Short Corner
BD U-16s match ends in draw
Sports Reporter
The second three-day test between Bangladesh Under-16 and their Pakistani counterparts ended in a draw yesterday at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna.
Starting the day on 29 for two, overnight batsman ShakibShahriar was the first one to fall after scoring 32 off 64 balls. A team high of 87 off 109 balls came from AichMolla’s bat, who was also involved in a 50-run fourth-wicket stand with RafsanJani in the middle. Bangladesh however, declared their innings on 183 for eight in 58.3 overs after setting a 256-run target, courtesy of a 72-run first innings lead.
Pakistan played out the rest of the 25 overs of the day, scoring 103 for the loss of three wickets. Mahfuzur Rahman Rabbi was the pick of Bangladeshi bowlers, scalping two wickets for 25 runs.
FIFA upholds Chelsea transfer ban
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The ban on Chelsea signing players over the next two transfer windows remained largely in place after FIFA issued their ruling on the London club’s appeal on Wednesday.
In February, the Blues were banned from signing players for their men’s teams for the next two transfer windows after being found guilty by FIFA’s disciplinary committee of breaching regulations relating to the recruitment of minors.
Chelsea denied any wrongdoing and appealed.
On Wednesday, the governing body of world soccer announced that its appeal committee had “decided to partially uphold the appeal”.
The committee lifted part of the ban, but only for players under 16 who are not “international transfers and first registrations of foreign minor players”.
That means Chelsea will still not be able to sign male players over the age of 16 when the summer transfer window opens.
Nigeria FA high-ups charged with graft
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Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick and four other top-ranking officials have been charged with corruption, including embezzlement of millions of dollars from world body FIFA, court sources said on Wednesday.
The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP) brought the charges against Pinnick, NFF vice presidents Seyi Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko, general secretary Sanusi Mohammed and committee member Ahmed Yusuf.
The charges range from failure to declare their assets to conflict of interest and alleged embezzlement of $8.4 million paid by world football governing body FIFA to Nigeria for participation in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
They are to appear at the federal high court in the nation’s capital Abuja at a date to be announced later.
UEFA considering CL with promotion/relegation
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UEFA has drafted a controversial plan to introduce promotion and relegation to the Champions League at a meeting at its Swiss headquarters in Nyon, sources told AFP on Wednesday.
There would be four groups of eight teams from 2024 if the proposal is put into action it would significantly increase the number of European matches and favour bigger clubs. But UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin played down the plan, saying: “What is important to remember, is that, despite a lot of talk in the media, no decisions have been made. At the moment we have only ideas and opinions.”
The revamped tournament would not see games played at weekends, which would have sparked uproar among the domestic leagues. The top five teams in each group would be automatically qualified for the next edition, effectively making the Champions League far harder for clubs from smaller countries to play in.
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