RubaiSport

RubaiSport TV Sunday 11/5/08

2008-05-10T22:40:00.000-07:00

The following matches/races can be seen on RubaiSport TV today. All times and date are Australian Eastern Standard Time. Links will be posted at the earliest 5 hours before kickoff and at the top of the hour. Please report any problems here

Cricket:
IPL: Deccan v Kolkata 11-05-2008 from 20:30 until 00:00 (AEST)
Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils 12-05-2008 from 00:30 until 04:00(AEST)

Cycling: Giro d'Italia 11-05-2008 from 23:30 until 01:30(AEST)

Football:
Coca Cola Championship Playoffs: Watford v Hull City 11-05-2008 from 21:00 until 23:00(AEST)
SPL: Celtic v Hibernian 11-05-2008 from 21:30 until 23:30
Serie A: Inter Milan v Siena 11-05-2008 from 23:00 until 01:00
Juventus v Catania 11-05-2008 from 23:00 until 01:00

Hockey:
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: Canada v India 11-05-2008 from 18:00 until 19:30

Motorsport:
GP2 Asia: CGP Turkey
F1: GP Turkey

Super Aguri Withdraws From World Championship

2008-05-06T02:04:00.000-07:00

Following weeks of speculation, the Super Aguri F1 team has this morning announced its withdrawal from the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship.In a brief statement, team boss Aguri Suzuki said: "With the help of Honda, we have somehow managed to keep the team going, but we find it difficult to establish a way to continue the activities in the future within the environment surrounding F1 and as a result, I have concluded to withdraw from the Championship." more

Laos withdraw from AFC Challenge Cup 2008 qualifying

2008-05-02T04:57:00.001-07:00

Laos have withdrawn from the AFC Challenge Cup 2008 qualifying competition. Following the ASEAN country’s pull-out, Group C will now feature only hosts Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

There is no change in the kick-off date and Bangladesh play Afghanistan in the opening match on May 5 at the Bishkek Central Stadium.

AFC will announce shortly the revised match schedule for Group C.

Source: AFC

Bangladesh squad for AFC Challenge Cup

2008-05-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh coach Abu Yusuf on Tuesday announced an 18-member national squad for the AFC Challenge Cup Group C qualifiers to begin in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from May 5.

Bangladesh, hosts of the inaugural edition of the tournament, are pitted against Afghanistan, Laos and hosts Kyrgyzstan in the qualifying rounds.

The newly elected executive committee of the Bangladesh Football Federation is expected to name the captain before the team's departure on May 2.

"Our aim is to prepare ourselves through the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers for the SAFF Championship, but we will desperately want to qualify for the finals,” said Yusuf.

“I have picked those players who are capable of playing throughout the 90 minutes in line with my strategy. That is to go for attack and come down to defend all together,” the former national defender added.

In 2006, Bangladesh qualified for the last eight from a group comprising Palestine, Cambodia and Guam, before being ousted by Tajikistan 6-1.

THE SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Aminul Haq, Biplab Bhattacharya

Defenders: Hassan Al Mamun, Ariful Islam, Wali Faisal, Rajani Kanta Barman, Atiqur Rahman Mishu, Mofazzel Hossain Saikat, Arup Kumar Baidya

Midfielders: Arman Aziz, Enamul Haq Sharif, Zahed Parvez, Faisal Mahmud, Maruf Ahmed, Mamunul Islam Mamun

Forwards: Mehdi Hasan Ujjal, Mohammad Robin and Zahid Hasan Emily
Source: AFC

Full coverage: RubaiSport

Beijing 2008 Olympics Torch Relay Fireworks

2008-04-23T02:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the Canberra leg of the 2008 Olympic torch relay

More to follow

FIFA releases pools for Olympic Football Tournament

2008-04-22T04:47:00.000-07:00

The drawing for the women's competition assigned China, Sweden, Argentina and Canada to Group E; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nigeria, Germany and Brazil to Group F; and Norway, the United States, Japan and New Zealand to Group G.

In the men's competition, Cote D'Ivoire, Argentina, Australia and Serbia will compete in Group A; the Netherlands, Nigeria, Japan and the United States will contend in Group B; China, New Zealand, Brazil and Belgium will compete in Group C; and the Republic of Korea, Cameroon, Honduras and Italy will clash in Group D.

The draw format was made official by the bureau of the organizing committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments, chaired by FIFA Vice-President Dr. Mong Joon Chung.

The football competitions of the Games of the 29th Olympiad will be held from August 6 to 23, 2008, in five cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao. The finals for the men's and women's tournaments will be held in Beijing, where three football venues are located: the Workers' Stadium, the Olympic Sports Center Stadium and the National Stadium. The venues outside Beijing are: Shanghai Stadium, Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Shenyang Olympic Sport Center Stadium and Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

FIH releases pools for Men's Olympic Hockey Tournament

2008-04-22T04:44:00.001-07:00

After the completion of the final Men's WorldHockey Olympic Qualifier, the International Hockey Federation announces the pools for the Men's Hockey Tournament of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Based upon the current ABN AMRO World Rankings, the 12 participating nations have been allocated to the following Pools (current world ranking shown in brackets):

Pool A: Germany (1), Spain (4), Korea (5), New Zealand (10), Belgium (12), China (17)
Pool B: Australia (2), Netherlands (3), Pakistan (6), Great Britain (8), South Africa (13), Canada (15)

The pools for the Women's Hockey Tournament of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be released shortly after the last Women's WorldHockey Olympic Qualifier, to be played in Victoria, Canada from 26 April until 4 May 2008.

The match schedule for both the Men's and Women's Hockey Tournament of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be released mid May 2008.

RubaiSport TV: Basketball

2008-04-08T05:25:00.000-07:00

The following games will be shown live on RubaiSport TV in the next few days. Links to the games will appear closer to the start of the game

Friday 11/4/08:
ULEB Cup: Besiktas vs Galatasaray 02:30 AEST (16:30 UTC, Thursday)
ULEB Cup: DKV Joventut vs Pamesa Valencia 05:00 AEST (19:00 UTC, Thrusday)
German Bundesliga: Artland Dragons vs WALTER Tigers Tubingen 04:15 AEST (18:15 UTC, Thursday)
NBA: Denver Nuggets vs Golden State Warriors 10:00 AEST (00:00 UTC)
NBA: Utah Jazz vs Dallas Mavericks 10:30 AEST (00:30 UTC)
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers 12:30 AEST (02:30 UTC)

RubaiSport TV: Baseball

2008-04-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

The following games will be shown live on RubaiSport TV in the next few days. Links to the games will appear closer to the start of the game

Friday 11/4/08:
MLB: Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates: 09:05 AEST (23:05 GMT, Thursday)
MLB: New York Yankees vs Kansas City Royals 10:00 AEST (0:00 GMT)

Saturday 12/4/08:
MLB: New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox 09:00 AEST (23:00 GMT, Friday)
MLB: Oakland Athletics vs Cleveland Indians 09:05 AEST (23:05 GMT, Friday)
NPB (Japan): Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles vs Orix Buffaloes 15:00 AEST (05:00 GMT)

PCB invites Bangladesh after Australia postpones tour

2008-03-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

Islamabad, Pakistan: The Pakistan Cricket Board has invited Bangladesh to play a home limited-overs series next month after Australia announced Tuesday it will postpone its scheduled tour for security reasons.

"The dates of the ODI series will be finalized within the next few days because Bangladesh is the only test-playing country which has no international commitments next month," PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said.

Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O'Connor's announcement of Australia's decision to postpone its tour came just hours after two bombs killed at least 15 people and injured many more in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore.

The tour, which had been scheduled to start March 29, had been in jeopardy due to security concerns expressed by Australian players and officials amid a wave of violence that swirled around the Feb. 18 elections in Pakistan.

"This was a difficult decision based on independent review of the circumstances prevailing in Pakistan at the moment," O'Connor said. "We wish no loss to Pakistan Cricket Board and look forward to undertaking this tour in the near future."

The chairs of the Australian and Pakistani cricket boards will meet at International Cricket Council headquarters in Dubai next weekend to further discuss possible dates for the postponed tour.

Source: ICC

B-League 2008

2008-03-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Playe Registration: 15 March-14 April 2008
First Match: 17 April 2008
Fixtures: formulated but not yet published. wil be published after draw.

NOKIA became Bangladesh National Football Team sponsor

2008-03-10T04:13:00.000-07:00

Multinational Mobile phone manufacturer company NOKIA became the Exclusive Sponsor of Bangladesh National Football Team for the first time in Bangladesh Football History.

It agreed to the offers of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to support the national team for the two coming international tournaments, the AFC Challenge Cup and the SAFF Championship. "We are happy to have Nokia with us. But we won't give you the financial details for the sake of football," said BFF president SA Sultan at a press conference at the BFF House yesterday.

The future relationship between Nokia and the BFF, however, will depend on how good mileage it gets from its involvement with football in Bangladesh. If things go the right way, Nokia will get involved in development programmes into the grassroots, especially at school level. "The world loves football and the Bangladeshis are no exception. And we at Nokia take pride in having our logo and name being carried by the team while they represent not only the country but the love of game," said Prem Chand, managing director of Nokia Emerging Asia. He also added that "I have seen young boys play football in the villages and also the craze during the World Cup football. Nokia wants to utilise this passion for football."

The national team will get financial support and use the Nokia logo on their gear although they would not be allowed to show the sponsor's name on their jersey during matches.

Yestersday in the press conference BFF President Mr S A Sultan, BFF vice president Mr Abdur Rahim, Mr Sirajul Islam Bachchu, VP-BFF & GS-SAFF, BFF acting general secretary Mr Manzoor Hossain, NOKIA Emerging Asia Ltd managing director Mr Prem Chand, Nokia marketing Manager Mr M Nowfel Anower & BFF communication manager Ahmed Sayed Al Fatah was present.

Bangladesh will take part in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers from May 5-10 in Kyrgyzstan where they face Laos, Afghanistan and the hosts.

In the 5th SAFF Football Championship, 2003 winners and 2005 runners-ups Bangladesh are pitted against hosts Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bhutan in the group stages to be played in Colombo. The SAFF Championship 2008 will be hosted jointly by Sri Lanka and Maldives from June 3-14.

SAFF Cup Draw

2008-03-10T00:23:00.000-07:00

The draw for the fifth edition of the South Asian Football Federation Championships (SAFF Cup) was held at the Paradise Island Resort in Maldives and defending champions India are placed in Group A.

Ranked 145, India are in a relatively tougher group with Maldives (155), Pakistan (164) and Nepal (188) as compared to Group B which comprises of Sri Lanka (170), Bangladesh (171), Bhutan (199) and Afghanistan (188).

The tournament will be hosted jointly by Maldives and Sri Lanka. On paper, India look favorites to retain the trophy though Bangladesh and Maldives cannot be ruled out.

The top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals which shall be held in Male and Colombo.

The finals will be played in Colombo on 14th June.

For fixtures see www.rubaisport.com/football/1540/2008.php

Singapore, Socceroos set friendly

2008-03-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

SINGAPORE – Singapore and Australia will warm-up for the next round of FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifiers with a friendly match scheduled to take place in Singapore on March 22.

The two sides last met in the Lion city back in June 2007 as Australia prepared for their AFC Asian Cup debut with a 3-0 win over Raddy Avramovic’s side.

Hosts Singapore are using the match at the Jalan Besar Stadium to fine tune ahead of their second Group 4 match, which is against Lebanon at the same venue four days later, and Australia are taking on the three-time ASEAN champions to prepare for their Group 1 clash with China.

The Socceroos will be looking to build on their 3-0 opening round win over 2011 AFC Asian Cup hosts Qatar while Singapore are hoping to bounce back form their 2-0 loss to four-time World Cup qualifiers Saudi Arabia.

Source: AFC

Chance for South Africa to dethrone Australia at the top of LG ICC ODI Championship Table

2008-03-08T22:30:00.000-08:00

South Africa has the opportunity to dethrone Australia and secure the top spot in the LG ICC ODI Championship Table at the 1 April cut-off if it sweeps the three-match series against Bangladesh starting in Chittagong on Sunday.

Australia and South Africa are currently both sitting on 127 ratings points but Graeme Smith’s side is behind Ricky Ponting’s side by just 0.529 of a point when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

If the Proteas wins the series 3-0, they will stay on 127 ratings points but will finish ahead of Australia by 0.191 at the cut-off. This date is significant because the sides that lead the Test and ODI ladders on 1 April, pocket US$175,000 each for its achievements, while the sides that lie second collect US$75,000 each.

Last year, South Africa snatched the title just before the 1 April cut-off date, relegating Australia to second, and no doubt Smith and his men will be using the possibility of repeating that feat as a motivational tool for the series.

If Bangladesh manages to win just one game, Australia will retain its top position opening up a two-point gap with South Africa dropping to 125 ratings points.

In the longer version of the game, Australia is sure of collecting the cheque for US$175,000 and of retaining the mace by finishing on top of the LG ICC Test Championship Table at the cut-off date.

Australia leads the field by 30 clear ratings points.

As far as the runner-up to Australia is concerned, India is currently placed second and can only slip to third place if England makes a clean sweep of its three-Test series.

Although Sri Lanka will have completed its first Test against the West Indies (starting in Guyana from 22 March) and India will have played its first Test against South Africa (starting in Chennai from 26 March) before the cut-off date, the LG ICC Test Championship table is only updated after the conclusion of a series.

IOC awards 2010 & 2012 broadcast rights in Italy

2008-02-25T23:15:00.001-08:00

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced an agreement with SKY Italia for the broadcast rights within Italy for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games.

SKY Italia, Italy’s leading digital satellite television network, acquired the rights across all broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile phone.

SKY Italia will be responsible for ensuring the broadest possible audience is able to access the Olympic Games across all of these platforms, including a guaranteed continuation of free-to-air television coverage. To achieve this commitment, SKY Italia will shortly begin seeking a partnership with a free-to-air network in Italy.

Singapore to host first edition of the Youth Olympic Games in 2010

2008-02-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that Singapore will host the first Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The result was unveiled by the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Singapore beat Moscow in the final by 53 votes to 44.

The 105 IOC members entitled to vote⁽¹⁾ had cast their votes by post over the last few weeks. The sealed envelope with the name of the winning city was delivered to the IOC President during the announcement ceremony by the independent and certified notary who oversaw the process to guarantee confidentiality.

SPORT DOMINATES 2007 TV RATINGS

2008-02-19T17:26:00.000-08:00

The enormous popularity of sport on Free TV is proven by the year-to-date program ranking, with the Rugby League, Tennis, AFL and Cricket securing the top 5 spots (refer to table below).
The highest rating program on television so far this year was the Rugby League Grand Final, attracting a combined average audience of over 3.7 million Australian viewers.

Top programs on Free TV so far this year
Rank Program Description Combined Average 000s
1 Rugby League Grand Final 3,748
2 Tennis: 2007 Aust Open - Men's Final 3,399
3 AFL Finals 2007: Grand Final Geelong V Port Adelaide 3,320
4 Twenty/20 Match - Australia V England 3,319
5 State Of Origin Rugby League QLD V NSW 1st - Match 3,251

Over 57.3 per cent of viewers in metro areas alone tuned into the Rugby World Cup on Free TV, despite Australia not making it to the semi-finals. Looking at all sports over the year, the major sporting codes (AFL, NRL, Tennis, Cricket and Motor Sports) each reached at least 85 per cent of the Australian population.

Eindhoven Team Time Trial to be replaced by a new event

2008-02-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

After three years of investment in the Eindhoven Team Time Trial, the Mayor and municipal representatives of the Dutch city decided yesterday to end their involvement in the organisation of the event. As a result, the event will be withdrawn from the 2008 UCI ProTour calendar.

The UCI regrets the decision by the city of Eindhoven, but takes it into account and thanks the authorities for their commitment to the race over the last three years.

The UCI will consult the teams and with them examine whether the race should be replaced by another team time trial or other type of event.

Several candidates from different continents have already expressed their interest in organising a UCI ProTour race to replace the Eindhoven Team Time Trial.

Russia replaces Bangladesh at WorldHockey Olympic Qualifier

2008-02-19T17:02:00.001-08:00

Following the withdrawal by Bangladesh from the Men’s WorldHockey Olympic Qualifier to be played in Santiago, Chile from 1 until 9 March 2008, Russia has been accepted by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) as the replacement team to participate in this event.

FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in 2012: Four candidates in the final race

2008-02-19T16:44:00.001-08:00

The National Federations/Cities of Argentina (city of Mar Del Plata), Austria (city of Vienna), Hong Kong (city of Hong Kong) and Turkey (city of Istanbul) confirmed their formal bid to the organisation of the 11th edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in 2012.

These two cities were part of a group of six potential bidders that also included: Australia (city of Sydney) and Brazil (city of Rio de Janeiro)

The host of the 11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2012 will be decided and announced by the FINA Bureau on April 12, 2008 with the occasion of the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Manchester (GBR).

After Great Britain and before 2012, the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) will be held in Dubai (UAE), from April 7-11, 2010.

UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour

2008-02-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

The UEFA Champions League Trophy is to visit four Latin American countries in the coming two months as part of a tour to celebrate Europe’s premier club competition.

Europe’s most prized club trophy will be touring Latin America for the first time when the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by Heineken kicks-off in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with a media day on Friday 15 February. It will then go on to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Mexico City and Monterrey.

The full schedule of the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour is as follows: Sao Paolo 16/17, Rio de Janeiro 23/24 February (Brazil), Buenos Aires 6 March (Argentina), Santiago 15/16 March (Chile), Mexico City 5/6 April and Monterrey 12/13 April (Mexico).

Commenting on the rationale behind the Trophy Tour, Philippe Le Floc’h, UEFA’s Director of Marketing, said: “The UEFA Champions League is a truly global brand attracting the world’s best players, many of whom are from Latin America. In fact in the Group Stage of the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League there were some 85 Brazilian players registered as eligible to play for the competing clubs, that’s more than 1 in 10 of all registered players.

UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup 2009-12 media rights deal

2008-02-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

UEFA announced that it has awarded the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup media rights for 2009-12 in the Middle East and North Africa to Al Jazeera.

Substantial offers from several of the major media groups and broadcasters in the region were received, providing further evidence of the increasing strength of both competitions. An extremely competitive sales process produced a very significant increase in the rights fee for the UEFA Champions League and set a new benchmark for the UEFA Cup. Despite intense competition among bidders, Al Jazeera’s offer set them apart as the clear winner of both sets of rights at the conclusion of the first round of bidding.

Al Jazeera is committed to providing extensive coverage on its Pay TV channels which will deliver UEFA’s club competitions to a wide audience throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, Al Jazeera will sub-licence live matches to a number of free-to-air broadcasters across the region. The platform-neutral approach means that Al Jazeera has also been granted Internet and mobile exploitation for all games.

The UEFA Champions League media rights for 2009-12 will also include the UEFA Super Cup 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Fixtures set for Caribbean Futsal Qualifying Tournament

2008-02-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

CONCACAF has announced the fixtures for the Caribbean Futsal Qualifying Tournament that will take place from 5-9 March at the National Sports Hall in Georgetown, Guyana.

The six-team Caribbean tournament, which will qualify two squads to the 2008 CONCACAF Futsal Championship, has two groups of three. Haiti and Sint Maarten join the hosts, Guyana in Group A, while Group B consists of Puerto Rico, Surinam and Trinidad & Tobago.

The two Caribbean qualifiers will join Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA and the host, Guatemala at the 2008 CONCACAF Futsal Championship at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City from 2-8 June.

The CONCACAF Championship will also progress three teams to the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil from 1-19 October.

2008 CONCACAF FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Caribbean Qualifying Tournament
Georgetown, GUYANA; National Sports Hall
Group A
05.03: GUYANA – SINT MAARTEN (20:00)
06.03: HAITI – SINT MAARTEN (18:00)
07.03: GUYANA – HAITI (20:00)

Group B
05.03: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – PUERTO RICO (18:00)
06.03: PUERTO RICO – SURINAM (20:00)
07.03: SURINAM – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO (18:00)

Third Place
09.03: A2 – B2 (18:00)

Final
09.03: A1 – B1 (20:00)

IOC to announce host city of first ever Youth Olympic Games

2008-02-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will reveal on Thursday 21 February (at 11:00 GMT) whether Moscow or Singapore will host the very first edition of the Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

The announcement will be made by IOC President Jacques Rogge at the Olympic Museum. The event will be webcast live on www.olympic.org and fed live from Lausanne.