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ABU DHABI: The National Basketball Association and the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi today announced an expanded series of fan events surrounding the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 Presented by ADQ, which will see the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves play two preseason games on Thursday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 7 at 8 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
The first NBA Fan Appreciation Day in Abu Dhabi will take place on Friday, Oct. 6 from 4:30 p.m. GST at Etihad Arena. The unique fan experience will feature appearances by Mavericks and Timberwolves players and NBA legends including 19-time NBA All-Star and six-time NBA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and two-time NBA champion Kenny Smith. Activities will include a skills challenge and three-point contest featuring Mavericks and Timberwolves players, performances by the Mavericks Entertainment Team, the Timberwolves Dunk Team, and the team mascots, and a slam dunk contest featuring professional dunkers.
NBA District, an interactive event that last year welcomed nearly 10,000 fans, will return to Manarat Al-Saadiyat from Thursday, Oct. 5 to Sunday, Oct. 8. Fans will be able to meet five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway Sr., and nine-time NBA All-Star and NBA champion Gary Payton, participate in basketball activities on a full-size NBA court, watch NBA highlights and programming, take photos with the Larry O’Brien Trophy, purchase limited-edition NBA merchandise, and more.
First access to NBA Fan Appreciation Day in Abu Dhabi tickets will be offered to NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 ticket holders via a unique link starting today and for a one-week period prior to tickets going on general sale on Sep. 14. Tickets for NBA District, which cost AED 55 ($15) for a one-day pass and AED 180 for a four-day pass, are now on sale at ticketmaster.ae.
“We are excited to expand our fan programming around this year’s games by introducing NBA Fan Appreciation Day in Abu Dhabi and bringing back NBA District,” said NBA Europe and Middle East Head of Fan Engagement and Direct-to-Consumer George Aivazoglou. “Through these events, fans of all ages, from Abu Dhabi and abroad, will have more opportunities to interact with the NBA, the Mavericks and the Timberwolves.”
The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 will air live in the UAE and across the Middle East and North Africa on beIN SPORTS, The Sports Channel and NBA League Pass, reaching fans in more than 200 countries and territories on television, digital media and social media. In addition to presenting partner ADQ, the games and surrounding events will be supported by a roster of marketing partners, including Aldar, Experience Abu Dhabi, Gatorade, Nike and Tissot.
The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 follow last year’s preseason games between the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks, which marked the league’s first games in the Arabian Gulf. In January, the NBA and DCT Abu Dhabi launched an expanded second season of the Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League, featuring boys’ and girls’ leagues each composed of 450 players ages 11-14 from schools across the UAE capital. The collaboration also includes a variety of interactive fan events featuring appearances by current and former NBA players, a series of NBA FIT clinics promoting health and wellness, and an NBA 2K League exhibition event. The collaboration sees DCT Abu Dhabi, under Experience Abu Dhabi, the tourism promotion initiative of the UAE’s capital, serve as the official tourism destination partner of the NBA in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and China.
NBA fans in the UAE and across the Middle East can shop online at NBAStoreME.com and at the NBA Store at Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi for the widest selection of authentic NBA products ever available in the region.
Tickets for the NBA Abu Dhabi 2023 are on sale at etihadarena.ae and ticketmaster.ae.
LONDON: The Saudi national team held a training session on Tuesday at South Shields FC, near Newcastle, ahead of two friendly matches during the training window, which runs from Sept. 3-12.
The players took part in the training session under the supervision of newly-appointed head coach, Roberto Mancini.
The session consisted of passing and possession drills, as well as various tactical exercises. They will continue the training program on Wednesday with a closed training session.
The first friendly match is against the Costa Rican national team on Sept. 8. The second will be against South Korea national team on Sept. 12.
Both games will be played at St. James’ Park, the home stadium of Newcastle United.
GENEVA: Spain return to national-team soccer this week amid turmoil since the men’s and women’s teams won international titles in the last games they played.
The first two days of Spanish men’s preparation for a European Championship qualifying game Friday in Georgia started with captain Álvaro Morata reading a statement of support to the Women’s World Cup-winning players and denouncing “unacceptable behavior” by now-suspended federation boss Luis Rubiales.
Off-field distractions continued Tuesday: an apology to world soccer for Rubiales’ conduct at and since the women’s final in Australia by his interim replacement Pedro Rocha, and firing beleaguered women’s team coach Jorge Vilda.
Men’s team coach Luis de la Fuente — who won a UEFA Nations League title in June just months into the job — has kept that job despite also being a longtime federation ally of Rubiales.
Unlike Vilda, De la Fuente did not face a walkout by his entire coaching staff and a player mutiny. Only Real Betis striker Borja Iglesias has said he won’t play for Spain until “things change.”
Still, those Nations League victories over Italy then Croatia in the final, in a penalty shootout, seem a long time ago and the Group A table in Euro 2024 qualifying leaves fourth-place Spain lots to do.
Group leader Scotland won two more games in June, after stunning Spain 2-0 in March, and are eight points clear ahead of playing last-place Cyprus on Friday. The Scots could qualify for Euro 2024 in Germany as soon as next Tuesday.
Spain are still heavily favored to qualify with a top-two finish and also host Cyprus next Tuesday. Back-to-back wins for the Euro 2008 and 2012 champion can at least distract from the Rubiales saga.
ITALY
European champion Italy also took an unexpected turn since beating Nations League host the Netherlands in the third-place game in June.
Coach Roberto Mancini last month abandoned his defense of the Azzurri’s title won in 2021, and two weeks later was confirmed as Saudi Arabia’s coach on a four-year contract worth a reported $100 million.
New coach Luciano Spalletti cut short his sabbatical taken after leading Napoli to a runaway Serie A title and now starts against a Mancini nemesis.
Italy play on Saturday at North Macedonia, which shockingly ended Mancini’s path to the 2022 World Cup in the European qualifying playoffs.
Italy then host Ukraine at San Siro in Milan next Tuesday, seeking to close on group leader England which have just one qualifying game in this international break.
CLEAR LEADERS
Scotland and England are joined by France and Euro 2016 champion Portugal as leaders with four straight wins in the 10 groups. France and Portugal have yet to concede a goal.
France host Ireland on Thursday at Parc des Princes and could field a stellar trio of Paris Saint-Germain forward — Kylian Mbappé, Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembélé — on their home field.
Portugal brought Cristiano Ronaldo home from Saudi Arabia for games at second-place Slovakia on Friday and home to Luxembourg.
Serbia will host Hungary in Group G with the top spot on the line.
POLITICS
With 53 European nations in qualifying action — all bar Euro 2024 host Germany and suspended Russia — some politics usually can be found.
Turkiye host Armenia on Friday for the first time since their World Cup qualifier in 2009 that both state presidents attended. It signaled an easing of diplomatic tension between the neighbors since World War I.
Kosovo host Switzerland on Saturday with strong ties between the squads stemming from immigration to the Alpine nation since war in the Balkans in the 1990s.
Kosovo can call on Ismajl Beka and Kreshnik Hajjrizi who were born in Switzerland and play for clubs there. Switzerland’s Uran Bislimi played two international friendlies for Kosovo last year before settling on his national-team eligibility. The ethnic Albanian roots of Swiss veterans Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri are well established from wins against Serbia at the past two World Cups.
Ukraine will host England in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday as their national and club teams continue to play international games abroad during the Russian war on their country.
HISTORIC FRIENDLY
The first recognized international soccer game was Scotland playing England to a 0-0 draw in Glasgow on Nov. 30, 1872.
The actual 150th anniversary passed while England were in Qatar for the World Cup, so the game honoring the historical mark was delayed to next Tuesday at Hampden Park, Glasgow.
Russia were removed by FIFA from qualifying playoffs for that World Cup but finally get to Doha next Tuesday to play Qatar. Russia have been a pariah in European soccer during the war and this will be their sixth game against an Asian national team in the past 18 months.
Germany fill their schedule hosting friendlies against Japan on Saturday and France next Tuesday in Dortmund.
LONDON: Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald picked rising star Ludvig Aberg plus major winners Justin Rose and Shane Lowry among his six wildcards for the tournament in Rome.
His other selections for the 12-man team to take on the United States are Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka and Nicolai Hojgaard.
They join automatic qualifiers Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntire in Donald’s team, which will attempt to regain the trophy at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club from September 29 to October 1.
Europe suffered a record 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021.
Aberg only turned professional in June, but the former world number one amateur won the final qualifying event in Switzerland on Sunday with a final round of 64 at Crans-sur-Sierre.
The 23-year-old Swede has made the quickest transition from the amateur ranks to the Ryder Cup in the contest’s history, eclipsing the previous record set by Sergio Garcia, who made his debut in September 1999 after turning professional following April’s Masters.
“We have great depth of talent in Europe, and that is perfectly illustrated with the team we now have confirmed for Rome, which is a strong blend of players with previous Ryder Cup experience combined with exciting and talented rookies,” said Donald.
“I’m really pleased to have this team now in place and we are all looking forward to going to Rome later this month and trying to win back the Ryder Cup.”
Speaking about Aberg, the Europe skipper said: “We obviously knew what he was doing in the college scene. You look at what he did in those four years and the only comparables really were Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm. He is that good.”
He added: “I really do have a lot of faith and belief in Ludvig. He is a generational player, he’s going to be around a long time and he’s going to do amazing things.
“If he wasn’t going to play this one he was going to play the next eight Ryder Cups, that’s how good I think he is.”
Former US Open champion Rose, who has not played in the Ryder Cup since 2018, ended a four-year title drought on the PGA Tour in February.
Lowry, the British Open champion in 2019, won the first qualifying event, the 2022 BMW PGA Championship, but has recorded just one top-10 finish this year.
The United States have not lifted the trophy on European soil since 1993 but will arrive in Italy as favorites, with three of this year’s major champions including LIV star Brooks Koepka in their ranks alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler.
But Europe boast three of the top four ranked players in the world in McIlroy, Rahm and Hovland.
LAHORE: Title-holders Sri Lanka outlasted a rampaging Afghanistan by just two runs in a dramatic finish to reach the Asia Cup Super Four stage on Tuesday.
Needing to overhaul a target of 292 in 37.1 overs to oust Sri Lanka on net run-rate, Afghanistan fell agonizingly short as Mujeeb Ur Rahman holed out with three needed from the first ball of the 38th over.
They could still have qualified by reaching 295 within 37.4 overs but appeared to not be aware of that permutation as number 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi blocked out two deliveries before being dismissed while attempting another defensive shot with six needed to go through.
Mohammad Nabi hit a blistering 32-ball 65 while skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi made a 66-ball 59.
Rashid Khan hit three boundaries off Dunith Wellalage’s 37th over, but off the first ball of the next over Mujeeb was caught on the boundary.
Sri Lanka were earlier guided to 291-8 by Kusal Mendis who scored a brilliant 84-ball 92.
Pakistan and India had already qualified for the Super Four stage from Group A, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh joining them from Group B.
Pakistan face Bangladesh in Lahore on Wednesday to start the Super Four stage.
Afghanistan were struggling in the 20th over on 129-4 but Nabi started to hit out and the situation changed as they added 96 in the next 10 overs.
Nabi, who put on 80 for the fifth wicket with Shahidi, cracked five sixes and six fours to help Afghanistan get back on track, hitting the fastest ODI half-century for his country off just 24 balls.
Mujeeb had set the previous record against Pakistan in Sri Lanka last month off 26 deliveries.
Nabi holed out off Maheesh Theekshana in the 27th over but Shahidi and Karim Janat (22) kept up the tempo, adding 33 before they both fell in the same over from Wellalage.
Despite the double blow, Afghanistan did not give up as Najibullah Zadran (23) and Rashid (27 not out) kept them in contention.
But in a dramatic finish, the Afghan camp did not realize their hopes were still alive once Mujeeb was dismissed and Sri Lanka progressed.
Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka admitted Nabi nearly took away the game.
“It’s a tough one,” said Shanaka whose team has now won 12 consecutive ODIs. “The first target was a 37.1-over game and Nabi almost took the game away from us but we got wickets when needed.”
Shahidi said: “It’s very disappointing to lose. We fought well and gave our best I am proud of the team, the way they played, and fought till the last ball.”
Earlier, the 28-year-old Mendis played an attractive innings that included three sixes and six fours to anchor the Sri Lankan innings after they won the toss and batted first.
Sri Lanka got off to a solid start of 63 for the first wicket between Pathum Nissanka (41) and Dimuth Karunaratne (32).
Mendis took over and added 102 for the fourth wicket with Charith Asalanka, who made a 43-ball 36.
But from 186-3 Sri Lanka had a middle-order stutter that saw them lose four wickets in the space of 41 runs, including that of Mendis who was unluckily run out.
Rashid dropped a drive from Shanaka onto the stumps with Mendis short of his ground at the non-striker’s end.
Wellalage, who scored an unbeaten 33, added an invaluable 64 runs for the eighth wicket with Theekshana (28).
Gulbadin Naib dismissed Theekshana off the final delivery to finish with Afghanistan’s best figures of the innings with 4-60.
BURTON UPON TRENT, United Kingdom: Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah believes his first England call-up has come at the right time as he stakes his claim to be Harry Kane’s deputy at Euro 2024.
The 24-year-old is England’s all-time top goalscorer at under-21 level having netted 16 in 17 games.
But after bursting onto the scene as an 18-year-old, Nketiah’s future at Arsenal looked in doubt until an injury to Gabriel Jesus gave him the opportunity to impress for Mikel Arteta’s men last season.
Nketiah has also deputised for Jesus this season, scoring twice in four Premier League games, to earn his call-up to Gareth Southgate’s squad.
“I think I am a much better player now than I was two or three years ago. It is really nice and I am coming in at a good time,” said Nketiah on Tuesday.
“I feel confident and I feel ready to continue to improve. That is the thing, I’m still young and humble enough to know I am not the finished article.
“Coming away with these players and being able to show my quality and learn from them is really good for me and (to) continue to take those steps in my career.”
England travel to face Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland on Saturday looking to extend their perfect record from four games of Euro 2024 qualifying.
The Three Lions then face Scotland in a friendly on Tuesday to mark the 150th anniversary of the first ever international between the countries.
That clash at Hampden Park could offer Southgate the chance to rest the likes of Kane as he looks to assess the depth of his squad ahead of the tournament in Germany next year.
And Nketiah is desperate for game time after opting to play for England over Ghana, where his parents are from.
“Obviously both sides were always an option,” he added on the possibility to representing the Black Stars.
“I think naturally coming through the academy at England, you have the aspiration to play here and once the call-up was there and the offer was on the table it was really hard to turn down.
“I felt now was a good time to make that step so obviously I’m really happy to be here and proud to be here. Hopefully I can go on and help the team this week and get some caps.”
