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Afghanistan’s Olympic hero appointed head coach of New Zealand’s taekwondo team

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Ruhollah Nikpai, who made history for his country after becoming a two-time Olympic medalist, has been appointed as the head coach of the New Zealand taekwondo team.

Nikpai, who hails from Maidan Wardak, is Afghanistan’s only Olympic medalist in any event when he won bronze in 2008 in Beijing. Four years later, he again won bronze in London.

In a post on his Facebook page Nikpai said: “I am genuinely honored to have been appointed as New Zealand taekwondo national team coach by the New Zealand taekwondo federation. I am committed to giving my skills and knowledge to lead our team to the new heights of excellence and all together to make history for New Zealand taekwondo. Thank you for entrusting me with this responsibility. I am truly excited to embark on this journey with you all.”

Taekwondo New Zealand (TNZ) meanwhile confirmed in a statement this week that it had “secured the services of double Olympic Taekwondo medallist Rohullah Nikpai, appointing him as the TNZ National High Performance Team Coach. Nikpai, who represented Afghanistan at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games, securing bronze medals at both events, has decided to continue his coaching career in New Zealand.”

“This is an amazing opportunity for Taekwondo in New Zealand to have such a highly talented resource on our shores. Nikpai is recognised in Taekwondo circles around the world as one of its premier athletes and we are extremely fortunate to have him involved in our High Performance programme as National High Performance Team Coach”, said the federation’s president Jin Keun Oh.

Nikpai takes up the reins immediately and will work with the team to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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ATN holds season 4 draw of Afghanistan Futsal Premier League

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Ariana Radio & Television Network (ATN) on Saturday held the draw ceremony for the fourth season of the Afghanistan Futsal Premier League (AFPL) at its sports studio, with officials from the country’s Sports Authority and Football Federation in attendance.

The ceremony, broadcast live on ATN and Ariana News channels, determined the fixtures for all 18 weeks of the fourth season of the Premier Futsal League, allowing teams to learn who their opponents will be.

Ten teams will compete in this season of the Afghanistan Premier Futsal League. The matches are scheduled to begin on June 8 and will be held at the futsal gymnasium of the Afghanistan Football Federation.

According to the draw, Sadaqat FC and Noorzad FC will play the opening match.

Other first-week fixtures include:

Perozi Panjshir vs. FC Arya Forj

Omid FC vs. Zaher Asad

Zaitoon FC vs. Deyar-E-Sanayee

Jawanan Maihan vs. Etihad FC

In a joint initiative by the Futsal Committee and Ariana Television, the full fixture list for all 18 weeks has been released in advance, so teams are fully aware of their opponents throughout the season.

Ariana Television Network holds exclusive rights to produce and broadcast the fourth season of Afghanistan’s Premier Futsal League live on its TV channels and digital platforms.

The fourth season of the Afghan Futsal Premier League will include 90 matches, and for the first time, the tournament will be played on a round-robin basis.

Two matches will be held every day, except Saturdays. The first match will start at 4:00 PM and the second match at 6:00 PM.

ATN’s support helps futsal flourish

ATN has consistently supported the development of futsal in Afghanistan and made sure that the growing fan base across the country got to see their national team in action at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan last year. 

Matches were broadcast live and millions of viewers cheered their team on in what was Afghanistan’s first ever appearance at the global showpiece. 

A World Cup debut wasn’t however Afghanistan’s only high during the course of 2024 as they also played in the AFC Futsal Championship for the first time.

While Afghanistan appears to be scripting yet another sporting fairy tale, this time in futsal, development of players on home ground is critical – hence the importance of domestic tournaments such as the Afghanistan Futsal Premier League.  

Futsal fans around the country will meanwhile be able to watch this exciting tournament live and exclusively in Afghanistan on Ariana Television.

With only three weeks to go before kick off, fans can follow Ariana News and Ariana Television’s social media pages for news, updates and schedules on this upcoming tournament.

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IPL 2025: Mumbai Indians crush Delhi Capitals to secure playoffs berth

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Mumbai Indians stormed into the IPL playoffs with a commanding 59-run victory over Delhi Capitals at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday night.

Suryakumar Yadav was the star of the show, crafting a masterful 73 from 43 balls, pushing MI to 180-5.

Though Delhi’s bowlers held control for most of the innings, costly final overs from Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera saw MI add 48 runs in a dramatic finish.

During the chase, Delhi never found rhythm, crumbling to 121 all out in just 18.2 overs.

Mitchell Santner’s superb spell (3-11) and Jasprit Bumrah’s expert variations (3-12) led the charge, ensuring a ruthless finish.

MI’s playoff spot is now secured, while Delhi exits the tournament.

MI join Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings in the playoffs but there is still room for manoeuvre amidst the top four with just two points separating the teams and a coveted top-two place still available to them all.

Fans can tune in to watch today’s (Thursday May 22) match which will see Gujarat Titans take on Lucknow Super Giants at 6.30pm.

 

 

 

 

 

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FIFA Club WC: LAFC and Club América to clash on May 31 for final berth

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The last FIFA Club World Cup 2025 place will be decided at BMO Stadium when the Concacaf rivals meet in a play-in match.

The final club to qualify for the highly-anticipated FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be determined on Saturday, 31 May, when US side Los Angeles FC and Mexican powerhouse Club América go head-to-head in a high-stakes match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

Following the recent Court of Arbitration for Sport decisions, FIFA decided that the final club to be admitted to the tournament will be determined by a play-in match between Los Angeles FC (the runners-up to Club León in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League) and Club América (the top-ranked team in the FIFA Club

World Cup confederation ranking at the conclusion of the Concacaf Champions Cup staged in 2024, the final year of the qualifying period for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025).

In the event that the match is level after 90 minutes, two 15-minute periods of extra time, with an interval of five minutes, will be contested. If the score is still level at the end of extra time, the winners will be determined by a penalty shoot-out.

The winners of the play-in will claim the final spot at this year’s global club showpiece and will take their place in Group D alongside Brazil’s CR Flamengo, Tunisian outfit Espérance and English side Chelsea FC.

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will bring together 32 elite teams from all six confederations, with the action set to kick off at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, 14 June.

A total of 63 matches will take place across 11 Host Cities – Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington, D.C. – culminating in what promises to be a spectacular final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, 13 July, when the FIFA club world champions will be crowned.

The final spot in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is still open because Club León was disqualified due to FIFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

This decision follows a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which dismissed appeals from León and other clubs attempting to challenge their exclusion.

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