NEWCASTLE: Newcastle United will not have a new main shirt sponsor for the 2022/23 season with Fun88 to remain emblazoned on the club’s new black and white strip.

The Magpies today revealed the new design of their home shirt, with the most noticeable feature, aside from the aesthetic changes, being the continued presence of Chinese firm Fun88 in the center of the new top.

It had been widely speculated United would rip up their long-standing deal with their sponsors, in order to replace it with a more lucrative pact.

However, having signed a long-term agreement with Fun88 in 2020, the company’s name, for now, will remain. The firm has been United’s main shirt sponsor since 2017.

Rumors of potential deals to bring in the likes of Aramco or Saudia, the Kingdom’s airline, as main sponsors, which would have brought increased spending power to North East England, were clearly wide of the mark.

The move has undoubtedly been greeted with disappointment on Tyneside with fans keen to see all remnants of the previous regime removed from the football club.

The Chinese firm Fun88 has been Newcastle United’s main shirt sponsor since 2017. (NUFC)

In October 2021, previous owner Mike Ashley, of Sports Direct fame, was bought out by current majority shareholders, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, with PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media taking a further 10 percent stake each.

Confirming the news, a club statement this morning read: “Newcastle United has unveiled the club’s new 2022/23 home shirt by premium sportswear brand Castore.

“Ready for a new challenge in the Premier League, players and supporters will unite once again in iconic black and white stripes while honoring the club’s 130-year history.

“Castore’s latest design combines traditional elements of the club’s memorable home kits together with modern touches, creating a classic black and white jersey that is inspired by the past and built for the future.

“All Newcastle United kits are crafted with a blend of high-stretch fabrics and cut to enhance performance, offering exceptional ease of movement on the pitch and in the stands.

“The elite ‘Pro’ edition of the shirt, which will be worn by the first team on the pitch, features Castore’s finest innovation technology with laser-cut ventilation at the underarms to keep players cool and focused during play.”

Supporters can pre-order the 2022/23 Newcastle United home shirt at shop.nufc.co.uk, the club stated.

Further sponsorship deals are in the pipeline, however, with a new sleeve sponsor likely.

Arab News understands a deal to flank the club’s Premier League shirts with Visit Botswana has been considered.

PARIS: A chain of “failures” by French authorities marred the chaotic Champions League football final in Paris on May 28, inflicting “severe damage” on the image of the country, a government report said Friday. The scenes at the Stade de France “raised questions from outside observers about our country’s ability to deliver and succeed in the major sporting events for which we will soon be responsible” said the report, as Paris prepares to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup and 2024 Olympics. But the 30-page report did not point fingers at the police or other actors in particular for the mayhem that marred the final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, emphasising the extraordinary nature of the situation The author of the report, Michel Cadot, the government’s inter-ministerial envoy for Olympics and other major sporting event preparations, wrote the triggering factor was the “uncontrolled influx of additional members of the public without tickets or with fake ones, in unprecedented proportions.” But Cadot said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin’s initial claim that as many as 40,000 Liverpool fans who massed at the stadium were to blame for the chaos should be “relativised.” The report recommended the creation of a national committee to pilot major international sporting events, similar to the one already created for the Olympics. “Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has asked the interior and sports ministers to take up the recommendations to put them in place without delay,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Jerusalem: Israeli citizens will be allowed to travel to Qatar to watch football’s 2022 World Cup, despite the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the government said. World football’s governing body “FIFA has confirmed that Israeli citizens will be able to enter Qatar during the World Cup and watch games, just like all fans around the world,” a joint statement by Israel’s defense, foreign and sports ministries said late Thursday. Israeli citizens, like other foreigners, will be permitted to obtain a visa online with proof of a ticket purchase, the statement added. “This is a diplomatic feat that fills the hearts of fans with joy,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Twitter. “The love of football and sport connects people and countries and this World Cup opens the door to new warm relationships,” he added. Israel has since September 2020 normalized relations with three Arab nations — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. It has also agreed to do so with Sudan. Those agreements, sponsored by then US president Donald Trump, broke with decades of Arab consensus that ties should only be established with Israel in the event of a peace agreement that gives the Palestinians their own state. Qatar does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. It supports Hamas — an Islamist group that controls the Palestinian enclave of Gaza — and cut commercial ties with Israel in 2009, after the first of four wars between the Jewish state and Hamas. The two countries had established commercial relations in 1996, when then Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres visited Qatar’s capital Doha. An Israeli diplomatic source told AFP on Friday that the agreement permitting Israelis to travel to the World Cup does not extend to direct flights between the two countries. Israel’s national football team will not compete in the tournament. It last qualified for the World Cup finals in 1970 and finished third in its qualifying group this time around.

Saudi Arabia continued their preparations for the World Cup with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Venezuela on Thursday, the second of two matches at their training camp in Spain. Here are five things that we learned.

1. Performance improved but more aggression needed

Coach Herve Renard, back on the sidelines after suffering from illness, knew that Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Colombia was disappointing. At this stage of the preparation, results are not the be all and end all especially against South American opposition that the players almost never face. It is about building towards November.

And while the team lost again, their performance had improved. Against Colombia, the Green Falcons seemed passive and lacked the intensity and discipline that took them to Qatar in such impressive fashion. Against Venezuela, there was more aggression and pressure.

It was the running of Firas Al-Buraikan that almost pressured the goalkeeper into a mistake just before the hour. It was the aggression of Abdullah Al-Hamdan that barged a defender off the ball and then created a one-on-one chance. Saudi Arabia fought until the end and Sultan Al-Ghannam went even closer with a shot from inside the area. In terms of threat, it was a better performance than four days earlier.

The fact that Renard was recently handed a new five-year contract has created an air of stability around the national team that has not always been there in the past. He is not simply concerned about focusing on results and ensuring that he stays in his job until the next game and then doing it all again, he is confident and comfortable enough to make experimental changes despite the earlier loss to Colombia.

A number of fringe players started. Ali Lajami came in at right-back and there was an unfamiliar center-back pairing of Ziyad Al-Sahafi and Abdulelah Al-Amri. In midfield, starters Ali Al-Hassan and Nasser Al-Dawsari have yet to reach double figures for the national team.

It was not a surprise then that it all felt a little disjointed especially early in the game but matters improved. And it is not in the short term that the benefits will be felt from giving fringe players some meaningful minutes on the pitch. This will be especially important when the World Cup comes around and there are injuries, suspensions and fatigue to contend with. The likes of Lajami and Al-Hassan will benefit as should the team.

While there have been some new faces at the back, the coach will still be concerned about the space beyond the backline that both Colombia and Venezuela made use of. The South Americans found it too easy to get behind the defense and all it took at times was a simple pass or a burst of speed. Venezuela were fast. There seemed to be too much space for the defensive midfielders to cover which gave opposition attackers plenty of options every time they got the ball on the edge of the final third.

Not just that but Venezuela were physically strong and good in the air. Defending crosses has long been a weakness for the Green Falcons and the coaching staff, as well as everyone else, knows that is going to be the kind of test that Poland and others will provide at the World Cup. In Qatar, the defenders, and the whole team, need to be quicker to second balls.

In short, Saudi Arabia need to tighten up at the back or there are going to be problems in November. They will no longer be just facing Asian opposition, and need to become harder to beat against the world’s best.

4. There are positives to note

Perhaps the best performer over the two games has been goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais. The 30-year-old has made a number of vital saves, and without him the defeats could have been heavier. It is not just the saves, but the way in which he came off his line and commanded the area, which means that he is the clear number one for the national team. He will be vital in Qatar.

At the other end, Al-Hamdan and Al-Buraikan were full of running and look like they are both trying to persuade coach Renard that each should be the starting striker at the World Cup. That is another benefit of rotation, it creates competition and the feeling among the squad that they are going to get a chance, and they have to perform when that chance comes.

There is not that much time before the World Cup starts but it is clear that there is a need for more games. It was good to hear Yasser Al-Misehal, the president of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation, say after the game that there will be six or seven more friendly matches in the coming weeks. The support coming from the federation has been impressive.

There is a FIFA window in September and there will be another training camp for Saudi Arabia. There will be more time before the World Cup kicks off. There are games arranged with Ecuador, another South American test, as well as Croatia. It will be interesting to see what kind of opposition can be organized. As many games as possible will be needed.

BOSTON: Even as he lay on the court, with 240-pound Celtics center Al Horford on top of his recently recovered left ankle, Stephen Curry knew what was wrong.

And as soon as he stood up and took a few steps, he knew he would be OK.

“I’m going to play. That’s all I know right now,” the Warriors star said on Thursday, a day before Golden State will face Boston in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

“I know exactly what it is,” said Curry, who hurt the same ankle on a similar play in a late-season game against Boston. “I guess (there’s) comfort knowing I’ve been through it before, but also you would rather not have to deal with something like that at this point in the season.”

Curry wound up at the bottom of a pile Wednesday night as players from both teams dove for a loose ball late in the fourth quarter. Teammate Draymond Green said he heard Curry scream in pain, but the Warriors star remained in the game until coach Steve Kerr sent in the bench trailing by 14 with two minutes left.

The Celtics held on to win 116-100 and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Golden State need a win on Friday night to avoid falling behind 3-1 before the series shifts back to San Francisco.

A key to them avoiding the brink of elimination: Curry not just remaining healthy, but playing like a two-time NBA MVP. The Warriors guard scored 31 points in Game 3, but just two of them came in the fourth quarter as the league-leading Celtics defense chased him around the court.

Golden State held a film session Thursday, but the team’s regulars did not practice. Curry appeared to walk without a limp when he entered the media room to talk to reporters, and he took the steps to the podium three at a time. He had no bandage or brace on his leg.

Curry said he got plenty of sleep — 10 1/2 hours — and spent some time with his foot in an ice bucket. But he said he did not need an MRI because the injury was the same as the one he sustained when Celtics guard Marcus Smart landed on his foot in a March 16 game in San Francisco.

“This one just wasn’t as bad as that one,” said Curry, who missed the last 12 games of the regular season. “As soon as you started to take a couple of steps, you kind of know whether you can run normal, cut normal or not. Back then, I couldn’t. Yesterday, I could. That gave me a little bit of confidence knowing it wasn’t as bad.”

Asked Thursday if he would be sitting out if it were a regular-season game, Curry said he couldn’t say for sure.

But for Game 4 of the NBA Finals, there’s no question.

“I know I’m going to play,” he said.

The Celtics listed center Robert Williams III as questionable on Thursday with the left knee injury that required late-season surgery and kept him out for seven of the team’s first 14 playoff games.

Boston coach Ime Udoka said forward Jayson Tatum is dealing with a right shoulder stinger.

“That’s going to flare up whenever he gets hit the wrong way,” Udoka said. “(He) had to shoot some free throws after, might be a little numb there. He is shooting threes right after, so I’m not sure it hampers his ability to finish at all.”

Golden State have outscored Boston in the third quarter of all three games so far, so a reporter asked Kerr why they can’t start the game the same way.

“I ask myself that question very often,” he said, “and I don’t have an answer.”

The Warriors have outscored the Celtics by a combined score of 106-63 in the finals. Golden State had a 33-25 edge on Wednesday night, eliminating a 12-point halftime deficit and briefly taking the lead.

Kerr joked that he has a book of “incredibly inspiring quotes” he calls on.

“I just try to pull out the right one,” he said. “And if I get them fired up and they’re excited, then they seem to play better.”

The third quarter struggles are a recurring problem for the Celtics, who had similar lapses against Miami and Milwaukee.

“It’s just one of those things where it’s a mystery,” Smart said. “We’re definitely trying to not keep that pattern going.”