Football tips

Delta Air Lines is bringing you closer to the action with a slew of new flights for college football season.

In 1961, future West German chancellor Willy Brandt declared: “The sky above the Ruhr must be blue once more.” His words were greeted with what sounded like applause but was actually his audience falling off their chairs. Because the Ruhrpott, or Ruhrgebiet, an agglomeration of industrial cities that includes Gelsenkirchen (where England will play their opening match of the European Championship this summer), Dortmund (which hosts group matches as well as a semi-final), Essen and Duisburg was a place where the chimneys of the coal, iron and steel industries poked up above the smog like candles on a giant grey birthday cake. You were more likely to slip in unicorn droppings than breathe clean air in the Ruhrpott.

Sunday day-trippers to Venice flashing their €5 entry ticket QR code to get through the turnstiles at the city’s main access points look bemused when football supporters simply show their match tickets instead. Attending a sporting event just happens to be one of the exemptions in the opaque regulations behind what locals see as an attempt to turn their town into a living museum.

The ultimate football and music experience may just be a hotel stay away. Members of Hilton's loyalty program, Hilton Honors, can now use their points to bid for tickets, and even a one-of-a-kind experience, at NFL star Travis Kelce’s upcoming Kelce Jam in Kansas City, Missouri. This year, the music festival will feature artists such as Lil Wayne, Diplo, 2 Chainz, IRIE and E-V. The event takes place on Saturday, May 18 at Azura Amphitheater in Kansas City — and Hilton reward members can bid on a a total of 5 different experiences at the festival. There are five packages available — each being offered as an auction item — with bidding starting at 200,000 points. Members will have the option to bid on this through April 25.«The Ultimate Kelce Jam Experience with Travis Kelce,» for starters, features a meet and greet, photo op, and private football toss with the NFL star. The package also includes VIP passes to the music festival, but does not include airfare or hotel accommodations.

Last June, a segment on FOX 5 Vegas calling for Super Bowl LVIII volunteers caught my attention.

Though he’s never attended a Super Bowl party, Gregory Eaton has always had plans on Super Bowl Sunday. Eaton is part of a three-member group known as the “Never Miss a Super Bowl Club" (NMSBC), a group of sports lovers who travel across the country yearly to attend the biggest night in football.

To me, a gallery or museum is a special place for self-reflection because everything is curated. It’s a safe space, somewhere to enjoy a moment of quiet and see how I’m moved by what I’m experiencing. You don’t need to necessarily understand or intellectualise what you’re seeing. A gallery can be used as a space to connect to yourself or notice your feelings about what’s happening in the world around you.

Major U.S. airlines are in their football era, celebrating the romance of Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce and superstar Taylor Swift in time for the Super Bowl.

Kuala Lumpur: The 24 contenders at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ have named the 26-strong squads they hope will steer them to glory at the continental Finals.

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia head coach Roberto Mancini has named his 26-player squad for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ , with the tournament set to kick off on January 12.

Doha: The 24 teams in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ have confirmed their respective squads for the 18th edition of Asia’s premier national team tournament with plenty of interesting narratives at play.

Kuala Lumpur: The wait is over as the Official AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Fantasy Football game is now LIVE for fans worldwide! Fans can now visit the-AFC.com or download the AFC LIVE app to play the game.

Doha: The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ is set to be a spectacular affair with the 51 matches to be played in nine state-of-the-art stadiums.

Kuala Lumpur: The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ is nearly upon us and with the excitement brewing, it’s time to take a look at one of the most eye-catching aspects of the most prestigious national competition in Asia - the kits!

Football fans arriving at Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA) for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 (12 Jan – 10 Feb) can celebrate long before kickoff courtesy of the operator and Qatar Airways. A dedicated fan zone and activations will offer an immersive experience to passengers, who can avail of a range of amenities such as shops, F&B outlets, foreign exchange services, ATMs and purchase local sim cards in the arrivals hall.

With just over two weeks to go for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™, the-AFC.com caught up with former Korea Republic captain Koo Ja-cheol to get his thoughts on the continental showpiece. The AFC Asian Cup holds a special place in the heart of the midfielder, whose five goals earned him the Golden Boot at the 2011 edition of the tournament.

The United Arab Emirates go into the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ aiming to build on their back-to-back semi-final finishes. And just as was the case in 2015 and 2019, Ali Mabkhout will carry the hopes of his nation. Not many players in Asian football have as many records to their name across club and country, domestic and continental football as 33-year-old Mabkhout, and he travels to Qatar hopeful of breaking one of the most important records of them all.

After a fine AFC Asian Cup™ 2019 campaign where he guided his nation to the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in 47 years, Chanathip Songkrasin will be keen to create more history with Thailand as the continental showpiece returns.

With just under three weeks to go to Asia’s grandest ever showpiece, passionate fans from across the globe can now share their predictions for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ by playing the Match Predictor game on the-AFC.com or the AFC LIVE app for a chance to win exclusive prizes. The game allows fans to enter their predictions for all 51 AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ matches and change their predictions up until the kick-off of each match. For each prediction, fans will accumulate points based on how accurate their predictions are in terms of the outcome of the match and the first team to score (during the Knockout Stage). Participants can get ahead in the game by using boosters to earn double points for their match predictions, as well as answering optional bonus questions to gain additional points.

Japan will head to the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ as the top ranked Asian side. The four-time AFC Asian Cup winners maintained their 17th spot in the latest FIFA World Ranking issued last Thursday.

The Asian Cup comes around every four years, but for some countries, the wait is much longer than that.