Sports

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, president of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has been appointed by IOC President Thomas Bach to engage in crucial new roles on the new IOC commissions for 2014, a JOC statement said Thursday.

Prince Feisal will assume "a key position on five of the IOC commissions for 2014, providing vital assistance and expert advice to the IOC and Olympic Games Organising Committees in the following areas: International Relations, TV Rights and New Media, Women and Sports, Sports and Environment, and the International Olympic Truce Foundation", the statement said. “It is a privilege to continue playing a part in the Olympic movement’s commitment to universality,” the statement quoted the prince as saying. Prince Feisal is also a member of the Executive Board of the Olympic Council of Asia, chairman of its Peace Through Sports Committee and a member of the IOC’s Entourage Commission.

AMMAN — Competition is back in the 34th Jordan Cup with the quarter-finals set for the weekend and the return leg April 22 and 23.

The event has been on halt since the Round of 16 concluded last November with eight teams reaching the quarters. 

Ramtha will play Faisali, while Baqaa play Sheikh Hussein on Friday. 

On Saturday, That Ras take on Wihdat while the Hussein vs. Shabab Urdun match has been postponed due to the latter's participation in the Asian Football Confederation Cup matches.

The event had started with a knockout preliminary round. 

First Division teams gave the eight qualifiers from the 12 competing Professional League clubs a hard time In Leg 1, but Leg 2 matches paved the way for the quarter-finalists to advance. 

Last year, That Ras, a relative newcomer to the league, upstaged teams and won the Jordan Cup — their first ever major title. Faisali are a record 17-time winners of the Jordan Cup. Wihdat were champs nine times, Ramtha and Shabab Urdun twice, while Jazira, Arabi and That Ras won once.

The season's first title — the 31st Cup Winners’ Cup — went to Shabab Urdun after they beat That Ras in the first of the three major local events on the 2013/14 calendar. 

The Jordan Football Association competitions committee has now set the season's agenda to end May 31.

AMMAN — The 21st annual run of the International Dead Sea Ultra Marathon kicks off on Friday with the participation of more than 7,000 runners representing various countries around the world.

The event is held under the patronage of HRH Prince Firas and organised by Run Jordan, the sole entity dedicated to bringing together different marathon events and races under one umbrella.

According to Lina Kurd, Run Jordan vice director, all preparations for the marathon have been completed.

"The 50km marathon will start from 1st traffic light after the 8th Circle [in Amman] towards the airport road, while the 21km run will start 3km after the zero point towards Amman Tourist Beach at the Dead Sea and the 10km run will start 2km after Baptism Site at the Dead Sea," she said. 

Meanwhile, the 10km race for people with visual and physical disabilities will start 2km after the Baptism Site at the Dead Sea.

"We are really happy to organise such an event that everyone, especially families, can enjoy and learn about the benefits of sports in leading a healthy life," Kurd told The Jordan Times.

"For many years the marathon was linked with charity work especially with the Society for Care of Neurological Patients and we are proud to be part of this drive," she added.

First place winner will receive a $2,000 cash award for the 50km, while second place will receive $1,500 and third place $1,000, according to Kurd. 

The first place winner of the 21km race will receive $1,000, while $500 will go to the second place winner and $300 for the third place. 

The first winner of the 10km race will receive $500, while the second place winner gets $300 and the third will win $200, she added.

The first three winners of the race for people with disabilities will receive $300, $200 and $100 respectively.

The award ceremony will be held at the Amman Tourist Beach at 11:30am with special activities for all the families and participants.

Last year, Jordanian runners fared well, with Mithqal Abbadi winning the 50km category  after clocking 2h50m57s, followed by Fathi Dayyat with 2h57m09s. Ghrood Dhaimat won the women race with 4h15m22s, followed by Nahed Bawat with 4h44m52s.

BERNE –– More than one quarter of professional footballers who took part in a survey conducted by the world players' union said they suffered from depression or anxiety, FIFPro said Wednesday.

The problem was even worse among retired players with 39 per cent saying they were affected.

"Symptoms relating to depression and anxiety are highly prevalent among professional footballers," said FIFPro in a statement as it announced the findings.

"Contrary to popular belief, the life of a professional footballer has some dark sides," said FIFPro's chief medical officer Vincent Gouttebarge who conducted the research.

"Football stakeholders have a collective responsibility to remove the stigma associated with mental illness," he said. "All players, whether active or retired, can learn optimal behaviours and coping skills to manage the symptoms of mental illness."

FIFPro said that 180 active professional footballers took part in its survey.

Twenty-six per cent reported suffering from depression or anxiety and adverse nutritional behaviour, 19 per cent reported adverse alcohol behaviour, 3 per cent said they had low self-esteem and 7 per cent said they were smoking, FIFPro said. Five per cent reported "signs of burnout.”

Gouttebarge said the numbers were even higher among former players with 32 per cent of the 121 interviewed reporting adverse alcohol behaviour and 12 per cent saying they were smoking.

"Once the players stop with intensive physical activities they lose their structured life, their social support by trainers and teammates diminishes, they need to find their place in ‘regular' society, and find another occupation," said Gouttebarge.

"Consequently, they are likely to experience some mental health problems during this period.

"When it comes to any health problem, be it physical or mental, over the short or long term, the minimum standard is to raise self-awareness of players about these issues," he added. "They need to be aware of what might occur during and after their football career."

ZURICH –– Barcelona were banned by FIFA from signing any new players for next season after being found guilty on Wednesday of repeatedly breaching transfer regulations.

The heavy sanction, which covers the summer and January transfer windows, followed an investigation over the past year into the Spanish champion's signing of players under the age of 18 from 2009 to 2013.

FIFA found the signing of 10 un-named players to be in breach of its rules covering the protection of minors. A fine of 450,000 Swiss francs ($509,000) was also imposed on Barcelona, which were given 90 days "to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned."

The Spanish Football Federation was also found by the world governing body to have violated the rules covering the registration of minors and fined 500,000 Swiss francs ($565,500).

Further details of the case were not provided, but Barcelona said in February that FIFA had sent a communication instructing them not to select six players who are under 18 for their youth matches — South Korea's Lee Seung Woo, Paik Seung-Ho and Jang Gyeolhee, Theo Chendri of France, Nigerian-Dutchman Bobby Adekanye and Patrice Sousia of Cameroon.

The punishment, which prevents Barcelona from signing any players until the summer of 2015, leaves recent agreements with Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Croatian teenager Alen Halilovic to join the club in July in limbo.

Barcelona, which have not commented on the sanctions, have three working days to inform FIFA of an intention to appeal and then a further week to provide their reasons for challenging the punishment.

Premier League club Chelsea had a one-year transfer embargo imposed after being found by FIFA to have induced teenager Gael Kakuta to leave Lens, but it was overturned in 2010 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

FIFA tightened its rules on transferring minors in 2010, to help end what global players' union FIFPro described as the equivalent of "child trafficking”. FIFA sought to close loopholes which allowed clubs and agents to bring youngsters to Europe on the promise of getting a lucrative contract, only to abandon them without a job or education.

In the Barcelona case, FIFA stressed the "interest in protecting the appropriate and healthy development of a minor as a whole must prevail over purely sporting interests".

"The disciplinary committee emphasized that the protection of minors in the context of international transfers is an important social and legal issue that concerns all stakeholders in football," FIFA said in a statement. "Above all, the committee highlighted that while international transfers might, in specific cases, be favourable to a young player's sporting career, they are very likely to be contrary to the best interests of the player as a minor."

Barcelona potentially need to sign a replacement goalkeeper, with Victor Valdes out of contract at the end of the season and ruled out for seven months this week following knee surgery. Gerard Pique is in need of an assured partner in central defence with the impending retirement of Carles Puyol.

The FIFA case threatens to further damage the image of a Catalan football institution that is owned by its members and prides itself as being "more than a club". It is currently grappling with the fallout from last year's signing of the 22-year-old Neymar.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell abruptly quit in January as he fights a lawsuit alleging he misappropriated funds by hiding the real cost of Neymar's signing from Brazilian club Santos. In February, Barcelona paid 13.55 million euros (then $18.6 million) to Spanish tax authorities to cover any potential irregularities over the transfer, while maintaining their innocence of fraud charges.

PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain are on the verge of their first Champions League semifinal in 19 years. In that context, Chelsea must feel like they were in the semis yesterday.

Having won the Champions League in 2012 and the Europa League last year, Chelsea have a pedigree that PSG envies.

The Blues also have the tactical edge as well as more experience going into their quarterfinal first leg at Parc des Princes. Among the quarter-finalists, Chelsea boast the joint tightest defence while PSG has the second most prolific offence behind Real Madrid. 

The Blues won't be unsettled if PSG dominates ball possession as they proved clinical on the fast break in the 6-0 rout of Arsenal on March 22.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho led Porto and Inter Milan to Champions League glory in 2004 and 2010 respectively. PSG coach Laurent Blanc has never won it as a player or coach. When Blanc played at Barcelona in the 1996-97 season, he worked with Mourinho, who was then an assistant to coach Bobby Robson.

Mourinho portrayed his team as the underdog despite evidence to the contrary. "Of course they are favourites," Mourinho said of PSG. "The second leg is an advantage for the team that plays away, because if you go to extra time they have 30 more minutes to score one goal that counts double." 

Blanc didn't take the bait: "I won't get into that game. I'm not making any comment on what Jose said, otherwise you're going to make headlines, and that's exactly what someone wants." 

PSG players were happier to comment, but also contrasting. Midfielder Javier Pastore: "Chelsea have played in the Champions League for many seasons while it's only our second straight season. We have a good team too, but I think Chelsea are the favourite." Defender Christophe Jallet disagreed: "There's no favourite. We start on an equal footing. Then we'll see after the first leg."

PSG and Chelsea had opposing fortunes last weekend. PSG moved closer to the French league title by edging Nice 1-0 on Friday to win their ninth straight game in all competitions and extend their lead to 13 points. 

Chelsea lost ground in the English Premier League race with a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday to trail leader Liverpool by two points. Mourinho wrote off Chelsea's title chances, but the standings say a different story.

PSG must be wondering what Chelsea side it will face on Wednesday. The Blues have looked pedestrian a few times this season, losing twice to Basel in the group stage of the Champions League and losing at Stoke, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in the English Premier League. But Chelsea have also been formidable when they thrashed Schalke twice in the group stage and beat Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. 

"You have [some] players, they are fantastic in some matches, they disappear in other matches," Mourinho explained. 

Domestic form is not a reliable indicator of Chelsea's performance on the continent. In eight Champions League matches, only two ended up with a result similar to the EPL game played by the Blues a few days before.

MADRID –– Real Madrid have the perfect opportunity to make up for last season's Champions League exit at the hands of Borussia Dortmund when they meet again with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

Dortmund kept Madrid from reaching the final last season with a 4-3 aggregate victory, marked by striker Robert Lewandowski's four goals in the opening leg.

This time, Lewandowski is one of several Dortmund players out of the opening match, which will be at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where the restless home fans jeered Cristiano Ronaldo following a recent league slump.

For the first time in months, there is intense pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti following Real Madrid's recent stumbles. Madrid went from Spanish league leader to third behind Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, which ended Madrid's 31-game unbeaten run with a victory on March 23. 

Madrid followed up the clasico loss with defeat at Sevilla before rebounding with a victory over Rayo Vallecano, but Madrid's obsession with winning their 10th European Cup means the Italian coach can ill afford any slip-ups in this competition. 

"We're optimistic,” Ancelotti said. "There aren't a lot of games left and if we win all of them we win the Champions League, which is how the team is thinking. We need to worry about ourselves and stay positive."

As if he really needed it, Cristiano Ronaldo has a point to prove against Borussia Dortmund. Ronaldo was jeered at the Santiago Bernabeu in Saturday's 5-0 rout of Rayo Vallecano, with Madrid fans apparently unhappy that he did not make a pass to striker Alvaro Morata. 

"I can understand jeering when we deserve it," Ancelotti said, "but we need everyone to be on our side and to jeer Cristiano is incomprehensible." Ronaldo has scored 13 times in the competition to sit one shy of matching the record mark of 14, held by Lionel Messi (2011/12) and Jose Altafini (1962/63).

Injuries have taken their toll on Dortmund with midfielders Sven Bender (groin), Jakub Blaszczykowski (knee), Ilkay Gundogan (back problems) and defenders Marcel Schmelzer (groin) and Neven Subotic (knee) all joining Lewandowski on the sideline. 

Lewandowski has to serve a one-match ban, which will suit Madrid just fine after the Poland striker scored four times in a 4-1 victory to open their series last season. Marco Reus, who will likely lead the German club's attack, scored a hat trick in a 3-2 win over Stuttgart on Saturday, which helped the team's confidence. "It was very important for us to build up this confidence," Reus said. "Now we know that we can also come back again, even if we're two goals behind."

BARCELONA –– Barcelona head into the Champions League quarter-final showdown with La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid in their “best form of the season”, defender Dani Alves said.

The Catalan side host the first leg on Tuesday on the back of five straight wins, a run started by eliminating Manchester City from the competition and featuring a 4-3 victory at Real Madrid to boost their domestic championship hopes.

Barca trail leaders Atletico by one point with seven games to play.

“We are now in a better state than at this time last year. We have been up and down a bit in some competitions but the team is in good spirits,” Alves told a news conference on Monday.

“We are in our best form of the season and in a month everything will be decided.”

Ahead of their second-leg clash with City this month there was talk of a crisis at Barcelona. They went into the game having lost two of their previous three league matches and Alves said he was angry at the way the situation was taken out of context.

“If I look back five years ago this team was in a chaos and then 15 days ago we lost a game and it was as though it was a disaster,” he said.

“People were saying Barca had lost the league and it was now between Atletico Madrid and (Real) Madrid. Then a week later Madrid are out and it is between Atletico and Barca. It is necessary to be more objective.

“Our style is always to attack. We don’t try to be like normal teams but a side which influences kids and looks to play and win matches.

“To do that you have to take risks. We have been at the top of football now for the past five or six years but we know that if we win it is fantastic and if we lose it is a disaster.”

The three meetings between Barca and Atletico so far this season have ended in draws, two of which came in the domestic Super Cup which the Catalans won on away goals.

“There is no point looking back at the other games now [against Atletico] as they were in other competitions and at other times,” Alves said.

“We are rivals with different ways of playing, both valid and we are trying to get a good result to go into the next leg.”

Atletico striker Diego Costa, Alves said, was one player he would gladly play alongside at Barcelona.

“If I could pick one player from Atletico to have in my team it would be Diego Costa for his goals and his work,” the Brazilian said of the player with 25 La Liga goals to his name this season.

MANCHESTER –– Manchester United, comprehensively outplayed by local rivals Liverpool and Manchester City at Old Trafford recently, face an even tougher challenge when holders Bayern Munich come calling in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Languishing seventh in the Premier League after a dismal first season under manager David Moyes, United are huge underdogs to get through the two-legged quarter-final against the Bundesliga champions.

Moyes will take little comfort from results at the weekend when Bayern’s 19-match league winning streak ended in a 3-3 home draw with Hoffenheim after surrendering a 3-1 lead while United thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 in the Premier League.

United are a far cry from the team who commanded unreserved respect around Europe during Alex Ferguson’s heyday but their home form in the Champions League this season has been good, in marked contrast to their woeful Premier League record at Old Trafford.

The English champions have won their first four home matches in the competition, something they last did in the 2007, 08 campaign when they made it six out of six and went on to lift the trophy for the third time in Moscow.

But Bayern, managed by Pep Guardiola who outfoxed United in the 2009 and 2011 finals as Barcelona coach, have won their last seven Champions League away games. They also beat United on the away goals rule when the teams met at the same stage in 2010.

“We cannot allow Manchester United’s current position in the Premier League to affect our mindset for this game,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm told uefa.com.

“We will travel to Manchester in order to play attacking football and score goals. I don’t think it matters if you play the away leg first. Last year we played at home first a lot of the time and still managed to win the trophy.

“The most important thing for us will be to score goals in the away leg,” added Lahm, whose side overcame Arsenal on the basis of their away results in the last-16 this season and last.

Moyes can take heart from his team’s recovery in their last-16 tie against Olympiakos Piraeus when they won 3-0 at Old Trafford thanks to a Robin van Persie hat-trick after losing the away leg 2-0.

Van Persie will miss both games against Bayern through injury but Wayne Rooney is enjoying a prolific run, the England striker’s two goals against Villa taking his tally to five this month and 15 in the league this season.

Moyes does not see playing the first leg at home as a disadvantage.

“The way the game’s going now with counter-attacking football and a different approach by teams away from home [means it is not so important],” he said.

The tie brings together two teams who have lifted the European Cup eight times between them and they met in the 1999 final in Barcelona when United snatched an extraordinary 2-1 victory from the jaws of defeat with two stoppage-time goals.

The defeat rankled with Bayern for years but they have beaten United every time they have met since and it would be a huge surprise if the German team fail to make the semifinals.

SAO PAULO — World Cup organisers in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba held the first test event at the Arena da Baixada Stadium on Saturday, with Atletico Paranaense and J.Malucelli playing out a goalless draw in front of about 10,000 fans.

The friendly was not considered an official FIFA test event and construction work is expected to continue at full pace to try to finish the stadium in time for the World Cup in less than three months. The local World Cup organising committee said the first full test at the venue is expected to take place on May 14, a month before the tournament begins.

“It’s important that these partial tests happen and that work continues at an intense rhythm,” the local organising committee said in a statement. “This match is an important step for other tests that will take place in the future until all sectors and a full capacity can be tested.”

Only 10,000 people could attend the match because of security reasons. The stadium’s capacity will be about 41,000 during the World Cup, when the venue will host four group-stage matches: Spain-Australia on June 23, Iran-Nigeria on June 16, Honduras-Ecuador on June 20 and Algeria-Russia on June 26.

Curitiba, widely considered one of Brazil’s most advanced cities, was in danger of being excluded from the tournament earlier this year because of the delays at the Arena da Baixada. FIFA gave an ultimatum to local organisers, who had to scramble to expedite work at the last minute.

It was the first match at the stadium since it was closed for renovation in December 2011. It was supposed to be ready in 2013, but Atletico Paranaense and local officials faced difficulties financing the renovation work. Plans for a retractable roof had to be cancelled because it would not be ready in time for the World Cup.

All problems may not be solved yet. On Friday, the Parana state government watchdog group recommended a halt on public financing for the rest of the renovation work until organisers can explain alleged irregularities on the stadium’s budget.

Atletico Paranaense used its regular starters even though the team also had to play in the semifinals of the Parana state championship later on Saturday. The club is focused on the Copa Libertadores so it is using its under-23 squad in the regional tournament.

Former Brazil star striker Adriano, now with Atletico, was among the players stepping for the first time at the pitch of the Arena da Baixada.