FIFA LIFTS SUSPENSION OF PAKISTAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION
Teams from Pakistan are now allowed to compete internationally after a 15-month suspension lifted by FIFA. FIFA has lifted the suspension of the Pakistan Football Federation which was imposed due to undue third-party interference. A group of officials led by Ashfaq Hussain Shah, which was elected by the supreme Court in 2018 to run the PFF but was not recognized by FIFA, took over the headquarters in March last year.
They had seized control from FIFA’S Normalisation Committee headed by Haroon Malik, with Shah saying the committee had not conducted elections for the body in the 18 months since it took charge. FIFA suspended the PFF due to the “hostile takeover” but said on Thursday in a statement that it now had confirmation the committee had regained full control of the PFF's premises and was in a position to manage Its finances.
“The PFF was informed that any undue interference in its affairs or action that could hinder the fulfilment of the mandate of the normalisation committee might lead to the PFF being suspended again and/or the imposition of other sanctions provided for in the FIFA statutes,” FIFA added in the statement. “As the deadline by which the normalisation committee was required to fulfill its mandate (30 June 2022) is now no longer realistic, the Bureau (of the FIFA Council) has also decided to extend the committee’s mandate until 30 June 2023 at the latest.”
Tennis.
Wimbledon; Rising star Jannik Sinner sees off Carlos Alcaraz to reach last eight.
Rising star Jannik Sinner produced an impressive all-round display to see off fifth seed Carlos Alcaraz and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Both of these young players are seen as being among the best prospects in the men’s game but it was Italian 10th seed Sinner 20, who shone brighter here. He served and returned superbly to triumph 6-1 6-4 6-7 (8-10) 6-3. Sinner could face Novak Djokovic next, if the top seed gets past Tim van Richthofen in his fourth-round match. The defending champion and the Dutch world number 104 meet in the final match of the day on Centre Court. On this evidence, Sinner will be a tough opponent for anyone at these Championships. His big serve gave him a solid foundation and some fierce returns from either flank put him in control against Alcaraz early on. The highly rated Spanish teenager still put in a typically tenacious performance and saved two match points in the third set tie-break, which he eventually won 10-8. Sinner seemed to lose confidence at the start of the fourth set, but he soon recovered his composure and held his nerve too, saving three break points from 0-40 to move 4-1 up. Alcaraz did not give up and saved three more match points before Sinner finally found a way to finish off a compelling encounter and reach the quarter-finals at the All England Club for the first time.
