profile/5377instablog.png.webp

Instablog9ja

NDLEA Intercepts Drgs Hidden In Clothes And Hangers In Lagos Courier Firms

dataDp/3575.jpeg

Futbol

Would 48-team Women's World Cup Be Good For The Game?

"Fifa was right." That's how president Gianni Infantino described his organisation's decision to expand the Women's World Cup from 16 teams to 32 for the 2023 tournament. Less than two years later he has announced plans for further expansion. The women's tournament is set to follow the lead of the men's World Cup and become a 48-team competition from 2031. But is Fifa right this time? BBC Sport looks at the pros and cons of an expanded Women's World Cup. The 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which featured eight new teams, threw up plenty of surprises. It was a successful tournament for African nations, with underdogs Morocco, South Africa and Nigeria - ranked 72, 54 and 40 in the world respectively - reaching the last 16. Morocco's progression came at the expense of two-time champions Germany, who went out at the group stages a year after reaching the Euro 2022 final. Zambia, ranked 81st, were the lowest-ranked team to qualify. While they suffered 5-0 losses to Japan and Spain, they finished third in their group thanks to a 3-1 win over Costa Rica, who were ranked 44 places higher. Nigeria, 40th in the rankings, lost to eventual runners-up England in a penalty shootout in the last 16. Of the 32 teams, only three failed to earn a single point - Costa Rica, Haiti and Vietnam - and only Vietnam failed to score. There were some one-sided scorelines, though, including the Netherlands firing seven past Vietnam and Norway thrashing the Philippines 6-0. Only 44 nations have played in a Women's World Cup. With the tournament expanding by 16 teams, there will be more qualifying places allocated to each of the six Fifa continental zones. That could provide an extra incentive for governments and national football associations - particularly from smaller nations who have not competed on the world stage - to invest in the women's game. US Soccer chief executive JT Batson said the expansion of the 2031 tournament - set to be held in the US - would be "incredible for growing the women's game". "One of the things we hear from folks who lead federations around the world is they view the Women's World Cup as an opportunity for them to, one, make a World Cup and, two, really go compete in a way that conceivably they wouldn't be able to on the men's side," Batson said., external "So what this would lead to in terms of spurring investment all around the world in women's and girls' soccer, we think would be incredible." England manager Sarina Wiegman said she had reservations about expanding from 24 teams to 32 for the 2023 edition. However, she changed her mind after the tournament, saying more teams "made it more competitive". "It will grow the game again in different countries because they have other opportunities to come and still have challenges to overcome," Wiegman said. "Some countries are at different stages of their development, so it will empower women in sport, women in football and women in society." From a UK perspective, more qualifying places would give the home nations a better chance of reaching a tournament on home soil in 2035. While England have established themselves as one of the world's best teams, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland have played in only one World Cup, and Wales and Northern Ireland have never qualified. Wales and Scotland lost in the play-off finals for the 2023 tournament. When it was announced that the men's World Cup would expand to 48 teams, the immediate concerns were that the competition would be diluted. The same questions have been asked of an expanded Women's World Cup and there are worries that one-sided scorelines and a gulf in quality would devalue the women's game and turn off television audiences. "There is the fear it might dilute some of the competition," said former England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley. She also highlighted player welfare and adding to an already busy football calendar as possible downsides to an expanded tournament. "There's probably also an element of will the tournament be longer? You're going to see a massive increase in games," she said. "Will there be an increase in rest periods? How is that going to affect the domestic calendar? How is that going to affect the player loading and recovery?" Qualifying for a World Cup does not guarantee that federations will fully support their women's teams, with the 2023 edition featuring a number of teams, such as Jamaica, who faced battles off the pitch and publicly criticised their federation over facilities and preparation. Bardsley said there must be a "real emphasis on developing the game" if the tournament expands to 48 teams. "There is time but it's going to have to really be prioritised and accelerated," she said. Fifa launched its Women's Football Strategy in 2018 and set a goal of having 60 million girls and women playing football across the globe by 2027. Within its objectives, Fifa aims to ensure all 211 of its members have comprehensive women's football strategies. Through its Women's Development Programme, Fifa also offers its members the opportunity to apply for and access additional resources and specialist expertise to develop women's football. "It's going to be a tall order, but if Fifa serious about this investing in the women's game now, you'll see a massive benefit by 2035," Bardsley said. For the teams who do qualify, Fifa has previously promised to match the prize money on offer at the men's World Cup for the 2027 tournament. The first time we will see a 48-team tournament is next year's men's World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US. At first, Fifa suggested a group-stage format that included 16 groups of three teams, with the top two from each group going through. But that caused controversy because the sides playing in the final group game could play out a result that enabled both to go through at the expense of the other team. After widespread criticism and a thrilling four-team group stage in Qatar at the 2022 men's World Cup, Fifa revised its plans. The 48 teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four with the top two from each - along with the eight best third-placed nations - advancing to a 32-team knockout stage. There has been no indication yet as to whether a women's tournament would follow the same format. The number of games will rise from 64 in a 32-team competition to 104 with 48 teams, which is likely to mean a longer tournament. The 2026 men's World Cup is set to last 10 days longer than in 2022.

dataDp/1032.jpeg

Worldnews

US Pauses New Student Visas: What It Means And Who It Will Affect

The Trump administration has paused new visa interviews for international students set to attend US universities. United States President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered its embassies abroad to stop scheduling new visa interview appointments for students and exchange visitors, according to an internal cable seen by news agencies on Tuesday. In the memo, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the pause is in place because the State Department plans to expand the screening of student applicants’ social media. Here is all we know about what this pause could mean. Rubio signed a cable, obtained by multiple news agencies, asking US embassies all over the world to pause new visa interviews for foreign students. The cable says: “The Department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor (F, M, J) visa applicants, and based on that review, plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants. “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity.” Most international students hold the F-1 student visa. The J-1 visa is granted to students in exchange or scholarship programmes such as the Fulbright fellowship; professors participating in exchange programmes; and interns. The M-1 visa is granted to students participating in training programmes in the US. A US official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity that the halt is temporary and does not apply to students who have already scheduled their visa interviews. It is unclear how long the halt is for. Tammy Bruce, a spokesperson for the US State Department, declined to comment on reports of the memo, but she told reporters at a regular news briefing that the US will utilise “every tool” to screen anyone who wants to enter the country. “We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that’s coming here, whether they are students or otherwise,” Bruce said on Tuesday. During the 2023-2024 academic year, the number of international students in US institutions grew to an all-time high of 1.13 million, according to the annual Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the US State Department. This number marks a 6.6 percent increase in the number of international students enrolled in US colleges and universities from the year before. According to the Open Doors report, 71.5 percent of the international students enrolled in the US between 2023 and 2024 were from Asia. India was the top source, with 331,602 students from the country enrolled in US universities. Following India was China, which sent 277,398 students to the US. In third place is South Korea, which sent 43,149 students to the US. Europe sent 90,600 students to the US, making up 8 percent of the international student population. Amid a wider standoff with Harvard, the Trump administration revoked the university’s approval for enrolling international students last week. Harvard currently has 6,800 international students who account for about 27 percent of its student population. International students make up similar proportions of the campus population at other major universities. At Yale, Northwestern University and New York University, 22 percent of the student body comes from outside the US. The number is higher at the University of Rochester, where international students constitute 30 percent of the total student body. According to the Open Doors report, NYU had 27,247 international students between 2023 and 2024, the highest of US universities. Northeastern University was in second place with 21,023 international students and Columbia University came in third with 20,321 students. It is unclear how many students hoping to join academic programmes at US universities this fall (autumn) will be affected by the pause that the State Department is instituting, per the memo. Most US universities announce admissions decisions by late March or early April. Fulbright announces their final decisions on a rolling basis between March to June. Students typically apply for their student visa after they receive their admissions decision. It takes anywhere between a few weeks to a few months for applicants to receive their visas after submitting their applications. The US State Department website says that F-1 student visas can be issued up to 365 days before the start date of the programme, but students can only enter no more than 30 days before the start date. It is unclear whether or not the pause will affect students already in the US who need their visas extended or renewed. The F-1 student visa is typically granted for a five-year period and the renewal process is the same as the application process, where applicants need to fill out an online form and schedule an interview at a US embassy outside the US. While undergraduate programmes are typically four years long, PhDs can range from three to eight years. Many PhD scholars therefore need to renew their US visa in the middle of their programme. International students finishing one degree and applying for another degree in the US, such as students graduating from a bachelor’s degree and applying for a masters, might need to renew their US visa as well. This is the Trump administration’s latest step towards cracking down on US universities, particularly international students who showed support for Palestinians in Gaza over the past year. In early March, Ranjani Srinivasan, 37, a PhD candidate in urban planning at Columbia University, had her student visa revoked by the US State Department. Her visa was valid until 2029. Speaking to Al Jazeera later in March, Srinivasan said that she was targeted for her speech and limited social media activity. On her social media, she had posted and shared content critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Additionally, she had signed several open letters supporting Palestinian rights. Srinivasan said she was never part of any organised campus group and while she was a part of pro-Palestine protests in the past, she was not present in the US in April 2024, when the campus encampments were rattling the Columbia campus. “If supporting the idea of human rights or ending a genocide is equated with supporting Hamas, then anyone in proximity to me – without me having done anything – can just be picked up and made an example of,” Srinivasan told Al Jazeera. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

profile/5377instablog.png.webp

Instablog9ja

Woman Heading To India For Fibroid Srgery Caught With 2.2kg C+caine At Lagos Airport