Saudi Olympic Committee Celebrates 2024 World Olympic Day

. The event took place at the Ministry of Sports Hall in the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh. - SPA
. The event took place at the Ministry of Sports Hall in the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh. - SPA
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Saudi Olympic Committee Celebrates 2024 World Olympic Day

. The event took place at the Ministry of Sports Hall in the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh. - SPA
. The event took place at the Ministry of Sports Hall in the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh. - SPA

The Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), in collaboration with the Saudi Olympic Academy, celebrated the 2024 World Olympic Day on Sunday. The celebration coincides with the founding of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on June 23 each year and is celebrated by 206 Olympic committees worldwide. The event took place at the Ministry of Sports Hall in the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh, SPA reported.
The event was attended by the SOPC Vice President, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, and the French Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ludovic Pouille, along with various sports federations, committees, and associations. It included the practice of various sports such as archery, table tennis, badminton, cycling, camel racing, judo, handball, rowing, basketball, weightlifting, lacrosse, and boccia.
Meanwhile, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi honored several Olympic and Paralympic athletes who participated in the accompanying panel discussion, as well as the participating organizations. The French ambassador expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the SOPC for inviting him to participate in the event, wishing success to all Saudi athletes who will compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.



Premier League Rejects City Request to Delay Next Season’s Games after Club World Cup

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
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Premier League Rejects City Request to Delay Next Season’s Games after Club World Cup

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)

The Premier League has rejected Manchester City's request to postpone the first two games of the 2025-26 season to help the players recover after their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the US, the club's manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday.

City and Chelsea are the two English clubs who have qualified for the expanded month-long Club World Cup set to start on June 15. The Premier League's season will begin in August.

An increasingly packed football calendar has been a concern among a growing number of players and managers. A report by global players' union FIFPRO said some players get only 12% of the year to rest.

The Premier League did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

City midfielder Rodri said in September that players could be close to strike action over the time they are required to play. A knee ligament injury has since put him out for the season.

"I don’t know if we will play more games than the treble year (2022-23)... maybe we'll play less games," Guardiola told reporters.

"The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery. Thank you so much. They don't postpone these games so that will be the moment of, oh, what do we have to do?"

He said the Club World Cup will make it even more difficult for clubs to manage player workload.