Graeme Smith relishes 50-over World Cup return to Africa

Doha, Qatar: South Africa legend Graeme Smith thinks next year’s Men’s Cricket World Cup will be a landmark moment for the game, highlighting the tournament’s return to Africa and the prestige of the 50-over showcase.

South Africa last co-hosted the tournament in 2003, alongside Zimbabwe and Kenya. They will stage the 2027 tournament alongside Zimbabwe and Namibia. tbzikra.org

“It’s been a long time coming since Africa or South Africa hosted a men’s world cricket event again,” Smith said on a star-studded evening in Johannesburg which marked the announcement of the 12 venues that will stage the competition.

“I think the vibrancy of these three nations, the quality of players, the fan base certainly deserves a world event in the game, so it’s great to have it back.”

Smith also underlined why the Cricket World Cup continues to hold a unique place in world cricket despite the sport’s evolving landscape.

The 2027 edition will be the 14th Men’s Cricket World Cup and the first to feature 14 teams since 2015. Smith went on to compare the success of the recently-concluded FIFA World Cup 2026, where 48 teams took part to make the event a massive success.

“We’ve just come off a football World Cup where you’ve seen a massive amount of nations compete and the cultures and the coming together of many different countries getting behind their teams,” he added.

“It’s amazing. With 14 teams now, you hope that many people decide to come and travel to South Africa and be a part of the event."

A fearless leader who epitomises grit and resilience. Graeme Smith - a pillar of South African cricket and a leader like no other. The 2027 tournament will feature 14 teams, an increase from the 10-team format at the previous two Men’s Cricket World Cups.

The marquee tournament slated for next year will be hosted across eight venues in South Africa, three in Zimbabwe and the Namibia Cricket Ground in the Namibian capital city of Windhoek. It will mark only the third occasion of the tournament being staged across three host nations after 1996 and 2003. — ICC

Rabat: President Gianni Infantino held emergency talks with other FIFA directors in Morocco on Wednesday, a source told AFP, amid a wave of criticism over his now shelved plan to open the World Cup to private investment.

Infantino has come under increasing pressure, even from within FIFA, over his handling of the proposal, and calls for him to step down have grown since he abandoned it last Saturday.

One of those believed to be at the meeting is FIFA's secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, whose internal email to staff criticising the plan was leaked on Tuesday.

Infantino, a 56-year-old Swiss lawyer -- who is holding the meeting in FIFA's Africa regional office in Sale close to Rabat -- was in Morocco to celebrate last week's Feast of the Enthronement.

Morocco is to co-host the 2030 World Cup and Moroccan Football chief Fouzi Lekjaa is one of the few to have publicly supported Infantino since the humiliating climbdown.

Lekjaa last Saturday had praised his "wise" move to scrap the plan in the interests of "unity and cohesion".

He reiterated his backing for Infantino for "all the initiatives aimed at the development of world football" during his 10 years in charge.

Infantino had been basking in the warm afterglow of a highly successful World Cup -- the largest ever with 48 teams and co-hosted by three countries, Canada, Mexico and the US.

His wish to serve a fourth and final term looked likely to be rubber-stamped in Rabat next March -- no other candidate had come forward to challenge him.

However, Tuesday last week all that faded.

FIFA, world football's governing body, floated the plan, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new commercial subsidiary, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which it proposed would run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

It said that, if approved, the project could provide each of FIFA's 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027, and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million.

'Sad and reproachable'

Instead of acting as a sweetener it produced a furious backlash, with European football's governing body UEFA resorting on Thursday to the nuclear option of boycotting the sport's jewel in the crown, the World Cup.

By Saturday Infantino held his hands up and withdrew the plan.

"Our purpose has always been -- and will always be -- to unite and improve," said Infantino.

If he had hoped for that to be sufficient to shore up his authority he was to be swiftly disabused.

UEFA termed the proposal a "shabby, back room, opaque deal" hatched by Infantino.

"The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA's confidence but also that of many other members of the football family," UEFA said in a statement.

North and Central American football's governing body CONCACAF went further still and called for "a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency" while slamming Infantino's "poor governance and leadership".

Grafstrom's leaked email only added fuel to the fire.

He described the fiasco surrounding the proposal as "a sad and reproachable series of events".

He added: "Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue."

يستهل منتخبنا الوطني لألعاب القوى للشباب (تحت 20 سنة) مشواره المونديالي في بطولة العالم التي تستضيفها أوريغون الأمريكية اعتبارا من اليوم لغاية 9 أغسطس الجاري، ويخوض أدعم القوى هذا التحدي العالمي الكبير بطموحات عريضة وآمال واسعة لتقديم مستويات مشرفة تليق بمسيرة التطور المتسارع للرياضة القطرية، وبما يعكس الدعم اللا محدود الذي تحظى به اللعبة لتعزيز رصيد إنجازاتها التاريخية الحافلة بالعطاء. وقد دفع العنابي بكتيبة واعدة تضم ستة من أبرز نجوم المستقبل الذين تم إعدادهم وتأهيلهم بعناية فائقة عبر برامج تدريبية مكثفة تحت إشراف أجهزة فنية رفيعة المستوى، وذلك بهدف رفع جاهزيتهم للحدود القصوى من أجل مقارعة نخبة من رياضيي العالم في منافسات قوية تتطلب أعلى درجات التركيز والتحمل البدني والذهني، حيث يقود الطموحات القطرية في سباقات المضمار العداء يوسف عبد العزيز في سباق 400 متر، والعداء محمد وحيد الذي يخوض غمار التنافس في سباق 1500 متر. وعلى صعيد مسابقات الميدان والمسابقات الفنية، يحمل الآمال القطرية كل من عبد الرحمن المالكي في مسابقة الوثب العالي، وعبد الله العبد الله في مسابقة القفز بالزانة، إلى جانب الثنائي حمد ضاوي الذي يمثل العنابي في مسابقة قذف القرص، وعبد الرحمن إبراهيم الذي يخوض تحدي مسابقة إطاحة المطرقة، ليمثل هذا السداسي الرهان الحقيقي لمستقبل أم الألعاب العنابية في هذا المحفل العالمي الكبير. وتأتي هذه المشاركة الدولية المهمة لتؤكد نجاح النهج الاستراتيجي والمدروس للرياضة القطرية في بناء وتطوير الفئات السنية.