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FIFA Series 2024 Friendly Matches to Kick Off Thursday in Jeddah

File photo/Saudi flag fluttering in the Jeddah
File photo/Saudi flag fluttering in the Jeddah
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FIFA Series 2024 Friendly Matches to Kick Off Thursday in Jeddah

File photo/Saudi flag fluttering in the Jeddah
File photo/Saudi flag fluttering in the Jeddah

The friendly matches of the FIFA Series 2024 experimental project will kick off Thursday, with the Kingdom hosting for the first time two groups aligning with the ongoing FIFA international match days.
FIFA has announced its support for its member federations in organizing a set of international friendly matches, including the participation of four national teams from diverse continental federations to be taken place in a single host country.
Jeddah Governorate hosts two groups at the reserve stadium of King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sport City Stadium, scheduled from March 21 to March 26, SPA reported.
The first group includes teams from Cape Verde (Confederation of African Football), Cambodia (Asian Football Confederation), Equatorial Guinea (Confederation of African Football), and Guyana (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football). The second group will host Bermuda (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football), Brunei Darussalam (Asian Football Confederation), Guinea (Confederation of African Football), and Vanuatu (Oceania Football Confederation).
The participating teams have all arrived at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah in preparation for the kickoff on Thursday. The teams are holding their practice sessions at the training facilities of King Abdullah Sports City.
The hosting of the intercontinental championship is part of the ongoing cooperation between the Saudi and international football federations, and it contributes to enhancing FIFA's developmental plans, mainly those related to developing national teams, as well as providing more opportunities for their technical growth.
The Kingdom is hosting two groups for this project, reinforcing its status as a prime destination for global mega sports events. The Kingdom has recently been the venue for a variety of major tournaments, including the FIFA Club World Cup, the Spanish and Italian Super Cups, and the West Asian Women's Championship. It has announced it will hold the Asian Cup 2027, leading up to its bid for the FIFA World Cup 2034.

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Rafael Nadal Retired after the Davis Cup. It's a Rare Team Event in Tennis

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Rafael Nadal Retired after the Davis Cup. It's a Rare Team Event in Tennis

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Rafael Nadal wanted to play his last match before retiring in Spain, representing Spain and wearing the red uniform used by Spain's Davis Cup squad.

“The feeling to play for your country, the feeling to play for your teammates ... when you win, everybody wins; when you lose, everybody loses, no?” Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, said a day before his career ended when his nation was eliminated by the Netherlands at the annual competition. ”To share the good and bad moments is something different than (we have on a) daily basis (in) ... a very individual sport."

The men's Davis Cup, which concludes Sunday in this seaside city in southern Spain, and the women's Billie Jean King Cup, which wrapped up Wednesday with Italy as its champion, give tennis players a rare taste of what professional athletes in soccer, football, basketball, baseball, hockey and more are so used to, The AP reported.

Sharing a common goal, seeking and offering support, celebrating — or commiserating — as a group.

“We don’t get to represent our country a lot, and when we do, we want to make them proud at that moment,” said Alexei Popyrin, a member of the Australian roster that will go up against No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner and defending champion Italy in the semifinals Saturday after getting past the United States on Thursday. “For us, it’s a really big deal. Growing up, it was something that was instilled in us. We would watch Davis Cup all the time on the TV at home, and we would just dream of playing for it. For us, it’s one of the priorities.”

Some players say they feel an on-court boost in team competitions, more of which have been popping up in recent years, including the Laver Cup, the United Cup and the ATP Cup.

“You're not just playing for yourself,” said 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, part of Britain's BJK Cup team in Malaga. “You’re playing for everyone.”

There are benefits to being part of a team, of course, such as the off-court camaraderie: Two-time major finalist Jasmine Paolini said Italy's players engaged in serious games of UNO after dinner throughout the Billie Jean King Cup.

There also can be an obvious shared joy, as seen in the big smiles and warm hug shared by Sinner and Matteo Berrettini when they finished off a doubles victory together to complete a comeback win against Argentina on Thursday.

“Maybe because we’re tired of playing by ourselves — just for ourselves — and when we have these chances, it’s always nice,” Berrettini said.

On a purely practical level, this format gives someone a chance to remain in an event after losing a match, something that is rare in the usual sort of win-and-advance, lose-and-go-home tournament.

So even though Wimbledon semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti came up short against Francisco Cerúndolo in Italy's opener against Argentina, he could cheer as Sinner went 2-0 to overturn the deficit by winning the day's second singles match and pairing with Berrettini to keep their country in the draw.

“The last part of the year is always very tough,” Sinner said. “It's nice to have teammates to push you through.”

The flip side?

There can be an extra sense of pressure to not let down the players wearing your uniform — or the country whose anthem is played at the start of each session, unlike in tournaments year-round.

Also, it can be difficult to be sitting courtside and pulling for your nation without being able to alter the outcome.

“It’s definitely nerve-racking. ... I fully just bit all my fingernails off during the match," US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz said about what it was like to watch teammate Ben Shelton lose in a 16-14 third-set tiebreaker against Australia before getting on court himself. "I get way more nervous watching team events, and my friends play, than (when it’s) me, myself, playing.”