Delhi High Court Permits Anwar Ali to Play Until AIFF’s Final Verdict; Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands Eager to Co-Host 2027 Women’s World Cup
The AIFF medical committee had told Anwar Ali that he could not play football after medical tests revealed that he has a congenital heart condition.
The Delhi High Court has overruled the recommendation made by the medical committee of the All India Federation (AIFF) to bar India U-17 World Cup team member Anwar Ali from playing the sport. The committee had pronounced its judgement having been informed that Anwar has a congenital heart condition. The High Court said he will be permitted to play football until the AIFF makes a final decision.
Ali challenged the AIFF decision after the committee’s recommendation saw his contract cancelled by Mohammedan Sporting. Amitabh Tewari, who is Ali’s counsel, told PTI that the High Court has been in favour of the footballer.
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“The HC ruled that Ali can play till the AIFF takes a final decision. The letter of September 7 written by the AIFF (to Mohammedan Sporting) in no way can bar him from playing,” Tewari said.“Ali also can approach the court again in future after the AIFF takes its final decision,” he added.
The final decision is yet to be made by the executive committee of the AIFF.
Updates: 2027 FIFA Women’s WC
Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands on Monday revealed plans for a joint bid to co-host the Women’s World Cup in 2027.
The football associations of all three countries expressed their interest to bid to FIFA and stated that they would arrange for a formal agreement by the end of the year.
“Women's football is traditionally known for its strong sense of community, in which all those involved have an eye for the bigger picture, which is namely developing the sport further, both on and off the field," an offocial statement said. “The fact that we are tackling this project together as three football competitors, and also good neighbours, ties in very well with this philosophy.”
“Women's football in our countries is indeed in differing phases of development, but we share the aspiration to give the sport a boost nationally and globally by organising this World Cup."
The 2019 Women’s World Cup was hosted by France and the next World Cup in 2023 will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Liverpool, Man U Could Join European Premier League
Manchester United and Liverpool are in talks with elite clubs of Europe with the intention to start a new FIFA backed tournament in order to reshape football’s global landscape, Sky News report.
According to the report, financiers are collecting a funding package of $6 billion to establish a new European Premier League. Over 12 teams from the top flight leagues of Europe, England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are under negotiations to become the founding members of the tournament and are aiming to start the tournament by 2022.
According to sources, FIFA has been considering developing a new format that would comprise up to 18 teams with the season held during the regular European season. The top teams in this league will play in a knockout format to conclude the competitions along with the prize money of a hundreds of millions of pounds each year.
A FIFA spokesperson declined to comment on the development saying that, "FIFA does not wish to comment and participate in any speculation about topics which come up every now and then and, for which, institutional structures and regulatory frameworks are well in place at national, European and global level."
UEFA Prize Money to be Cut
Champions League and Europa League prize money will be decreased for the next five seasons as UEFA struggles with the financial impact of the pandemic, The Times has reported.
UEFA informed its members about the £514 million ($666.40 million) loss the football organisation had faced due to a reduction in both television and sponsorship income after there was a delay in the knockout matches, the report added.
The knockout stages of last year’s competition took place without spectators and on neutral locations and each round's tie was curtailed to a single fixture and not the usual home-away format.
Last season's forecast had 1.95 billion euros ($2.30 billion) for the 32 teams that take part in the Champions League group stage. The report added that English clubs can also expect a drop of about 4% in the TV and prize money.
Jeje Turns to Boxing
Indian striker Jeje Lalpekhlua has taken to boxing in order to maintain his strength and not wither out of stamina now that sports have resumed in the country.
The 29-year-old, joined East Bengal for the upcoming season to be played in Goa.
“One day, my father brought home a pair of boxing gloves, and I started practising with it. Soon I took up proper coaching and started competing in local tournaments too,” Jeje told the-aiff.com.
“I used to play a number of sports back when I was young, and boxing was one of them, along with football and lawn tennis.”
The striker has history with the sweet science, having participated in a junior level local boxing tournament, the Hnahthial Open at the age of 10.
“It’s always nice to win something. I really enjoyed boxing – I still do. This is a sport that really puts you through a lot of hard training, and you can always reap the benefits of that, even as a footballer,” Jeje added.
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