#afc-approval

#afc-approval

"The visa bond program functions, in essence, like a security deposit that's layered on top of the standard visa process. It applies to visitors applying for a B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourism) visa..."

Nestory Irankunda netted twice amid a four-goal, 17-minute explosion that saw his side run out 5-1 victors over Curacao, marking his first goal with a Jackson-inspired celebration.

The FRMF welcomes the decision, which reaffirms the primacy of competition regulations and reinforces the conditions necessary for the proper conduct of international tournaments, the federation said in a statement on Thursday.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held the draw on Wednesday to determine the quarterfinal pairings, a day after announcing that the western zone playoffs that were postponed because of the war in the Middle East have been rescheduled for April 13-14 in Jeddah.

Record nine-time Women's Asian Cup champions China face host nation Australia in the first semifinal of the 2026 tournament. China are also this edition's defending champions, having won the last title in India in 2022.

Hosts Australia continue their campaign aiming to reclaim the Asian Cup crown they last won in 2010. After beating Philippines and Iran, a draw against South Korea saw them finish their group stage campaign.

For millions of soccer fans, buying World Cup tickets has been an ordeal. My friends and I had signed up for updates from soccer's governing body, FIFA, and their emails about how to buy tickets felt a bit like receiving the fine print of an insurance policy in monthly digests. First there was a presale—but it was sponsored by Visa and only for people with Visa cards, and it was a lottery.

Fifa fined the NFF 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,270; 950) after determining that the federation had failed to ensure proper "order and security", particularly following the "throwing of objects" by spectators during the game. The incident was deemed a violation under Article 17.2.b and Article 17 of the Fifa disciplinary code.

Corners and second yellow cards will be added to the scope of the video assistant referee (VAR) for this summer's World Cup. Other rule changes for the 2026 World Cup will include new rules in place to cut down on time wasting by teams to ensure games flow more quickly. This will be achieved by countdowns on goal kicks, throw-ins, and substitutions, which have so often been taken slowly by teams if they're protecting a narrow lead late in games.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the laws of football, said it will consult about mouth-covering, after Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni was alleged to have racially abused Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League match last week while his mouth was covered by his shirt.

This will be the 21st edition of the quadrennial tournament, which is the biggest international women's football competition for nations in the Asian Football Confederation. The tournament will begin on Sunday, 1 March with a group stage consisting of three groups of four teams. Members of the same group will face each other in a round-robin format until they have played three matches each.

Cynics may say it is no coincidence the J.League has introduced penalty shootouts to replace draws just before the World Cup. Japan have identified the quarter-finals as the target this summer after failing to progress past the last 16 on three of the past four occasions, with two of those disappointments coming after failures from the spot. The 2022 tournament was the worst, with the Samurai Blue, who should have seen off Croatia during normal time, losing the shootout 3-1 in dismal fashion.

Several presidents of African football federations have told the Guardian they were not informed of the decision until it was surprisingly announced by the Caf president, Patrice Motsepe, on 20 December, prompting claims that the confederation breached its statutes by failing to seek approval at a general assembly. That is based on a contention that major changes to competition formats must be ratified by the 54 member associations, although that has been disputed by senior sources at Caf.

It is extremely regrettable that the match against Aberdeen was postponed, particularly at such a late stage. While we understand the decision, clearly we sympathise with our supporters, many of whom had begun making their journeys or had arrived in Aberdeen already. We have raised the matter with the SPFL, to understand whether the SPFL pitch inspection protocol was followed correctly. In our view, there must be the ability to make earlier decisions on matches.

"A lot of things have to fall in place before I think we're ready to expand," says Larman. "But certainly the dream is to get to a larger number of clubs. "The success of the league will depend on strength of the clubs - so all have strong community links or ingrained community involvement. "That's going to be key for them to have financial success, with big portfolios of commercial partners and a strong team off the pitch which is then generating a lot of money to invest in the first team and youth programmes."

The Football Association bases the ball numbers for each FA Cup draw primarily on the tie numbers from the previous round. For example, the first two teams drawn out of the hat in the third-round draw will be tie number one. The winner of that game will subsequently be ball number one in the fourth-round draw. Wolves, who progressed with a 6-1 win against Shrewsbury, will be ball number one in this season's fourth-round draw as they were involved in tie number one.