Sports

23 Sep 2022; MEMO: Turkiye will send more than 3,000 riot police to Qatar to help secure World Cup stadiums and hotels in a security operation paid for by the competition hosts but under Turkish command, a Turkish Interior Ministry source said, Reuters reports.

With a population of less than 3 million – of which just 380,000 are Qatari nationals – Qatar faces a shortage of personnel as it gears up for the month-long FIFA soccer tournament.

13 Sep 2022; MEMO: Qatar has rejected the Israeli occupation state's demand that it should be allowed to open a temporary consulate in the Gulf State for the duration of the FIFA World Cup later this year. The Israeli government is said to have urged FIFA to put pressure on Doha for this to be allowed.

08 Sep 2022; MEMO: Qatar has called on Israel to allow Palestinians to attend this year's FIFA World Cup tournament which will kick off in the small Gulf State in November. The request was made during conversations between officials in anticipation of a period of open diplomatic relations between the two countries.

27 August 2022; AA: FIFA lifted the suspension of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) late Friday, according to a statement.

24 August 2022; MEMO: A junior Lebanese chess player has withdrawn from an international festival in the United Arab Emirates to avoid playing against an Israeli opponent.

Nadia Fawaz refused to face Israeli Elijah Grosman in the fourth round of the 28th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival after winning her matches against Brunei's Wafa Yacoub, Saudi Arabia's Ziad Saleh Abdali and the UAE's Wafia Darwish Al-Maamari.

19 August 2022; MEMO: The international football governing body FIFA said that 2.45 million tickets have been sold for the 2022 World Cup which is set to be held in Qatar.

11 August 2022; MEMO: The official Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup hospitality booking website has listed Palestine as a country option instead of Israel.

02 August 2022; MEMO: Jordanian athlete, Maysir Al-Dahamsheh, yesterday refused to face an Israeli opponent in a Taekwondo championship in Bulgaria.

Al-Dahamsheh has withdrawn from a bronze medal tournament, in opposition to normalising with the Israeli occupation. Her withdrawal comes two months after the Jordanian national fencing player, Eyas Al-Zamer, withdrew from a World Juniors Championship held in the United Arab Emirates, where he had to face an Israeli opponent.

01 August 2022; MEMO: The Big Ride for Palestine took to the roads and cycle tracks of England's midlands and north-west over the weekend to raise awareness of the Palestinian issue and funds for children and para-cyclists in the besieged Gaza Strip. More than 250 riders left Derby city centre on Friday morning and headed for Manchester via Stoke on Trent.

28 July 2022; MEMO: Belgian and Luxembourgian associations in solidarity with Palestine organised a protest in several Belgian cities against the participation of an Israeli team, Israel Premier Tech, in the Tour de Wallonie cycling race, which is sportswashing apartheid, according to the Palestinian News Agency WAFA.