1.
Sharjah
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Sharjah is the third largest and third most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula, Sharjah is the capital of the emirate of Sharjah. Sharjah has been ruled by the Al Qasimi dynasty since the 18th century, the city is a centre for culture and industry, and alone contributes 7. 4% of the GDP of the United Arab Emirates. The city covers an area of 235 km² and has a population of over 800,000. This has helped Sharjah increase the number of Islamic tourists who visit the country, Sharjah has been officially named as a WHO healthy city. The 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Sharjah as the 68th best city in the world to be a university student. Sharjah is regarded as the capital of the UAE, and was the Islamic culture capital in 2014 Sharjah is the third largest city in the United Arab Emirates after Dubai. The palace of the ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi is located about 20 kilometres southeast of the city, the city of Sharjah overlooks the Persian Gulf and has a population of over 800,000. Distinctive landmarks include two major covered souks, reflecting Islamic design, and a number of areas and public parks such as Al Montazah Fun Park. The city is notable for its numerous elegant mosques. After the construction boom took place in Dubai in 2005, towering skyscrapers and modern buildings were constructed in areas like Al Khan. These modern tall buildings and the subsequent increase in population coupled with inadequate infrastructure made Sharjah suffer from traffic jams and this was also due to its location between the northeastern emirates and Dubai. Many Sharjah residents travel 15 km to visit Dubai on the weekend, Sharjah is bordered by the cities of Dubai and Ajmān and is about 170 km away from the capital city Abu Dhabi. In the early 18th century, the Qawasim clan established itself in Sharjah, on 8 January 1820, Sheikh Sultan I signed the General Maritime Treaty with Britain, accepting a protectorate to keep the Ottoman Turks out. Like four of its neighbours, Ajman, Dubai, Ras al-Khaimah, on 2 December 1971, Sharjah, together with Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Umm Al Qawain and Fujairah joined in the Act of Union to form the United Arab Emirates. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the UAE on 10 February 1972, many of these items feature subjects unrelated to the emirates whose names they bear, and therefore many popular catalogues do not list them. Other researchers link the word Sharqah to the fact that the city is located to the Sharq, or east, of Dubai, hence the Arabic classical form of Sharjah is Al Shareqah. It is the form that is Al Sharjah
2.
United Arab Emirates
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In 2013, the UAEs population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates. The country is a federation of seven emirates, and was established on 2 December 1971, the constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by a monarch, together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates, Islam is the official religion of the UAE and Arabic is the official language. The UAEs oil reserves are the seventh-largest in the world while its natural gas reserves are the worlds seventeenth-largest, Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first President of the UAE, oversaw the development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into healthcare, education and infrastructure. The UAEs economy is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, while its most populous city of Dubai is an important global city, nevertheless, the country remains principally reliant on its export of petroleum and natural gas. The UAE is criticised for its rights record, including the specific interpretations of Sharia used in its legal system. The UAEs rising international profile has led analysts to identify it as a regional. It appears the land of the Emirates has been occupied for thousands of years, there is no proof of contact with the outside world at that stage, although in time it developed with civilisations in Mesopotamia and Iran. This contact persisted and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, in ancient times, Al Hasa was part of Al Bahreyn and adjoined Greater Oman. Sassanid groups were present on the Batinah coast, in 637, Julfar was an important port that was used as a staging post for the Islamic invasion of the Sassanian Empire. The area of the Al Ain/Buraimi Oasis was known as Tuam and was an important trading post for camel routes between the coast and the Arabian interior. The earliest Christian site in the UAE was first discovered in the 1990s, a monastic complex on what is now known as Sir Bani Yas Island. Thought to be Nestorian and built in 600 AD, the church appears to have been abandoned peacefully in 750 AD and it forms a rare physical link to a legacy of Christianity which is thought to have spread across the peninsula from 50 to 350 AD following trade routes. Certainly, by the 5th century, Oman had a bishop named John – the last bishop of Oman being Etienne, in 676 AD. This led to a group of travelling to Medina, converting to Islam and subsequently driving a successful uprising against the unpopular Sassanids. Following the death of Prophet Muhammad, the new Islamic communities south of the Persian Gulf threatened to disintegrate, with insurrections against the Muslim leaders. The Caliph Abu Bakr sent an army from the capital Medina which completed its reconquest of the territory with the battle of Dibba in which 10,000 lives are thought to have been lost
3.
Forward (association football)
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Forwards are the players on an association football team who play nearest to the opposing teams goal, and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals. Their advanced position and limited defensive responsibilities mean forwards normally score more goals on behalf of their team than other players, modern team formations generally include one to three forwards, for example, the common 4–2–3–1 formation includes one forward. Unconventional formations may include more than three forwards, or none, the centre-forward is often a tall player, typically known as a target man, whose main function is to score the majority of goals on behalf of the team. Most modern centre-forwards operate in front of the strikers or central attacking midfielders. The present role of centre-forward is sometimes interchangeable with that of an attacking midfielder, a centre-forward usually must be strong, to win key headers and outmuscle defenders. The term centre-forward is taken from the football playing formation in which there were five forward players. The number would become synonymous with the centre-forward position. Strikers are known for their ability to peel off defenders and to run into space via the side of the defender and to receive the ball in a good goalscoring position. They are typically fast players with ball control and dribbling abilities. More agile strikers like Michael Owen have an advantage over taller defenders due to their short burst speed, a good striker should be able to shoot confidently with either foot, possess great power and accuracy, and have the ability to pass the ball under pressure in breakaway situations. Deep-lying forwards have a history in the game, but the terminology to describe their playing activity has varied over the years. Originally such players were termed inside forwards, creative or deep-lying centre-forwards, in fact, a coined term, the nine-and-a-half, has been an attempt to become a standard in defining the position. In Italy, this role is known as a rifinitore or seconda punta, whereas in Brazil, it is known as segundo atacante. An outside forward plays as the forward on the right or left wing – as an outside right or outside left. As football tactics have largely developed, and wingers have dropped back to become midfielders, many commentators and football analysts still refer to the wing positions as outside right and outside left. However, in the British game they are counted as part of the midfield. It is a duty to beat opposing full-backs, deliver cut-backs or crosses from wide positions and, to a lesser extent, to beat defenders. They are usually some of the quickest players in the team, in their Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese usage, the defensive duties of the winger have been usually confined to pressing the opposition fullbacks when they have the ball
4.
Iran national football team
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The National football team of Iran, also known as Team Melli, represents Iran in international football competitions and is governed by the Iran Football Federation. The national football team of Iran, known as Team Melli, ranks 1st in Asia, Iran is one of the most successful national teams in Asia with three Asian Cup championships. Iran has qualified for the World Cup four times but has never advanced past the group stage, Irans only win in the World Cup has been a 2–1 victory against the United States in 1998. The Iranian Football Federation was founded in 1920, in 1926 Tehran XI traveled across the border to Baku, USSR, this was the first away football match for an Iranian team. This Tehran Select team is the predecessor of Irans national football team. The first match that Team Melli played was on 23 August 1941, away at Kabul in a 1–0 win against British India, while Irans first FIFA international match was on 25 August 1941, away at Afghanistan. Iran won the Asian Cup three consecutive times, to which the team has not been able to add since, Iran lost two of three group stage matches against the Netherlands and Peru. After the 1979 Revolution, football was somewhat neglected and cast aside, during the 1980s, the Iranian national team did not feature in World Cup competitions due to the Iran–Iraq War and domestic football suffered the inevitable effects of conflict. The national team withdrew from the Asian qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup, the war and political upheavals left Iran without major club competitions until 1989 when the Qods League was established. A year later, the Qods League was renamed the Azadegan League, both games finished undecided, but Iran managed to qualify due to the away goals rule. Iran held Australia to a 1–1 draw at home, and a 2–2 draw in Melbourne, however, since Iran had scored more away goals, they were able to qualify for the Cup. At their first game of the Group F at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Iran played well against Yugoslavia, losing narrowly 1–0, only to a free kick goal by Siniša Mihajlović. Iran recorded their first World Cup victory in the game, beating the United States 2–1, with Hamid Estili. The Iran vs USA World Cup match was preheated with much excitement because of each countrys political stance after the Iranian revolution and the Iran hostage crisis. However, in an act of defiance against all forms of hatred or politics in sports, following defeat against Iran, the United States was eliminated from the World Cup. Iran played against Germany in the third game, the goals were scored by Oliver Bierhoff and Jürgen Klinsmann. The one win and two losses meant Iran came third in the group standing and failed to make it to the next round. Iran finished first in the stage of the tournament
5.
Iraq national football team
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The Iraq national football team (Arabic, المنتخب العراقي لكرة القدم represents Iraq in international football. It is known by its fans as Usood Al-Rafidain which means Lions of Mesopotamia. Iraq is one of the most successful teams in the AFC, winning the AFC Asian Cup once, winning the medal at the Asian Games once. Iraq has participated in the FIFA World Cup once and in the FIFA Confederations Cup once, the team has been ranked as high as 39th in the FIFA World Rankings, which they achieved in October 2004. The current manager of the team is Radhi Shenaishil, who led Iraq to a fourth-place finish at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. As early as 1923, an Iraqi team known as Baghdad XI, controlled by the Baghdad Football Association, the Baghdad FA soon disbanded though, and it wasnt until 8 October 1948 that the Iraq Football Association was founded. The Iraq FA joined FIFA in 1950 and on 2 May 1951, Iraq played their first match and this was not a FIFA A international game though. Iraq were eventually knocked out in the stage of that tournament. In 1962, Iraq appointed their first foreign manager, Romanian coach Cornel Drăgușin, Iraq won their first trophy in 1964 when they hosted and won the Arab Nations Cup, winning three and drawing one of their four games. The next year, they participated in the Pan Arab Games for the second time, the following year, they lost the final of the 1966 Tripoli Fair Tournament to Morocco, but also retained their Arab Nations Cup title that year, beating Syria 2–1 in the final. In 1967, Iraq claimed the Tripoli Fair Tournament title with two wins and one draw, and two later they finished fifth at the Jaam-e-Doosti Cup, hosted in Iran. In 1972, Iraq hosted, and reached the final of and that year, Iraq also played at their first ever AFC Asian Cup but failed to win a game in the tournament. In March 1973, Iraq played their first ever FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign and they finished second in their group, a point behind Australia, therefore failing to qualify for the next round. The 1976 Asian Cup would be the last Asian Cup that Iraq appeared in for the next 20 years, the 1980s was arguably Iraqs most successful period in their history. They started the decade off disappointingly, being knocked out in the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification first round of qualifiers for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, after all this success, Iraq topped it off by qualifying for the 1986 FIFA World Cup with a win over Syria. This was the first and last time to date that Iraq have achieved this, Iraqs only goal in the tournament was scored by Ahmed Radhi, the second-highest goalscorer in Iraqs history with 62 goals, behind Hussein Saeed who scored 78 goals. Overall, Iraq won nine competitions in the 1980s and played in their only ever World Cup, however, things werent as great off the pitch as they were on it. In the 1992 Jordan International Tournament, Iraq recorded their biggest ever win, Iraq reached the final of the tournament but lost 2–0 to Jordan
6.
Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics
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The association football tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics started on July 29 and ended on August 11. It featured only a mens tournament, as football had yet to become an Olympic event. It was the first Olympic football competition in which professionals were allowed, until then, the amateur-only rule had heavily favored socialist countries from Eastern Europe whose players were professionals in all but name. However, as agreed with FIFA to preserve the primacy of the World Cup, until 2014 this remained the record attendance for a football game in the United States. The Rose Bowl attendance would remain the Olympic record until 104,098 attended the Gold Medal game of the 2000 Summer Olympics between Cameroon and Spain at the Stadium Australia in Sydney, sixteen teams qualified for the Olympic tournament after continental qualifying rounds. Three Warsaw Pact countries had qualified but withdrew as part of the Soviet-led boycott and they were replaced as follows, East Germany won UEFA Group 2. They were replaced by Norway, who came third, second-place Poland were also boycotting and they were replaced by West Germany, second in Group 4. Hungary and Bulgaria, second and third in Group 1, were also boycotting and they were replaced by Italy, third in UEFA Group 3. Note, As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in time are counted as wins and losses. With five goals, Daniel Xuereb of France, Borislav Cvetković, in total,84 goals were scored by 52 different players, with none of them credited as own goal. The following twelve players were sent off and suspended during the tournament, Olympic Football Tournament Los Angeles 1984
7.
Thailand national football team
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The Thailand national football team represents Thailand in international mens association football. With five ASEAN Football Championship titles and nine senior-level Southeast Asian Games titles, Thailand also won third place in the 1972 Asian Cup, competed twice in the Summer Olympics and won fourth place twice in the 1990 and 1998 Asian Games. The team was founded in 1915 as the Siam national football team, on 25 April 1916, King Vajiravudh established the Football Association of Siam. The team played its first international match in 1930 against the Indochina national team, both the Siam team and its governing association were renamed in 1949 when Siam became Thailand. Thailand appeared in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, where they lost to Great Britain by a score of 0–9, in 1965, Thailand won the first place in the Southeast Asian Games for the first time. The team made another appearance at the Summer Olympics in 1968, losing to Bulgaria 0–7, Guatemala 1–4 and this was Thailands latest appearance in the Olympics. Thailand hosted the 1972 AFC Asian Cup and went on to place after defeating Cambodia 5–3 on penalties after a 2–2 draw in the third-place game. Thailand has qualified for the tournament a total of six times, the team won the first of its 13 Kings Cup trophies in 1976, sharing the title with Malaysia after a 1–1 draw in the final match. 1992 featured one of Thailands signature victories, Thailand would later defeat Bangladesh 1–0, winning the group and therefore qualifying for the 1992 AFC Asian Cup. The War Elephants would put on a performance at the tournament, drawing with eventual 3rd place China. In 1994, team manager Thawatchai Sartjakul assembled a team that has been renounced as Dream team with key players Kiatisuk Zico Senamuang, Tawan Sripan, in 1996, Thailand defeated Malaysia 1–0 to win the ASEAN Football Championship for the first time. Thailand were favourites to regain the crown in 2007,2008 and 2012 only to lose tight finals to Singapore, Thailand football team has competed three times in the Asian Games, making the semifinals in 1990,1998 and 2002. The 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007, for the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The regional 1998 ASEAN Football Championship tournament was perhaps most infamous in respect to Thailand football history, in what was supposedly a sporting event, the group stage match between Thailand and Indonesia was marred with an unsportsmanlike attempt. At the time teams had already qualified for semi-finals, but with knowledge that winners would have to face hosts Vietnam. There was also technical incentive that facing Vietnam would mean moving training bases from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi – which none of the teams wished to do, the first half saw very little action as both teams barely making attempt to score. During the second half both teams managed to score, partly thanks to half-hearted defending, resulting in a 2–2 tie after 90 minutes. However the real infamy didnt take place until extra time, in which an Indonesian defender deliberately kicked the ball into his own goal with a Thai attacker running towards the ball, FIFA fined both teams $40,000 for violating the spirit of the game
8.
Qatar national football team
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The Qatar national football team is the national team of Qatar and is overseen by the Qatar Football Association. The team has appeared in nine Asian Cup tournaments and Qatar also hosted the 2011 Asian Cup and they play their home games at Khalifa International Stadium and Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. The latter is the stadium for the team. By 1948, expatriate oil workers played the first official match in Qatar. The Qatar Football Association was formed in 1960, and the QFA joined FIFA in 1970, the plans came to fruition and in March 1970 the Gulf Cup of Nations was inaugurated. The Qatar national team played its first official match on March 27,1970 against hosts Bahrain, in the next edition of the Gulf Cup in 1972, Qatar was again relegated to last place after suffering 3 straight defeats. The next tournament in 1974 proved to be somewhat of a break-through for the Qataris as they achieved their first triumph in international football with a 4–0 victory over Oman. The Qataris lost out to Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals, the first time they entered the qualifying stages for the AFC Asian Cup was in 1975. They were not successful in qualifying for the 1976 AFC Asian Cup, with Iraq, despite this setback, Qatar finished in 3rd place in the 4th Gulf Cup as the host nation the next year. The national team played its first FIFA World Cup qualifying match in 1977, Qatar was set to play UAE on 11 March 1977, but the last minute withdrawal of the UAE from the competition merely postponed Qatars debut until two days later when Bahrain were defeated 2–0 in Doha. Their Asian Cup debut came in 1980 under legendary head coach Evaristo de Macedo and they had qualified for the tournament after topping a relatively easy group composing of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Their showing in the tournament was unimpressive, making an early exit from the group stages with two defeats, one draw and one win. Qatar narrowly lost to Iraq in the finals of the 1984 Gulf Cup of Nations, nonetheless they were named runners-up and they failed to make it out of the preliminary stages of the 1982 and 1986 World Cup qualifying rounds. However, the qualified for both the 1984 and 1988 editions of the Asian Cup. They fell short of qualifying for the semi-finals of the 1984 tournament and they also missed out on a semi-final place in 1988, however, they notably defeated Japan by a score of 3–0. Qatar arguably reached its peak in the 1990s, attaining its highest-ever FIFA rating in August 1993, Qatar started off with an emphatic qualifying campaign for the 1990 World Cup, finishing at the top of their group. They were denied a spot in the World Cup after finishing below UAE, in 1990, the national team once again finished runners-up in the Gulf Cup as Kuwait won the final two matches of the tournament. Two years later, they won the competition on home soil for the first time under the leadership of Sebastião Lapola and they were also named runners-up in the 1996 Gulf Cup
9.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
10.
India national football team
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The India national football team represents India in international football and is controlled by the All India Football Federation. Under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and governed in Asia by the AFC, the team, which was once considered one of the best teams in Asia, had its golden era during the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim, India won gold during the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games, while finishing fourth during the 1956 Summer Olympics. India have never participated in the FIFA World Cup, though the team did qualify for the World Cup in 1950 after all the nations in their qualification group withdrew. However, India themselves withdrew prior to the tournament beginning, the team has also appeared three times in the Asias top football competition, the AFC Asian Cup. Their best result in the tournament occurred in 1964 when the team finished as runners-up. India also participate in the SAFF Championship, the top football competition in South Asia. They have won the tournament six times since the tournament began in 1993, despite India not reaching the same heights since their golden era, the team has seen a steady resurgence since the beginning of the twenty-first century. The Challenge Cup victory allowed India to once again qualify for the Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years, Football teams consisting of entirely Indian players started to tour Australia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand during the late 1930s. After the success of several Indian football clubs abroad, the All India Football Federation was formed in 1937, the national team played their first match as an independent nation in 1948 in the first round of the 1948 Summer Olympics against France. Using mainly barefooted players, India were defeated 2–1 in London, in 1950, India managed to qualify for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in Brazil. This was due to all their opponents during qualifying withdrawing from the pre-tournament qualifiers, however, India themselves withdrew from the World Cup before the tournament was to begin. The All India Football Federation gave various reasons for the withdrawal, including travel costs, lack of practice time. Despite the reason given out from the AIFF, many historians, since then, India has not come close to qualifying for another World Cup. Despite not participating in the World Cup in 1950, the years after. India, coached by Hyderabad City Police head coach Syed Abdul Rahim, in March 1951, Rahim lead India to their first ever triumph during the 1951 Asian Games. Hosted in India, the team defeated Iran 1–0 in the medal match to gain their first trophy. Sahu Mewalal scored the goal for India in that match
11.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
12.
Pakistan national football team
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Pakistans home ground is Punjab Stadium, Lahore, and the current team manager is Mohammad Al-Shamlan. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 1948 joining the Asian Football Confederation, Pakistans national team debuted in 1950. Pakistan contest the South Asian Football Federation Championship and South Asian Games, Pakistan won the Colombo Cup in 1952, jointly with India. Pakistan have never won the SAFF South Asian Football Championship – their best performances being semi-final appearances at the 1997 and 2005 Championships, Pakistan lost their first international 5–1 away to Iran on 6 January 1950. Two years later entered the Colombo Cup in Ceylon, and were held to a goalless draw in the first match against India. They then beat hosts Ceylon 2–0 and a 1–0 win in their match against Burma made them joint champions with India. Pakistan then hosted Iran in April and drew 0–0, the following year Pakistan were runners-up in the Colombo Cup, having achieved a 6–0 win against Ceylon in Rangoon. In 1954, after again becoming runners up in the Colombo Cup, Pakistan defeated Singapore 6–2 in the Asian Games, in the final edition of the Colombo Cup, the team came second for the third year in a row to India. Pakistan failed to progress in the 1958 Asian Games after being defeated by Chinese Taipei 3–1, in 1959, they failed to qualify for the Asian Cup, after a 4–1 loss by Iran, 1–0 defeat to India and 2–0 loss to Israel. Several months later, the Green Shirts travelled to Malaya for the Merdeka Cup and they started by beating Thailand 7–0, which still shares the Pakistani record. It was followed by a 1–0 loss to the hosts Malaya, then a 3–1 victory over Japan, Pakistan returned to the Merdeka Cup two years later and this time reached the final against Indonesia, but succumbed to 2–1 defeat. It was three years before Pakistan played another competitive fixture, when played in the first RDC Cup. In 1967, they played a series of friendlies against Saudi Arabia, later in the year Pakistan lost their Asian Cup qualifiers against Burma and Khmer and drew their final match against India. They then hosted the second RDC Cup and finished third, which included the 4–7 defeat to Turkey, in 1969, they travelled to Iran to take part in friendly tournament, in which they had a 2–1 win against Iraq and a record 9–1 defeat by Iran. As a result of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, East Pakistan became The Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, in the early 1970s the national sides participation was restricted to the RDC Cup and the 1974 Asian Games, and a single friendly against South Korea in 1978. The most notable result in this period was a 2–2 draw against Turkey and they also lost 8–0 to Kenya in Riyadh Saudi Arabias Arabi tournament In the Kings Cup in 1982, Pakistan secured a goalless draw against Indonesia, the teams first clean sheet since 1962. After a loss to Thailand, they gained a 3–2 victory versus Malaysia and although they lost a game against China. Pakistan hosted a tournament involving Iran, Bangladesh, Oman
Iraq
Bahrain
Kuwait
Qatar
Oman
Nepal
Sri Lanka
India
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
Thailand
Japan
North Yemen
Jordan
China PR
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Sweden
Bulgaria
Bangladesh
Myanmar
Uzbekistan
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