LONDON – Moroccan player Nouhaila Benzina made history last Sunday when she became the first female football player to wear a hijab at a FIFA World Cup match. Her appearance has inspired Muslim women and girls playing grassroots soccer in the United Kingdom. Sports officials say the Football Association has made efforts to make womenR...
Tunis, Tunisia (AFP): Double world champion swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui said Wednesday he wants to become Tunisia’s greatest ever Olympian at the Paris Games next year. The 20-year-old, who captured the 800m and 1,500m freestyle golds at the world championships in Japan last week, said he wants to “break the record for the Tunisian havi...
WASHINGTON – Former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom says he was expelled from the league after speaking out against human rights abuses in China. Freedom told Congress on Tuesday he was banned from the NBA after wearing shoes that pointed to Beijing’s persecution of Tibetans and Uyghurs. The NBA’s Chinese affiliate is worth about $5 [...
PARIS (AA) – France’s top administrative court upheld a ban on Muslim women football players wearing hijab during matches. The court ruled that the French Football Federation (FFF) can enforce the ban, which is part of its bylaws. The court said that sports federations have an obligation to be impartial and that this includes not [&helli...
ISTANBUL (AA): Football clubs celebrated Eid al-Adha Wednesday with messages on social media for their Muslim fans. Manchester City and Manchester United shared tweets that wished a peaceful and happy holiday to the Muslim community. “To all our Muslim supporters around the world, we wish you a blessed and joyful” #EidAlAdha,”...
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (AFP): Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was unveiled as an Al-Ittihad player in front of thousands of fans in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, a day after the oil-rich kingdom just failed to reel in Lionel Messi. Fireworks and flame-throwers greeted Benzema, wearing their black and yellow kit with the number nine, [&helli...
Jakarta, Indonesia (AFP): Several thousand people lined the streets in Jakarta on Friday, chanting, lighting flares and waving flags to welcome the triumphant Indonesian football team home from the Southeast Asian Games. Indonesia defeated Thailand 5-2 in extra time in the men’s final in Phnom Penh on Tuesday that saw four players sent o...
PARIS (AA) – French basketball player Salimata Sylla is desperate to play in official matches with her head cover after being barred from wearing a headscarf in January this year. Nicknamed “Sali,” a player for the 3rd league team Aubervilliers, began wearing a headscarf three years ago. Salimata Sylla says she aspires to return to...
ANKARA (AA) – Qatar will host the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the governing body for international basketball has confirmed. “The Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) has been awarded the hosting rights for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027, with all games at the prestigious tournament to be played in the city of Doha,” FIB...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A Pakistani climber has become the world’s youngest mountaineer to summit 11 peaks above 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) after he climbed Mount Annapurna in Nepal, the 10th-tallest mountain on earth, a mountaineering association said. Accompanying an eight-member team, Shehroze Kashif, 21, made the ascent of 8,0...
