CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

Title-hungry Al Gharafa will be looking to secure maximum points against Al Wakrah as the former national cham-pions look to bounce back in the QNB Stars League (QSL).

The two teams meet in a Round 10 fixture today.

As Gharafa are looking to consol-idate their place at the top with another win, reigning champions Al Duhail will also target full points in today’s match against Al Khor.

Coached by Slavisa Jokanovic, Al Gharafa are in a two-way battle against Al Ahli who are chasing the points leaders Al Sadd.

The Cheetahs, with 18 points in their account, are one point behind second-placed Al Ahli after winning six matches and losing three this season.

Al Wakrah have won three matches so far and are placed eighth in the standings, but coach Jokanovic is aware of the strengths of their opponents.

“The team’s next match against Al Wakrah will be against a side that likes to retain ball possession and control the game. Their style of play is the same as that of ours,” the Serbian tactician said.

With both teams seeking a positive results, Jokanovic is expecting an exciting contest at A lSadd Stadium.

“My team will fight for points, which is the same for Al Wakrah, I am sure. The match will be exciting and will attract fans of both teams,” he added.

Both teams are returning to the League after suffering from defeats in the previous round.

Al Gharafa went down to points

leaders Al Sadd 1-4 while Al Wakrah lost 0-1 to Al Khor.

“I would say that we made a great effort and wanted a positive result (against Al Sadd), but we were not able to do so. Our result could not satisfy us because we got no points,” Jokanovic said.

“But for this match, we have to focus as we face Al Wakrah. We will aim at a fighting performance against Al Wakrah. When you are a football player, you always have to be motivated in order not to walk in the wrong direction. I am satisfied with the character that the team offered in its previous con-frontation against Al Sadd and the desire shown by the players in order to achieve a positive result.

“We must continue to work to make the team provide better results in the future. There is room for development. We can become better and this is at the core policy of our work as it is our duty to make the team improve continuously. Now is not the time to stop and give up hope, especially since many matches await us in the coming period. I hope to use the available time and find time to enjoy this competition,” said Jokanovic.

Al Gharafa’s midfielder Mostafa Esam echoed coached Jokanovic’s statement and said yesterday: “The next match is important for us and our goal is to win. We have to appear in the best way to satisfy our fans and man-agement. We have to apply the coach’s instructions from what we learned during practice sessions.”

Meanwhile, Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez admitted that Al Gharafa is one of the strongest teams

this season.“For me, the Al Gharafa team this

season is considered as one of the best after Al Sadd and have very good players as well as an eminent coach. It will be a difficult match for us, of course, and there is no doubt about it,” Lopez said during a press conference yesterday.

Despite the difficult confrontation, Lopez said his team is aiming for full points.

“I think our mentality is positive and I know that we lost a lot of points, but we will continue our path. I told the players that we need confidence and train strongly in order to provide

the strongest performance against Al Gharafa and come up with a positive result.

“Currently, there is a problem which is that Isais (Sanchez) is injured. I do not know yet the duration of the injury and the period of his absence, which is a big problem for us, as he is the captain of the team. He has an excellent personality and is a very good player, so losing him for a long time will be a problem. But then, there are other players, who will play instead of him and will perform well,” said Lopez.

Al Wakrah player Abdulrahman Mohammed said yesterday: “We have

prepared for the Al Gharafa match like any other match and we are preparing strongly. We hope to implement the instructions of technical staff and we can compensate for our loss in the last match. I think that our loss in the last match will be a motivation for us in order to compensate for it and win.”

Meanwhile, Al Duhail, placed fifth in the standings, will be looking to prove that they are up for the title defence challenge.

Al Duhail’s coach Sabri Lamouchi is targeting full points against Al Khor, but said he is aware of the rising self-confidence of today’s opponents.

“We will face a team which has regained self-confidence after achieving their first victory this season and I think the match will be important and difficult at the same time,”Lamouchi, who was appointed coach in October, said.

“In every match, Al Duhail create dangerous opportunities to score, but we have failed to reach the net. But we succeeded in the last match against Al Arabi in taking advantage of the oppor-tunities that we had. My team always focuses on offensive performance in our matches and we will work to take advantage of the opportunities we get so that we put the burden on our rivals,” the French tactician said.

In the third match of the day, Al Sailiya will take on Umm Salal at Al Duhail Stadium.

QVA SENIOR MEN'S LEAGUE: Al Ahli beat Al Sadd 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-18, 33-31); Al Khor beat Al Shamal 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-19)

TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2020

Azam and Imam ruled out of first Test against hosts New ZealandI remain confident and optimistic that other players will rise to the occasion in Mount Maunganui and … put the disap-pointment of the T20I series behind them.

Sport |09

ATItp

Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq

Sport

F1 championHamilton wins BBC’s

top sports prizeAP – LONDON

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton capped another successful year by claiming the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year

prize.The 35-year-old driver, who last month equaled Michael Schu-

macher’s record of seven F1 titles, overcame Jordan Henderson and Hollie Doyle to win the British broadcaster’s pres-tigious prize in a public vote.

Hamilton has been a vocal advocate in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and said he now has “something different” driving him.

Hamilton also won the BBC prize in 2014.England midfielder Henderson led Liv-

erpool to its first Premier League title in 30 years. Liverpool is atop the league heading into the busy Christmas period. Henderson was also praised for his role in the #Player-sTogether campaign, which raised funds for National Health Service charities during the coronavirus pandemic.

Doyle broke her own record for the most victories in a calendar year by a female jockey before enjoying a Cham-pions Day double at Ascot - including her first Group One aboard Glen Shiel in the British Champions Sprint.

The other three members of the six-person shortlist were boxer Tyson Fury, snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan and cricketer Stuart Broad.

Marcus Rashford’s efforts off the field were recognized with a special award.

ROUND 10 FIXTURESTODAY

Al Duhail vs Al Khor 16:00 at Al Duhail Stadium

Al Sailiya vs Umm Salal 18:30 at Al Duhail Stadium

Al Gharafa vs Al Wakrah18:30 at Al Sadd Stadium

TOMORROW Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Arabi

16:00 at Al Ahli Stadium Al Ahli vs Qatar SC

18:30 at Al Ahli Stadium Al Rayyan vs Al Sadd

18:30 at Al Sadd Stadium

QSL: Al Gharafa eye win against Al WakrahChampions Al Duhail target top four spot as Round 10 kicks off

HAMILTON'S F1 WINS IN 2020July 12 - Styrian Grand Prix

July 19 - Hungarian Grand Prix

Aug. 2 - British Grand Prix

Aug. 16 - Spanish Grand Prix

Aug. 30 - Belgian Grand Prix

Sept. 13 - Tuscan Grand Prix

Oct. 11 - Eifel Grand Prix

Oct. 25 - Portuguese Grand Prix

Nov. 1 - Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Nov. 15 - Turkish Grand Prix

Nov. 29 - Bahrain Grand Prix

AWARD WINNERS AT SPORTS PERSONALITY 2020Sports Personality of the Year: Lewis Hamilton

Helen Rollason Award: Captain Sir Tom Moore

Expert Special Panel Award: Marcus Rashford

Coach of the Year: Jurgen Klopp

Team of the Year: Liverpool FC

Unsung Hero: Sgt Matt Ratana

Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero: Tobias Weller

Young Sports Personality of the Year: Andrea Spendolini-

Sirieix

Milan clubs jostle to end year top of Serie AAFP – MILAN

AC Milan and Inter Milan will be vying to end the year top of the Serie A table on Wednesday as the city rivals push to deny Juventus a 10th consecutive ‘Scudetto’ this season.

Leaders AC Milan’s unbeaten league run, which stretches back to March, faces a stiff test against Lazio in the San Siro.

“We have one game left against Lazio and we might be able to achieve our first objective (staying top of Serie A) on December 23,” said Milan coach Stefano Pioli.

But Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan are just one point behind in second before their trip to ninth-placed Hellas Verona.

Inter last won the Serie A title in 2010, with Milan taking the honours the following year.

Since then Juventus have dominated.

Andrea Pirlo’s champions are third, four points behind AC Milan, and have a chance to pile the pressure on their northern rivals at home Tuesday against struggling Fiorentina.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been clinical as always, leading all Serie A scorers with 12 goals.

Juventus can also take advantage

of injury worries among their rivals.Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains out

for a sixth consecutive league match for Milan with a leg muscle injury, even if Pioli’s side have shown they can win even without the towering presence of the 39-year-old Swede.

But Pioli also has a crisis in mid-field with Ismaël Bennacer out, Franck Kessie suspended, and Sandro Tonali, Ante Rebic and Simon Kjaer in doubt.

Inter coach Conte’s focus is firmly on the league after his Champions League hopes came to an abrupt end.

Inter’s domestic form has been better. They are on a six-match winning streak and have proved a tighter unit in December with fewer goals conceded.

They also have the top strike force in the Italian league, led by Romelu Lukaku. Collectively Inter’s forwards have scored 32 goals in 13 games.

“We want to finish this cycle of fixtures in the best possible fashion,” said Conte. “We don’t want to give up now and we need to hold firm against Verona, despite only having one training session beforehand.

“The hope then is to recover a bit of energy over Christmas because our lads haven’t stopped, particularly with international commitments.”

Al Gharafa players in action during a pre-match training session ahead of their QNB Stars League Round 10 match against Al Wakrah.

Al Sadd's goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb in action during a training session ahead of their key game against Al Rayyan. INSET: Al Sadd's coach Xavi Hernandez

Al Rayyan's Yacine Brahimi in action.

Al Rayyan coach Laurent Blanc

Hamt

AP – LONDON

Seven-time Formusuccessful year by

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macher’s record of sev

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Oct.. 11 - EEifeel Graannd Prix

t.. Oct 25 - PPortugguese GGrand Prix

Noovv. 1 - EEmmilia RRommagnna GGrand P

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Noov. 299 - Bahrain Grrandd Prrix

AWAWW RD WINNERS AT AA SPORTS PERSONALITY 2020SSports PPerersonalityty o of the Year: YY LLewewis HHamamilton

Helenen Rollason on Award: Captptainain Sir ToTom Moore

EExxpert Spepecial Panel AwaAward: MarMarcus Rashford

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TTeeam of the TTT YYeaear: YYY Liverpverpool FC

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08TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2020Sport

NBA set for leap into unknown as new season gets underway

AFP — LOS ANGELES

The NBA takes a leap into the unknown today when the 2020-2021 season tips off after the shortest offseason in history against the backdrop of a raging COVID-19 crisis across the United States.

Little more than two months after LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers brought the curtain down on a gruelling, pandemic-interrupted season with victory in the NBA Finals in the Orlando quarantine bubble, a shortened 72-game campaign gets underway with games in New York and Los Angeles.

The Golden State Warriors face a road trip to take on the Brooklyn Nets before the Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers clash at Staples Center.

The new season marks the first time league action has taken place at home arenas since the 2019-2020 season was dramatically suspended in March as the coronavirus pan-demic erupted across the United States.

When the league resumed in July, teams were based at a single location at Disney World in Florida and kept in a tightly controlled bubble for three months to guard against COVID-19 infection.

Yet the upcoming season will take place in 30 locations across the United States at a time when the country con-tinues to set new records for corona-virus cases a n d fatalities.

T h e NBA has put in place a range of measures designed to mitigate the

COVID-19 threat, including strict safety protocols and a tweaked schedule that cuts down on travel.

The new-look schedule -- reduced from the standard 82 games -- will see teams play each other on consecutive nights more frequently to reduce the amount of time spent on the road.

The league has also only drawn up a schedule for the first half of the season -- up to March 4 -- in order to give itself flexibility over possible p o s t - p o n e -

ments.F a n s

will also be l a r g e l y a b s e n t f r o m arenas.

Only a handful of teams are allowing limited numbers of spectators into venues. An ambitious plan by Golden State to fill the Chase Center to 50% capacity was rejected by health authorities in San Francisco.

Arenas will also not carry the “Black Lives Matter” slogans on court as they had when play resumed last season, nor will players wear jerseys carrying social justice messages.

The Toronto Raptors, the 2019 NBA champions, will play home games in Tampa, Florida, after Canadian authorities denied the NBA an exemption to COVID-19 restrictions placed on travel to and from the United States.

Teams and players will be required to click back into gear after what has been the shortest offseason in history.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had initially signalled that

the league would restart in January, but the start was brought forward to December, a move which allows for a lucrative slate of televised games over the Christmas period.

The 72-game schedule also means the regular season and play-offs can

be completed in time for next year’s Tokyo Olympics,

although it is an open question whether players

involved in the NBA Finals will be available to make the trip to Japan.

The finals are due to

conclude just one day before the Olympics get under way in Tokyo on July 23.

- ‘Bullseye’ on the Lakers - Most analysts expect James

and the Lakers to be involved in the battle for the NBA cham-pionship next year.

The Lakers, who defeated the Miami Heat in six games in October to win the franchise’s 17th championship, have been installed as heavy favourites to retain their crown after an off-season which saw several roster upgrades.

Already spearheaded by James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers have added German point guard Dennis Schroder from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Montrezl Harrell from the Clippers as well as Spanish veteran Marc Gasol.

It means the Lakers will most likely be the team to beat when the season gets under way -- a status James relishes.

“For me personally, the bullseye has always been on my back, or on my front since I entered the league,” James said.

“And then you add in the Lakers’ name on top of that. The Lakers franchise -- the bullseye has been on this franchise for a long time as well. Everyone is going to come at us.”

The Lakers are likely to face stiff competition from several rivals however, including the Brooklyn Nets, who will finally be able to unleash their strike force of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Former MVP Durant returns after more than a year on the sidelines.

Last season’s finals runners-up Miami will also expect to be in the hunt, led by Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo. The Milwaukee Bucks meanwhile will head into the new campaign buoyed by the news Giannis Antetokounmpo has committed his future to the franchise. The back-to-back MVP inked a new five-year deal last week.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated the Miami Heat in six games in October to win the franchise’s 17th championship, have been installed as heavy favourites to retain their crown.

Little more than two months after LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers

brought the curtain down on a gruelling, pandemic-interrupted season with

victory in the NBA Finals in the Orlando quarantine bubble, a shortened 72-game

campaign gets underway with games in New York and Los Angeles.

The 72-game schedule also means the regular season and play-offs can be

completed in time for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, although it is an open question

whether players involved in the NBA Finals will be available to make the trip to

Japan.

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LeBron James

Gobert inks $205m, five-year extension with Jazz

NFL: Chiefs down Saints for ninth straight victory

AFP — LOS ANGELES

Two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert said he had signed a contract extension with the Utah Jazz, with reports saying it was a five-year deal worth $205m.

Frenchman Gobert posted a statement on his social media channels saying: “I’m here to stay, and I’m here to WIN a Championship.”

Jazz owner Ryan Smith said in a statement: “Rudy is such a special player. He makes eve-ryone on the court better. We couldn’t be more excited about his com-mitment to this team, to Utah, and most impor-tantly, to keeping this unique culture together.”

Terms of the deal were not released but ESPN and several other media outlets reported the $205m figure.

Gobert, 28, has estab-lished himself as a defensive specialist since entering the NBA in the 2013 draft and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019.

He has spent his entire NBA career at Utah.

Gobert sparked con-troversy at the start of the coronavirus pandemic by jokingly touching reporters’ microphones. He then tested positive for the virus and later donated $500,000 to support Covid-19 relief efforts.

On Tuesday, Mil-waukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo ended speculation about his future by agreeing a new long-term deal reported to be the biggest in NBA history at $228m.

Rudy Gobert

Tampa Bay 31 Atlanta 27San Francisco 33 Dallas 41

Detroit 25 Tennessee 46Houston 20 Indianapolis 27New England 12 Miami 22Chicago 33 Minnesota 27Seattle 20 Washington 15

Jacksonville 14 Baltimore 40NY Jets 23 LA Rams 20

Philadelphia 26 Arizona 33Kansas City 32 N' Orleans 29

Cleveland 20 NY Giants 6

NFL RESULTS

REUTERS — NEW YORK

Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes and the visiting Kansas City Chiefs won their ninth consecutive game by defeating the New Orleans Saints 32-29 on Sunday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Mahomes completed 26 of 47 for 254 yards as the Chiefs improved their NFL-best record to 13-1.

Drew Brees returned from a four-game absence due to rib and lung injuries to com-plete 15 of 34 passes for 234 yards with three touchdowns and an interception as the Saints (10-4) lost their second straight after a nine-game winning streak.

Buccaneers 31, Falcons 27 Tom Brady threw a

46-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown with 6:19 remaining and visiting Tampa Bay overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat Atlanta.

Brady completed 31 of 45 passes for a season-high 390 yards with two touchdowns, with most of the production coming in the second half.

The winning points came on Brown’s first touchdown since joining the team last month as the Buccaneers (9-5) improved to 5-2 on the road.

Bears 33, Vikings 27 David Montgomery rushed

for a career-high 146 yards and two touchdowns and Mitchell Trubisky had a passing touchdown and 236 yards of offense as visiting Chicago kept its NFC playoff hopes alive with a win over Minnesota.

Chicago (7-7) won for the second straight week on the heels of a six-game skid and is one game behind the Arizona Cardinals for the final NFC wild-card spot.

Ravens 40, Jaguars 14 Baltimore had little trouble

moving one step closer to earning its third straight trip to the playoffs with a domi-nating home victory over Jacksonville.

The Ravens (9-5) never trailed against the Jaguars (1-13), who lost its 13th con-secutive game, tied for the longest losing streak in fran-chise history. Baltimore won its third straight game.

Titans 46, Lions 25 Ryan Tannehill passed for

three touchdowns and rushed for two more as Tennessee overwhelmed visiting Detroit in Nashville.

Tannehill completed 21 of 27 passes for 273 yards and rushed for 21 yards on three carries. Derrick Henry rushed for 147 yards and one score on 24 carries as the Titans (10-4) remained tied for first in the AFC South with Indianapolis. Corey Davis caught four passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Dolphins 22, Patriots 12 Rookie quarterback Tua

Tagovailoa ran for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns as host Miami eliminated New England from the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Seahawks 20, Washington 15

Carlos Hyde scored on a 50-yard run and visiting Seattle held off a late rally to clinch a playoff berth while ending Washington’s four-game winning streak in a game in Landover, Md.

Ko Jin-young of Korea kisses the CME Globe trophy.

Ko cruises to five-shot victory in LPGA Tour season finale

REUTERS — NAPLES

South Korean world number one Ko Jin-young used a string of late birdies to pull away from the chasing pack and claim a clinical five-shot victory at the LPGA’s season-

ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, on Sunday.

Ko, who began the day one shot back of defending champion and compatriot Kim Sei-young, carded a

closing six-under-par 66 that brought her to 18 under on the week at Tiburon Golf Club for her first win of the

pandemic-stained season.“I still can’t believe it, that I’m here, and that I won

this tournament,” said Ko, who only competed in four LPGA events in 2020 after choosing to remain in Korea when the LPGA Tour resumed play in July amid the pan-

demic. England’s Hannah Green (67) and Kim (72) fin-ished in a share of second place, one shot clear of

American Mina Harigae (68).Ko birdied two of her first six holes and shook

off a bogey at the ninth before making a move at the par-three 12th where she rattled off the first of

three consecutive birdies to pad her lead and then added two more over her final three holes. The tournament capped an 18-event LPGA season that was shut down from mid-February through July because of COVID-19.

Justin Thomas teams with dad to claim PNC Championship titleREUTERS — NEW YORK

Team Thomas, which paired World No. 3 Justin Thomas with his father and coach, Mike, won the PNC Champi-onship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla.

Team Thomas opened with seven consecutive birdies, and Mike drained a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a round of 15-under 57 in the scramble format. They earned a one-shot victory over Vijay Singh and son Qass in the annual winter team event that pairs a pro-fessional player with a family member.

Team Thomas finished 25 under in the two-day event, in which Tiger Woods was playing for the first time,

paired with his 11-year-old son Charlie.

They both wore Tiger’s traditional Sunday red with black pants, and the father-and-son team fired a second consecutive 10-under-par 62 to finish seventh.

Charlie is the youngest competitor in PNC Champi-onship history. He flashed a Tiger-like fist pump after making a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 10.

“It was incredibly special for us to have the opportunity to spend the quality time we had,” Tiger said.

“It’s memories we’ll have for our entire lives.

Team Thomas posted eight birdies on the front side and seven on the back nine to win the $200,000 first prize.

AP - ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam and opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq have been ruled out of the first Test against New Zealand with thumb injuries.

Both batsmen fractured their thumbs during training session last week and have yet to return. The Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement yesterday that the team’s medical staff is closely monitoring the progress of both players.

“A decision on their participation in the second test, which commences in Christchurch on Jan. 3, will be made closer to the time,” the PCB said.

Wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan will lead the side in the first Test, starting at Mount Maunganui from Dec. 26.

Pakistan named uncapped 24-year-old batsman Imran Butt in its 15-member squad for the first Test. Butt scored 934 runs in the 2019-20 first class tournament at an average of 62 with four centuries and three half centuries.

In the absence of Azam, Pakistan trails 2-0 in the three-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand with the last game due to be played at Napier today.

“It will be nearly two weeks to Babar’s injury when the first Test starts, (but) it will be hard on him and the team to play him without any net sessions,” Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said.

“I remain confident and optimistic that other players will rise to the occasion in Mount Maunganui and … put the disap-pointment of the T20I series behind them.”

Pakistan are carrying two squads - the national team and the Shaheens - in New Zealand that include 34 players out of which 17 are in the Test squad.

On the conclusion of the ongoing T20I series in Napier, as many as 10 players - Abdullah Shafiq, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil

Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Musa Khan, Usman Qadir and Wahab Riaz - will be released from the national side to join the Pakistan Shaheens for five T20s against the local and New Zealand XI sides.

Imad Wasim will be released after the final T20I today to travel to Australia to join the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League, while Mohammad Hafeez will return

to Pakistan. Rauf, who signed with the Mel-bourne Stars, will stay back in New Zealand for a little longer before flying out for Aus-tralia on January 6 after his stint with the Shaheens.

Pakistan have already lost the T20I series and are trailing 2-0, after they failed to defend 153 and 163 in the two games.

"It is disappointing to lose the T20I series against a well-settled New Zealand side, who utilised their resources and conditions to their advantage," Misbah said.

"We need to up our skill and improve our individual and team performances, including in Tuesday's match, and the sooner we get these sorted the better it will be in terms of player confidences and team results as 2021 will not be any easier as we have two major events.

"Contrary to the T20I side, the Test side appears to be pretty organised and we boast some experienced cricketers, both in batting and bowling departments. With some com-petitive cricket on the tour now under the belt, I am hoping we will be a better outfit in the longer version of the game."

Sarfaraz Ahmed who is the second-choice wicketkeeper for Pakistan will con-tinue to find a place in a larger squad as Rizwan will become the country's 33rd Test captain.

Just over a year ago, Rizwan had played just one Test and none in three years. Since then he has cemented his place by impressing in Australia, playing at home against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and then having a standout series in England with both bat and behind the stumps.

He was given the vice-captaincy when Azam was named the new Test captain to replace Azhar.SQUAD FOR 1ST TEST: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan and Yasir Shah.

09TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2020 SPORT

A general view of the Adelaide Oval during the day one of the first cricket Test match between Australia and India in Adelaide in this December 17, 2020, file photo.

Will cricket’s bubble burst in 2021? De Kock wants to safeguard future cricket tours to South Africa

AFP - PRETORIA

South African captain Quinton de Kock said yesterday he and his players felt a responsibility to ensure future tours of South Africa can take place by strictly adhering to Covid-19 protocols.

He said the South African team were remaining in quar-antine in a ‘bio-bubble’ facility outside Pretoria ahead of a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka that starts in nearby Centurion on Saturday.

The players were adhering to a strict regime of room service meals, social dis-tancing and training in small groups pending a Covid test today.

Both teams are staying in the same country club facility but De Kock said there was no direct contact.

“We can see them but we have our own boundaries and we can’t mingle.”

The teams will stay at the same venue for the Tests in Centurion and Johannesburg, with both Test grounds within easy driving distance.

It is South Africa’s second experience of life in a bio-secure ‘bubble’ following the ill-fated white-ball series against England which was called off early because of pos-itive coronavirus tests, which were later found to be false positives.

Although Sri Lanka arrived in South Africa last weekend for the Test matches, doubts have been expressed about Australia fulfilling a planned Test series in South Africa early next year.

The South Africans assembled on Saturday and were immediately tested for the virus. All tests came back negative but De Kock said full training would only start after the results of today’s second round of tests were received.

“Obviously we’ve got that bit of responsibility but it’s not much you can’t handle,” said De Kock.

“It’s just a small part we can play in ensuring future tours in bubble life and Covid times.”

The South African squad was reduced from 19 to 17 players when two tested pos-itive for Covid last week. A team spokesperson said the names could not be released for medical and labour rela-tions reasons but that a new squad list would be announced after the next round of Covid tests, which will enable deduc-tions to be made about who is missing.

De Kock, South Africa’s regular white-ball captain, said he had agreed to be Test captain as a short-term measure for seven Test matches during the current season, “until someone really puts up their hand. The guys are looking for a long-term leadership role and I won’t be doing that.”

Although the original reason for De Kock not being made Test captain was an overload of responsibility on him as a leading batsman as well as wicketkeeper, he said he would continue as wicket-keeper in the forthcoming series.

De Kock said his objective for the Test season was to hasten the development of young players, with South Africa needing to make up too much ground to be a factor in t h e w o r l d T e s t championship.

“We doubt whether we’ll be playing in the final of the championship,” he said. “We have young players who need to learn - and to learn fast. I want the new guys to come in and start putting up their names.”

De Kock said he expected the pitches in Centurion and Johannesburg to have pace and bounce.

Azam and Imam ruled out of first Test against hosts New Zealand

Injured Pakistan’s batsman Babar Azam attends a training session at Eden Park in Auckland in this December 17, 2020, file photo.

Coach Arthur relishing Boucher battle in South Africa Test seriesJOHANNESBURG - REUTERS

Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur is looking forward to slugging it out with his South African counterpart Mark Boucher when the teams start a two-Test series in Pretoria on Boxing Day, hailing the former wicketkeeper for his aggressive style on the pitch.

Boucher was one of Arthur’s most trusted senior players when the latter coached the Proteas between 2005 and 2010 with excellent success in the test arena.

“Mark Boucher and I go back a helluva long way and I am really looking forward to locking horns with him,” Arthur told reporters yesterday.

“He was an aggressive player and I’m sure he will be an aggressive coach too. It will be up to us to match that intensity.

"There is a wonderful familiarity for me now walking into the grounds. Africa never leaves you. That knowledge of the con-ditions will hopefully be of great benefit to us.”

Arthur was in charge of Pakistan when they lost a Test series 3-0 in South Africa last year.

Sri Lanka move straight from their bio-bubble on the Highveld to Galle for a Test series with England that gets underway on January 14, just seven days after the end of the second Test in Johannesburg.

They therefore have a 21-man squad in South Africa and Arthur believes he is covered for all conditions.

“We have a very good seam bowling and spin attack, and I’m comfortable that our top six batters can prepare for any conditions. We want to create some consistency around selec-tions and roles. England is a home series, where our strategy and game-plan will be a lot different to South Africa.”

England hire SA legend Kallis for SL tourAFP - LONDON

South African cricket icon Jacques Kallis (pictured right) will be a batting consultant for England’s tour of Sri Lanka, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced yesterday.

The 45-year-old is third on the all-time list of Test run-scorers with 13,289 --he also took 292 wickets.

Kallis coached Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and worked with the South Africa team, but was not part of the set-up for England’s recent coronavirus-disrupted tour.

“Former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis joins the England setup for the first time as batting coaching

consultant,” the ECB said in a statement.

England will leave for Sri Lanka on January 2 and play two Tests before going on to tour India. Both Tests will be played in Galle, starting on 14 January and 22 January.

It will be England’s first tour since the visit to South Africa had to be brought to a premature end earlier this month after two members of the touring party tested pos-itive for Covid-19. They later

tested negative. England played all three of the scheduled Twenty 20 internationals but none of the three ODIs, the first of which was postponed after a positive test in the South African entourage.

Meanwhile, there are still many ques-tions over Australia’s opening partnership

for the second Test against India but one thing is all but certain -- Joe Burns will face the new ball at the Melbourne Cricket Ground later this week.

Burns came into the first Test on an extremely poor run of form -- 62 first class runs in nine innings -- but scored a half century to drive Australia to victory at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, sealing the win with a six. His innings might be destined to be a footnote in the records of that remarkable test after the Australian bowlers had skittled India for 36, but it clearly did his confidence no harm.

Burns took a blow to the elbow from a Jasprit Bumrah delivery during Australia’s run chase on Saturday but said he did not anticipate any lasting issues from the injury.

“Had scans yesterday and there’s no problems, and it’s been great today, so hope-fully there’s no further limitations in prep-arations for the games coming up,” he said.

LONDON - AFP

International cricket found a way through this year’s coronavirus pandemic but the strain of ‘bubble life’ was evident by the end of 2020.

The women’s Twenty20 World Cup, won by Aus-tralia in front of a Melbourne crowd of more than 86,000 on March 8, escaped the ravages of Covid-19 but the men’s game soon ground to a halt during an Australia-New Zealand series.

In a perfect summary of the topsy-turvy cricket year, India eventually went to Australia and were bowled out for 36 in a humiliating first Test defeat.

After the March lockdown, international cricket, sustained by the broadcast income from tours and tournaments, did not resume again until the England-West Indies Test series in July.

That month also saw the International Cricket Council announce it was postponing this year’s men’s World Twenty20 in Australia until 2022.

The England-West Indies series, played at the ‘bio-secure’ venues of Southampton and Manchester, established a template for cricket amid the pandemic and spared the England and Wales Cricket Board, one of the wealthier national governing bodies, from a crippling financial hit.

But the ECB still postponed its new domestic Hundred tournament, a 100 balls per side compe-tition for men and women, while announcing 62 redundancies and pay cuts for players.

The ECB also forecast a loss of more than £100m ($135m) this year, potentially rising to £200m in 2021.

West Indies won the first Test but lost the series.Together with Pakistan, another of world cricket’s

financially poorer leading sides, the West Indies spent much of 2020 on the road, the two teams travelling to both England and New Zealand.

West Indies captain Jason Holder, who played in another bubble during a lucrative Indian Premier League moved to the United Arab Emirates on health grounds, articulated the stresses of cricket in confinement.

“Going from bubble to bubble, being isolated in a room, sometimes the room just gets smaller and smaller by the second,” said Holder following the second of West Indies’ two innings defeats in New Zealand earlier this month.

Meanwhile England’s Tom Banton and Tom Curran both withdrew from Australia’s Big Bash League after citing bubble fatigue.

December saw England abandon their tour of South Africa after breaches of their hotel bubble. Michael Vaughan branded the decision “alarming”, with the former England captain writing in the Daily Telegraph: “I worry that in future it will only be the rich nations that can put on cricket in bio-secure bubbles.”

But Judge Zak Yacoob, the interim board chairman of Cricket South Africa, criticised “an awkward nar-rative coming out that third-world countries can’t manage these things properly”.

England and West Indies took the knee as a response to the global Black Lives Matter protests against racial injustice.

Holder, however, was among those who criticised the ECB for abandoning the gesture during subse-quent series against Pakistan and Australia, with Aus-tralia opting instead for a ‘barefoot circle’, in solidarity

with Indigenous Australians, at the start of their home season.

November saw the ICC elect a new chairman in Greg Barclay, with the New Zealander questioning the future of a World Test Championship where the inaugural edition’s points system had to be altered after several series fell victim to Covid-19.

Pre-pandemic fears that compressed touring schedules skewed the balance too heavily in favour of the home side were highlighted again by India’s collapse to their record low total in an eight-wicket defeat by Australia in the first Test at Adelaide on Sat-urday, albeit fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood performed superbly against a side who had made 244 in the first innings.

While Pakistan overcame longstanding security concerns to persuade England, Australia and New Zealand to tour the country in 2021, the year ended with fast bowler Mohammad Amir announcing his international retirement in protest at his “shabby” treatment.

Amir had been one of the most exciting players in world cricket when he was given a five-year ban after being involved in a spot-fixing case during the 2010 Lord’s Test.

The highlight of his return came when he took three wickets as Pakistan beat arch-rivals India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.

Amir’s admirers hoped his international retirement would be short-lived, despite the 28-year-old saying he had been “mentally tortured” by team management.

But what sort of global game left-handed might come back to remained to be seen.

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Aspire Academy hosted the Iraqi Minister of Youth and Sport, Adnan Dirjal on his visit to the world-renowned Academy of youth sport development yesterday. The Minister one of Iraq’s most celebrated former footballers, played and coached the Iraq national team as well as manage several clubs in Qatar before taking up his new role in his home country.

Aspire Academy Deputy Director-General, Ali Salem Afifa welcomed the Minister and his delegation before they met Director-General, Ivan Bravo. They held discussions centred on mutual cooperation and support for the Iraqis in setting up youth sport development institutions like Aspire.

“The work of Aspire Academy is well known and praised throughout the world as a model of how to successfully develop sport. I was fortunate to have seen the foundation of the Aspire from the facilities

through to the sporting teams that have been developed at this Academy to reach world standard. The work of Aspire is admired by everyone in the world many seek to learn from it, transfer the knowledge and model of Aspire to their own countries and we in Iraqi also seek to implement similar programmes hence this visit," the former Iraq national team captain, Minister Dirjal, said.

10 TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2020SPORT

Qatar’s weightlifting star Fares Ibrahim Hassouna posing for a photograph with President of the Qatar Weightlifting & Fencing Federation, Mohammed Yousef Al Mana, Executive Director Zaid Mubarak Al Hajiri and Arhama Ghanim, his trainers and officials in Doha. The World Championships and Asian Games silver medallist and a two-time junior World Champion, Hassouna proved that he is a force to be reckoned with in the 96kg category at the Tokyo Olympics next year, when he lifted a record weight of 232kg in clean and jerk, the Federation said yesterday. Hassouna's lift bettered the previous record which belonged to China's Tian Tao by 1 kilogramme.

Al Ahli Sports Club's libero Kanani Ali receiving

the ball during his team's Qatar Volleyball

Association (QVA) Senior Men's League match

against Al Sadd, played at QVA Indoor Hall yesterday.

Al Ahli staged a brilliant comeback after losing the first set to defeat Al Sadd 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-18,

33-31). In the second match of the day, Al Khor

defeated Al Shamal in straight sets (25-20, 25-17, 25-19) at the

same venue.

Action during yesterday's women's beach

volleyball and handball competitions of the

inaugural Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Beach

Games at Aspire Park. The Beach Games which reflect the legacy of last

year's ANOC Beach Games that took place at the

Katara Beach, sees the participation of more

than 500 athletes.

Japanese rookie Tsunoda aims for instant F1 impact at AlphaTauriAFP – TOKYO

Yuki Tsunoda said yesterday he was confident his attacking driving style would give Japanese fans plenty to cheer when he makes his Formula One debut for Alpha-Tauri next season.

The 20-year-old will become the first Japanese driver to compete in Formula One since Kamui Kobayashi in 2014 after the team last week announced he would replace Russia’s Daniil Kvyat.

Tsunoda was named FIA rookie of the year on Saturday after finishing third in his debut season with British team Carlin in the Formula 2 championship, and the Jap-anese driver wants to make a similar impact when he steps up in class next year.

“My strong point is my attacking style, and I’m confident that people who see me driving will be impressed by it,” the 20-year-old, who won three Formula 2 races in 2020 with seven podium finishes and four pole positions, said.

“I’m a rookie, so for the first half of the season I want to double down on my attacking style and take it as far as I can, even if I make mistakes,” he added.

Tsunoda, who is backed by the junior programme of AlphaTauri’s engine sup-plier Honda, will join France’s Pierre Gasly at the Italian team next season.

“My team-mate has a lot of experience and I want to absorb as much as I can from him while also seeing how far my potential can take me,” said Tsunoda.

“Then, for the second half of the season, I want to use everything I’ve learned and try to improve with every race.” The dimin-utive 1.59 metre (5ft 3in) Japanese admitted he will have to hit the gym over the winter to cope with the Formula One car’s superior power and downforce after driving 123 laps during his Formula One test in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.

“In Formula 2, I didn’t really notice my neck moving forward when I braked, but when I drove an F1 car and hit the brakes for the first time, I really felt the G-force on my neck,” said Tsunoda.

Tsunoda, who said he was so nervous when signing his AlphaTauri contract that he could barely hold his pen, is looking forward to the 2021 Japanese Grand Prix after this year’s race weekend was axed because of coronavirus.

Re-scheduled Thomas and Uber Cup to take place in October 2021REUTERS - LONDON

The 2020 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Denmark, which were postponed this year after the withdrawal of several teams amid the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place in October next year, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said yesterday.

The biennial cham-pionship was originally scheduled for May but was first postponed to August due to the COVID-19 crisis before being moved to Oct. 3-11 when the Danish gov-ernment extended its ban on large gatherings. It was moved again after South Korea, Indonesia, Australia, Taiwan and Thailand pulled out.

“It has been decided that the Championships will be hosted in Aarhus, Denmark in the last part of 2021 in Week 41, as part of a tournament

cluster in Denmark with the Denmark Open in Week 42,” the BWF said in a statement.

The 2021 season will kick off with the Asian leg of the BWF World Tour, which was post-poned from November this year to January 2021.

Back-to-back events will be held in Thailand starting Jan. 12, with the World Tour Finals due to take place from Jan. 27-31. The China Masters, Thailand Masters and Thailand Open have been can-celled, while Super 300 events in New Zealand, Australia and Korea have been postponed.

The BWF also said the qualification period for the Tokyo Olympics will begin with the Swiss Open in March and run until the India Open in May. Qualification for the Tokyo Games will be determined from the Race to Tokyo Rankings on May 18, 2021.

Cricket action returns as QCA set to stage Asian Communities T10 eventTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

The Asian Communities T10 Cricket Tournament, organised by the Qatar Cricket Association (QCA), will take place at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium on Friday.

The event will see four teams, representing the communities of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bang-ladesh, in action in cele-bration of the Qatar National Day.

This was revealed at a press conference, attended by Yousef Jeham Al Kuwari, President of the Federation, Abdullah Aman Al Khater, QCA General Secretary, Isa Al Yaqoub, Director of the P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s Department, representa-tives of the participating teams, and the official sponsor of the tournament, Urdu Radio.

QCA President Al Kuwari said that he is very happy to witness the launch of the tournament on the Qatar National Day after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Al Kuwari said that the return

of cricket is a great reason for celebrations, and a large crowd is expected to be present at the venue on Friday, especially since cricket is so popular among the Asian communities.

Al Kuwari added that all precautionary measures and COVID-19 preventive m e a s u r e s w i l l

be implemented in cooper-ation with the Ministry of Public Health with all players, participants and support staff members sub-jected to a virus tests, to ensure safety of everyone.

The competitions will begin at 9:30am with the final expected to finish around 8:00pm.

Al Kuwari emphasised that all fans will have to adhere to social distancing, wear a mask and show the green status of Ehteraz application at entrance.

Four teams consist of expatriates from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka are competing in the tournament. Al Kuwari

pointed out that the partic-ipation in this edition was limited to just four teams due to the present situation, but the number of teams will increase in the next year. "There will be partic-ipation from foreign teams as well as international stars next year,"Al Kuwari said.

Yousef Jeham Al Kuwari, President of the Qatar Cricket Association (QCA), Abdullah Aman Al Khater, QCA General Secretary, Isa Al Yaqoub, Director of the Public Relations Department, representatives of the participating teams, and other officials posing for a photograph. PICTURE: ABDUL BASIT / THE PENINSULA

Qatar's Fares lifts record weight

QOC Beach Games continue at Aspire Park

Al Ahli, Al Khor win QVA League matches Egyptian player bannedtwo years in fixing caseAP – LONDON

Egyptian tennis player Mostafa Hatem was banned for two years yesterday as part of a match-fixing case.

The Tennis Integrity Unit said the 26-year-old player admitted to two charges, including failing to report an offer to manipulate a match.

He is banned from playing in or attending any authorized tournament or event until October 2022.

A ban for a third year plus a fine of $3,000 were both deferred, the TIU said.

Hatem reached a career-high ranking of 1,556 in 2016 and has never played a match at ATP level.

Iraqi Minister lauds Aspire Academy

Aspire Academy Director General, Ivan Bravo presenting a memento to Iraq's Minister of Youth and Sport, Adnan Dirjal.

11TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2020 SPORT

Vice President of Al Rayyan Football Club, Ali Salem Afifa presenting the club’s jersey to high jump world champion Mutaz Barshim in recognition of his role in Doha 2030 winning bid for the Asian Games.

Al Rayyan honour star Barshim QFA holds AFC Coaching Course in Doha

Qatar Football Association (QFA) officials and participants pose for a group photo after the conclusion of the AFC Coaching Course, which was held at Aspire Academy. Director of QFA's Development Department Fahd Thani is also seen,

I had a very bad time in summer, says MessiREUTERS — BARCELONA

Lionel Messi (pictured) has admitted the ill feeling between him and Barcelona over his attempt to leave the club in the close season has affected his form this season, in which he has posted his lowest goal and assist tallies in 13 years.

Messi caused consternation at Barca when he sent the club a burofax (official notice) that he wanted to leave in August, but then president Josep Maria Bartomeu blocked the move and the Argentine committed to stay this season to avoid a legal battle.

He has less than seven months left on his contract and is able to negotiate with other clubs from January.

“Everything that happened before the summer, how the season ended, then the burofax

and everything else... I dragged everything into the start of the season a bit,” Messi said in an interview with Spanish tele-vision channel La Sexta.

“The truth is right now I’m feeling fine but in the summer I had a very bad time.”

The Argentine struck for the 643rd time for Barca on Saturday to equal Pele’s goals record for a single club. However, he has dras-tically underperformed this campaign, as have his side, who trail leaders Atletico Madrid by eight points in La Liga.

Messi, who finished top scorer in La Liga last season and routinely gets more than 40 goals each year for his club, has only scored nine times in all

competitions this campaign, five of which came from the

penalty spot.He also has no

assists in 13 league games after con-

tributing 21 l a s t

season, making the start of this campaign his worst since the 2007-08 season, when he was 20-years-old and suffering from injuries. Barca face elec-tions on January 24 to pick the successor to Bartomeu, who resigned in October, and Messi remained tight-lipped on where his future lay, saying he was fully focused on helping his side return to form.

“Right now I’m feeling good and looking forward to fighting for every compe-tition we have ahead,” he added.

“I know the club is in a difficult moment at institu-

tional level and on the pitch and everything surrounding

Barca right now is difficult, but I’m feeling excited.”

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Ulsan crowned champions but 'exceptional' Qatar big winnersREUTERS — DOHA

Ulsan Hyundai reasserted East Asian dominance with victory in the Asian Champions League final but, as the trophy was packed up for the journey to South Korea, it was Qatar who emerged as the major winners of the heavily disrupted compe-tition.

Ulsan’s 2-1 win over Iran’s Persepolis in Doha on Saturday marked the 12th time a K-League team had been crowned Asian champions, and the eighth in the last nine years from the eastern half of the con-federation to secure the title.

Al Hilal’s win last year inter-rupted East Asia’s dominance and the Saudi Arabian side also threatened to dictate the nar-rative of the 2020 edition, though this time because of their early exit.

The nature of their elimi-nation reflected the difficulties faced by organisers determined to conclude the competition when it reconvened in Doha in September after a six-month suspension caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Qatari capital had set itself up as a bio-secure venue to host games involving teams from the west of the continent.

“It was unique in the world,” Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Musleh, the adviser to the minister of public

health of Qatar on sports affairs, said about the set-up.

“I don’t think there had been a similar experience by anybody in the world before we did it in Qatar, so it was definitely a learning curve for us. We learnt so many lessons.”

‘KEPT ASIAN FOOTBALL ALIVE’

Those experiences carried into the hosting of the eastern side of the competition in November and December, dates which closely matched those when Qatar will host the World

Cup finals in two years’ time.As a result, the Gulf state

was given the opportunity to showcase its much-vaunted stadium cooling systems, which maintain conditions inside venues at levels conducive to high-performance sport.

“We hadn’t experienced this cooling system before,” said Shanghai SIPG defender Yu Rui.

“I think as players we consume less energy and we sweat less, which can make our body react better during the game and keep us in a condition to play all the time.”

In a year when many of its

tournaments were cancelled, the Asian Football Confeder-ation needed to ensure its premier club competition was completed to limit potentially damaging compensation claims from broadcasters and com-mercial partners.

With international travel all-but impossible, Qatar hosted the tournament centrally, and matches in the knockout rounds were played as one-off affairs instead of the usual two-legged ties.

This year’s final was the first since 2012 - when Ulsan also won the title - to be played as a

standalone game. “Facilities here are exceptional,” Perse-polis head coach Yahya Golmo-hammadi told Iranian state tel-evision ahead of Saturday’s decider.

“I firmly believe that had it not been for the Qatari football family, this tournament would have been suspended and not resumed, as there was no other country that would have organised these matches.

“In my opinion, Qataris kept Asian football alive and we, across the whole continent, should be extremely grateful to them.”

Ulsan Hyundai FC’s Sin Jin-Ho lifts the trophy as they celebrate winning the AFC Champions League.

I firmly believe that had it

not been for the Qatari

football family, this

tournament would have

been suspended and not

resumed, as there was no

other country that would

have organised these

matches. In my opinion,

Qataris kept Asian

football alive and we,

across the whole

continent, should be

extremely grateful to

them.

Yahya Golmohammadi

Persepolis Head Coach

EFL postpones League Cup final until April

REUTERS — MANCHESTER

The League Cup final has been put back by two months and will be held on April 25, in the hope that a later date will allow fans to attend, the Football League (EFL) announced yesterday.

The final of the compe-tition, known by its sponsored name as the Carabao Cup, was due to be held on Feb. 28 at Wembley Stadium.

“It is the objective of the League to stage the final with as many supporters in attendance as possible and the decision has therefore been taken to move the final to... later in the year,” the EFL said in a statement.

“The number of fans per-mitted will be dependent on Government guidance in place at the time and it is hoped that moving the date to later in the year will give clubs and their fans the best opportunity to attend in person,” the EFL added.

The quarter-finals of the competition get under way today with Brentford hosting Newcastle United and holders Manchester City at Arsenal.

Tomorrow’s games include Championship side Stoke City at home to Tottenham Hotspur while Everton host Manchester United at Goodison Park.

Proposed league perfect project to go bankrupt: La Liga chiefREUTERS — MADRID

La Liga President Javier Tebas (pictured) has warned a breakaway European Super League would not be in the long term interests of clubs, a day after Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez spoke of an urgent need to reform current competitions.

“The Super League is a perfect project to go bankrupt, take on the fans and confront the football authorities,” Tebas told website Goal.com yesterday.

“The Super League is unfea-sible. Whoever says that this is viable, does not know the football business well.”

Perez said the COVID-19 pandemic meant football had to “innovate and look for formulas to ensure football remains attractive,” adding that the current match calendar should be changed to reduce the burden on players.

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said in October upon resigning that he had signed Barca up to the pro-posed Super League in order to keep the club viable after taking a huge financial hit due to the pandemic.

Perez also said the top clubs needed to find ways to come out of the financial crisis caused by the pandemic. However, Tebas said the idea of a Super League, which would not be organised by UEFA, was not popular around the continent, particu-larly among Premier League club bosses.

“I have contacts with the biggest English clubs and they are against the Super League,” he said.

AFP — PARIS

Lille moved back top of Ligue 1 on Sunday after holding Paris Saint-Germain to an unin-spiring goalless draw which failed to live up to its pre-match billing.

Lille take first place in the French top flight from Lyon on goal difference after a match which saw just a handful of shots on target and very little in the way of incident.

PSG are a point back in third after failing to create

anything from their territorial dominance, shorn of attacking inspiration without Neymar and Mauro Icardi, among others, while Kylian Mbappe (pictured) started on the bench as he reportedly struggles with a thigh knock.

Marseille, meanwhile, are five points behind the leaders after their 1-1 draw with Reims on Saturday.

“I saw a very strong per-formance from my team,” insisted PSG coach Thomas Tuchel. “We lacked a lot of

quality but we played well. We were very disciplined and we never lost our structure.”

PSG were the stronger side in a dismal first half which didn’t see a shot on target until Moise Kean’s weak flicked header was easy collected by Mike Maignan in the 42nd minute.

Lille, who on Friday were sold to Callisto, a subsidiary of the Merlyn Partners investment fund, struggled to get a foothold in the biggest match of their league campaign so far.

Lille reclaim top spot with PSG stalemate