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Winning Start for Zamalek in CAF Champions League

Mohamed Shehata celebrates his goal during the match. (Zamalek club)
Mohamed Shehata celebrates his goal during the match. (Zamalek club)
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Winning Start for Zamalek in CAF Champions League

Mohamed Shehata celebrates his goal during the match. (Zamalek club)
Mohamed Shehata celebrates his goal during the match. (Zamalek club)

Egyptian club Zamalek beat Djibouti outfit AS Port 2-1 in Cairo on Friday at the start of a quest to win the CAF Champions League a sixth time.

It took the White Knights just five minutes to move ahead through a close-range shot from Mohamed Shehata and Angolan Chico Banza doubled the lead from a 37th-minute header.

Appearing in the marquee African club competition for the first time, Port halved the deficit through Mahdi Hussein Mahbi with eight minutes of regular time remaining.

There is no international standard stadium in Djibouti, a tiny Horn of Africa nation, so both legs of the first round qualifier will be staged in Cairo. The return match is on September 12.

Zamalek last won the Champions League in 2002, pipping Moroccan club Raja Casablanca 1-0 on aggregate in the two-leg final.

The closest they have come to lifting the trophy since was finishing runners-up to South African side Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016 and to domestic arch rivals Al Ahly four years later.

Meanwhile, Oussama Bentaleb netted just before half-time to give JS Saoura of Algeria a 1-0 home win over Horoya of Guinea.

Another first leg in north Africa also produced a 1-0 home victory. Abdullah Al Arfi struck the 66th-minute winner for debutants Asswehly of Libya over Zanzibari team KVZ.

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Infantino Set to Take his FIFA Re-election Campaign to Japan

FILE -FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrives to attend the opening game of the Women's U20 World Cup opening match between Poland and Argentina in Katowice, Poland, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel, File)
FILE -FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrives to attend the opening game of the Women's U20 World Cup opening match between Poland and Argentina in Katowice, Poland, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel, File)
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Infantino Set to Take his FIFA Re-election Campaign to Japan

FILE -FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrives to attend the opening game of the Women's U20 World Cup opening match between Poland and Argentina in Katowice, Poland, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel, File)
FILE -FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrives to attend the opening game of the Women's U20 World Cup opening match between Poland and Argentina in Katowice, Poland, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel, File)

Gianni Infantino's campaign for re-election as FIFA president is set to move this week to Japan and a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with the Asian Football Confederation.

This comes after Infantino apologized last week in Zurich, Switzerland, to FIFA's 37-member ruling council — which he chairs — for “mistakes” he made in assembling a now-scrapped $4.2 billion sell-off plan for the World Cup.

The council is the main decision-making body at FIFA with a global spread of officials.
The planned meeting with Asian soccer leaders is to be held in a five-star hotel in Tokyo with the media largely excluded.

Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the president of the AFC, expressed early opposition to Infantino and his plan to create a subsidiary to run the World Cup, but may have moved closer to Infantino, The Athletic has reported.

Infantino has offered to critics an open, independent review of how FIFA makes its decisions.

An Associated Press tally indicates Infantino is close to landing the simple majority of the 211 FIFA member federations he needs to win re-election in March to a fourth term. Some of the deciding votes could some from Asia.

The AFC had joined the criticism of Infantino in the wake of the proposed World Cup sell-off, but its members appear far from united. Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, has expressed support for the FIFA leader while Jordan has declared its opposition.

The FIFA Council is scheduled to meet next on Dec. 16 in Doha, Qatar.

The Associated Press count shows 87 of the 211 FIFA Member federations have indicated support for Infantino – either in individual comments or by endorsing statements of support by their regional confederations. The largest block of opposition comes from Europe.

No sitting FIFA president has lost an election since 1974. The deadline for a candidate to file against Infantino is Nov. 18.

FIFA rules state candidates must have “played an active role in association football (e.g. as a player or an official within FIFA, a confederation or an association, etc.) for two of the last five years before being proposed.” They must have “declarations of support” from at least five of the 211 members.

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PSG Takes on Barcelona in Champions League Highlight Despite French Protests

Barcelona's German coach Hans-Dieter Flick (C) talks to Barcelona's players during a training session at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on October 19, 2026, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League first round day 3 football match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and FC Barcelona. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Barcelona's German coach Hans-Dieter Flick (C) talks to Barcelona's players during a training session at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on October 19, 2026, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League first round day 3 football match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and FC Barcelona. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
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PSG Takes on Barcelona in Champions League Highlight Despite French Protests

Barcelona's German coach Hans-Dieter Flick (C) talks to Barcelona's players during a training session at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on October 19, 2026, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League first round day 3 football match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and FC Barcelona. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Barcelona's German coach Hans-Dieter Flick (C) talks to Barcelona's players during a training session at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on October 19, 2026, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League first round day 3 football match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and FC Barcelona. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

In a test for both teams and the strained French police, Paris Saint-Germain hosts Barcelona in a Champions League showcase against the backdrop of violent unrest across France.

PSG and Barcelona head the standings, though Liverpool or even surprising Stuttgart could end Tuesday on top of the table, The Associated Press reported.

The game, which will need a robust security presence, takes place in a very different context to when PSG beat Manchester City 4-2 away last week.

What began in France as protests against school conditions has expanded to include a wide range of other groups and causes. There have been violent clashes, fires and looting.

An emergency meeting with top government officials on Monday confirmed PSG-Barcelona and other soccer games in European competitions can go ahead after the possibility of calling off games and other big events was discussed.

Liverpool could go top with a win over Villarreal if PSG and Barcelona draw, or on goal difference if Andoni Iraola's team can rout its Spanish opposition. Stuttgart has won both of its games but Atletico Madrid will be sterner opposition for the German team.

Man City aims to get back on track after last week's PSG loss when it faces Greece's AEK Athens, while troubled Napoli seeks a first point against Norway's Bodø/Glimt.

Also, Roma plays Slovan Bratislava, Borussia Dortmund heads to Azerbaijan to face Sabah, Porto hosts PSV Eindhoven and Fenerbahce takes on Slavia Prague.

Sports

Swiatek Withdraws from Ningbo Open with Left Thigh Injury

Iga Swiatek of Poland receives a medical timeout in a women's singles semifinal match against her compatriot Maja Chwalinska during the 2026 Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Chinatopix Via AP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland receives a medical timeout in a women's singles semifinal match against her compatriot Maja Chwalinska during the 2026 Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Chinatopix Via AP)
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Swiatek Withdraws from Ningbo Open with Left Thigh Injury

Iga Swiatek of Poland receives a medical timeout in a women's singles semifinal match against her compatriot Maja Chwalinska during the 2026 Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Chinatopix Via AP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland receives a medical timeout in a women's singles semifinal match against her compatriot Maja Chwalinska during the 2026 Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Chinatopix Via AP)

Iga Swiatek has withdrawn from the Ningbo Open in China because of an injured left thigh, diminishing her chances of contesting the season-ending WTA Finals at Indian Wells next month.

The six-time major winner lost to eventual champion Maja Chwalinska in the semifinals at the Wuhan Open last week a nd struggled at times in that match.

“After careful consideration, I’ve decided to withdraw from the tournament,” Swiatek said in a statement posted on social media Tuesday by the Ningbo tournament.

“I’ve been experiencing an ongoing problem with my left thigh over the past weeks and I feel that giving myself the time to rest and recover is the right decision,” The Associated Press quoted her as saying.

Swiatek was one of three players in contention for the last spot in the eight-player field for the WTA Finals with Karolina Muchova and Marta Kostyuk ahead of tournaments this week.

The WTA, in a preview of the Ningbo tournament, said if Swiatek didn't reach the quarterfinals and Kostyuk doesn't reach the final here, Muchova will secure the remaining spot for the season-ending tournament at Indian Wells starting Nov. 8.