Sheikh Hamad meets Palestinian Football Association president

Minister of Sports and Youth and President of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) H E Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani met with Palestinian Football Association president Lieutenant General Jibril Rajoub at his office in Doha yesterday.

During the meeting, the two officials discussed a number of matters of common interest and explored ways to strengthen cooperation between the Qatari and Palestinian football associations across various fields.

The meeting also reflected the fraternal ties and close relationship between Qatar and Palestine. toffler.lol

Nagoya: The Asian Games open in Japan on Saturday with 2028 Olympics places up for grabs, fast-rising talents of world sport in action and thousands of athletes staying on a cruise ship in typhoon season.

More than 17,000 competitors and officials are expected at the continent’s biggest sporting spectacular, which takes place in Nagoya and the wider Aichi prefecture until October 4.

The number of participants -- more than the Olympics -- has been a sore point for stretched-to-the-limit organisers, who initially expected 15,000 and have had to scramble to find accommodation for the rest.

They opted from the start to house athletes in temporary accommodation in a bid to cut costs, ranging from a cruise liner and wooden containers to hotel rooms.

Organisers say that the 20th edition of the Games, which were first held in 1951, will be “the most spectacular for generations”.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 athletes and officials will stay on the Italian cruise ship Costa Serena, which usually features 571 cabins, seven swimming pools, eight restaurants and nine bars.

Cruise ships have been used previously as accommodation at international sporting events, but never on this scale.

The unusual accommodation plans have been met with concern by some countries, with India even building their own replica container huts to prepare athletes for their stay.

Organisers are adamant that everyone will have a bed and confident that the typhoon season that usually visits Japan in September and October will not dampen the party.

Weather has already disrupted preparations, with record rainfall forcing athletes to evacuate their accommodation briefly last week.

Rainwater also seeped into some competition venues, although organisers said there was no serious damage. More rain is forecast this week.

Athletes from 45 countries and territories will compete in more than 40 sports across the two weeks.

Basketball and football are already under way, with several more events set to start before Saturday’s glittering opening ceremony.

As always at the Asian Games, Olympics staples such as athletics and swimming will sit side-by-side with regional favourites like sepak takraw and kabaddi.

In a bid to attract younger viewers there will be eSports, breakdancing and BMX cycling.

Padel, the fast-growing racquet sport, and MMA will make their Asian Games debuts.

The Games will function as qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in seven sports including surfing, tennis, archery and squash.

Among those competing will be Philippine tennis sensation Alexandra Eala and a pair of prodigies in 15-year-old Indian cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and 13-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi.

“I love playing and competing with the Philippine team,” said Eala, who is skipping the China Open to take part.

Gold rush

Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting will also be there, two years after she won Paris Olympics gold in the middle of a major gender row that saw her eligibility questioned. Hosts Japan will look to their Olympic champions for success, with gymnast Shinnosuke Oka and javelin thrower Haruka Kitaguchi named in their team.

North Korea will have more than 100 athletes competing across 14 sports, aiming to “bring joy to Marshal Kim Jong Un”.

China will again expect to top the medals table after winning a whopping 201 golds and 383 medals on home soil in Hangzhou at the Covid-delayed Games in 2023.

They will send more than 800 athletes, including 36 Olympic champions.

“We will showcase China’s standard and strength on the regional and global stage,” said diver Wang Zongyuan.

Sooryavanshi will be part of an India cricket team looking to make a statement before the sport returns to the Olympics in LA after an absence of 128 years.

India could face bitter rivals Pakistan in the final at Nagoya’s new purpose-built cricket ground.

Reports of tents serving as dressing rooms and distant washroom facilities have left some of the top teams unimpressed.

Nagoya: The 20th Asian Games open in Japan on Saturday bringing together a bumper 17,000 athletes and officials, among them Olympic and world champions.

Here’s a guide to Asia’s biggest sporting spectacle.

Where?

The Games mainly take place in the port city of Nagoya and the wider Aichi prefecture.

Nagoya has more than two million residents and is the fourth biggest city in Japan by population. It was flattened in World War II.

The Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000, will be the main venue including hosting athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies.

Swimming -- one of the most closely watched events -- is 350 kilometres (200 miles) east in the capital Tokyo.

The Games, which take place every four years, finish on October 4.

What?

Athletes will compete in 43 sports across the two weeks.

Aside from athletics and swimming, the other major draws will be badminton, boxing, cricket, football, golf, gymnastics, table tennis, tennis and weightlifting.

In a bid to attract younger viewers there will be eSports, break dancing and BMX biking.

Padel, the fast-growing racquet sport, MMA and teqball make their Asian Games debuts.

Then there are more obscure regional sports including the combat sport kurash, kabbadi and wushu. There is also virtual taekwondo.

How many?

The Asian Games are bigger than the Olympics in numbers, with more than 11,000 athletes and 6,000 officials.

There will be 45 countries and territories competing. At the previous Games in 2023 -- held a year late because of the pandemic -- hosts China comfortably topped the medals table ahead of Japan, South Korea, India and Uzbekistan.

Iran and North Korea were also in the top 10. At the bottom end of the table came Syria and Palestine.

Hold tight

Japan has not built a dedicated athletes’ village in a bid to reduce costs, so some competitors will stay in hotels.

Others will be housed on a cruise liner docked in Nagoya’s port, with temporary wooden cabins also used.

Organisers are confident the ship in particular will make for a memorable experience -- but will be hoping the weather behaves itself or those on board might be in for a choppy time.

September-October is typhoon season in Japan.

The vessel, the Costa Serena, can house about 4,000 people and is the twin ship of the infamous Costa Concordia.

That vessel sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 people.

تواصل لجنة اليوم الرياضي للدولة استقبال طلبات المشاركة في جائزة اليوم الرياضي للدولة موسم 2026/2027، حيث تقوم برصد الفعاليات الرياضية، التي تنظمها الجهات المختلفة، خلال الفترة من فبراير الماضي وحتى فبراير المقبل، لتقييمها وتضمين تلك المشاركات في النسخة الثانية من جائزة اليوم الرياضي، ووجهت اللجنة الدعوة لكافة الوزارات، والهيئات، والمؤسسات الحكومية، والخاصة، لاغتنام الفرصة للمشاركة والانخراط في هذه المبادرة الوطنية، والمساهمة في دعم أهدافها الرامية إلى تعزيز أنماط الحياة الصحية في المجتمع، وترسيخ ثقافة ممارسة الرياضة.
وأعلنت لجنة اليوم الرياضي للدولة، عقد اجتماع يوم الخميس المقبل عبر «التيمز» للوزارات والجهات الحكومية والخاصة، المشاركة في النسخة الثانية من الجائزة، والتي سوف يتم الإعلان عن الفائزين بها خلال حفل يقام في الأول من شهر فبراير المقبل 2027، وجددت اللجنة الدعوة لكافة الجهات من الوزرات والهيئات والمؤسسات الحكومية، لاقتناص الفرصة، والإنخراط في الجائزة التي تعمل على تعزيز أنماط الحياة الصحية في المجتمع، وتدعيم المنافسة الإيجابية لدى مختلف الفئات المجتمعية، وتشجع الجهات المعنية على توفير بيئة عمل صحية ونشطة، من خلال تفعيل النشاط الرياضي، وهي بذلك تسهم في تحسين الصحة العامة، وتعزيز الروح الرياضية في المجتمع، و تستقبل اللجنة طلبات المشاركة عبر الايميل
[email protected]
وتؤكد لجنة اليوم الرياضي أن فكرة الجائزة تأتي انطلاقا من التقدير للجهود التي تبذلها المؤسسات الوطنية الداعمة للرياضة المجتمعية، والمبادرات التي تطلقها لتعزيز الصحة العامة، ونشر ثقافة النشاط البدني، وللاحتفاء بإسهامات الوزارات والمؤسسات والهيئات الحكومية، التي جعلت من الرياضة أولوية، والصحة العامة نهجًا في مجال العمل، وشاركت بفاعلية في ترجمة أهداف اليوم الرياضي للدولة، وتحويلها إلى واقع ملموس، نشط وفعال على مدار العام.
وأوضحت اللجنة أن من بين شروط المشاركة، تسجيل بيانات الفعاليات عبر الموقع الإلكتروني لوزارة الرياضة والشباب، حيث يتم تقييم المشاركات، خلال سبعة أيام من بداية الشهر التالي لإقامة الفعالية، وذلك بهدف تعزيز رؤية اليوم الرياضي للدولة في جعل الرياضة أسلوب حياة في المجتمع، كما نوهت اللجنة بأهمية الترويج للفعاليات الرياضية عبر منصات التواصل الاجتماعي، باستخدام الوسمين #اخترت_الرياضة و#الرياضة_حياة، مع الإشارة إلى حساب اليوم الرياضي للدولة
(QASportsForAll).
إضافة إلى توثيق الفعاليات بالصور ومقاطع الفيديو، ونشرها عبر الحسابات الرسمية للجهات المشاركة، وتعبئة استمارة الفعالية المتاحة على موقع الوزارة، وإدراج تفاصيلها وعدد المشاركين فيها.
وشددت اللجنة، على ضرورة الالتزام باشتراطات الأمن والسلامة، في جميع الفعاليات الرياضية المقامة، وتأمين المواقع الخاصة بها، وتوفير الفرق الطبية، والتأكد من سلامة المعدات المستخدمة، كما أوضحت أن من أهم شروط المشاركة، تسجيل بيانات الفعاليات عبر الموقع الإلكتروني لوزارة الرياضة والشباب، حيث يتم احتساب النقاط في الجائزة، بناء على أربعة محاور رئيسية، تتمثل في عدد الفعاليات المنظمة، وعدد الأيام، وأعداد المشاركين فيها، وأعداد المشاركين من تلك الجهات في الفعاليات الأخرى ضمن روزنامة الرياضة للجميع.