Category: Games

Baghdad, Our Olympic football team lost to Thailand by 2-0, at the beginning of its journey in the first round of the third group competitions of the Asian football Cup finals for teams under 23 years old, qualifying for the Paris Olympics.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Seoul, Brentford FC defender Kim Ji-soo will not play for South Korea at the upcoming Olympic men’s football qualifiers in Qatar due to his club commitments, the national football federation announced Monday, the latest blow to the country’s pursuit of a ticket to Paris.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Football Association (KFA) said Brentford decided not to release their 19-year-old defender for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup, citing club-related reasons. Head coach Hwang Sun-hong selected Pohang Steelers midfielder Kim Dong-jin as a replacement.

Hwang’s team traveled to Dubai last Friday to set up a training camp, and they’re scheduled to travel to Qatar on Wednesday. The U-23 Asian Cup, which doubles as the AFC qualifiers for the Paris Olympics, will kick off next Monday.

Kim Ji-soo, who doesn’t turn 20 until Christmas Eve, would have been South Korea’s youngest player at the AFC event. He has appeared in three matches for the U-23 national team and earned a callup to t
he senior national team for the AFC Asian Cup earlier this year in Qatar, though he didn’t see any action.

Kim had been one of five players based in foreign leagues selected. However, clubs aren’t obliged to release their international players for this AFC tournament, which isn’t on the FIFA international match calendar.

Scottish champions Celtic FC informed the KFA that they would not send forward Yang Hyun-jun to Qatar. Brentford will keep Kim Ji-soo in England.

Dsseldorf forward Kim Min-woo joined the South Korean squad in Dubai. Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City and Jeong Sang-bin of Minnesota United have yet to report to the national team.

At the AFC tournament, South Korea will play in Group B against the United Arab Emirates, China and Japan.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals, and the top three nations will book their spots in the Olympics. The fourth-place team will face Guinea in an intercontinental playoff.

South Korea has played at every Olympic men’s foo
tball tournament since the under-23 age limit was put in place in 1992.

Source:Bahrain News Agency

The Olympic team delegation arrived in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Monday morning, to enter a short training camp, including a friendly match with its Japanese counterpart next Thursday, in preparation for the Asian qualifying finals for the Paris Olympics.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Suzuka, World champion Max Verstappen got back to winning ways on Sunday with a third straight pole-to-flag victory at the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix, leading team mate Sergio Perez across the line for a Red Bull 1-2 at Suzuka.

The Dutchman suffered his first retirement since 2022 in Melbourne last time out to snap a nine-race winning streak but had no mechanical issues this week in a dominant performance to make it three wins from four races this season.

Verstappen, who becomes only the second driver to win three consecutive Japanese Grands Prix alongside seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, now has a 13-point lead in the driver standings over Perez.

Red Bull lead the constructor standings on 141 points ahead of Ferrari (120) and McLaren (69).

Perez jumped ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the driver standings. Ferrari’s other driver Carlos Sainz, the winner in Australia two weeks ago, rode fresher tyres in the latter stages of the race to grab the final podium spot, edging out Leclerc
, who used a one-stop strategy.

But the Spaniard was more than 20 seconds behind Verstappen, underlining the gap between the teams in dry, sunny conditions.

McLaren’s Lando Norris finished fifth with the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Hamilton down in a disappointing seventh and ninth respectively after a tactical strategy to switch to hard tyres early in the race backfired.

Hamilton, who said in qualifying it was the best he has felt in the car in years, cut a despondent figure after the race.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished sixth, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri eighth.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda came in 10th, securing points in his home grand prix for the first time to the delight of the crowd.

Alex Albon’s Williams and the RB of Daniel Ricciardo crashed into each other on the opening lap, triggering a red flag and a 30 minute delay while the debris was cleared and a barrier repaired.

Both drivers emerged unscathed and after the stewards investigated the incident, they decided to take no action.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Manama, BRAVE® Combat Federation (BRAVE® CF), the most global Mixed Martial Arts promotion in the world, signed a strategic partnership agreement with BitDelta, a leading cryptocurrency exchange enabling diverse asset and commodity trading, who will serve as the brand’s official global trading platform partner.

As part of the agreement, BRAVE® CF will co-host International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) events, featuring aspiring talents who are both sponsored and supported by BitDelta. The announcement strengthens BitDelta’s position in the combat sports industry after it recently signed a deal to become the official global trading platform partner of IMMAF.

Founded in 2016, BRAVE® CF expanded quickly, hosting 80 events in 30 different nations, an industry record, reaching more than 180 countries and territories around the world with the broadcast of its events.

BRAVE® CF COO Ms. Valeria Lang says, “We are excited to have BitDelta, a platform that disrupts the norm and brings the world of trading u
nder one roof, to partner with BRAVE CF that is introducing 650 million MMA fans to a new era of Mixed Martial Arts.”

BRAVE® CF President Mohammed Shahid adds “Together we will be able to give the fans access to the diverse trading opportunities at BitDelta and develop the sport worldwide and be a part of the inspiring global stories of world’s best fighters and the biggest moments of the new transformation of the MMA industry with BRAVE CF.”

Lauren Martin, BitDelta Chief Marketing Officer, added: ‘This partnership marks another step forward for BitDelta as we continue to support the evolution of Mixed Martial Arts and, in particular, the career paths of the sport’s young talents’.

‘We are delighted to join forces with BRAVE® CF, a highly respected brand within the combat sports industry which has achieved tremendous success in a relatively short period of time. The agreements we have signed with both BRAVE® CF and the IMMAF not only showcase our commitment to MMA but also ensure a positive future for the
sport with three major brands working collaboratively’.

The largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion in the Middle East, BRAVE® CF was nominated for the Promotion of the Year prize at the 2021 World MMA Awards.

BitDelta, a disruptive multi-asset trading platform, is committed to becoming the leading platform for traders around the world and ensuring trading is accessible to all.

The partnership will see BRAVE® CF promote BitDelta’s services across its platforms, while also hosting activations at various events designed to enhance the overall fan experience.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Australia secured a convincing 5-0 victory over Lebanon (1-0 at halftime) in a match held earlier on Tuesday in the capital, Canberra. The game, which was considered a home match for Lebanon, was part of the fourth round, first leg, of the ninth group of the joint qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup.

Last Thursday, Australia defeated Lebanon 2-0 in Sydney, securing qualification for the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia and advancing to the decisive phase of the World Cup qualifiers.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

The two poles of Egyptian football met in the cup final on Friday 3/8/2024. Al-Ahly defeated Zamalek with two clean goals to win record-extending 39th Egypt Cup title.

For the first time in the history of the oldest cup in the region, the final match was held abroad, as Al Awal Garden Stadium in Riyadh hosted the match.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The Lebanese basketball national team achieved its second victory over the Palestine national team this afternoon (84-55), in the ‘Beirut Cup’ quadrennial international tournament held in the Ghazir Sports Club hall.

Lebanon began the tournament by defeating Iraq yesterday, and will conclude it on Tuesday by meeting Syria, while Palestine won over Syria, and will meet Iraq on Tuesday.

The tournament serves as preparation for the participating teams for the first window of qualifiers for the continental championship finals in Saudi Arabia next year. Each team plays two matches in this window.

Global Active Sports, the tournament organizer, will host an official dinner banquet for the delegations, at 8:30 pm tomorrow at the Palms Beach House restaurant in Jounieh, under the patronage of the President of the Lebanese Basketball Federation and First Vice President of the AFC, Akram Halabi.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

United States Ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa Johnson, attended on Sunday the embassy team’s match in the second division volleyball tournament in the hall of the Al-Rusul School in Jounieh, alongside the club president, vice president of the Olympic Committee, Asaad al-Nakhl, and Mr. George al-Hani.

The match ended with the US embassy team defeating Mont La Salle 3-1.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Al-Riyadi Beirut, the Lebanese basketball champion, maintained the title of the Dubai International Championship by winning the 33rd edition through defeating the “Strong” team of the Philippines (77-74).

The final match, which was held this evening at the Al-Nasr Club, was attended by a large audience of members of the Lebanese and Philippines communities.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon