The 2022 World Cup is all set to take place in Qatar later this year, with fans across the globe jostling to finalise their plans for the first global finals in the Middle East.
The Qatar World Cup is set to take place at eight venues in the Gulf nation, all within a 50km radius of Doha.
That should make it fairly comfortable for fans and teams at the tournament. Which can't said about the next destination for the Fifa World Cup - the US, Canada and Mexico.
North America has been chosen to host the next global finals and 16 venues for the showpiece event were announced by the governing body on Friday.
Hosting the World Cup across the length and breadth of the US and at neighbouring countries poses a unique challenge - distance and time zones.
The United States is a vast country, with nine time zones and a difference of three hours from coast to coast. Add to the mix matches in Mexico and Canada, and the enormity of the task becomes clear.
Fifa knew about the challenges when it announced the host cities in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle (US), Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey (Mexico) and Toronto, Vancouver (Canada).
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said the governing body was looking at basing teams in regional "clusters" to minimise travel.
"When you're dealing with such a large region as North America we need to care about the fans and make sure that teams are playing in clusters, that fans and teams don't have to travel crazy distances," Infantino said.
For example, the distance between San Fransisco and Boston is a little under 5,000km by road and six-and-a-half hours by flight. The distance between Vancouver and New York is around 4,800 km. Mexico City is closer to central America, which will make travel a major factor at some point for team, fans and the tournament contingent.
Matches in the US will be staged at venues that are home to NFL teams. Eight of the 11 US stadiums have artificial turf and have promised to install temporary grass. Some venues cannot currently fit the dimensions required for football matches - 68mX105m field - and will require renovations to remove seats near the sidelines.
This World Cup will also see the number of participating teams increase from 32 to 48 as the tournament returns to North America for the first time since USA '94.
The 1994 tournament set records with a 3.59 million total attendance and average of 68,991. The capacities of the US stadiums for 2026 are all 60,000 and higher.
Full list of World Cup 2026 venues and their capacity:
USA
SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles. Capacity 70,000
MetLife Stadium, New Jersey. Capacity 82,500
AT&T Stadium, Dallas. Capacity 80,000
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami. Capacity 65,000
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City. Capacity 76,000
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta. Capacity 71,000
Gillette Stadium, Boston. Capacity 65,000
NRG Stadium, Houston. Capacity 72,000
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia. Capacity 67,000
Levi's Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area. Capacity 68,000
Lumen Field, Seattle. Capacity 72,000
MEXICO
Azteca Stadium, Mexico City. Capacity 87,000
Estadio Akron, Guadalajara. Capacity 46,000
Estadio BBVA, Monterrey. Capacity 51,000
CANADA
BMO Field, Toronto. Capacity 30,000
BC Place, Vancouver. Capacity 54,000
Eight venues of Qatar World Cup 2022 and their capacity
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
The Light of the Moon
Director: Jessica M Thompson
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David
Three stars
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
India squads
Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.
T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.
ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh
The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
Scores
Rajasthan Royals 160-8 (20 ov)
Kolkata Knight Riders 163-3 (18.5 ov)
STAGE 4 RESULTS
1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
General Classification
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43
3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Ponti
Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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Scoreline
Liverpool 3
Mane (7'), Salah (69'), Firmino (90')
Bournemouth 0
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
