Japan is ready to hold the 2022 World Cup if Fifa strip Qatar of hosting rights over corruption allegations, the country’s football chief told AFP.
Japan Football Association (JFA) president Kuniya Daini said the country, whose capital Tokyo will stage the 2020 Olympics, would step in if required.
“If Fifa look for an alternative country, we already have the stadiums that would meet the criteria to host it,” he said in an interview.
“We have the Olympics in 2020. If there is a chance, we’d like to do it, although I don’t know how likely that would be.”
The chance of Qatar losing hosting rights appears remote despite an investigation by Fifa’s ethics committee, headed by former US district attorney Michael Garcia, into the much-criticised bidding process.
Qatar has also come under fire for its treatment of foreign construction workers, with figures obtained by AFP in February showing that 450 migrants from India alone had died over the past two years – about 20 a month.
And there is a row over whether to hold the Qatar World Cup in the intense heat of the desert summer or in winter, which is mid-season for many domestic leagues.
Japan, one of the countries that lost out to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, has experience of organising the tournament after co-hosting the 2002 edition with Asian neighbours South Korea.
Japan reached the knock-out stages that year and again in 2010, and Daini said the team hopes to take another step forward by making the quarter-finals at this year’s competition in Brazil.
“We are looking to perform better than we did the last time,” said Daini at the JFA’s Tokyo offices. “In South Africa we got to the last 16 so that means this time we want to reach the quarter-finals.
“That would be a successful result, but first we have to advance from the group stage. It’s a difficult group, so that’s the first aim.”
Daini said Japan also hoped to bring back the Club World Cup, which it has hosted six times before, and hold the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
At this year’s World Cup, Japan are considered as Asia’s best chance with a squad that boasts Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda of AC Milan and Yuto Nagatomo of Inter Milan.
Daini said nothing had been decided about the future of Italian manager Alberto Zaccheroni, who will attempt to steer Japan through Group C against Colombia, Greece and Ivory Coast.
“We haven’t decided anything regarding the manager’s future yet. When the World Cup is over we will analyse everything and think about what kind of team we need to build for the next World Cup,” he said. “When we know that, we’ll know what kind of manager we need.”
Daini also admitted he was shocked after a racist “Japanese only” banner targeting foreign fans was unfurled at Urawa Red Diamonds’ Saitama Stadium.
The incident prompted the J-League to take the unprecedented step of forcing Urawa to play their next home game behind closed doors.
“After the Urawa incident I thought, ‘So something like this has finally happened in Japan’,” Daini said. “I thought that nothing like this could happen in Japan, so it was a shock.
“Japanese football and the J-League are known for being a safe environment with lots of women and children attending games, so this has created a dangerous image and lowered the prestige of Japanese football.”
And he said unproven match-fixing suspicions, following unusual betting patterns on a March 8 game between Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kawasaki Frontale, were a wake-up call for Japanese football.
“With regards to the match-fixing suspicions, it was a good warning for if something were to happen for real. We all thought that something like this couldn’t happen in Japan, but it showed us that it is possible and for that reason it was very effective,” he said.
Japan’s J-League has so far remained largely untouched by match-fixing scandals that have hit several neighbouring leagues. A J-League probe into the recent game found no evidence to indicate match-fixing.
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
%3Cp%3E6.00pm%3A%20Heros%20de%20Lagarde%3Cbr%3E6.35pm%3A%20City%20Walk%3Cbr%3E7.10pm%3A%20Mimi%20Kakushi%3Cbr%3E7.45pm%3A%20New%20Kingdom%3Cbr%3E8.20pm%3A%20Siskany%3Cbr%3E8.55pm%3A%20Nations%20Pride%3Cbr%3E9.30pm%3A%20Ever%20Given%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Company%20Profile
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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
MO
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Health Valley
Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Ferdous, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-3 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,400m
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6pm: UAE Arabian Derby Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 2,200m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Emirates Championship Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 2,200m
Winner: Somoud, Patrick Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Conditions (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Bairaq, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
Brief scoreline:
Tottenham 1
Son 78'
Manchester City 0
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)