Sport

SPORT's

Catch up all the sports stories written by Imran Azam / Ammar Hussain

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Follow Awaz FM over the Summer when we follow the World Cup.

Javed and Ammar have selected their fantasy teams and together chosen their full team.

POS	PLAYER	Javed Choice	Ammar Choice	SELECTED PLAYER	Country
G/kpr1	1	Iker Cassilla	Iker Cassilla	Iker Cassilla	Spain
G/kpr2	2	Gianluigi Buffon	Gianluigi Buffon	Gianluigi Buffon	Italy
Def1	3	Phillip Lahm	Ashley Cole	Phillip Lahm	Germany
Def2	4	Gabrielle Heinz	John Terry	Carlos Puyol	Spain
Def3	5	Lucio	Gerard Pique	Lucio	Brazil
Def4	6	Carlos Puyol	Daniel Alves	Gerard Pique	Spain
Mid1	7	Kaka	Kaka	Kaka	Brazil
Mid2	8	Pirlo	Malouda	Pirlo	Italy
Mid3	9	Alonso	Xavi	Xavi	Spain
Mid4	10	Sneijder	Lampard	Lampard	England
Stkr1	11	Lionel Messi	Lionel Messi	Lionel Messi	Argentina
Stkr2	12	Wayne Rooney	Wayne Rooney	Wayne Rooney	England
Stkr3	13	Christiano Ronaldo	Ronaldo	Ronaldo	Portugal
Strk4	14	Fernando Torres	Toress	Toress	Spain
Coach	#	Lippi	Lippi	Lippi	Italy
Sub 1	15	Zambrotta	Cole	Cole	England
Sub 2	16	Babtista	Sneijder	Sneijder	Holland
Sub 3	17	Forlan	Robben	Forlan	Uruguay

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Uploaded 9th June 2010

QATAR - OIL, MONEY and WORLD CUP

THE MOST powerful man in football has strongly backed Qatar’s bid to become the first Middle Eastern nation to host the World Cup in 2022.

The decision on who will host the tournament in both 2018 and 2022 will be made on December 2 2010. The country’s 750 page bid, which weighed 20kg, was delivered earlier this month at FIFA HQ in Zurich.

FIFA President Joseph Blatter, who is overseeing Africa’s first tournament in 2010, is keen to take the competition to unchartered territory. Speaking at a news conference in Doha in April, he said "The Arab world deserves the World Cup and Qatar has a good chance to become the first country from the region to host it. I'm a regular visitor to Qatar and every time I land here I am impressed by all the development.”

Some of the biggest names in football are also backing their adopted homeland’s attempt to host the World Cup in 12 years time.

Former Holland legend Ronald De Boer who has played and now lives in Qatar says he had no hesitation in becoming a bid ambassador. He stated: “They will have the most beautiful stadiums that you will ever see and I think the fact that it is a small country is an advantage as football is for the fans and it may be cheaper for the fans as they don’t have to travel too much.”

Argentinean superstar Gabriel Batistuta, who finished his career with Al Arabi, is also a supporter. He added: The Islamic culture is a question mark for many people across the world, but Qatar opens its doors to supporters all over the world so they can learn from this old culture.”

Critics say a country with a population of less than 1.6 million (where foreigners outnumber the natives) and which only covers 4,416 square miles is not capable of holding arguably the world biggest sporting event. There are also concerns of matches being played in the Dessert, especially during the summer.

In a bid to overcome concerns over the stifling heat, Qatari officials are promising futuristic stadiums in which temperatures will be controlled for both the players and spectators. The country is already a favourite destination for many of the top clubs and international teams who base themselves in the country for training or exhibition matches. Officials also point out that by being only three hours ahead of GMT it makes them ideal for broadcasting times across the globe.

Meanwhile Paul Elliott states that the issue of inclusion and diversity will be at the heart of England’s bid for the 2018 competition.

The 46 year old has been appointed as chairman of the FA’s inclusivity group and believes England can provide visiting teams with the ideal surroundings.

He said: “England’s multi cultural society means there will be a home from home welcome for every supporter, player & coach. The work we do now to integrate these communities into the process will be invaluable. We have some gilt edged assets such as the stadia, security, transport and the passion of the fans not just in England but millions all over the world. We have no right to host the competition but we are giving it our all.”

Zesh Rehman of Bradford (Pakistan) and Kolo Toure of Man City (Ivory Coast) are just two of England’s bid ambassadors. England will need 13 out of 24 votes and its unsure what impact Lord Triesman’s removal from the bid team will have on their chances. The biggest threat to England staging the World Cup is posed by Russia. Although the Russians appear to have endless financial backing there are concerns over security and the different time zones within the country.