By Samindra Kunti in Doha
January 12 – Hosts and defending champions Qatar take on Lebanon in the curtain raiser of the Asian Cup on Friday with a point to prove on home soil after a disastrous World Cup campaign and the shock dismissal of Carlos Queiroz last month. Captain Hassan Al Haydos believes the team needs to send a message to the fans.
January 12 – Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita will become the first woman referee in AFC Asian Cup history to take charge of a men’s game at the finals when she leads out Australia and India for their opening group game on January 13.
January 12 – The Palestinian squad at the Asian Cup said they want to deliver a message of ‘life’ to the world by qualifying for the tournament knockout rounds, while also bringing at least a little happiness to people trapped in the violence of the war in Hamas.
By Paul Nicholson
January 11 – The Asian Cup 2023 that was originally scheduled for last summer in China but was switched Qatar after the Chinese pulled out, opens in a day’s time and is pretty much bursting to exit the starting gates.
January 11 – The Gambia’s African Nations Cup preparations took a turn for the worse on Wednesday when their flight to Ivory Coast had to return to Banjul airport because of a lack of oxygen on the aircraft. Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet said “they escaped death.”
January 11 – Real Madrid are reportedly assessing the prospect of making a move for Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland, 23, because of concerns over whether France forward Kylian Mbappe, 25, will leave Paris St-Germain to join them.
January 11 – Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed he has terminal cancer and that, tragically, he might have less than a year to live.
January 11 – Atletico Madrid have announced a partnership with Riyadh-based Legends Museum, which will see the11-time La Liga champions open a technology-fuelled exhibition within the museum in a bid to appeal to its growing Saudi Arabian fan base.
January 11 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been named International Sports Personality for 2023 at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Awards ceremony in Dubai.
January 11 – The Asian Football Confederation has confirmed the cast of match officials that will oversee the opening match of the Asian Cup Qatar on Friday.
January 11 – Dorival Jr has been officially confirmed as the new head coach of the Brazil national side after he left Sao Paulo earlier this week.
January 11 – Adidas has agreed a deal to become the official match ball supplier for the Saudi Pro League (SPL) from February until the end 2024/25 season.
January 11- The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has moved to strengthen its referee assessment tools at the 2023 Asian Cup that kicks off Friday as part of its commitment to develop world-class match officials.
January 11 – The Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) has agreed a naming rights deal with online gambling company Betsson for the Hellenic Cup.
January 10 – With the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 just two days away from kick off, AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has expressed confidence that the event is ready to go off without a hitch, despite the short time span left to organise the AFC’s blue riband event after China pulled out from hosting.