News at a glance
India submits expression of interest to host U-20 FIFA WC
NEW DELHI : The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday submitted an expression of interest to host the Under-20 FIFA World Cup in 2019. Bracing up to organise the U-17 World Cup later this year, AIFF president Praful Patel stated that this would be the next "logical step for the development of football in India". "With India hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 this year in October, we feel hosting the U-20 World Cup would be the best way to sustain the footballing momentum in India. Even though the event was held earlier this year in Asia in Korea Republic, we would be happy to discuss with FIFA about the possibility of hosting the event in India in 2019," he said.
GST not to affect WC ticket prices
KOLKATA : While the sports sector overall has been impacted by the July 1 rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with equipment cost and price of entry tickets for tournaments attracting up to 28 per cent tax, the FIFA U-17 World Cup tickets would not be affected, according to Local Organising Committee (LoC) tournament director Javier Ceppi. "We had taken a conscious decision to keep our tickets prices economical, because we wanted universal access to the World Cup," Ceppi told IANS over phone. According to the new indirect tax regime ushered in at the stroke of midnight on July 1, tickets priced below Rs 250 will be exempt from GST.
Sevilla’s Iborra to join Leicester City
SEVILLE (SPAIN): Sevilla on Tuesday announced that it has reached an agreement with Leicester City for the transfer of midfielder Vicente Iborra to the English side. The Andalusian club confirmed the transfer of the 29-year-old Spaniard on its Twitter account in a move believed to be worth over $15 million, reports Efe. Iborra is set to sign the contract with the Foxes after passing a medical. Once a deal is concluded, the midfielder will be allowed to return to Sevilla to bid a public farewell to fans after four seasons with the team.
Motta extends contract with PSG
PARIS: Italian midfielder Thiago Motta on Tuesday extended his contract with Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain for another season, binding him with the club until June 30, 2018. After Motta's last contract expired at the end of June, the two sides were involved in a twistand-turn discussion. The Italian midfielder had been reported to leave the club, but the negotiation warmed up during recent days, and the player finally put his pen on the new contract, reports Xinhua news agency.
Barcelona join race to sign Ceballos
MADRID: If Real Betis Vice President Lorenzo Serra Ferrer is to be believed, Barcelona are also in the race along with Real Madrid to sign midfielder Dani Ceballos. "They (Barcelona) asked me what my opinion of Dani was, and I gave it to them, and you can imagine what it was," Ferrer was quoted as saying in a news conference by ESPNFC.
Dutee's gender case to be re-opened
NEW DELHI: Just a day before she is to compete at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, Indian sprinter Dutee Chand's 'gender case' against the IAAF has decided to return to the CAS with more evidence in support of its controversial Hyperandrogenism Policy. On July 27, 2015, in a Court of Arbitration for Sport case between Chand and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the International Athletics Association (IAAF), the CAS made an interim decision to suspend the world body's Hyperandrogenism Regulations for a period of two years.
India A in final of Asian Snooker
BISHKEK (KYRGYZSTAN): Pankaj Advani and Laxman Rawat steered India A into the final of the Asian Team Snooker Championship here on Tuesday. In the quarterfinals, India A accounted for Iran A 3-1 in the best-of-five encounter to set up a semifinal tie against Thailand. Advani and Rawat then blanked the Thai team 3-0, not allowing their opponents to score more than a total of 30 points across all three winning frames.
Passport issues for shuttlers
NEW DELHI: Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and H S Prannoy, are waiting for their passports to fly on Thursday to participate in the upcoming tournaments in Canada and US. Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap, Prannoy and doubles specialist N Sikki Reddy, who were playing at the Australia Super Series last month, had applied for the New Zealand visa a week back but they are yet to receive their passports. Kashyap on Tuesday took to twitter to request External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Sports Minister Vijay Goel to look into the matter.