Russia and Qatar could lose the awards to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups

Russia and Qatar are facing the uncertainty of being host of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively. If the evidence of bribery is found in investigation then both countries will lose the opportunity to host the World Cup. However, both countries have denied wrongdoings in their bidding process.

Scala, head of Fifa’s audit and compliance committee, said that he had not seen evidence of corruption about announcing the hosts’ name. It should be known to all that seven Fifa officials were arrested at a Zurich hotel because of corruption.

The US prosecutors accused them of taking bribes which estimated at more than $150m (£100m) over a 24-year period.

Sepp Blatter, who was re-elected as the Fifa president at the Zurich meeting, said he would resign amid the corruption allegations overwhelming the organization. 

Tomas Rosicky signs a new contract with Arsenal

The Czech footballer, Tomas Rosicky, has signed a two-year deal with Arsenal. In order to sign a new contract with his present club, he has rejected big money offers from China and Russia.

The 31-year-old attacking midfielder has showed his good form in last three games where he scored two goals and played a very important role behind the victory of his team.

He had to struggle hard with injury for nearly two years and it seemed that the Czech Republic captain would be out of the Emirates Stadium.

However, he has made his place permanent in the Arsenal team recently shifting Aaron Ramsey in the starting XI and producing some vintage performances in the wins over Tottenham, AC Milan and Newcastle.

For his good performance, Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, offered him a new contract. He is delighted to extend his stay in north London.

In 2006, he moved from Borussia Dortmund in Germany to London. He has made his appearance in 109 matches and scored 19 goals, including recent goals against Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan in 28 appearances so far this season.

Dimitar Berbatov will leave Manchester United this summer

This season is perhaps going to be the last season for the Bulgarian footballer, Dimitar Berbatov, in the Manchester United football club. Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has confirmed that Berbatov will finish his relationship with his present club in the summer.

The record signing player of the Manchester United has taken this decision after not finding his place into the first-team football. Ferguson also said that it is also difficult for him to guarantee that he would be selected in the first team.

Before Manchester United going to take on Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Europa League, Ferguson revealed that he is ready to offload the striker.

His relationship with the club turned into worse after being left out of the squad against Barcelona last season.

Dimitar Berbatov moved to Old Trafford from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2008 for £30.75 million and became United’s most expensive signing player till date. His four-year contract with the club will come to an end in the summer. In his 147-appearance, he has scored 56 goals in all competitions. He became the 50^th United player to score 50 goals or more for the club.

It is thought that his contract will be increased one more year in order to avoid letting the player leave. Ferguson is afraid of the fact that the club cannot expect the heavy fee which they paid for the striker.

It is rumored that he was linked with a move to Bayern Munich during the winter transfer window, but Alex Ferguson dismissed the rumors who decided to extend his stay for another year.

Park Ji-Sung will move to Arsenal?

Rumors have been circulating around the web is that Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, is keen on signing with the South Korean skipper, Park Ji-Sung.

The reason behind his interest to bring the Monaco striker is perhaps to strengthen the attacking line up.

However, it is heard that he has almost completed his sign with a French champions Lille. But the rumor of Arsenal’s interest left him baffle and also the club where he was likely to play. The interesting thing is that Gunners boss has neither opened his mouth about it nor he even called the club.

Fans are curiously waiting to know what will be his future club. Will he move to France or London? No doubt, playing in a London football club will be very much respectable for him. If he moves to London then what will happen to his deal with Lille.

Arsene Wenger’s interest about him also surprised the fans as Park Ji-Sung didn’t have that much impressive performance with his present club. May be, Wenger found something that can help his club to play well.

There is no confusion about the skill and performance of Park Ji-Sung. Of course, he is a talented player. Let’s see what happens next.

Arsenal will face tough challenge against Manchester United

Arsenal’s travel to Manchester United is thought to be the toughest match of the season. Now, these two old rivals will face each other at the home ground of Manchester United.

Arsenal doesn’t have any good experience against their rival in the away match. In their last eight visits to United, Arsenal has lost seven and drawn one.

However, their current team seems much weaker than the past. It is yet to get someone who can successfully replace Cesc Fabregas. Samir Nasri has also changed the club and moved to Manchester City.

However, Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has been criticized for selling Cesc Fabregas. The loss of these two players made Arsenal much weaker and they failed to strengthen the squad.

However, their Wednesday's 2-1 win at Udinese will inspire them to play well against the defending champion. They should try their best to win the match and keep their hope alive to play in the Champions League.

It is obviously going to be a tough challenge for Arsenal manager to choose the players for the first eleven.

However, Manchester United will also have to depend on youth players because of the retirement of Paul Scholes and injury of some players.

Let’s see if Arsenal can play well against Manchester United.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

Samir Nasri moved to Manchester City

French international player, Samir Nasri, has recently changed his English Premier League club from Arsenal to Manchester City for a whopping amount of £25m.

According to his deal, he will play for Manchester City for the next four years. With this contract, he became City's fourth major summer signing.

Samir Nasri is happy for his transfer to Man City as he was desperately waiting to play at Eastlands.

In Man City, he can play with some big players like Sergio Aguero and David Silva. Another reason of joining in the Man City is the huge fan followers.

Samir Nasri spent very good time with Arsenal. He has improved and built up career with this football club. There is no confusion that, Man City manager is happy to have him in his team. However, the 24-year-old player will have to face a tough challenge to find his place in the first eleven.

Samir Nasri never forgot to praise his old club. He wrote on his Twitter account, “I want to thank Arsenal FC for everything this club has done for me. I will always be grateful and I wish all the best to the club.”

It is the time to see if he can continue his good form with his new club.

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BBC

Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 3-0 in a World Cup pre-qualifier

Bangladesh football team has successfully defeated the Pakistan football team by 3-0 goals at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. For Bangladesh, it was the home match of the World Cup pre-qualifier.

As rain drenched the field, both teams had to play in a soaked stadium under floodlight. Host Bangladesh was in dominant form from the beginning. Touring team, Pakistan, had to struggle hard to play in a different condition.

Bangladesh took the control of the match scoring two goals in the first half. Third goal came in the second half.

Well-known striker, Zahid Hasan Emily, scored the first goal for the country. He scored the goal in the very beginning of the 1^st minute. Zahid Hossain doubled the score for Bangladesh in the 22^nd minute. It was an awesome goal as Zahid took a powerful shot from 30 yards from goal line. Three goals could be scored in the first half if Mamun Mia's good shot from the top of the D-box was not saved by Pakistani goalkeeper Jaffar.

In 56^th minute, Rezaul Karim scored the third goal and made sure that Pakistan has no hope of making their bounce back.

Bangladesh team will travel to Pakistan to play their away match in Lahore on July 3.

Let’s see if Bangladesh can beat Pakistan in their home ground.

Steven Gerrard cannot play the last 7 EPL matches due to injury

The injury news of Steven Gerrard has come as a big blow for the English Premier League club, Liverpool. It is sure that Liverpool will have to play without their captain.

Injury has forced Steven Gerrard to be left out of the English Premier League. Due to a persistent groin injury, he cannot play the remaining matches. Club manager, Kenny Dalglish, confirmed his absence in a press conference.

England international player went under surgery to get recover from the injury in March and made his return to training. However, he cannot play the seven remaining games of the premier league.

Steven Gerrard has not played any game since his team’s 3-1 triumph over arch-rival Manchester United on March 6.

The absence of Steven Gerrard will perhaps affect the team’s performance. So, it will be difficult for them to finish in fifth position to qualify for European competition in the 2011/12 campaign. Now, Tottenham Hotspur is taking the fifth position in the EPL point table with five points more than Liverpool.

Steven Gerrard has increased the injury list with Denmark defender, Daniel Agger. Daniel Agger picked up knee tendon injury in last weekend's 2-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion.

Except them, Liverpool will not get the services of Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly. Johnson has sustained a hamstring injury in Liverpool’s loss at The Hawthorns and will stay outside of the field in a month due to his injury. Kelly picked up a hamstring problem in a 3-1 defeat to West Ham United.

Let’s see if five-time European champions can improve their position in the point table.

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CNN

Arsenal beats Blackpool by 3-1

Arsenal football club got a 3-1 victory over the host Blackpool. This victory has helped the Gunners to remain their hope alive of winning the title.

Not only they could revive their title hopes but also it helped them to decrease their point margin with leader Manchester United. Now, Arsene Wenger's men are seven points behind Manchester United. However, Manchester United has played one match more than them.

Arsenal is taking the second spot with 62 points from 31 matches while Table leader, Manchester United, has 69 points from 32 matches.

For Arsenal, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Eboue and Robin van Persie scored goals apiece. Blackpool midfielder, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, could pay back one goal to reduce the defeat margin. He scored this crucial goal in the 52^nd minute. This score came from a penalty after Lee Mason waved played on Lehmann rushed off his line to foul DJ Campbell.

The 41-year-old goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann, made his 200^th appearance for the club after coming out of retirement. It was his second debut for Arsenal that helped the North London club to get recovery from the shortage of the goalkeeper. It became possible because of the absence of regular goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, who was injured during the warm-up.

Manager, Arsene Wenger, is much concerned about the upcoming matches. His team will have to face a tough challenge against Liverpool on Sunday before taking on Manchester United in their home ground on May 1.

Barcelona Should be More Protective of Young Players

There is no doubt, Barcelona is one of the greatest clubs in world football. The Catalan side achieved many successes over the years and produced many star players. Even the current Barcelona team is arguably the best club in the world. It consists of some of today’s best players like Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa and some others.

Barcelona academy is well-known for producing great players, but in the recent years, it seems the club is not handling its academy players at the best possible means. In fact, the club could not show enough astuteness in picking up talents. Losing Cesc Fabregas was the prime example. Even recently, Arsenal signed another promising Barcelona player Jon Toral.

So, Barcelona should focus more on young player because the current stars like David Villa and Xavi may not have many years left in their football career.

Arsene Wenger Backs Kolo Toure over Drugs Test Issue

Manchester City center back Kolo Toure has recently been tested positive in a drugs test before City’s FA Cup victory over Aston Villa. Naturally, he was dropped from the squad after it the news of his failure in the drugs test was found out. Now, the Ivory Coast international is facing a maximum two-year suspension.

However, Toure’s former boss at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, has come in his support. Wenger has said all the good things about the player who spent seven seasons at Arsenal before his move to Manchester City in 2009.

Wenger’s support would definitely help him to get out of this serious problem. Actually, the matter is that he mistakenly took his wife’s diet pill without being acknowledged about the presence of illegal substance in the pill.

Wenger said, “He wants to control his weight a little bit because that's where he has some problems and he took the product of his wife. Never trust your wife! That is how he was caught.”

Terming Toure a ‘family man’, the Gunners manager also added, “He is a boy who has a clean life. He's very honest living, always at home, a family man, and I don't suspect him at all to have taken drugs to enhance his performances. I just think it is a mistake by forgetting to ask, "Can I take that?””

It seems that Kolo Toure has got into a very big problem. It is true that he has never been involved in any kind of controversy like many other footballers. Moreover, Wenger’s words of him show the kind of person Toure is and the kind of life he leads.

Considering these factors, City fans are hoping that Kolo Toure would be able to get out of this situation without having to suffer a lot.

Chelsea and Manchester City on Alert as Real Madrid to Sell Kaka

Real Madrid is reportedly ready to listen offers for their £58m Brazilian midfielder Kaka. It is believed that the former AC Milan star has already been out of favor at Santiago Bernabeu as he has been struggling for form since his move to Madrid in summer 2009.

The reports suggesting Real Madrid’s decision to offload Kaka would definitely attract the attention of English clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City who have already shown their interest to get the service of the midfielder.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is keen to get his former student back at Stamford Bridge and it seems Chelsea is lining up offer for Kaka in the summer. Manchester City, who bagged some big money deals last summer and January, is also reportedly eyeing on the player.

Kaka suffered a number of injuries since joining Real Madrid and could not get his form back yet. Naturally, the Spanish giants are no longer interested to carry the load of his huge salary.

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Tribal Football

Birmingham City Clinched Carling Cup 2011 Defeating Arsenal 2-1

Birmingham City secured the Carling Cup 2011 title after defeating favorite Arsenal 2-1 in the final at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday. With this victory, the Blues put an end to their trophy-draught era spanning 48 years. Arsenal, on the other hand, blew away their chances of winning their first title in six years.

Birmingham City took the lead in the in the 28^th minute through Serbian striker Zigic before Robin van Persie got the equalizer for the Gunners with a superb volley in the 39^th minute. The score was 1-1 at the half time.

The second half also saw Birmingham playing with attacking intent and created some good chances. However, Arsenal gradually started to dominate following a brisk start from Birmingham. The Gunners created many scoring opportunities in the second half, but it was Ben Foster who denied them on all occasions.

Towards the end of the match, Nasri’s long range shot forced Foster a superb diving save which was perhaps the highlight of the second half until substitute Obafemi Martins scored in the 89^th minute by capitalizing a misunderstanding between Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and center half Laurent Koscielny.

No doubt, Arsenal fans would be overly disappointed as their trophy-draught era has now been extended by this defeat. Well, the Gunners have three more competitions in hand and they can still taste their first silverware in half a decade this season.