Football


Oceania Olympic qualifiers postponed

By David Gold

Fiji v_Papua_New_Guinea_OFC_Olympic_qualifying_March_2012March 23 - The semi-finals and final day of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) men's football qualifiers for this summer's London Olympics were postponed following extreme weather conditions in Taupo, New Zealand.













Ban on women footballers wearing hijab to be lifted

By Andrew Warshaw in Bagshot

Iran womens_team_in_hijab_Amman_June_3_2011March 3 - The ultra-conservative International Football Association Board (IFAB), comprising FIFA and the four British Home Associations, rarely if ever reverses its decisions but made an exception here today by unanimously agreeing to lift the ban on the Islamic headscarf being worn by female footballers, pending health and safety checks.

FIFA's hijab ban is prejudice, insists Prince Ali

By Andrew Warshaw in London

Prince Ali_Bin_Al_Hussein_01-03-121March 2 - Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein (pictured), the Jordanian FIFA powerbroker driving the global campaign to lift the ban on women footballers wearing the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, during matches says it would be a backward step if the game's lawmakers ignore his demands.