Sports

AMMAN — Sami Zureik will be the clerk of the course for next week’s Jordan Rally — the sixth round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, the Jordan Rally Media Service announced on Monday.

Zureik has been involved in motorsport since 2001 and has been chief marshal of Jordan’s Middle East round since 2008, but he has stepped into the key role after running six successful national rallies over the past year.

“I am really enjoying the experience,” said Zureik. “The Jordan Rally is a massive logistical event with so many facets to bring together but thankfully I am backed up by a very experienced and energetic team who will ensure Jordan delivers a world-class event.”

The Jordan Rally gets under way with a big afternoon of entertainment in Abdoun on October 15 when a ceremonial start on the roundabout will be followed by an exhilarating “spectator stage” on a specially created track close by.

That is followed by 20 timed stages held over the next two days in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas.

While the rally has a familiar look about it, Zureik said the region’s top drivers can expect some surprises this time round.

“We have tweaked a few of the stages and have also added a brand- new stage called Rama to provide something fresh for the drivers,” Zureik said. “It will be a tough challenge once again, while at the same time it will be a spectator-friendly event which is completely free of charge for everyone to enjoy.”

For the first time QR codes are available so that drivers and spectators can download maps straight to their smartphones for easy reference. Zureik has also introduced technology to reduce the man hours spent in planning the routes by using satellite imagery available online.

Zureik is backed up by the hugely experienced Randa Nabulsi who was a clerk of the course for one of the FIA World Rally Championship rounds that Jordan hosted. She is providing invaluable input as the 2015 deputy clerk of the course.

The 2016 Jordan Rally has once again attracted a quality field with Nasser Al Attiyah hoping to clinch his 11th regional drivers’ title in 13 years.

AMMAN — Jordan hosts Australia on Thursday in a vital qualifier — its fourth in Group B for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup.

The Kingdom has some line-up concerns as key striker, Ahmad Hayel is out — recovering from a head injury sustained while playing for his Kuwaiti club, Al Arabi, in April, while defender, Anas Bani Yaseen, is suspended after accruing two yellow cards in the previous qualifiers.

Goalkeeper and captain, Amer Shafi just returned to training after being ordered to rest an injured foot. Winger Yousef Rawashdeh is also nursing an injury.

Hamza Dardour, who in January became just the fourth player in history to score four goals in an Asian Cup finals match (against Palestine in Melbourne), has recovered from the cramps that saw leave early in the friendly against Iraq last week. 

Monther Abu Amara and Hassan Abdel Fattah arrived late into camp due to club commitments and are slightly injured.

It has been an inconsistent year for Jordan’s line-up which was led by Briton Ray Wilkins under whom the team failed to advance past the group stage of the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in early 2015. 

Ahmad Abdul Qader took over in the transitional phase under whom the team played the first qualifier. 

Now Belgian Paul Put has been leading the squad since July, but the team’s agenda was under scrutiny by observers for not regrouping all summer and only playing Trinidad and Tobago and Iraq.

“On paper this is the toughest match we face but we have seen in the earlier games, especially the clash with Kyrgyzstan away, that these matches present challenges on and off the field,” Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou was quoted on fifa.com as saying. 

“The last time Australia faced Jordan in Amman we lost that game so we have to be well prepared,” he added.

So far, Jordan beat Bangladesh 4-0 after a disappointing 0-0 draw with Kyrgyzstan and an opening 3-1 win over Tajikistan. Australia held the group after it beat Tajikistan 3-0, Bangladesh 5-0 and Kyrgyzstan 2-1. Bangladesh held Tajikistan 1-1 after it lost to Kyrgyzstan 3-1.

Forty teams are playing home and away in a round robin format in the current second qualifying round which runs until March 2016. 

Jordan dropped eight spots to 99th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, following which the team played Iraq and won 3-0.

The Kingdom had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when it lost a possible chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. It lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers in 1985.

In the Asian Cup, Jordan reached the championship three times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th in August 2004. In 2011 Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

AMMAN — The U-23 national men’s team lost to Palestine 1-0 in their third match at the West Asian Championship in Doha on Tuesday.

The team left Amman over the Eid holiday to play the inaugural event in Group A alongside hosts Qatar, Palestine and Yemen. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will play in Group B while the UAE, Oman and Syria are in Group C.

The team earlier beat Yemen 3-1 in its opening match, and lost to Qatar 2-1.

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s U-19 football team beat Nepal 3-0 in the Asian Football Association (AFC) U-19 qualifiers on Tuesday.

Jordan is playing in Group E alongside host Iran and Nepal with group winners and best second-placed teams booking a slot to the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship set for Bahrain.

The top-four sides of the U-19 Championship advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Jordan lost to Kuwait 2-1 on Friday and Iran 3-0 on Sunday.

AMMAN — Jordan’s swimming sensation Khader Baqleh has smashed two more national records on his way to finishing with three silver medals at the Asian Age Group Championship in Thailand, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

With a place at next summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro virtually assured after already making the “B” qualifying time, the youngster edged even closer to the “A” times in the 100m and the 400m freestyle events with new Jordan records.

As well as those two silvers for the U-18 age group, Baqleh picked up a further silver medal in the 200m freestyle. Not to be outdone, his older sister Talita won bronze in the 50m butterfly for her age group.

AMMAN — Both the U-23 and U-19 teams have not been impressive at their respective Asian competitions echoing observers concerns after the U-16 and women’s teams were also eliminated last month.

The U-23 squad will play Palestine on Tuesday in its third match at the 1st West Asian Championship currently under way in Doha.

Jordan is now second in Group A after they lost to Qatar 2-1, and beat Yemen 3-1. Qatar lead after it beat Palestine 3-0 and Yemen are third after it beat Palestine 3-1. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain is playing in Group B while the UAE, Oman and Syria are in Group C. The top team from each group will move on to Round 2 alongside the best second placed team.

The relatively easy draw might have served Jordan making up for an otherwise modest preparation period hampered with no training camps and no serious friendlies. In 2014, Jordan’s U-23 squad had similar circumstances when it represented Jordan at the Asian Games. The team made to the quarter-finals despite a bumpy preparation period amid the busy agenda of the national team as well as local clubs. 

Following its West Asian Championship agenda, the U-23 national team needs to prepare for the 2nd edition of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship, which also serves as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Jordan got a tough draw at the 16-team competition set for Qatar January 12-30, 2016 where it will play in Group D next to Australia, UAE and Vietnam. The Kingdom qualified to the U-23 Championship after it topped Group B qualifiers in Amman as Jordan held Kuwait 3-3, beat Kyrgyzstan 4-0 and Pakistan 5-0 to advance. 

In the inaugural edition, the U-23 team impressed observers when it beat South Korea to take bronze at the AFC U-22 Championship (now renamed the AFC U-23 Championship) as Iraq beat Saudi Arabia to take the title.

 U-19 squad winless

Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s U-19 football team, which previously reached the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007, seems unlikely to repeat that feat.

The squad lost 2-1 to Kuwait and 3-0 to Iran so far and will play Nepal on Tuesday in its third match at the Asian Football Association (AFC) U-19 qualifiers.

Only group winners and best second-placed team will book a slot to the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship set for Bahrain.  The top-four sides of the U-19 Championship advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The Kingdom has previously reached the AFC U-19 Championship four times. In 2006, Jordan made headlines and achieved the country’s biggest sporting success when it qualified to the 2007 FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada after reaching the semis and eventually finishing fourth at the Asian U-19 Championship. It exited the group stages in 2008 and 2010 and reached the quarters in 2012. Jordan failed to qualify in 2014 when it exited Group B qualifiers in Amman.

GENEVA — Sepp Blatter, facing a criminal investigation as part of football’s corruption scandal, will “definitely not” stay on as president of the FIFA governing body after the election of a new leader in February, his daughter said.

His former public relations adviser Klaus Stoehlker said last week that Blatter had not ruled out trying to stay on as head of world football beyond the February 26 vote.

But Corinne Blatter-Andenmatten said in an interview published by Swiss newspaper Blick am Sonntag on Sunday there was “no way” he would continue, and at some point he would publish his memoirs.

“I know he wants to quit and he will do it,” she said.

Major football sponsors on Friday issued coordinated calls for the immediate resignation of Blatter, who is being investigated by the Swiss on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.

Blatter, who denies wrongdoing, said through his US lawyer he would not resign as it was not in FIFA’s best interest.

The scandals surrounding global football exploded in May, when 14 officials and sports marketing executives were indicted on US charges of racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud in relation to bribery schemes that dated back decades.

February’s election was set after Blatter announced in June that he was standing down, just days after winning a fifth term.

Since then, the question of whether Blatter, 79, really will quit has hung over FIFA.

Blatter-Andenmatten, who has frequently spoken out to defend her father’s reputation, said he had stayed on because the majority of football associations wanted him to and because “he never runs away when the going gets tough”.

She declined to discuss the possibility of her father ending up in jail: “I don’t even want to think about it. It’s inconceivable to me that he would have to go to prison.”

Blatter was questioned by Swiss federal prosecutors for eight hours on September 25, and looked “shocked and disappointed” to be taken by surprise by their arrival, his daughter said.

“He just said to me: ‘I think it’s a dream’,” Blatter-Andenmatten said.

She blamed the media for ruining her father’s reputation and said Swiss prosecutors appeared to have prejudged him.

The prosecutors said Blatter was suspected of a “disloyal payment” of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.05 million) in 2011 to Michel Platini, president of the UEFA football confederation, at the expense of FIFA.

Platini has not been accused of any wrongdoing, although he has acknowledged the development has damaged his chances of replacing Blatter as FIFA president.

Blatter-Andenmatten suggested the job of FIFA president could be shared by more than one person after Blatter leaves.

Swiss watch firm and FIFA sponsor Hublot did not join the calls for Blatter to step down.

“We do not believe that it is our role to interfere in the politics of FIFA,” Switzerland’s Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper quoted chairman Jean-Claude Biver as saying.

The same paper quoted Peter Gilliéron, president of the Swiss Football Association, as saying he saw no alternative to Blatter until the election.

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Muhammad Ali won another round of love and appreciation for his achievements as a fighter in and out of the ring. He even got the hardware to prove it.

The latest celebration of the three-time world heavyweight champion and self-proclaimed “Greatest Of All Time” featured former champions Larry Holmes and George Foreman, two notable opponents who gladly came to honour Ali as Sports Illustrated (SI) named its Sportsman Legacy Award after him Thursday night in his Kentucky hometown.

Friends, associates, dignitaries and former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal also were on hand for the ceremony on the 40th anniversary of Ali’s third fight with Joe Frazier in the Philippines, an epic 14-round battle known as the “Thrilla in Manila”. Ali earned his second victory over Frazier when the former champion didn’t come out for the final round and that fight is considered one of the greatest events in boxing and sports.

The 73-year-old Ali is battling Parkinson’s disease. Seated at a front table with wife Lonnie to his right, the champion wore sunglasses as a slide show of iconic photos played behind him. He did not speak and photos initially weren’t permitted during a ceremony in which he received a silver award plate from the magazine to a standing ovation.

The champ broke a big smile when O’Neal arrived and playfully took Lonnie’s place at the table.

Lonnie said before a packed room, “thank you for loving Muhammad as much as you have and that you still do.”

Ali’s presence was one of a few yearly visits home, as he spends most of his time in Arizona along with homes in several states.

Ali’s victory and other notable moments were highlighted on a backdrop of two dozen Sports Illustrated magazine covers at different points of his three-decade career as a fighter and half-century as a humanitarian. He has appeared on 39 covers overall.

This week’s issue features a cover of Ali as a young fighter. Other notable moments were featured in a video montage in which he described himself as “The Greatest”.

One SI cover included Ali and Foreman, who has come to grips with being a footnote in Ali’s legacy after his 1974 title loss in the “Rumble In The Jungle” in Zaire.

So much so that a trim-looking Foreman praised his onetime rival and added, “this is the greatest man I’ve ever met in my life. I get excited and my heart beats [fast] every time I meet him.”

Those tributes have been standard for Ali thanks to a career that included winning an Olympic gold medal and speaking out on many social, athletic and humanitarian issues. Fittingly, he was honoured in the centre bearing his name just 6.4km from his childhood home.

Wherever Ali is recognised, Holmes wants to be there.

“I hope we can do this next year and the year after that,” said Holmes, a onetime sparring partner who beat Ali in 1980.

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s U-19 football team lost to Iran 3-0 in the Asian Football Association (AFC) U-19 qualifiers on Sunday.

Jordan is playing in Group E alongside hosts Iran, and Nepal with group winners and best second-placed teams booking a slot to the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship set for Bahrain.

The top-four sides of the U-19 Championship advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Jordan lost to Kuwait 2-1 on Friday and will next play Nepal on October 6.

ZURICH — Sepp Blatter defied calls from FIFA sponsors Budweiser, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa to quit immediately as president of world football’s governing body on Friday rather than cling on until the emergency election in February.

The seemingly coordinated interventions from the long-standing corporate backers came a week after the Blatter was interrogated by Swiss investigators and placed under criminal investigation for alleged financial wrongdoing at FIFA, which he has led since 1998.

It marked an escalation in the dual American and Swiss football corruption investigations, which burst into public view with the arrest of seven FIFA officials at a Zurich hotel two days before the presidential election in May. They are among 14 officials indicted in the US on bribery and racketeering charges.

The 79-year-old Blatter gained a fifth term only to announce resignation plans four days later in the face of private pressure from sponsors and the fear of a criminal investigation.

But Blatter is determined to remain in power until his successor is elected on February 26 and “respectfully disagrees” with the sponsors who demand his immediate departure, the president’s lawyer, Richard Cullen, said.

“[He] believes firmly that his leaving office now would not be in the best interest of FIFA nor would it advance the process of reform and therefore, he will not resign,” Cullen said in a statement.

Coca-Cola, which has advertised in stadiums at every World Cup since 1950, was the first of the sponsors to demand Blatter’s resignation, having previously just called for reforms at the scandal-battered governing body.

“For the benefit of the game, The Coca-Cola Company is calling for FIFA President Joseph Blatter to step down immediately so that a credible and sustainable reform process can begin in earnest,” Coca-Cola said in a statement.

“Every day that passes, the image and reputation of FIFA continues to tarnish. FIFA needs comprehensive and urgent reform, and that can only be accomplished through a truly independent approach.”

That call was echoed by fast-food giant McDonald’s, which has been a World Cup sponsor since 1994.

“The events of recent weeks have continued to diminish the reputation of FIFA and public confidence in its leadership,” McDonald’s said in a statement. “We believe it would be in the best interest of the game for FIFA President Sepp Blatter to step down immediately so that the reform process can proceed with the credibility that is needed.”

A further blow came from Visa, which has a FIFA deal through the 2022 World Cup.

“We believe no meaningful reform can be made under FIFA’s existing leadership,” Visa said. “And given the events of last week, it’s clear it would be in the best interest of FIFA and the sport for Sepp Blatter to step down immediately.”

The fourth statement was delivered by brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, whose Budweiser branding has appeared on advertising signage in World Cup stadiums since 1986 and its current deal runs until 2022.

“It would be appropriate for Mr Blatter to step down as we believe his continued presence to be an obstacle in the reform process,” the beer maker said in a statement.

Blatter’s own position has been weakened as lawyers oversee key decisions at FIFA and he waits to hear whether he will be suspended by the ethics committee.

Swiss prosecutors allege that Blatter undervalued World Cup broadcasting contracts for the Caribbean sold to disgraced former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner in 2005. Blatter was also questioned over an allegedly “disloyal payment” of 2 million Swiss francs (now $2.04 million) in 2011 from FIFA to UEFA President Michel Platini for work carried out at least nine years earlier.

Blatter has denied being corrupt but he is a target of US investigators.

Although the sponsors did not respond to Blatter rejecting their demands to resign with a threat to withdraw cash from FIFA, English Football Association Chairman Greg Dyke praised their intervention as “a game changer”.

“It doesn’t matter what Mr Blatter says now, if the people who pay for FIFA want a change they will get a change,” Dyke said. “What is important is that it isn’t just about Mr Blatter standing down, it’s about making sure there is a comprehensive and effective reform programme.

“So for those of us who want fundamental change this is good news.”

FIFA generated $5.7 billion in 2011-2014, which encompassed the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with sponsors and commercial partners contributing $1.6 billion.

The crisis is damaging FIFA’s attempts to attract new sponsors ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Only seven of 14 available positions in FIFA’s top two commercial categories have been filled. Two top-tier sponsors, Dubai-based airline Emirates and Sony, were among several commercial partners who did not renew last year.