CLUB WORLD CUP
Morocco may host first ever all-Arab Club World Cup final
Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal have already booked a place in the final match of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, the third to be hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco.
Another potentially upstage duel holds this Wednesday, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat as Egypt’s Al Ahly face record four-time winners, Real Madrid.
Although, Real Madrid are the overwhelming favourites, upstage has been one of the fators that have made football a thrilling spectacle.
Should that happen, as it had before in important duels, an all-Arab final match will happen on Saturday. That will be the first of its kind.
Already, Real Madrid’s Italian manager, Carlos Ancelotti has expressed maximum respect to Egypt’s Al Ahly, a record African champions.
Ancelotti stressed that Real Madrid’s coming game against Ahly will be a competitive one. “They’re [Ahly] a team full of history, one of the most important in world football,” Ancelotti told the media during a press conference at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Morroco.
“They are well organised with skillful players and it is going to be a competitive game. They want to win just as much as we do,” the 63-year-old Italian coach said.
“We have a lot of respect for them, like everyone else, especially a club with such a strong history in African football. A club with such a history has obviously got fans behind the team. It is going to be an entertaining game,” Ancelotti added.
Ancelotti also said that he thinks there will be a lot of Madrid fans in the stadium and everyone will enjoy a competitive game with two teams who are keen to play in the final.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s midfielder Federico Valverde praised Ahly fans and stressed that he and his teammates are ready for the game.
“Ahly have a very good fan base. We know what this team is in this part of the world. We know what they generate on the pitch and the history they have. But we will bring out our weapons, always with respect,” the 24-year-old midfielder said.
It is the second time for Ahly to play against the European Champions as the Red Devils lost to Bayern Munich 2-0 in the semi-final of the 2020 edition.
The Cairo giants, who are making their eighth appearance – the third in a row – in the Club World Cup, have already claimed three bronze medals in the 2006, 2020 and 2021 editions.
Real Madrid are the most successful club in the history of the Club World Cup, having won four titles in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
CLUB WORLD CUP
Referees’ body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, says FIFA
FIFA unveiled its team of 117 match officials, opens new tab on Monday for the inaugural Club World Cup and said referees would wear body cameras and enforce stricter goalkeeper time-wasting rules at the tournament to be staged across the United States.
The FIFA Referees Committee appointed the officials from 41 member associations – 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials – for the June 14 to July 13 event.
Body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, FIFA said, while goalkeepers who hold the ball beyond eight seconds will now see opponents awarded corner kicks rather than indirect free kicks.
“We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision, which was never offered before,” said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.
“It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing.”
Collina highlighted the historic nature of the appointments for the expanded tournament featuring 32 teams from all six FIFA confederations and spanning 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. host cities.
“The selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time, so I’m sure that all the match officials will be thrilled,” he said.
“We are coming from high-standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments. So the bar is higher and when you set the bar higher it’s more difficult to keep the standard. But we are working very hard and ‘Team One’ will make a solid contribution to the success of this exciting competition.”
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The expanded Club World Cup holding in the US has brought another innovation to football.
Referees at the championship holding from June 14 to July 13 will be equipped with body cameras and will implement a new rule to combat goalkeeper time-wasting.
Game directors will wear “body cameras as part of an experimental phase, the tests having been approved by IFAB ,” the body that oversees the rules of the game, the International Football Federation explained in a statement.
“We believe this is a good opportunity to offer viewers a new experience, with images taken from a perspective that has never been offered before,” explained FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina.
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The change in football rules that allows goalkeepers to be punished with corner kicks will be implemented at the Club World Cup holding in June in the US.
The revelation was made by FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina after the announcement that referees will wear body cameras.
This initiative is “both innovative for broadcasters and for referee training,” added the Italian, “because it is important to be able to put yourself in the referee’s shoes during the debriefing, to evaluate how the referee made his decisions, his point of view, etc. “
The competition will implement the new rule approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on March 1, aimed at reducing time wastage by goalkeepers.
“If they hold the ball for more than eight seconds, the referee will award a corner. Previously, an indirect free kick could be awarded after six seconds.
Seminars for referees have been held recently. The one for UEFA referees was held at FIFA headquarters from March 31 to April 4. Another seminar was held in Dubai for referees from the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), and OFC (Oceania) from February 2 to 4, and a third for referees from CONMEBOL (South America) and CONCACAF (Central America and the Caribbean) took place in Buenos Aires from February 24 to 28.
“We need to see the game and the goals, not the refereeing,” said refereeing director Massimo Busacca. “The referee is the protagonist who should not be noticed during the match. A good referee doesn’t need to be seen or known. But he must be prepared. “
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