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Saudi Envoy:No Alcohol At 2024 World Cup

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Saudi Arabia will not allow the sale and consumption of alcohol at the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

In a chat with Leading Britain’s Conversation (LBC) radio, Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, Saudi’s ambassador to the UK, said there would be no tolerance for alcohol during the tournament — including in hotels, restaurants and stadiums.

He said alcohol is largely prohibited in Saudi, and “we’re happy to accommodate people within the boundaries of our culture”.

“At the moment, we don’t allow alcohol,” the ambassador said.

“Plenty of fun can be had without alcohol – it’s not 100% necessary and if you want to drink after you leave, you’re welcome to, but at the moment we don’t have alcohol.”

“No, there is no alcohol at all. Rather like our weather, it’s a dry country.

Saudi has strict laws against alcohol consumption, punishable by hundreds of lashes, deportation, fines, or imprisonment.

In 2024, the country unveiled plans to open its first liquor store that would be “strictly restricted” to non-Muslims.

Saudi will not be the first FIFA World Cup host to control alcohol consumption during the competition. At the 2022 World Cup, Qatar prohibited fan’s alcohol usage at stadiums and limited its reverie to “FIFA fan festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues.”

Saudi Arabia was confirmed to host the 2034 World Cup in December 2024. The country submitted the sole bid for the competition.

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Ratcliffe would walk away from Man Utd if abuse reaches Glazer level

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Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said he will walk away from the club should the abuse he has received reach the same level endured by the Glazer family.

Ratcliffe bought a minority stake in United a year ago but has drawn the ire of fans as fortunes have continued to fade on the field, while he has raised ticket prices and made swingeing cuts to the club’s staffing.

The British billionaire has not yet received the same level of backlash as the Glazer family, who have owned the club since a controversial leveraged takeover in 2005.

Protests against the Americans are commonplace at Old Trafford and Ratcliffe said he had barely seen the Glazers since buying a 29 percent stake in United for a reported £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion).

“I can put up with it for a while,” Ratcliffe told the Sunday Times.

“I don’t mind being unpopular because I get that nobody likes seeing Manchester United down where they are, and nobody likes the decisions we’re having to make at the moment.

“If I draw a bit of the ire, I can put up with that. But I’m no different to the average person. It’s not nice, particularly for friends and family.

“So, eventually, if it reached the extent that the Glazer family have been abused, then I’d have to say, look, enough’s enough guys, let somebody else do this.”

Hopes that Ratcliffe’s arrival could herald a new era of success for United have so far been unfulfilled.

The decision to hand former manager Erik ten Hag a new contract at the end of the last season before sacking the Dutchman in October and the swift departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth have proved expensive mistakes.

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Ruben Amorim has struggled to make any tangible improvements since replacing Ten Hag, with United languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.

Ratcliffe also riled United players this week with comments that some of them are “overpaid” and “not good enough”.

The club unveiled plans for a new 100,000-capacity stadium earlier this week at a reported cost of £2 billion.

An ambitious project hopes to complete the stadium build within five years, but Ratcliffe said he would not hang around if the abuse coming his way got worse over a prolonged period.

“They can’t really come to a match, the Glazers. They’ve retreated into the shadows a bit now, so I’m getting all the stick,” he added.

“We bought in and I haven’t seen them since. It’s, ‘thank you, Jim, you’re doing a really good job’.

“At the moment, I don’t have security, I don’t have to walk around like that. But it would defeat the object, wouldn’t it? You couldn’t tolerate it at that level, it just wouldn’t be fun.”

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Badmus, Sonny shine at MTN champs finals

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Gafar Badmus and Miracle Sonny delivered outstanding performances on Friday to win the junior 400m finals at the MTN Champs Athletics Classics in Benin City.

Badmus set a personal best of 46.50s to dominate the junior men’s 400m. Eniola Shiro finished second in 47.18s, while David Akhalu secured third place in 47.40s.

In the junior women’s 400m, Sonny powered to victory in 53.91s, ahead of Victoria Olaniyi, 54.97s, and Success Okoro, who claimed third in 55.39s.

The senior men’s 400m final saw Team MTN’s Benjamin Magaji take gold in 48.04s. Bright Benson, 48.56s, and Emmanuel Baraburu, 48.63s, completed the podium.

Miracle Uwem won the senior women’s 400m in 55.05s, finishing ahead of Rita Munachiso, 55.34s, and Rhoda Adisa, 55.58s, in a closely contested race.

In the senior men’s 200m heats, two-time Olympian Emmanuel Ojeli clocked a Nigerian outdoor-leading time of 20.96s. Sophia Efetobore led the women’s category with 23.92s.

The senior men’s 100m final was a tight contest, with Chidera Ezeakor winning in 10.60s, just ahead of Jeremiah Nathaniel, 10.63s, and Daje Lucky, 10.66s.

Efetobore dominated the senior women’s 100m, crossing the line in 11.52s. Faith Osamuyi finished second in 11.62s, while Odumosu Kate secured third in 11.71s.

John Caleb claimed the junior men’s 100m title in 10.63s, with Abdulrahman Jimoh, 10.84s, and Wilfred Jimoh, 10.86s, finishing second and third, respectively.

Cynthia Chioma narrowly won the junior women’s 100m in 11.84s, edging out Success Oyibu, 11.86s, while Mmesoma Thankgod Ezeobi finished third.

In the cadet Under-14 category, Elom Kosi took the boys’ 100m title in 13.05s, while Ebimoboere Christopher won the girls’ race in 12.95s.

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In field events, Ibukun Daramola claimed gold in the senior men’s long jump with a 7.66m leap. Francess Ajagbawa won the junior women’s high jump with 1.65m.

The senior women’s discus final ended dramatically, as Emmanuella Kane edged Ruqqayah Kemi Mustapha by 0.01m, throwing a personal best of 40.31m to take gold.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that multiple records were broken, with fierce competition thrilling fans. The MTN Champs Classics continues, building anticipation for Saturday’s finale.

Over 2,000 athletes are competing in Season 3 of the track and field fiesta, held at the University of Benin Sports Complex and Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium. (NAN)

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Manchester United, Tottenham advance into Europa League quarters

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Man United captain Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and Wilson Odobert was on target twice for Tottenham Hotspur as the two Premier League strugglers reached the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.

Fernandes converted two penalties and got the other from open play as United came from behind to beat 10-man Real Sociedad 4-1 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate.

The Spanish visitors had led early from the first penalty at Old Trafford converted by Mikel Oyarzabal, but their comeback hopes ended in a red card for substitute Jon Aramburu, and Diogo Dalot got the final United goal.

Spurs overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit against AZ Alkmaar with a 3-1 over their Dutch opponents from Odobert’s brace and James Maddison.

They next face 2022 champions Eintracht Frankfurt who completed a 6-2 aggregate success over Ajax with a 4-1 home win which included a brace from German 2014 World Cup hero Mario Götze.

United’s quarter-final opponents are Olympique Lyon, whose Georges Mikautadze and Ernest Nuamah also got two goals each in a 4-0 demolition of Romania’s FCSB for a 7-1 aggregate success.

Spurs and United are far off the European berths in the Premier League, and their only realistic chance of European football lies in winning the Europa League which earns a Champions League berth.

Elsewhere, Spain international Nico Williams scored twice as Athletic Bilbao remained on course towards the May 21 final in their home stadium with a 3-1 success over 10-man Roma, which overturned a 2-1 defeat in Rome. The Italians had Mats Hummels sent off early.

Bilbao now take on Rangers who prevailed 3-2 on penalties over Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce who had locked the aggregate score at 3-3 with a 2-0 in Glasgow.

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The other quarter-final tie set for April 10 and 17 is between Lazio and Norway’s Bodø/Glimt, who ousted Conference League champions Olympiacos.(dpa/NAN)

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