JORDANIAN FA PRESIDENT ACCUSES FIFA OF 'BLACKMAIL'

Jordan FA president Ali Bin Al Hussein

FIFA has been accused of "blackmailing" Jordan over World Cup money in return for their support for Gianni Infantino to stay on as president.

Infantino is under mounting pressure amid the fallout from a plan to seek private investors in a company to run FIFA's tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups.

The support of national associations in Asia could prove critical to his survival but the president of the Jordanian Football Association, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, wrote on X that his organisation "certainly" would not endorse Infantino after alleging FIFA sought to secure his support by promising it would help with the recovery of money he said was owed to the JFA.

Prince Ali, who stood for the FIFA presidency in 2015 against Sepp Blatter and against Infantino the following year, hit out at the difficulties faced by Jordanian fans seeking to enter the United States for this summer’s World Cup and the "exorbitant" price of tickets, and detailed the "huge costs" in taxes his association faced due to being based in the US rather than Canada or Mexico for the finals.

He then revealed Jordan was still awaiting prize money from last year’s Arab Cup, which is organised by FIFA, "while at the same time FIFA brags about how many billions they have in reserve".

"It is clear the problem really is with leadership," Prince Ali added.

"For months, FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters – until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out.

"We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now. But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that."

FIFA declined to respond to Prince Ali’s remarks.

Asia is seen as the key continent in any presidential contest that may yet be forced, with Europe and nations from North America, Central America and the Caribbean expected to want Infantino out while Africa, South America and Oceania are expected to back him.

- PA 

LIONEL MESSI'S 1ST INSTAGRAM POST AFTER ARGENTINA'S WIN VS JORDAN TAKES INTERNET BY STORM

Lionel Messi struck a note of unity after Argentina wrapped up a perfect FIFA World Cup 2026 group-stage campaign.

Messi in action/ AFP

Lionel Messi struck a note of unity after Argentina wrapped up a perfect FIFA World Cup 2026 group-stage campaign, with the captain declaring, "One more win to complete the group stage. We're still together," in an Instagram post following the reigning champions' 3-1 victory over Jordan. The message came after yet another historic outing for the 39-year-old, who continued to rewrite the World Cup record books with a trademark free-kick that made him the tournament's all-time leader in goals scored from outside the penalty area. 

Introduced in the 60th minute, Messi curled home Argentina's third goal in the 80th minute to register his sixth World Cup strike from outside the box, surpassing Brazil legend Rivelino's long-standing record of five.

The goal also lifted Messi's overall World Cup tally to 19, extending his record as Argentina's leading scorer in the competition. It was his sixth goal of the ongoing tournament after a hat-trick against Algeria and a brace against Austria in the opening two group matches.

Messi also became the first men's player to score in seven consecutive FIFA World Cup appearances, adding another landmark to his glittering international career. The Argentine captain further joined an elite group by becoming only the fourth player to score in all three group-stage matches of a single FIFA World Cup since the current format was introduced in 1998, following Cristiano Ronaldo (2018), David Villa (2010) and Fernando Torres (2010).

Argentina's victory was equally significant for the team, as it marked the nation's 50th win at the FIFA World Cup, making La Albiceleste only the third country after Brazil and Germany to reach the milestone.

With qualification already assured, head coach Lionel Scaloni made nine changes to his starting XI, but Argentina remained in complete control. Giovani Lo Celso marked his World Cup debut with a stunning first-half free-kick before Lautaro Martinez converted a penalty after a VAR review.

Jordan briefly threatened through Musa Al-Tamaari's goal in the 55th minute, but Messi's introduction changed the tempo of the contest, and his brilliant late free-kick ensured Argentina completed the group stage with three wins from three. Argentina will face tournament debutants Cape Verde in the Round of 32 in Miami on July 4, while Jordan exited the competition after losing all three group-stage matches.

- ANI

GROUP J STANDINGS | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026

 

MUCH-MISSED ELEMENT OF F1 GRID REVIVED FOR MIAMI GP WITH STUNNING RACING BULLS LIVERY

Racing Bulls will race in yellow at the Miami Grand Prix, returning a much-missed colour to the F1 grid for the first time since 2020.

© Red Bull Contentpool
Racing Bulls

Racing Red Bullls have unveiled a vibrant yellow special livery for this weekend's Miami Grand Prix, marking the return of a much-missed colour to the Formula 1 grid for the first time since 2020.

The striking design, inspired by the Red Bull Summer Edition Sudachi Lime energy drink, will adorn the VCARB03 at the Miami International Autodrome, restoring yellow to F1's colour palette after a six-year absence.

Renault was the last team to field a yellow car before rebranding as Alpine in 2021, but that was predominantly black in later years.

recent memory, Jordan raced bright yellow cars during the late 1990s until the name left F1 at the end of 2005.

Before Red Bull owned the team that is now Racing Bulls, Minardi also ran a bright yellow car in 2000 due to its sponsorship with mobile network giant Telefonica.

This marks Racing Bulls' second one-off livery of the 2026 season, having already run a special white and pink design at the Japanese Grand Prix in March.

Due to the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix postponements, the Faenza-based squad has now deployed special liveries for half of the four rounds contested so far this year.

The reveal took place at Kiki On The River, a waterfront venue along the Miami River, where Red Bull wakeboard athlete Guenther Oka launched off a ramp and backflipped over the car whilst pulling away the cover mid-air. Drivers Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad witnessed the unveiling whilst arriving on Ski-Doos.

Peter Bayer, CEO of Racing Bulls, said: "Miami has become a special place for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls to express who we are as a team. For the past two years, we've used this race to showcase something bold and unique, and this latest livery is no exception.

"The Red Bull Summer Edition livery brings a vibrant energy which reflects who we are as a team, creative and willing to push boundaries. We're very excited to give wiiings to the new seasonal flavour and bring the distinctive design to track this weekend."

The livery features bold yellow colouring complemented by citrus patterns on the team kit, capturing the textures found inside the sudachi lime fruit. The VCARB03 will hit the track in the custom livery when practice begins on Friday.

- RacingNews365 Staff

SUI LYNN LEONG | SQUASH HISTORY

Malaysia’s Nicol David won nine Asian Championships from 1998. Her first win that year was when aged 17. But two years earlier - 30 years ago today (16 Jan 1996), fellow Malaysian Sui Lynn Leong (pic) was only aged 15 when she took the title in Amman, Jordan, beating Misha Grewal (IND) 1-9 9-6 9-3 9-0 in the final.  

A full list of past winners is on the Library website in the Worldwide Winners directory at https://www.squashlibrary.info/worldwide-winners, with detailed results at www.squashinfo.com

Squash Rackets Federation of India Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia

FIRST EVER FIFA WORLD CUP

 

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JORDAN MELO | VINCE CARTER | TRACY MCGRADY | SCALABRINE | RYDER CUP 2025

FIRST RACE IN 2005 AFTER TOBACCO ADVERTISING BAN

With the #hungariangrandprix this weekend, we're throwing it back to the 2005 race, the first event where Europe-wide tobacco advertising bans went into effect.

It was the last race to be sponsored by a tobacco brand, and five teams had to begin the transition to new sponsors.

FROM HEAVYWEIGHT CLASH TO POTENTIAL UPSETS: LOOKING AHEAD TO THE ASIAN CUP ROUND OF 16

South Korea's surprise runners-up finish in Group E means they now face a daunting clash with fellow powerhouses Saudi Arabia in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup round of 16. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

 In the blink of an eye, the 2023 AFC Asian Cup is now down to the knockout round.

Two weeks of riveting group-stage action has delivered a last 16 with plenty of usual suspects but also a handful of surprise high-fliers.

There will be no more second chances with teams needing to win four matches on the trot from now till Feb. 10 if they are to be crowned champions of Asia.

Here, we look ahead at the storylines each round of 16 tie has produced.

Australia vs. Indonesia (Jan. 28)

Appearing at the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 2007, Indonesia were the final team to scrape through to the round of 16 but face a massive test in the form of Australia on Sunday. KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

A real David vs. Goliath clash if there ever was one, with Australia placed 25th in the world while Indonesia are now the lowest-ranked team in the competition in 146th following the elimination of Hong Kong.

Making their first Asian Cup appearance since they co-hosted the tournament in 2007, Indonesia reaching the knockout round has been nothing short of a fairy tale -- but surely they could do the unthinkable?

They gave a decent account of themselves in defeats to Iraq and Japan with their sole victory thus far coming against regional rivals Vietnam, which means they are yet to cause a major upset.

This is far from the strongest outfit Australia have fielded at recent Asian Cups but they are still a formidable side that will be expected to negotiate their way past this test, even if the jury is still out on whether they have what it takes to go all the way and win a second crown.

MICHAEL JORDAN SELLING MAJORITY OWNERSHIP STAKE IN CHARLOTTE HORNETS

Getty

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell the majority share of the Charlotte Hornets, the franchise announced Friday, leaving the 30-team NBA without any Black majority ownership.

Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. Plotkin has been a minority stakeholder in the Hornets since 2019. Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015 and is in the process of selling his investment in that team.

It's not clear how long the process of selling will take to be finalized by the NBA's Board of Governors. Jordan plans to keep a minority stake in the Hornets, the team he bought in 2010 for about $275 million.

Jordan's decision to sell ends his unsuccessful 13-year run overseeing the organization.

NBA FINALS: WHICH CHAMPIONSHIP RUNS HAVE BEEN THE MOST IMPRESSIVE SINCE MICHAEL JORDAN'S BULLS?

 

"Which teams have been the best NBA champions since the "Last Dance" Chicago Bulls?

June marks a quarter-century since Michael Jordan's iconic game-winner gave the Bulls their sixth championship in eight years before Jordan (temporarily) retired and Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley, Ron Harper and Steve Kerr scattered throughout the rest of the NBA.

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MICHAEL JORDAN TO MAKE HUGE PROFIT IN THE SALE OF HIS CHARLOTTE SHARES

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MARIO CHALMERS ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MICHAEL JORDAN AND LEBRON JAMES

 

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MICHAEL JORDAN VS. LEBRON JAMES | AGE 38

 

MICHAEL JORDAN DONATES $10 MILLION TO MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION ON HIS BIRTHDAY