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AMMAN — The women’s national football team is facing an uphill task to best prepare for upcoming qualifiers and competitions. 

The squad has regrouped to play Morocco in two friendlies later this month as they prepare for the 2016 Summer Olympics Football tournament Round 2 qualifiers kicking off September 14. 

Jordan topped Asian Group B qualifiers when it beat Uzbekistan 2-0, Hong Kong 1-0 and Palestine 6-0 and qualified to Round 2 to join other group leaders Myanmar, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand following which only the top team will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea and North Korea and China — before the top two qualify to represent Asia at the Olympic Games.

The Jordanian squad has lately had only a series of local friendlies and playing 81st ranked Morocco is not seen as a big advantage by observers. Jordan went up one spot to 53rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings and leads all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent trailing Japan, North Korea, Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Chinese Taiwan, Myanmar and Uzbekistan. 

It will be Jordan’s second time in qualifiers after the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers when it advanced to Round 2. In 2014, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2014 where it was also the only Arab team to have ever qualified. The squad is the reigning West Asian champ after winning the title with Iran, Lebanon and the UAE missing the event.

Meanwhile, as Jordan has started the countdown to host the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup, the U-16 team concluded a training camp in Germany as coach Maher Abu Hantash said the opportunity to represent Jordan would be open to all players, adding that the “best would be chosen to undertake the tough task”.

Women’s teams have been competing in all age divisions in the Asian zone. In 2014, the U-19 team was eliminated from Group A qualifiers for the 2015 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship. The squad was hoping to qualify for the second time after Jordan was the first Arab team to play in the 3rd finals in 2007. The U-16 girls team also failed to qualify to the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship after qualifying in 2013. 

BILBAO, Spain — Athletic Bilbao roared to a stunning 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup after striker Aritz Aduriz picked apart the European champions with a second-half hat trick on Friday.

It was Barcelona’s biggest loss under coach Luis Enrique, whose decision to start several reserve players helped the Basque hosts keep Lionel Messi in check.

Before Aduriz turned it into a rout, Mikel San Jose set the tone in the 13th minute by lobbing Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s long clearance back over the goalkeeper’s head with a shot from inside the centre circle.

Barcelona will have to rebound on Monday at Camp Nou to keep alive its quest to repeat the six titles in one year won in former coach Pep Guardiola’s first season.

“If somebody is capable of turning this result around, it’s Barca,” Luis Enrique said. “I made rotations to my squad. I accept the responsibility for the loss without hesitation. Of course I am concerned about the goals we have conceded. We will try to correct that.”

Luis Enrique has his work cut out for him.

Last May, Barcelona beat Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey with Messi scoring a spectacular goal before adding a second strike for a 3-1 win.

That Barcelona squad was unrecognisable on Friday night and not just in its faces.

Apart from flashes by Messi, his players looked unfit, unfocused and uninspired for a second time game this week.

Luis Enrique shuffled his starting 11 from Tuesday’s European Super Cup, when Barcelona’s players tired and squandered a 4-1 lead before Pedro Rodriguez netted in extra time for a 5-4 victory over Sevilla.

That gave it four straight titles to go with the Champions League, Spanish league and Copa del Rey from last season.

Pedro started at San Mames for Neymar, out with the mumps, while the unproven Sergi Roberto played for Andres Iniesta and little-used Thomas Vermaelen and Marc Bartra anchored the defence.

Bilbao’s intense pressure quickly shattered the cool control that Barcelona wanted to impose, leading to San Jose’s great goal.

Ter Stegen left his area to head out a long ball, but the German keeper could only watch as San Jose controlled his long clearance and sent the ball sailing back into the net.

Messi didn’t muster Barcelona’s first shot on goal until first-half injury time when goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz did well to palm his free kick over the bar.

Barcelona briefly pushed for an equaliser after the restart, as Pedro poached a poor clearance and blasted the ball off the crossbar in the 50th minute. Messi then followed moments later with a low shot that was parried by Iraizoz.

But seconds after Iniesta came on for Rafina, youngster Sabin Merino dribbled past Dani Alves and placed a cross for striker Aduriz to rise over Mascherano and head the ball home in the 53rd minute.

“We know how difficult it is to beat Barcelona and scoring four goals is almost impossible,” Aduriz said. “But we cannot think four goals are enough against Barcelona at its stadium.”

The story repeated itself 10 minutes later, when Luis Enrique ditched his experiment and sent on Ivan Rakitic for Roberto, only for Aduriz to score after Barcelona’s defence again failed to clear the ball in the 62nd minute.

Aduriz brought up his hat trick from the spot six minutes later, after a senseless penalty committed by Dani Alves, who pushed Xabier Etxeita over during a corner kick.

After conceding eight goals in two games this week, Luis Enrique will have to rally his side not just for the second leg. Barcelona opens its Liga season back at Bilbao on August 23.

ZURICH — Former FIFA development officer Julio Rocha, among seven officials arrested in Zurich in May in a corruption scandal that has rocked the world football governing body, has agreed to be extradited to his native Nicaragua, Swiss authorities said.

The US, which has indicted Rocha and 13 other football officials and sports marketing executives on graft charges, has also requested his extradition. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FoJ) said it may have to decide which country gets priority.

Rocha, a former president of his country’s football association (Fenifut), agreed to be extradited at a hearing on Friday following a request from the Nicaraguan government.

“The Nicaraguan criminal prosecution authorities, like their US counterparts, suspect Rocha, a former president of his country’s football federation [Fenifut] of having abused his office for personal gain,” the FoJ said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Friday.

“The FoJ has already approved Rocha’s simplified extradition, albeit subject to the question of priority, which might also be accorded to the US request,” the statement said.

“It will then be for the US authorities to state whether or not they agree to Nicaragua being given priority. If the US authorities do not agree, the issue will be decided by the FoJ.”

Nicaragua’s ministry of foreign affairs said on Thursday that it wanted Rocha extradited “so that he can be tried on the basis of national laws”.

A spokeswomen for the US prosecutors at the attorney’s office of the Eastern District of New York said they had no comment on the Rocha case. Another US official said they were looking into the matter.

The allegations under investigation by US and Swiss authorities cover bribery, fraud and money laundering, including possible corruption in the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.

The other six arrested in Zurich included Jeffrey Webb, former president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), who has already been extradited to the US and released on bail.

Webb, a Cayman Islands national, pleaded not guilty last month to charges that he solicited bribes from sports marketing companies in exchange for the commercial rights to football matches.

The May arrests took place two days before the FIFA congress where Sepp Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term as president. However, four days later the 79-year-old Swiss said he would step down. His replacement will be chosen at an extraordinary congress in Zurich on February 26.

The Swiss announcement on Friday came as prosecutors said US authorities were hopeful that more of those detained in Zurich could soon be extradited to New York.

“We are in discussion with counsel for a number of other defendants overseas and are hopeful we’ll see progress,” prosecutor Evan Norris said during a hearing in Brooklyn federal court in Webb’s case.

Only three of the 14 people indicted in the sweeping investigation of international football and its governing bodies are currently in the US.

Six are in Switzerland, two are in Argentina, one in Brazil, one in Paraguay and one in Trinidad.

The FoJ said it would consider “all relevant factors, including but not limited to the relative seriousness and place of commission of the offences, the respective dates of receipt of the requests, the nationality of the person claimed and the possibility of subsequent extradition to another state”.

LONDON — The destination of the Premier League trophy will not be decided when current champions Chelsea meet their immediate predecessors Manchester City on Sunday, but the winners will get a welcome psychological boost for the long campaign ahead.

The meeting between two of the main title contenders has come early in the season, but three points are three points whether they are won in August or May.

If Manchester City take them they will already be five clear of Chelsea whereas last season they never got their noses in front of Jose Mourinho's side.

City began their campaign with an easy 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion on Monday with Yaya Toure looking back to his imperious best, scoring the best goal of the season so far with City's second from the edge of the box.

Toure's excellent display and an equally emphatic statement of intent from City's captain Vincent Kompany were both in contrast to many of their performances last season.

"I know what I have to do and I don't care what people say about me. I'm not back — I've always been there," a defiant Toure said at the Hawthorns.

His manager Manuel Pellegrini, who has just signed a new deal with the club, did say Toure had had problems last season following the death of his brother Ibrahim, when Toure struggled in matches against the top sides.

So he will be under scrutiny when Chelsea visit on Sunday.

Indifferent start

Chelsea made an indifferent start with a 2-2 draw against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge, but much of the focus since has been on the curious aftermath of the match with Mourinho banning the club's first team doctor Eva Carneiro from the bench.

Mourinho was unhappy that Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn went on the pitch to treat Eden Hazard near the end.

Chelsea were down to 10 men following the dismissal of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and because the medics had come on to the pitch, Hazard had to go off before he could resume playing, leaving Chelsea with nine men on the field.

That incensed Mourinho and his banning order has made headlines since, but what should concern him more was the way his team played.

Courtois will miss Sunday's game with newly-arrived deputy Asmir Begovic taking his place.

Petr Cech, Chelsea's first choice goalie for much of the past decade, is now at Arsenal and he will be hoping to put his miserable debut for the Gunners to the back of his mind at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Cech was at fault for both goals as Arsenal were shocked 2-0 at home by West Ham United on Sunday.

Palace meanwhile go into the game after an impressive 3-1 win at promoted Norwich City.

Palace have only beaten Arsenal three times in 37 meetings since they first clashed over 80 years ago and Arsenal have not lost a league match at Palace since 1979.

Arsene Wenger's men, who won the FA Cup last season and started this season with a Community Shield victory over Chelsea, will be looking to bounce back immediately.

The weekend starts with the re-introduction of a televised Friday night match with Aston Villa meeting Manchester United at Villa Park.

Both teams won their opening matches last weekend so whoever wins on Friday will go top, at least until the rest catch up on Saturday and Sunday.

LONDON — After only one weekend of the English Premier League season, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is in familiar territory: Embroiled in an irrational dispute and his conduct being denounced.

The unexpected target of Mourinho's ire is the club doctor whose eagerness to race onto the field to treat an apparently injured Chelsea player incensed the Portuguese coach.

Although Mourinho's spats with referees and media outlets are commonplace, he is now being condemned by medical professionals for the "unjust" axing of Dr Eva Carneiro from her match-day role on the Chelsea bench and giving the impression of not prioritising players' welfare.

Carneiro's apparent job downgrading came after Mourinho publicly criticised the actions of his medical staff following the opening-day draw with Swansea.

In stoppage time, with Chelsea already down to 10 men after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was sent off, Eden Hazard was brought down at Stamford Bridge.

The immediate reaction from Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn was to leave the bench to treat Hazard. The protocol — designed to limit time-wasting by teams — required the winger to leave the field for a short time, temporarily leaving Chelsea with only nine players as the Premier League champions chased a winner.

"I was unhappy with my medical staff. They were impulsive and naive," Mourinho said after the game. "Whether you are a kit man, doctor or secretary on the bench you have to understand the game.

"You have to know you have one player less and to assist a player you must be sure he has a serious problem."

Frustrated at dropping two points at the start of Chelsea's title defence, Mourinho concluded that Hazard "did not have a serious problem".

But the Premier League Doctors Group issued a strong defence on behalf of Carneiro on Wednesday, saying the medics were clearly summoned by the referees to attend to Hazard. Refusing to go onto the field would have breached the doctor's duty to a patient, said Mark Gillett, the group's chairman who is West Bromwich Albion's performance director.

"The Premier League Doctors' Group considers that removing Dr Eva Carneiro from the Chelsea team bench for their next match is unjust in the extreme," Gillett said in a statement. "It is a huge concern that Dr Carneiro has... a change in her professional role, merely because she adhered to her code of professional conduct and did her job properly."

Carneiro has remained silent in public on the specifics of the case, but she did issue a rare social media posting on Sunday as the storm over Mourinho's comments swelled.

"I would like to thank the general public for their overwhelming support," Carneiro, who previously worked for the British Olympic Medical Institute and UK Athletics, wrote on her verified Facebook account. "Really very much appreciated."

At a club which frowns on back-room staff beyond Mourinho and his assistant speaking publicly, such a comment will not have gone down well — particularly as it appeared to expose friction within the club.

Chelsea only said Wednesday "we don't comment on internal staffing matters" even as the club is being criticised for seeming to undermine player welfare.

"The precedent set by this incident demonstrates that the medical care of players appears to be secondary to the result of the game," said Gillett, speaking on behalf of the league's doctors.

Gillet said there is a "pressing need to further establish and highlight the explicit role of a Premier League doctor".

Mourinho is likely to be asked about it when he faces the media ahead of Sunday's match against Manchester City, the team Chelsea took the title from last season.

Mourinho finding a distraction or a scapegoat is nothing new. Usually, though, the targets to deflect from his team's shortcomings are referees or the media.

By picking a row with a Chelsea colleague, Mourinho has revived memories of the fall-out with owner Roman Abramovich which led to his first period in charge ending in 2007.

That came a month into his third season in charge — a milestone Mourinho is just weeks away from reaching in his second spell in the west London club's dugout.

Given Mourinho only signed a new four-year contract last week, his future seems secure. But the doctor dispute in the opening days of the season shows that the self-proclaimed "Special One" is doing little to live up to his pledge on returning to Chelsea in 2013 to be the "Happy One".

TBILISI, Georgia — Lionel Messi scored twice and set up the winning goal as Barcelona started the season in dramatic style by beating Sevilla 5-4 after extra time to lift the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday.

The action-packed, all-Spanish match was won when Pedro, linked by British media with a move to Manchester United, scored from close range after a shot by Messi rebounded in the 115th minute.

In the final seconds of extra time, Sevilla defender Adil Rami had a golden chance to send the match to penalties, but missed an open goal from close range.

Earlier, Sevilla had battled back from 4-1 down to 4-4 as Barcelona's fitness was tested in its first competitive match of the season — Europe's curtain-raiser between the winners of the Champions League and the second-tier Europa League.

After a busy pre-season with games in the United States, Italy and Spain, Barcelona's dominance evaporated midway through the second half.

"I thought we were much better, much stronger," Messi said of the first hour of the match. "We had the ball for the first 60 minutes, we had opportunities, we scored. And then we seemed to have relaxed, we let them have the ball, we withdrew a bit.

"It got pretty tough when we looked like we were winning hands down, but fortunately we didn't have to go to penalties."

Calling the match "spectacular" for Barcelona's supporters, coach Luis Enrique suggested his team had taken too many risks while leading.

"We'd practically closed the match, but it's very difficult to secure this," he said. "When you're winning 4-1, the rival has got nothing to lose. What we do need is to analyse what happened at that point and the risks that they took."

Luis Enrique refused to discuss whether Pedro's winning goal could make it more likely for him to stay with the club.

His Sevilla counterpart Unai Emery said he was "very proud" of his team, which has been rebuilt over the summer after its Europa League win.

"If there's one thing we want to make this team, it's competitive. We want this team to really go for victory whatever the circumstances," he said. "We stood up to the best team in the world."

On a warm summer night, Barcelona was without injured left-back Jordi Alba and star striker Neymar, who is ill with mumps, while various absences for Sevilla meant that midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak dropped into the centre-back role.

European champion Barcelona went behind three minutes into the game when Ever Banega scored from a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area.

Messi curled two direct free-kicks past Sevilla goalkeeper Beto in the seventh and 16th minutes and was a constant threat in attack with throughout the first half, though he made less of a mark after the break.

Barcelona's third came shortly before half-time when Luis Suarez pounced on the rebound after his shot was parried by Beto and crossed for Rafinha to score.

Suarez grabbed a goal in the 52nd minute following a poor pass by Sevilla defender Benoit Tremoulinas. The French left-back gave the ball away to Sergio Busquets, who played in Suarez to apply a calm finish. However, it was cancelled out almost immediately when the unmarked Jose Antonio Reyes ran in at the far post to steer home a cross by Vitolo.

Vitolo was again in the thick of the action a-quarter-of-an-hour later as he tried to reach a cross from Tremoulinas but was fouled by Jeremy Mathieu, playing at left-back for the injured Alba. The resulting penalty was hit hard and left by Kevin Gameiro.

Sevilla pulled level when debutant Yevhen Konoplyanka slotted in from close range off a low pass from Ciro Immobile in the 81st minute.

Having won the Spanish league and cup titles, along with the Champions League, lifting the Super Cup keeps Barcelona on track to win six trophies in a calendar year, a feat the club last achieved under Pep Guardiola in 2009.

Next up is the Spanish Super Cup against Atheltic Bilbao on Friday and Monday, before the Club World Cup in December.

BERLIN — Bayern Munich have set their sights on a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title when the league gets under way this week, with VfL Wolfsburg ready to resume last season's hunt.

Few doubt the Bavarians, already considered by most Bundesliga coaches as the overwhelming title favourites, can do it.

Coach Pep Guardiola, in his third season in charge, will be looking to set more records after two dominant Bundesliga campaigns.

"No team has ever won the Bundesliga four times in a row," he said. "It is going to be tough but that is our goal."

The Spaniard may still be missing the Champions League title with Bayern but he is the undisputed king of the Bundesliga, having led his team to the title virtually unopposed in the two previous seasons.

He will be fielding a somewhat changed team with fans missing their talismanic midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who joined Manchester United and winger Franck Ribery still nursing a months-long injury.

The Frenchman will miss the start of the season, including the opener against Hamburg SV on Friday, but Guardiola has his replacement ready.

Newcomer Douglas Costa has so far been impressive down the left wing, where Ribery has ruled for years, with the Brazilian's pace, skills and speed opening up defences.

Costa, who joined from Shakhtar Donetsk, Chile international Arturo Vidal and talented 20-year-old midfielder Joshua Kimmich are Guardiola's big transfers but with a squad already brimming with talent and experience, he hopes it is even stronger than last season.

"Normally Bayern will this season be again the measure of all things," said VfL Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking. "They are just too far ahead with their potential."

Wolfsburg, second last season, are seen as the strongest rivals to the title, especially after signing forward Max Kruse from Borussia Moenchengladbach, but they must hold on to Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne as offers pour in.

The attacking midfielder, their key player in last season's second place finish and German Cup victory, is being courted by Manchester City with sports director Klaus Allofs saying his "head is being turned" by the offers.

Thomas Tuchel has the unenviable task of succeeding title-winning coach Juergen Klopp on the Borussia Dortmund bench and must rebuild a competitive team after last season's implosion.

The 2011 and 2012 German champions look to be on track after a 6-0 aggregate win over Austria's Wolfsberger AC in the Europa League and a comfortable German Cup first round win last week.

Borussia Moenchengladbach, third last season, are also in fine form in the pre-season and with a string of transfers, including Swiss striker Josip Drmic, boosting the squad, they also eye their maiden Champions League season with confidence.

LONDON — It is, of course, much too early to try to read something into the first round of matches in a Premier League season that has another 37 games and more than eight months to run.

But it's just too tempting.

Especially as some of the surprises in an entertaining start will clearly have an impact on the coming weekend's action — at least for Chelsea and Arsenal.

The Blues now face one of their toughest games of the season — at Manchester City — without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, following the Belgian's rash decision to clatter into Bafetimbi Gomis during its 2-2 home draw with Swansea.

New signing Asmir Begovic, whose first touch was to pick the ball out of the Chelsea net after Gomis had converted the resulting penalty, should make his full debut for the champions at Etihad Stadium.

And it promises to be a tight game. Though Chelsea lacked the rhythm that will come as the season progresses, Jose Mourinho's side still showed plenty of power and attacking intent against Swansea — particularly whenever Willian or Eden Hazard were on the ball.

With a nervous Manchester United needing an own goal by Kyle Walker to beat Tottenham, Manchester City were by far the most convincing of English football's Big Four with their 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.

When players like Yaya Toure, who scored twice at the Hawthorns, and David Silva are on the kind of form they showed Monday night, the 2012 and 2014 champions are an astonishingly good side.

Add the £49 million ($76 million) paid to Liverpool for Raheem Sterling and the goalscoring talent of Sergio Aguero, and it's not difficult to see the potential for a third league trophy in five seasons.

Or of an early title claim when Chelsea coming visiting on Sunday.

Given Courtois' automatic suspension, Chelsea fans will have left Stamford Bridge on Saturday with even longer faces and even bigger regrets after Petr Cech was allowed to move to Arsenal.

About 24 hours later, those opinions may have been revised with the 33-year-old's calamitous league debut for his new club.

For a man who makes very few mistakes in a season, two blunders after less than an hour is certainly a worrying start, and was enough to consign Arsene Wenger's side to an embarrassing 2-0 home defeat to West Ham.

While trying to explain what he acknowledged were two very cheap goals, Wenger pointed to West Ham being further advanced in their preparation for the season. After all, Slaven Bilic's side had already played three rounds of Europa League football.

Wenger was factually correct. But whether taking on the likes of Birkirkara from the Maltese Premier League and Astra Giurgiu of Romania counts as preparation for facing one of the best sides in Europe is a moot point.

More important is the fact that Sunday's defeat already puts Arsenal under an unwelcome degree of pressure ahead of this weekend's game against Crystal Palace.

Arsenal had a good domestic season in 2014-15, finishing third in the league and winning a second consecutive FA Cup. The major disappointment came from a poor start — with just two wins from the opening eight league games — that effectively dashed any realistic hopes of winning the title.

So Sunday turned into precisely the kind of nightmare that Arsenal had been determined to avoid. And the extent to which they are already playing mind games can be gauged from the comments made afterward by defender Per Mertesacker.

Looked at dispassionately, losing the first of 38 games means nothing.

Yet Mertesacker went so far as to describe Sunday's upset as "a massive loss", adding that "to start with a game like that is not good, but to bounce back is even more important now."

It's a far cry from the relative optimism that Louis van Gaal's new-look United should be taking to Aston Villa in the first of the season's Friday night fixtures.

With four new signings in the starting lineup and a fifth — Bastian Schweinsteiger — coming on in the second half, United should have looked pretty disjointed in the middle and vulnerable at the back against Tottenham.

Neither was the case.

It may not have been a slick performance, and there was more sideways passing than is usually welcomed by the Old Trafford faithful, but United looked a very sharp unit at times.

Right back Matteo Darmian and defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin both made promising debuts, although it's open to question whether Wayne Rooney is best used as a target man, rather than as a marauding No. 10.

Signing another striker, and resolving the future of goalkeeper and Real Madrid target David De Gea, would certainly do United no harm in the days ahead.

And Aston Villa probably won't either, for that matter.

LONDON — Yaya Toure rekindled memories of the blockbusting performances that helped Manchester City win two Premier League titles in three seasons, scoring twice in an impressive 3-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion on Monday.

When on song the imposing Toure is one of the most dominant players in European football but those games were few and far between as City finished well adrift in second place last season.

Manuel Pellegrini's side needed to make a statement of intent in their league opener and did so with the long-striding central midfielder Toure leaving the West Brom players floundering in his wake on numerous occasions with powerful runs and incisive passing.

His first goal had an element of fortune, with a double deflection, but a sublime second saw Toure scythe through midfield, exchange passes with compatriot Wilfried Bony, and fire into the top corner.

"I think we saw the Yaya of one season ago, not like last season when he had so many problems," City Manager Manuel Pellegrini told Sky Sports.

"I like attacking football. I like to see good players playing in a technical way so I think the first 30 minutes we did really well."

With Toure, 32, dominating midfield, Spanish maestro David Silva had the freedom to float undetected between the ranks of West Brom defenders and he was able to pick holes in the hosts' defence at will in another effortless display.

"David, especially in the first half, had a brilliant performance," Pellegrini said.

Captain Vincent Kompany added a third and the Belgian said he was keen to banish memories of a poor season on a personal and team level and send a message to those who were discounting City as credible title challengers.

"I think for us we have something to prove as last season was below what we are used to," Kompany said. "This is a team with a lot of intent.

"Obviously there is a lot of favourite teams now and we're not part of it I've heard. It's something that gives us extra motivation.

"We came out here today knowing we had a point to prove. As a team we all have to improve this season."

GENEVA — FIFA cannot make credible changes in the last months of Sepp Blatter's leadership of the scandal-hit body, former presidential candidate HRH Prince Ali said Monday.

Prince Ali also cast doubt on the worth of FIFA's in-house reforms task force which is supported by Michel Platini, his former ally and now front-runner to succeed Blatter in the February 26 election.

"I don't think anybody will take any decisions that are credible in the current situation," Prince Ali told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday.

"I think that the important thing is that you need an overall change in leadership," said the prince, who described Platini as "not good for FIFA" when the UEFA president launched his campaign two weeks ago. "The entire football world would like to see a change."

Still, Prince Ali has not committed to making a second bid to be president and enact that change.

"Right now I'm talking to our national associations, listening to their opinions," said the prince, who got votes from 73 of FIFA's 209 member federations when Blatter won re-election in May.

Within four days, Blatter announced he would leave office under pressure from dual American and Swiss federal investigations of corruption that finally drove World Cup sponsors to demand a change of culture at FIFA.

Prince Ali could outline campaign plans on September 7 as a keynote speaker at the Soccerex conference in Manchester, England.

"It's a place where I will obviously want to present my ideas for what I think is best for the organisation," said the prince, who served as Asia's FIFA vice president for four years until May.

September shapes as busy for FIFA politics though the deadline for presidential contenders to file nomination papers is not until October 26.

On September 15-16, UEFA members who mostly supported Prince Ali against Blatter will meet in Malta and can expect to hear details of their president Platini's manifesto for FIFA.

Prince Ali declined to comment on possibly stepping on Platini's turf during that two-day session. It is one of few scheduled meetings where large numbers of FIFA voters will gather before the election congress in Zurich.

On September 24-25, Blatter will chair an executive committee meeting in Zurich where FIFA has promised "concrete and comprehensive reform proposals" from the task force whose 11-member line-up is yet to be announced.

FIFA has asked former IOC director general Francois Carrard to lead a team of officials put forward by the six confederations.

"We need to have a real and independent task force," Prince Ali said.