Cavaleiro sends Wolverhampton into FA Cup last 8

Palace, Swansea advance

LONDON, Feb 17, (RTRS): Wolverhampton Wanderers’ impressive season continued as they moved into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with Ivan Cavaleiro’s first-half goal sealing a 1-0 victory at Championship (second-tier) club Bristol City on Sunday.

Portuguese Cavaleiro slotted home clinically in the 28th minute after great work by Matt Doherty and it was enough for Wolves to reach the last eight for the first time since 2003.

After a mass exodus of Premier League clubs in the previous two rounds, Wolves continued a good weekend for the big boys which saw Manchester City, Brighton & Hove DOHA, Feb 17, (RTRS): Qatar wants to attract more sports companies to the Gulf state, aiming to develop a $20 billion sports sector ahead of the 2022 World Cup, a senior official said on Sunday.

Qatar Financial Center (QFC) – which licenses foreign companies, mostly in the finance sector, to exempt them from local ownership laws – aims to license about 150 sports companies by 2022, including around 25 this year, QFC’s CEO Yousuf Al-Jaida said at an event to announce the strategy. He did not give any names.

The drive to attract sports-related multinationals and facilitate the commercialization of sports-related services in the state is part of plans to become a regional hub for sporting events in the run-up to Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 soccer World Cup, he said.

This month FIFA established a joint venture in Qatar to help run the tournament.

“A lot of the value chain is moving to Qatar as we speak for the World Cup 2022,” Jaida said.

Qatar will this year stage the World Championships in Athletics, a biennial even organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

“We’re looking at sports service companies, legal companies, education and training, sportswear and equipment... it’s a detailed cluster of sports companies catering to 2022,” Jaida said.

Last year QFC announced plans for new incentives, like free office space and seed capital, to compete with neighbouring Dubai.

Jaida said QFC also aims to attract companies in areas such as Islamic Finance, fintech and media as part of plans to attract 1,000 companies across sectors by the time Qatar hosts the World Cup, up from about 600 at present.

Qatar is looking to draw foreign investment and diversify its gas-centred economy but faces a diplomatic and trade boycott launched by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in 2017. The bloc accuses Doha of supporting terrorism, which it denies.

There was no figure immediately available for the current value of sports investment.

Jaida said Qatar is also positioned to serve as an alternative hub to Dubai for regional markets like Kuwait, Oman, Turkey and Pakistan, where relations have grown stronger since the Gulf rift.

“We believe that due to the geopolitical situation some very interesting government-to-government relations have formed between Qatar and neighbouring countries... (and) these can be target markets for companies wishing to do regional activities out of QFC,” Jaida said. Wolverhampton’s Romain Saiss (center), heads the ball during the English FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Bristol City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Ashton Gate stadium in Bristol,

England on Feb 17. (AP)

Mourinho, Sanchez has fallen further down the pecking order under caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“He (Solskjaer) hasn’t spoken to me a great deal about what I have to do on the pitch, but I think I’m an experienced player and I think I know what I need to do and what I shouldn’t do,” Sanchez added.

The 30-year-old is behind Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial in contention for first-team spots and did his chances no good after an underwhelming display as a substitute in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat by Paris St Germain.

Sanchez, however, confirmed he was injured after an assistant referee ran into him as he warmed up on the sidelines.

“I’ve got bruising but that’s not an excuse for not being on my game in the way that I normally am,” he said.

“I’m a player that, if I’m not in contact with the ball, I lose that spark, and sometimes I want to play in every game. You’re in, you’re out, and I’m used to playing.

“It’s not an excuse because if I go on for 10, 20 minutes, I have to perform because that’s what I’m here for, to make a difference.”

United next face FA Cup holders Chelsea in the fifth round at Stamford Bridge on Monday.