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FIFA has suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) due to third-party interference and also the Chadian Football Association (FTFA) with immediate effect due to government interference, soccer’s global governing body said on Wednesday. A group of football officials led by Ashfaq Hussain, which was elected by the Supreme Court in 2018 to run the PFF but was not recognised by FIFA, took over the headquarters last month and seized control from the FIFA Normalisation Committee headed by Haroon Malik, local media reported. FIFA

SINGAPORE: Starting this weekend, up to 250 fans will be allowed into stadiums to watch Singapore Premier League games, said the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on Wednesday (Apr 7). “Following discussions with the relevant regulatory agencies, a maximum of 250 fans will be admitted inside match venues from 10 April,” said FAS. The move will begin with game week six of the league, which will be held this Saturday and Sunday. To gain entry at any match venue, fans will have to

Rishabh Pant was appointed captain of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2021 after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the upcoming season due to an injury. Iyer had injured his shoulder while fielding during the India vs England ODI series. Pant has a huge task ahead of him of replicating last year's success where Delhi Capitals reached the IPL final but lost to Mumbai Indians. Pant, though, is in the form of his life, playing a starring role for India in the Test series

Dawid Malan speaks about juggling his Test ambitions with his T20 prowess, the learnings that he will take from the IPL to the T20 World Cup and his game plan for the league. At 33, Dawid Malan will be a late debutant at the Indian Premier League (IPL). Yet, his giant reputation in the shortest format of the game--he is, after all, the ICC's number one ranked T20 batsman in the world--means the expectations are high from Punjab Kings’ latest recruit. He has

Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo said his team are ready to play their Serie A match against Napoli on Wednesday (Apr 6) but added that he would respect any COVID-19 postponement forced on them by the local health authority in Turin. The Turin health authority said the match was not at risk despite recent COVID-19 cases at Juventus, with three players testing positive after returning from international duty. Leonardo Bonucci, Merih Demiral and Federico Bernardeschi tested positive this week and will miss the rescheduled

World number one Pramod Bhagat won the men's singles gold in the SL4 category at the Dubai Para Badminton tournament after defeating compatriot Nitesh Kumar on Sunday. Bhagat beat Kumar 21-17, 21-18 in the final. There were some good rallies between the two Indians before Bhagat showcased his class to win the match and the gold under pressure. SL4 players could have an impairment in one or both legs and a minimal impairment in walking/running balance. They must play standing. Bhagat then paired up with

NORWICH, England: Norwich City moved within striking distance of promotion back to the Premier League after one season when they thrashed woeful Huddersfield Town 7-0 helped by a Teemu Pukki hat-trick to move eight points clear at the top of the Championship on Tuesday. The Canaries are now within five points of guaranteeing an immediate return to the top flight after Finland striker Pukki's superb display was supported by goals from Emiliano Buendia, Todd Cantwell, Kieran Dowell and substitute Jordan Hugill. Norwich have

Manchester City are living dangerously in the Champions League once again. Phil Foden's 90th-minute winner may have earned them a 2-1 quarterfinal first-leg victory over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, but Pep Guardiola's team have left themselves vulnerable to yet another early exit from the competition they are so desperate to win. This is Guardiola's fifth attempt at delivering Champions League glory for City, and the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach has still to take the club beyond the last eight. Foden's goal, which came six minutes after Marco Reus had levelled for Dortmund following Kevin

Manchester City posted net losses of 126 million pounds ($175 million) for the 2019-20 season after their finances took a huge hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. Revenue dropped 11% to 478.4 million pounds during the 2019-20 campaign, which was halted in March and resumed behind closed doors three months later. The losses were a result of a decline in matchday and broadcasting revenues, while the late finish to last season meant revenue from almost a quarter

Royal Challengers Bangalore's Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the IPL starting on April 9 here, but opener Devdutt Padikkal recovered from the dreaded infection to join the side. According to a statement issued by RCB on its Twitter handle, the 28-year-old all-rounder arrived in India on April 3 and had a negative COVID-19 test report at that time. RCB will take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament-opener on Friday. "His (Sams') report from the

Vinícius Júnior scored a goal in each half as Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday. Marco Asensio also scored for Madrid, which took full advantage of Liverpool's defensive blunders in the first half to take a commanding lead ahead of the second leg in England. Mohamed Salah netted the lone goal for Liverpool early in the second half before Vinícius Júnior sealed the victory for the hosts. The game was a rematch of

SHANGHAI: After repeated postponements stretching back more than a year because of COVID-19, South Korea and China's women's football teams will finally meet on Thursday (Apr 8) for a last-ditch spot at the Tokyo Olympics. The first leg takes place in Goyang, South Korea, and the return fixture is on Apr 13 in the Chinese city of Suzhou, with a place in this summer's delayed 2020 Games up for grabs. The Olympic qualifier was first scheduled for March last year but became an

SEVILLE - Porto coach Sergio Conceicao said he is uneasy about facing Chelsea in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg so soon after they endured a shock 5-2 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion. Saturday’s thumping at the hands of relegation-fighting West Brom was Chelsea’s first defeat in 15 games in all competitions under Thomas Tuchel. It was all the more surprising as the Blues had conceded only twice in their previous 14 games. “I wished they had won the last game

MANCHESTER, England - Borussia Dortmund interim coach Edin Terzic has warned Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola that their Champions League quarter-final tie is far from over despite a 2-1 win for the hosts at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. Guardiola was complimentary about Dortmund’s performance after the game but Terzic, whose side had levelled the contest at 1-1 six minutes from the end before Phil Foden’s last-gasp winner, said his side were ready for another bite at the cherry. “Pep had some nice

Heather Watson will lead Great Britain squad for their Billie Jean King Cup play-off tie against Mexico. British number one Johanna Konta was not available for selection as she continues to manage a longstanding knee problem. Heather Watson is the highest-ranked player in the squad, which also includes Harriet Dart, Katie Swan, Jodie Burrage and Katie Boulter. The tie will take place behind closed doors in Roehampton on 16-17 April. With the WTA season about to enter the clay swing, Konta did not

Australia's Sean Abbott will join Surrey for their T20 Blast campaign and three County Championship matches. The 29-year-old all-rounder will replace Kemar Roach as Surrey's second overseas player when the West Indies seamer returns to the Caribbean in May. Abbott has played two one-day and seven Twenty20 internationals for Australia, and won the 2020 and 2021 Big Bash titles with Sydney Sixers. He could make his Surrey debut against Gloucestershire on 27 May. Abbott, who has also helped New South Wales reach the

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool made it "too easy" for Real Madrid to win the quarter-final first leg between the sides, but feels Mohamed Salah's goal offers his side a lifeline in the return game at Anfield. The Reds were largely second best throughout an entertaining game against a Real team missing their first-choice centre-back pairing, but packed with impressive attacking talent. Much of the damage was done in the first half through Vinicius Junior's low drive after he had chested down a superb

American teenage prodigy Coco Gauff says she is spending less time on social media now as she focuses on charting her own course to success in tennis. Gauff has been in the spotlight ever since her astounding run as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon in 2019, where she knocked out her idol and five-time champion Venus Williams after becoming the youngest player in the professional era to survive the qualifying draw. Her dream run at the grass court Grand Slam continued until the fourth

Kyrie Irving scored 40 points, including a critical 3-pointer in the final minute, and Jeff Green made a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds left to seal the host Brooklyn Nets’ 114-112 comeback win over the New York Knicks on Monday. The Nets, playing the second leg of a back-to-back, carried over some of the struggles from their 115-107 loss Sunday in Chicago. Brooklyn fell behind by 10 points at halftime and lost James Harden after just four minutes due to hamstring

Former England women’s international Sarah Taylor said on Tuesday she is excited about playing cricket again after joining Welsh Fire for the inaugural season of The Hundred. The 31-year-old, one of the best wicketkeepers of all time, was part of the England sides that won the Twenty20 and 50-overs World Cups in 2009. She made 226 appearances for England, including 10 tests, 126 one-day and 90 T20 games, before retiring from international cricket in 2019 after a battle with anxiety. Her last domestic