korea 2-0.
The Asian Football Confederation have suspended former President Mohamed Bin Hammam after a lengthy audit of their accounts revealed fresh allegations of financial wrongdoing, the body said in a statement on Tuesday.
India get three slots for AFC competitions in 2023-24 season.
India began their campaign AFC U-16 football championships campaign on a disappointing note, losing 2-3 to United Arab Emirates at the Nehru Stadium in Margao on Thursday.
A goalless draw against Chinese Taipei gave India the top spot in Group A.
The 24-team Asian Cup will unfold on the same grounds as the men's World Cup where Yamashita served as the fourth official for six group stage games. Her return to Qatar signals a significant progression in the inclusion of female referees in high-profile men's soccer tournaments.
