The five-team super league of the Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League begins on Friday at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in the city. League leader Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club will play Sonali Bank SC in the opening match at 4 pm while former champions Abahani Limited will encounter Bangladesh Sporting Club at 6 pm in the other opening day’s match. After a recess on Saturday, defending champions Mohammedan SC will play Bangladesh SC at 4 pm while Abahani Limited will face Sonali Bank SC at 6 pm on Sunday (November 21). Also read: Premier Hockey: Mariner YC maintains all-win run beating Abahani Two arch-rivals Mohammedan SC and Abahani Limited will meet each other on November 23 at 4 pm while Mariner Youngs Club will encounter Bangladesh SC at 6 pm on the same day .   Club Cup champions Dhaka Mariner Youngs’ Club completed the first phase league with all-win record securing full 33 points from straight eleven match. On completion of the eleven-match first phase league, holders Mohammedan SC finished 2nd collecting 30 points losing only match to Mariner Youngs’ Club while Abahani Limited was in the 3rd slot with 27 points losing to both Mariner Youngs Club and Mohammedan SC.    Also read: Premier Hockey: Mohammedan SC beat arch-rival Abahani Ltd 4-0

Bangladesh stalwart Mushfiqur Rahim hurt his left index finger ahead of the tour of Zimbabwe starting on June 29. The wicketkeeper-batsman will not take any part in the ongoing Super League phase of the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League due to the same. Mushfiqur was leading Abahani Limited in the league. Abahani are currently fighting for the title with Prime Bank Cricket Club. The right-handed batsman sustained the blow during Abahani’s Super League clash against Gazi Group Cricketers. A CT scan was held by the BCB medical department on Tuesday morning. “Mushfiqur sustained a hairline fracture on his left index finger, and we have advised him to take a rest of one week,” Debashis Chowdhury, the chief physician of BCB told the media. “Since it’s not serious, we think his Zimbabwe tour will not be affected. Still we will have another review after one week.” Bangladesh will play a one-off Test, and three ODIs and three T20Is during the Zimbabwe tour. Muhsfiqur has already informed the board that he won’t be available for the T20Is series against Zimbabwe. He, however, will take part in Test and ODIs. In the Dhaka League, Mushfiqur was doing well scoring 267 runs in an average over 38 and strike rate over 130. Due to his absence, Abahani might face difficulties in the remaining part of the league.

Shykat Ali and Nurul Hasan Sohan played remarkably well with the bat to guide Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club to the first win of the Super League match in Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League on Sunday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Sheikh Jamal won the toss and sent Prime Bank Cricket Club to bat first, who posted 164 for three in 20 overs. In reply, Sheikh Jamal scored 165 for three in 18.1 overs and won the game by seven wickets at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Despite losing the opener Mohammad Ashraful for only five, Shykat led the charge hitting 60 off 36 balls with six fours and three sixes. Also read: Who is the favorite to win DPL T20 Cricket League? In the second-wicket stand, Shykat and Imrul Kayes added 100 runs, with Imrul scoring 44 off 40 balls with two fours and as many as sixes. Along the way, Shykhat hit his fifty off 28 balls with a six, which eventually earned him the player of the match award. In the last 30 balls, Sheikh Jamal needed 48 runs. Also read: DPL Super League: First day's play washed out Sohan hit 44 off 17 balls with four sixes and two fours to end the remaining job for his team. Sheikh Jamal eventually ended up the game with 11 balls to play, with Sohan and Tanbir Hyder remained unbeaten for 44 and seven respectively. Earlier, Mohammad Mithun scored 67 off 42 balls with seven fours and two sixes. Raqibul Hasan was the second-highest runs-getter for Prime Bank. The first match of the Super League— between Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club and Gazi Group Cricketers— which was scheduled to take place on Sunday morning, was washed out due to the rain. This match is now set to take place on June 22 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

So much for Arsenal being one of the elite soccer clubs in Europe. Three weeks after being among the instigators of the controversially closed-off and ultimately ill-fated Super League, the English team is facing the ignominy of being shut out of continental competition for the first time in 25 years. A failure to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Villarreal in the Europa League semifinals on Thursday would end Arsenal’s quarter-century run of participating in either the Champions League or UEFA’s secondary club competitions. Such a degrading of status would be ironic, considering the planned Super League — devised and then aborted within a chaotic 48-hour period last month — would have positioned Arsenal as one of 12 elite teams in the European game. The significance of the match against Villarreal, likely to be played against the backdrop of more fan protests against Arsenal’s American ownership for its involvement in the Super League project, isn’t lost on Mikel Arteta. “It is a big moment,” the Arsenal manager said. “Not for me but for the club, for everything that has happened in the last two years, in the last months, and for all the instability that we have been hit with for many different reasons. “I think it will be really important, and a big step forward, if we are able to be in that final and have the opportunity to win that trophy.” It’s not just Arteta’s future that could be on the line on Thursday. Arsenal’s ability to attract players for next season, and to retain the services of its own best players, might hinge on winning the Europa League and gaining the bonus prize of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Otherwise, it’s out of Europe, a situation Arsenal hasn’t been in since the 1995-96 season — a year that fell between the storied managerial eras of George Graham and Arsene Wenger. For Arteta, that would be unacceptable. “But it’s the reality,” he said. “It’s not what we want, obviously, but there are a lot of things that have happened in that period for many reasons. “One is the level has been raised to a standard that is unprecedented in the (Premier League) and we are not the only club that has been out of that. But obviously no one accepts that situation and we want to change it straightaway. This season, we have the opportunity to do that.” Arteta delivered the FA Cup to Arsenal in August, at the end of his first season at the club, but his position would be uncertain should his team be eliminated by Villarreal, which — adding to the weight of the occasion — is coached by Unai Emery. Emery is a Spaniard who replaced Wenger at Arsenal in May 2018, following the Frenchman’s nearly 22 years in the job. He lasted only 18 months. Arteta said the success of this season will now be determined by winning the Europa League or not. “It will be judged like this,” he said. “How good or bad job you are doing is judged by many factors by different people. Externally, it’s only when you win or lose. That is the defining moment.” Arteta’s big players need to step up against Villarreal and there’s no one bigger in the team than captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who declared upon signing a three-year deal in September that he wanted to become an “Arsenal legend.” That hasn’t materialized, because of a mixture of off-field issues — he recently contracted malaria, and also took time off in February when his mother became seriously ill — and poor form, which he partially put down to struggling to get fired up for matches because of the lack of fans in stadiums. Aubameyang, whose season tally of 15 goals in all competitions is way down on what he typically delivers, said Wednesday he owes Arteta a big performance. “I have to give something back to the club and the fans who are awaiting something from me,” the striker said on a video call. “This is the right moment to show I am capable of doing it.”

Is it possible to imagine a World Cup without Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?However, such concerns were raised when an announcement came on Sunday (April 18th) that a new competition branded the "European Super League" will be launched with the best clubs from across Europe. The competition was initially planned to feature 15 topclubs as permanent members.UEFA responded immediately, warning that the teams would be excluded and their players would be banned from participating in international competitions.This article discusses, how the European Super League could have ruled Messi and Ronaldo out of the FIFA World Cup 2022?  What is the European Super League? The European Super League is a brand new competition for so-called elite clubs which will feature 20 teams. There will be 15 founding clubs and the names of 12 clubs have been released so far.  They are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham from Premier League; Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid from La Liga; and Inter, Juventus, AC Milan from Serie A. Read: How European football is badly affected by the pandemic covid-19? Three more clubs are expected to join as founding members. Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund are believed to have been contacted, but none of them have shown a desire to join. Five more teams will be picked for the competition each season based on their domestic season performance. Tournament format The clubs will be split into two groups and the matches will be played on a home and away basis, as usual. The top three teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals. For the final two spots, the fourth and fifth teams in each group will play a two-leg play-off match. Then the rest of the way is like the Champions League. Expected tournament schedule The season's calendar can be complicated since Super League teams still tend to compete in the domestic league. It'll be a packed schedule and being occupied in such a tournament means bidding farewell to the Champions League. The Super League authority has confirmed that the matches will take place in mid-week. The final will be one match and it will be held by the end of May. When is the Super League set to begin? FC Barcelona said in an official statement that they want to begin the league as soon as possible. However, the clubs announced in a joint statement that the competition will begin in August. How much money will the clubs earn? European Super League teams will get a huge financial benefit. The founding clubs will receive 3.5 billion euros for infrastructure improvements and debt relief. The prize money for teams in the Super League will be significantly higher than the prize money for teams in the Champions League. Read: Football Transfers 2021: The hot favorites to replace Sergio Aguero at Man City UEFA's response on super league UEFA, the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A all responded quickly to the Super League's announcement. In an official statement, UEFA said that they are all working together to avoid this unethical project, and they believe the super league is formed to protect the clubs' self-interest. UEFA also stated that football is a merit-based sport and that they will never support such a decision. As a result, super league clubs will be banned from competing in any domestic, continental, or worldwide competition. Players from the teams will also be unable to represent their country in any international matches. After the announcement of UEFA, there are fears that superstar footballers like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will not be seen in FIFA World Cup 2022. Both Messi and Ronaldo have yet to win the World Cup. So they want to make one last attempt to win the World Cup in Qatar. But if UEFA's announcement is true, then apart from these two best footballers of all time, almost half of the world's best footballers will be absent in the World Cup 2022. Because nearly all of the world's biggest stars play for Europe's top clubs. Read: Potential Young Players Who Could Rule World Football Next Decade Protest and confirmation of all English clubs withdrawal Supporters from a number of Premier League clubs have protested the club owners' arbitrary decision. Fans of Liverpool and Chelsea were prominent among them. Within 48 hours of the widespread criticism, all Premier League clubs reversed their positions and announced their withdrawal from the Super League. Following the announcement by all Premier League teams, the Super League's other six clubs would no longer remain in their previous stands. So, the European Super League's dissolution may be announced at any moment. However, UEFA and FIFA must place more emphasis on protecting everyone's interests. Read:  Summer Window 2021: Five Potential Big Football Transfers Bottom Line Coronavirus has placed all of Europe's big clubs into a huge economic crisis. As a result, they're attempting to cover the financial loss by introducing new initiatives. However, there is no valid reason to support a proposal that undermines the very essence of football. The demands of the clubs are not completely unreasonable. In this case, UEFA needed to be more vigilant. If the Super League tournament is not held as expected, big names like Messi and Ronaldo will be able to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2022. This will be great news for millions of football fans around the world. Read:  Lionel Messi: The Argentine Football Star’s Most Unbreakable Records

Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan both decided to drop out of the Super League on Wednesday, leaving the new competition on the verge of extinction before it even started. Only four clubs were still officially involved — Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan. The moves by Atlético and Inter came a day after the six Premier League clubs gave up on the controversial breakaway competition. Also Read:Super League collapses after the 6 English clubs withdraw Atlético said the decision was made after its board of directors met on Wednesday. The Spanish club said it “decided to formally communicate the Super League and the rest of the founding clubs its decision not to formalize its participation in the project.” Atlético said the “circumstances” that allowed it to join the new league on Monday “no longer existed today.” “For the club, harmony is essential for everyone involved in the (Atlético) family, especially our fans,” it said. “The first team squad and its coach showed satisfaction with the club’s decision, understanding that sporting merits must prevail over any other criteria.” Inter said the club was committed to delivering the best soccer experience for fans because “innovation and inclusion have been part of our DNA since our foundation.” “Our commitment with all stakeholders to improve the football industry will never change,” the Italian club said. “Inter believe that football, like any sector of activity, must have an interest in constantly improving its competitions in order to continue to excite fans of all ages all over the world, within a framework of financial sustainability.” Also Read: UEFA president urges Super League owners to reverse decision

The Super League collapsed before a ball was kicked in the European breakaway competition after being abandoned by the six English clubs, leaving the Spanish and Italian participants stranded. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham throughout Tuesday evening deserted the proposal to launch a largely-closed midweek competition amid an escalating backlash from their supporters and warnings from the British government that legislation could be introduced to thwart it. Also Read: UEFA president urges Super League owners to reverse decision The Super League project was overseen by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, who also signed up Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in Spain, and Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan from Italy. The rival for the UEFA-run Champions League became unviable without the six clubs from the world’s richest league. The remaining fledgling Super League organization was defiant, blaming “pressure” being applied for forcing out the English clubs and insisting the proposal complied with the law and could yet be revived in some form. “Given the current circumstances,” the Super League said in a statement, “we shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, always having in mind our goals of offering fans the best experience possible while enhancing solidarity payments for the entire football community.” The English clubs heeded the appeals from UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin to remain part of the Champions League, which has a qualification criteria based on a team’s performance in the domestic league. Also Read: Threats of expulsion as UEFA confronts Super League rebel 12 “I said yesterday that it is admirable to admit a mistake and these clubs made a big mistake,” he said. “But they are back in the fold now and I know they have a lot to offer not just to our competitions but to the whole of the European game. “The important thing now is that we move on, rebuild the unity that the game enjoyed before this and move forward together.” As it became clear Chelsea and City were quitting the Super League on Tuesday evening, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and his teammates posted a message advocating staying within the open European competitions. Liverpool, which is owned by the Boston Red Sox investment group, eventually issued a statement thanking those inside and outside the club for “valuable contributions” before making the decision to stick within existing structures. Manchester United defender Luke Shaw also went against his club by tweeting his backing of the existing Champions League minutes before his club’s about-turn. “We have listened carefully to the reaction from our fans, the UK government and other key stakeholders,” said the club owned by the American Glazer family and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. “We remain committed to working with others across the football community to come up with sustainable solutions to the long-term challenges facing the game.” Just as the Glazers also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Stan Kroenke has the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams in his portfolio along with Arsenal. It is the closed models of American sports that were believed to be so appealing to the U.S. owners by offering financial certainty. But they were resisted by fans of English clubs. “It was never our intention to cause such distress, however, when the invitation to join the Super League came, while knowing there were no guarantees, we did not want to be left behind to ensure we protected Arsenal and its future,” the north London club said. “As a result of listening to you and the wider football community over recent days we are withdrawing from the proposed Super League. We made a mistake, and we apologize for it. “We know it will take time to restore your faith in what we are trying to achieve here at Arsenal but let us be clear that the decision to be part of the Super League was driven by our desire to protect Arsenal, the club you love, and to support the game you love through greater solidarity and financial stability.” Tottenham also gave a detailed explanation for why it signed up before backing away. “We regret the anxiety and upset caused by the ESL proposal,” chairman Daniel Levy said. “We felt it was important that our club participated in the development of a possible new structure that sought to better ensure financial fair play and financial sustainability whilst delivering significantly increased support for the wider football pyramid. “We believe that we should never stand still and that the sport should constantly review competitions and governance to ensure the game we all love continues to evolve and excite fans around the world.” Chelsea, which is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, said it only joined the Super League group last week. “We have now had time to consider the matter fully and have decided that our continued participation in these plans would not be in the best interests of the club, our supporters or the wider football community,” Chelsea said in a statement hours after its game against Brighton had been delayed by fan protests outside its Stamford Bridge stadium. The Premier League threatened to sanction the six rebel clubs and Prime Minister Boris Johnson considered introducing laws to stop them forming a new European competition he called a “cartel.” Divisions within the Super League clubs also grew with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola saying the Super League would damage the integrity and values of sport. Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has also expressed concerns about the actions of his club’s owners. The Premier League had threatened the six clubs with expulsion if they tried to go it alone in Europe. The other 14 clubs met Tuesday and “unanimously and vigorously” rejected the Super League plans. Britain’s Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said out-of-touch owners “completely misjudged the strength of feeling from fans, players and the whole country.” The government is exploring adopting the 50-plus-1 rule from Germany that gives fans the majority of voting rights, nominally to protect clubs from being controlled by private investors. “Our fan-led review will still happen and I remain convinced of the need for reform,” Dowden said. “We must make sure this never happens again.” Everton decried the “preposterous arrogance” of Super League clubs. Everton’s nine titles are the fourth most by a team in the history of the English top division, and the club from Merseyside was considered part of the country’s elite in the 1980s and early 1990s. “The backlash is understandable and deserved — and has to be listened to,” Everton’s board of directors said in a statement. “This preposterous arrogance is not wanted anywhere in football outside of the clubs that have drafted this plan.” The Italian clubs declined to comment earlier, and the Spanish teams were not commenting late Tuesday.

In a direct appeal to the owners of the English clubs in the Super League project, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin urged them Tuesday to change their minds out of respect for soccer fans. Ceferin both cajoled and criticized the six-club English group — made up of American billionaires, Middle East royalty and a Russian oligarch — less than 48 hours after the Super League was launched in alliance with three clubs from each of Italy and Spain. Also Read: Threats of expulsion as UEFA confronts Super League rebel 12 “Gentlemen, you made a huge mistake,” Ceferin said in a speech to European soccer leaders at the UEFA annual meeting. “Some will say it is greed, others (will say) disdain arrogance, flippancy or complete ignorance of England’s football culture. It does not matter. “What does matter is that there is still time to change your mind. Everyone makes mistakes.” Ceferin urged them to turn back out of respect for fans in England, aiming another barb at what he earlier called “a few selfish people.” “Come to your senses,” he said. “Not out of love for football because I imagine some of you don’t have much of that.” Ceferin also lavished praise on UEFA executive committee colleague Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of French champion Paris Saint-Germain. PSG has so far resisted offers to be one of the 15 founding Super League members. Bayern Minich and Borussia Dortmund have also stayed out. “Nasser, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You showed that you are a great man,” Ceferin told the Qatari official before also citing Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The UEFA president also spoke about an email he received from a fan of Tottenham, one of the six rebel clubs from the Premier League. Also Read: UEFA could ban Super League players from Euro 2020, WCup “If you read the email you would be close to crying,” Ceferin said of the fan he identified only as Trevor, whom he had given two tickets to the 2019 Champions League final, when Tottenham lost to Liverpool. Ceferin said fans and governments have supported UEFA in resisting the proposed 20-team Super League, which threatens to directly challenge the Champions League and damage the historic pyramid structure of European soccer. “We cannot lose this match,” said Ceferin, a Slovenian lawyer. The clubs have not said when their planned breakaway league, underwritten by American bank JP Morgan Chase, would kick off. On Monday, Ceferin said he wanted Super League clubs and their players banned from all UEFA competitions “as soon as possible.” It is unclear if UEFA’s legal statutes and Champions League rules will allow that before Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City play in the semifinals next week. Manchester United and Arsenal also play next week in the Europa League semifinals. Earlier Tuesday in a speech that seemed to blame the club owners and absolve players, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he can only “strongly disapprove” of the Super League. “If some elect to go their own way, then they must live with the consequences of their choice,” Infantino said. “They are responsible for their choice.”

Players at the 12 clubs setting up their own Super League could be banned from this year’s European Championship and next year’s World Cup, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said Monday. Ceferin spoke following a UEFA executive committee meeting held only hours after the English, Italian and Spanish clubs announced the project that threatens to split European soccer. “They will not be able to represent their national teams at any matches,” Ceferin said. “UEFA and the footballing world stand united against the disgraceful self-serving proposal we have seen in last 24 hours from a select few clubs in Europe that are fueled purely by greed above all else.” UEFA’s 55 member federations are gathering for an annual meeting on Tuesday, including 24 nations that are playing in Euro 2020. “My opinion is that as soon as possible they (the clubs) have to be banned from all our competitions, and the players from all our competitions,” Ceferin said. Three of the 12 rebels — Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid — are scheduled to play in the Champions League semifinals this month. Also read: Super League clubs tell FIFA legal action already started Earlier, the 12 clubs planning to start the breakaway Super League told the leaders of FIFA and UEFA that they have begun legal action aimed at fending off threats to block the competition. The letter was sent by the group to Ceferin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino saying the Super League has already been underwritten by funding of 4 billion euros ($5.5 billion) from American bank JPMorgan Chase. Currently, teams have to qualify each year for the Champions League through their domestic leagues, but the Super League would lock in 15 places every season for the founding members. The seismic move to shake up the sport is partly engineered by the American owners of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, who also run franchises in closed U.S. leagues — a model they are trying to replicate in Europe. UEFA warned the Super League clubs, including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, that legal action would be taken against them and said they also would be barred from existing domestic competitions like the Spanish league and the Premier League. “We are concerned that FIFA and UEFA may respond to this invitation letter by seeking to take punitive measures to exclude any participating club or player from their respective competitions,” the Super League clubs wrote to Infantino and Ceferin in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. “Your formal statement does, however, compel us to take protective steps to secure ourselves against such an adverse reaction, which would not only jeopardize the funding commitment under the Grant but, significantly, would be unlawful. For this reason, SLCo (Super League Company) has filed a motion before the relevant courts in order to ensure the seamless establishment and operation of the Competition in accordance with applicable laws.” The courts were not named. “It is our duty, as SLCo’s board members, to ensure that all reasonable actions available to protect the interests of the Competition and our stakeholders are duly taken, given the irreparable damage that would be suffered if, for any reason, we were deprived of the opportunity to form promptly the Competition and distribute the proceeds of the Grant,” the Super League letter continued. The Super League intends to launch a 20-team competition with 15 founding members but only 12 have currently signed up. The others are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham from England, Atletico Madrid from Spain, and AC Milan and Inter Milan from Italy. The breakaway was launched just as UEFA thought it had agreement on an expansion of the Champions League from 2024. Now, the same officials who backed the plans have decided to go it alone while claiming the existing competitions could remain — despite losing their most successful teams, including record 13-time European champion Real Madrid and six-time winner Liverpool. Also read: Tension growing around Haaland “The Competition is to be played alongside existing domestic league and cup competitions, which are a key part of European football’s competitive fabric,” reads the Super League letter to Infantino and Ceferin. “We do not seek to replace the UEFA’s Champions League or the Europa League but to compete with and exist alongside those tournaments.”