Birgit Poppler of Germany maintained her lead in the women's singles qualifying round at the World Bowling Championships in Qatar after rolling an 894 series. In the men's competition, Peter Hellstrom and Martin Paulsson of Sweden took the top two spots after Hellstrom recorded a 991 series. The Soccerex Asia Forum in Doha discussed topics like the growth of women's football and the future of technology in the sport. David Dein announced that video assistant refereeing (VAR) is being tested by FIFA for reviewing game-changing incidents. The two-day forum concluded with discussions on bringing more football events to the Middle East region.

1. SPORT
11Gulf Times
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Popplerwidens
leadafterround
twoqualifying
Enhanced international
collaboration required
in major event security,
says ICSS expert
WORLD SINGLES BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS FOCUS
Swedish duo Hellstrom, Paulsson move to the top of the men’s leaderboard
Al Wakrah’s Ayeni Olatunbo (left) and Al Shamal’s Justin Tubbs in action during the Qatar Bas-
ketball League match at the Al Gharafa Sports Club yesterday. Olatunbo scored 27 points in his
team’s 78-69 victory, while Tubbs was the top-scorer in the match with 28 points.
Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan post wins in Qatar Basketball League
In the second match of the day, Al Rayyan (in black) dominated Qatar Club (in yellow) in their 121-92 victory. A collective effort on the part of Ngombo
Tanguy Alban (26 points), Abdelhaleem Abdelrahman (22 points), Marcus Bell (22 points) and others gave Rayyan the advantage in the game. James
Edward Justice Jr and Quinton Meddrick Doggett scored 44 and 32 points respectively in Qatar Club’s losing effort.
By Sports Reporter
Doha
W
ith the growing influence
of technology and the
increasing security chal-
lenges facing host and
bidding nations, a leading Safety and
Security expert from the International
Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) high-
lighted the need for enhanced interna-
tional collaboration and information
sharing at a global level between sports
and countries in major event security.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Soc-
cerex Asia Forum, having spoken on
a panel entitled ‘Preparing for Major
Event Tournaments’, Andrew Cooke,
ICSS director of Security Operations,
drew upon his 25-year experience
working in security to underline how
the growing influence of technology in
sport is resulting in the need for more
sports and countries around the world
to collaborate and share knowledge in
the field of major event security and to
ensure lessons are learnt in combatting
security issues in sport.
Speaking at the forum, Cooke said,
“At a time where technology is play-
ing an increasingly central role in our
lives and the way people consume ma-
jor sport events, there is now a very real
need for governments of host cities and
nations, as well as sporting bodies, to
better collaborate and share informa-
tion at a global level about how to ef-
fectively address the growing challeng-
es major sport events are facing around
their safety and security.
“As we have seen over the last 12
months, hosting and bidding nations
continue to face a growing number
of challenges when it comes to major
event security. These include issues
around cybersecurity, fan violence and
crowd management issues, terrorism,
crime and unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) to name just a few.
“As an organisation established to
serve and safeguard sport, the ICSS
encourages an integrated approach to
sharing knowledge and expertise in
sport safety and security. We are also
firmly committed to bringing together
knowledge and experience from all
sectors around the world and sharing
our expertise to help host cities and
nations ultimately deliver a safe and
secure event.
“At a time where major events are
looking to cut costs yet the number of
security threats are continuing to in-
crease, the need for global collabora-
tion and collective action in field of
major event security has never been
more important.”
Cooke spoke yesterday on the ‘Pre-
paring for Major Event Tournaments’
panelattheSoccerexAsiaForum,which
took place in Doha, Qatar. The two-day
forum took place on 5-6 December and
featured expert insights from the top-
level names and rights holders from
across the football industry.
Andrew Cooke, director of Security Operations at International Centre for Sport
Security speaks at Soccerex Asia in Doha yesterday.
B
irgit Poppler of Germany av-
eraged 229 for eight games
and held on to the lead after
the second round of quali-
fying in the women’s World Singles
Championships at Qatar Bowling
Center in Doha yesterday.
The 2012 European Bowling Tour
women’s point ranking leader led the
53-player field from 33 countries af-
ter the first four-game block on the 40
foot Athens lane conditioning pattern
with 938 and added 894 in the second
block, the second-best series yester-
day.
With 1832 pinfall total, Poppler
widened her lead to 74 pins out aver-
aging her nearest competitor,New Hui
Fen (left) of Singapore by more than
nine pins.
The 2016 PWBA Rookie of the Year
almost matched Poppler’s score with
893 to jump from 9th to second place
with 1758 (219.75).
Sin Li Jane of Malaysia closed her
871 set with 237 and 266 to move from
sixth to third place with 1750 (218.75).
Multiple Pan American Bowling
Confederation champion Rocio Re-
strepo of Colombia played in her own
league yesterday out averaging Pop-
pler by more than 15 pins. Restrepo
fired games of 223, 277, 243 and 212 for
955, an average of 238.75, and 1746 to-
tal.
Restrepo jumped from 24th and re-
ceived a $200 bonus for the daily high
series awarded by the Qatar Bowling
Federation.
Rounding out the top 5 was 2016
World Cup champion Jenny Wegner
of Sweden, who leaped sixth spots
with 1718 thanks to an 863 series
yesterday.
Wegner is followed by Kristie Lopez
of Puerto Rico, who slipped two spots
to sixth place with 1715. Three-time
EBT women’s point ranking leader
Britt Brondsted of Denmark leaped
one place to 8th with 1699, while Lara
Posadas, Philippines, fell one spot to
8th place with 1696.
Two-time World Champion and
World Cup champion, Clara Juliana
Guerrero (left) of Colombia and Laura
Beuthner (right) of Germany, who
were third and second after the first
round, fell to 9th and 10th place with
1692 and 1683.
With just four more qualifying
games to go, 10th place Beuthner is
175 pins above the cut line. Sandra
Gongora of Mexico holds the 32nd and
last place to advance with 1508 or an
average of 188.50.
HELLSTROM, PAULSSON TAKE
LEAD IN MEN’S SECTION
Peter Hellstrom and Martin Pauls-
son of Sweden averaged over 240 in
the second qualifying round of men’s
World Singles Championships to
move to the top of the 81-player lead-
erboard.
Starting the day in 11th place be-
hind an 895 first-round series Sunday,
Hellstrom rolled games of 223,255,279
and 234 in squad 2 yesterday morning
for the field-best 991 series, an aver-
age of 247.75,to take the lead with 1886
total and an overall average of 235.75
for eight games.
Hellstrøm also received the daily
high series award of $300, paid by the
Qatar Bowling Federation.
Paulsson, who won gold in doubles
with Mathias Arup at the 2010 Men’s
World Championships in Munich,
Germany, was just 13 pins behind his
teammate in squad 2 yesterday morn-
ing with 978, including games of 235,
277, 188 and 278 to jump from 19th to
second place with 1838 (229.75).
(BowlingDigital.com)
As the leader of first block, Germany’s Birgit Poppler (right) received a bonus from Qatar Bowling Federation on Monday.
IndiacricketcoachKumblesatisfiedwithDRS,notworriedaboutinjuries
IANS
Mumbai
A
head of the fourth Test, start-
ing here tomorrow, India coach
Anil Kumble said he is happy
with the outcomes from the Decision
Review System (DRS) so far in the
ongoing series against England.
“It (DRS) has been really good, it has
been an experiment that has been
happening in the series, but overall
players have been very satisfied with
the outcome,” said Kumble.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of score-
keeping which team has done better.
It’s a matter of whether we have got a
decision right and we have done that
in the last three Tests.”
On India’s forced shuffling of their
opening combination multiple times
in the series against England due to
injuries, Kumble said, “Yeah, that’s not
in our control. Injuries are part and
parcel of the game and unfortunately
(KL) Rahul got hit. Parthiv (Patel) came
in the last game and did a fantastic job
at the top. I am sure Rahul will have
a hit today and should be fine,” the
legendary leg-spinner added.
“For New Zealand also we had three
different opening pairs. In West Indies
too (Murali) Vijay got injured, then
Shikhar was injured against New Zea-
land, then Gautam (Gambhir) had that
freak injury in Indore but he could bat
so there is something happening with
the openers in terms of injury. Hope
that it doesn’t go on.”

2. Wednesday, December 7, 2016
GULF TIMES SPORT
Footballlookstothe
futureasSoccerex
comestoaclose
Al-Thawadi
addresses
Qatar’s
ambassadors
RayyanlooktobouncebackagainstundefeatedSadd
FOCUS SPOTLIGHT
QATAR STARS LEAGUE
‘Video Assistant Referee is being trialled by FIFA... for game changing incidents’
By Sports Reporter
Doha
T
he Soccerex Asian Forum 2016
concluded in Doha following two
days of high-level discussion and
networking between the world’s
key industry decision-makers. Ensuring
that football keeps up with the digital age
was high on the agenda on Day 2 of the
Forum with expert insight from David
Dein and representatives from La Liga.
Former Arsenal and English Football
Association chairman David Dein was
the highlight of the day, providing an
engaging presentation about the future
of football. Dein, who was instrumen-
tal in the creation of the English Premier
League, spoke about the importance of
the digital age, with premierleague.com
having grown to 15mn monthly users and
overseas followers growing stronger and
stronger.
He also spoke about the growth of the
women’s game in the UK with over 1mn
women and girls now playing football and
45,000 people watching a women’s game
at Wembley, as well as how independ-
ent time-keeping is now high on FIFA’s
schedule to ensure that referees are keep-
ing the right time.However,it was his an-
nouncement that Video Assistant Refe-
reeing (VAR) is currently being trialled by
FIFA that was the most ground-breaking
news to come out of the forum.
Dein said, “I’ve had 30 years at the top
of the game and every time I wake up in
the morning, I think how can we drive the
game forward, how can we make it bet-
ter? VAR is the next extension to goal line
technology. The Video Assistant Referee
is being trialled by FIFA and will only be
used for game changing incidents. In the
next couple of years I believe we will see
VAR being introduced which will assist
referees immensely.”
The impact of the digital age was also
stressed in a panel session focusing on
the success of La Liga’s Internationalisa-
tion. La Liga has a TV audience of 1.2bn,
the best players in the world and the most
successful clubs in Europe.
Managing director for International
Development, Vicente Casado, spoke
about the importance of having world-
wide offices to have a presence around the
world, searching for players for the future
and developing the future of the organi-
sation. He also spoke about the impor-
tance of keeping up with current trends
and explained how La Liga’s partnership
with Microsoft is crucial to this.
He said: “The fans want an experi-
ence and 90 minutes is not enough. We
need to provide a digital online experi-
ence for fans that carries on and off the
pitch. Our partnership with Microsoft is
one of the biggest things we have done for
our future. We are working to develop the
online experience for our fans and being
partnered with a worldwide known brand
like Microsoft will only make this strong-
er moving forward. Today the world is
very fast and we need to be fast and stay
up with the current trends. More traffic,
more information — the objective is to be
a global reference.”
Day 2 of the Forum also continued to
look at the growth of football in Asia and
the Middle East through a panel session
moderated by Trevor Watkins, the Glo-
bal Head of Sport at Pinsent Masons.
Presidential Candidate for the Saudi
Arabian Football Federation, Adel Ezzat,
discussed the Chinese model for foot-
ball growth, where they bring high pro-
file players to their local leagues and buy
clubs in Europe, and how this could help
football in the GCC.
He said: “This privatisation is a learn-
ing for us, in the GCC, where we have
loads of opportunities, particularly with
Qatar hosting the World Cup in 2022.
China is definitely a great place to learn
from. Saudi Council of Ministers has ap-
proved privatisation of professional foot-
ball clubs in the Kingdom and convert-
ing them into companies. The General
Authority of Sports will grant licenses to
these companies with certain terms and
conditions, which we will have to wait for
and see. The Authority will also develop
rules and regulations for the operation of
the clubs. This privatisation of clubs is
expected to increase investment available
to build stadiums and bring in foreign
transfers.”
The Forum concluded with a session
focusing on bringing football events to
the world with input from Lega Serie A
CEO Marco Brunelli, Qatar Stars League
CEO Hani Ballan and Duncan Walkin-
shaw, assistant director of Programmes
at BeIN Sports.
Discussion centred around bringing
the Italian Supercup to Doha at the end of
December and the importance of putting
Italian football on the global stage by
bringing it to different fans and audiences
to enjoy in their own countries not just on
TV. The panellists also looked at the op-
portunity for Qatar in terms of increas-
ing interest and viewership in the region
and showing Qatar’s capabilities as a host
ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Reflecting on the 2016 edition, Soc-
cerex chairman Tony Martin said, “It has
been fantastic to partner with the Supreme
Committee for Delivery and Legacy and
connect over 750 members of the football
fraternity here in Qatar this week ahead of
the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We look forward
to seeing everyone back in Qatar next De-
cember for the 2017 Asian Forum.”
Former English Football Association chairman David Dein spoke about the importance of the digital age.
Qatar Stars League CEO Hani Ballan speaks on Day Two of the forum.
S
upreme Committee for
Delivery & Legacy (SC)
secretary general Hassan
al-Thawadi was this week
invited to be the guest speaker at
a Diplomatic Salon in Doha.
Organised by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, al-Thawadi met
and addressed around just over
100 ambassadors to Qatar at the
prestigious Diplomatic Club on
Monday evening. The session
was moderated by Dr Hassan al-
Muhannadi, director of the Dip-
lomatic Institute at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.
The Diplomatic Salon is an an-
nual event held and organised by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Diplomatic Institute in which
ambassadors, directors at MoFA
and diplomats are invited. This
year an invitation was sent to the
SC’s Secretary General to present
as the guest of honour.
The event serves two explicit
purposes: first, building and
strengthening diplomatic rela-
tions internally. Second, ambas-
sadors send reports back to their
respected governments with up-
dates and comments on the event.
Showcasing the plans ahead of
the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar,
al-Thawadi addressed the gath-
ered dignitaries for almost two
hours, out-lining the vision of the
first World Cup in the Middle East
and demonstrating the progress
on promises made to date.
Six years after winning the
bid,the half-way point in Qatar’s
historic journey represented the
perfect opportunity to update
the wide range of nations cur-
rently carrying out their ambas-
sadorial duties in Doha.
Whilst taking the opportunity
to address high-profile issues
such as workers’ welfare, al-
Thawadi used the opportunity to
talk a captive audience through
legacy-based programmes such
as Generation Amazing, the
Josoor Institute, Challenge 22
and the recently-launched Be-
havioural Insights Team (BIT).
He said: “We have a deep vi-
sion for this tournament and it
was important to share this vi-
sion with people in Qatar who
I consider as friends and col-
leagues.
“We have a duty to share as
much information as we can with
our ambassadors, to ensure they
can answer the questions asked
of them in their own countries.
We have tried to build the legacy
of this tournament based on a
foundation of engagement with-
in our communities. The same
rationale applies here.”
Conducted in an atmosphere
of collaboration and openness,
many of the issues raised by the
ambassadors ranged from work-
ers’ rights, legacy plans, a desire
for continued transparency and
an appetite to acknowledge what
was being done to ensure this
truly was a World Cup for the
Middle East.
Al-Thawadi added: “For us,
this World Cup is no longer sim-
ply a sporting event. It hasn’t
been for a long time. We must
grasp the platform we have to
showcase our differences and
celebrate them – not allow them
to become a barrier. This tourna-
ment will bring people together
like no other event in history.”
(SC.qa)
SC secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi at Diplomatic Salon this week.
By Sports Reporter
Doha
C
hampions Al Rayyan take on
arch rivals Al Sadd in the Qatar
Clasico in the tenth round of
the Qatar Stars League at the
Al Sadd Stadium today.
Al Rayyan suffered their first defeat
of the season and slipped to fifth in the
table after a derby match against Al
Gharafa. The Lions will be looking to
pounce on Al Sadd in the biggest match
of the season for both teams.
Rayyan head coach Michael Laudrup
knows the importance of this game and
what it means to the players.
“It’s a different game, it’s the Clasico
and all over the world there are matches
like this. Everybody wants to see this
game and both sides want to get the
three points. It will be a game in which
small things will decide who wins be-
cause both teams are on a good level.”
Speaking about the match fitness of
Victor Caceres, Laudrup said, “He was
a very important player for us but he is
injured for this whole season and we are
sorry for him but this is part of football.
He is now back in training and we hope
he can join us later in the season. When
he comes back we need to give him time
to get him back to his best. But I think
he will be back to his best before AFC
Champions league starts in February.”
The Danish tactician expects his
players to rise to the occasion. “We are
expecting a reaction from our team af-
ter the defeat. The players really want
to win this game as last season we
played three games against Al Sadd.
Two losses and one draw so the players
really want to win this game. The way
we play now I am satisfied with it so I
will continue with the same style,” he
said at the pre-match conference yes-
terday.
Al Sadd are undefeated in the league
so far this season and are currently
third in the table. The Wolves will look
to continue their good form against
their biggest rivals Al Rayyan.
Al Sadd assistant coach Hisham Za-
hid said his team is ready for the crunch
encounter, “We are ready for all the
games and the players know the im-
portance of this game. We expect a re-
action from Al Rayyan after their loss
against Gharafa. We will continue our
preparation until the match and we
have no absences. It will be a different
atmosphere from all the other games
and we are looking forward to it.”
Speaking about his opponents, Zahid
said,“Rayyan is a good team, one of the
best in the league and even if they lose
some games they are still very strong.
We won against them last season and
we hope we can repeat that result.”
“I think El Jaish deserve to be in first
place. They get more chances because
they work hard and they are playing
much better than everyone else right
now. From our side, we will try our
best to be in the first position and chase
them. When you get points from the
top teams it gives you confidence and
motivation for the rest of the season.
And that is important if you want to
challenge for the title,” added the as-
sistant coach.
In the eight matches between the two
teams,Al Rayyan have won twice whilst
Al Sadd have won on three occasion.
The sides have also drawn on three oc-
casions.
It promises to be a high scoring affair
with 25 goals scored in the 8 games at an
average of 3.12 goals per match. Al Sadd
have scored 13 goals while Al Rayyan
have scored 12 goals.
Today’s first match will see Umm
Salal take on in-form Al Gharafa at Qa-
tar SC stadium.Both sides have enjoyed
solid starts to the season, and will be
aiming to continue their winning runs
over their potential top four rivals.
At the same time in Al Khor stadium,
Al Khor will take on Al Wakrah. Both
teams will be hoping for a big result to
relieve their relegation fears. Wakrah
are rock bottom of the QSL standings,
and are desperate for all three points
after drawing their last two games in
the league.
TODAY’S FIXTURES
4pm: Umm Salal vs Al Gharafa
4pm: Al Khor vs Al Wakrah
6:10pm: Al Rayyan vs Al Sadd
Al Rayyan head coach Michael Laudrup (centre) expects his players to rise the occasion.