Sports

MUNICH: Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso ended speculation of a potential move to one of his former clubs Liverpool or Bayern Munich in the close season when the Spaniard said on Friday that he was committed to staying with the Bundesliga leaders. Alonso, who has a contract with Leverkusen until 2026, has become the talk of Europe and a reported …

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi may have announced the recently-formed selection committee as the sole authority to make a decision over the national side’s Twenty20 Interna­tional captaincy, but as it has emerged, the PCB chief may well be the one who makes the final call. Mohsin, a media mogul-turned politician, who was elected as the PCB chairman …

PARIS: France has asked its foreign allies to send several thousand members of their security forces to help guard the Paris Olympics, officials said Thursday, underlining the strains caused by the sporting extravaganza which begins in July. “Several foreign nations are going to reinforce us in certain critical areas, such as dog-handling capabilities where the needs are enormous,” an official …

ZURICH: World football governing body FIFA and its European counterpart UEFA have written to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) requesting a detailed update after arrests were made in a corruption probe last week in Spain. FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis sent a joint letter to Pedro Rocha, the president of the RFEF’s management committee, …

PARIS: France has asked its foreign allies to send several thousand members of their security forces to help guard the Paris Olympics, officials said Thursday, underlining the strains caused by the sporting extravaganza which begins in July. “Several foreign nations are going to reinforce us in certain critical areas, such as dog-handling capabilities where the needs are enormous,” an official …

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi may have announced the recently-formed selection committee as the sole authority to make a decision over the national side’s Twenty20 Interna­tional captaincy, but as it has emerged, the PCB chief may well be the one who makes the final call. Mohsin, a media mogul-turned politician, who was elected as the PCB chairman …

MIAMI: Lionel Messi will not consider his age as a deciding factor in his retirement plans, the Argentine forward said, adding that he has no clear idea of what he will do when that time comes. Messi, who played for 17 years at Barcelona before signing for Paris St Germain in 2021 and Inter Miami last year, will turn 37 …

DHAKA: Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid said on Thursday it was a “great honour” to be named the first Bangladeshi to join the International Cricket Council’s Elite Panel of umpires. Sharfuddoula, 47, who last year became the first umpire from Bangladesh to take charge of a World Cup match, had been on the international panel since 2006. “It is a great honour …

HONG KONG: Iraq and Australia were in rampant goalscoring form on Tuesday as they both cruised into the third round of Asia’s 2026 World Cup preliminaries wins against the Philippines and Lebanon respectively, while Son Heung-min’s South Korea are on the brink of joining them after beating Thailand. Australia handed out a 5-0 drubbing to Lebanon in Canberra in Group …

Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 277-3 for the highest-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) total in a match against Mumbai Indians with Heinrich Klaasen unbeaten on 80 off 34 balls on Wednesday. Australia’s Travis Head hit a 24-ball 62 to lead the batting assault after Hyderabad batted first and went past the previous IPL best of 263-5 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2013. …