Pele's World Cup jersey fetches $4.9 million at US auction

New York: A jersey worn by soccer giant Pele in the first World Cup final ever won by Brazil sold for $4.9 million at a US auction on Thursday.

The Brazilian attacker nicknamed "The King" was 17 when he scored two goals in his country's 5-2 victory over host country Sweden in 1958. tbzikra.org

The blue shirt became the second most expensive jersey sold at auction after an anonymous buyer beat out four other bidders at Sotheby's in New York.

الأخبارQSL و«دريمة» يوقعان اتفاقية رعاية مجتمعيةوقّعت مؤسسة دوري نجوم قطر ومركز رعاية الأيتام «دريمة» اتفاقية رعاية مجتمعية لمبادرة «رحلة بناء وتمكين» التي ينفذها المركز. وتأتي هذه الرعاية ضمن برامج المسؤولية المجتمعية للمؤسس...فتح →

The record of $9.3 million is for a jersey worn by Argentinian star Maradona during a legendary quarter-final clash with England in the 1986 Mexico World Cup.

Argentina won the match 2-1 thanks to two Maradona goals, including his infamous "Hand of God" finish in which he illegally punched the ball into the net.

Doha, Qatar: Whenever the wife of Spain right-back Pedro Porro asks their nearly one-year-old son how his father celebrates his goals, little ‘Pedrito’ plops down on the floor and raises his very small fist. Unfortunately, a small fever prevented Pedrito from being at Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final against France, with Porro’s mother staying behind to take care of the infant.

But that was not about to stop Porro from having a special father-son moment after he scored the second goal in La Roja’s 2-0 victory over Les Bleus. Imitating little Pedrito, Porro sat down on the pristine Dallas Stadium grass and raised his hand skyward.

“[My mother] didn’t come because my little one had a fever,” said Porro about the celebration. “It’s normal – it could be teething, growing pains, or any number of things. But I decided he should stay at the hotel. Everything’s fine, though. I gave him a little wave, and hopefully he’ll be feeling a bit better tomorrow.”

It was the highlight of a magical day for Porro, who just 24 hours earlier commented to assembled reporters that he hoped Tuesday would “be Lamine Yamal’s day”.

As it turns out, much of the final four encounter belonged to Porro himself, who scored his second goal at these global finals when he polished off a slick one-two combination with Dani Olmo.

His two goals puts him in rarefied air, with the Tottenham man equalling the legendary Fernando Hierro for most World Cup goals by a Spain defender with two.

“I’m very happy about that statistic, but I think the victory belongs to the team,” said Porro. “The victory belongs to the 26 of us, to the coaching staff, to everyone supporting us back home, to everyone here cheering us on. I’d like to dedicate it to all of them – it’s not easy for all the families who’ve come all the way here.” (FIFA)

أعرب بدر بن محمد الدرويش، رئيس الاتحاد القطري للفروسية والخماسي الحديث، عن بالغ الحزن والأسى لوفاة المغفور له بإذن الله صاحب السمو الأمير الوالد الشيخ حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني، طيب الله ثراه، مؤكداً أن دولة قطر فقدت قائداً تاريخياً صاحب بصيرة ورؤية أسهمت في وضع أسس النهضة الشاملة التي تشهدها البلاد اليوم. وقال إن مسيرة صاحب السمو الأمير الوالد ستظل حاضرة في وجدان أبناء الوطن، لما قدمه سموه من جهود مخلصة في خدمة قطر، وما حققه من إنجازات عززت مكانتها إقليمياً ودولياً، وأسهمت في بناء دولة حديثة تقوم على الطموح والتميز والإنسان. وأضاف رئيس الاتحاد القطري للفروسية والخماسي الحديث أن القطاع الرياضي، والفروسية على وجه الخصوص، حظي بدعم ورعاية كبيرة خلال عهد سمو الأمير الوالد، الأمر الذي كان له بالغ الأثر في تطور الرياضة القطرية وتحقيقها العديد من النجاحات والإنجازات على مختلف المستويات. وأكد أن أبناء قطر سيواصلون السير على نهج القيادة الرشيدة، مستلهمين من إرث صاحب السمو الأمير الوالد قيم العطاء والعمل والبناء، سائلاً الله العلي القدير أن يتغمد الفقيد بواسع رحمته، وأن يلهم حضرة صاحب السمو الشيخ تميم بن حمد آل ثاني أمير البلاد المفدى، والأسرة الحاكمة الكريمة، والشعب القطري الصبر والسلوان.

أعلن نادي لوسيل التعاقد رسمياً مع الإسباني رودريغو مورينو لتدعيم صفوف الفريق في الموسم الجديد 2026ـ 2027، وحرص نادي لوسيل على الاعلان عن اللاعب في تمام الساعة 19 و19 دقيقة اشارة بارتداء اللاعب القميص رقم 19، في مقطع فيديو نشره الحساب الرسمي للنادي بشكل رائع، وستكون هذه التجربة الثالثة للاعب في الكرة القطرية بعد لعبه لنادي الريان وحقق معه لقبي الموسم الماضي كأس QSL ودوري أبطال الخليج، كما لعب في نادي الغرافة وحقق كأس سمو الأمير، ولذلك هي صفقة قوية لفريق لوسيل الصاعد هذا الموسم لدوري النجوم.

Doha, Qatar: A World Cup opportunity did not arrive through scouts or stadiums for Roberto Lopes, but through LinkedIn, which at first he ignored.

The Irish-born central defender assumed the message, written in Portuguese, was spam and didn’t take long before moving on, leaving it sitting unanswered in his inbox.

It was only when a follow-up message arrived in English that it finally grabbed his attention. What he had dismissed was, in fact, a genuine offer from the Cape Verdean football association: a chance to play international football through his Cape Verdean heritage.

That opportunity would eventually lead him to the 2026 World Cup, where Cape Verde provided one of the most magnificent underdog stories in recent memory.

According to Reuters, Lopes said that the team took nine months to message him back in English, asking if he had thought of the proposal.

“It was only then that I did what I should have done originally and Google-translated the original message asking if I would be interested in declaring for Cape Verde," a laughing Lopes told Reuters in a telephone interview prior to the tournament.

"It was a weird angle to come at (via LinkedIn); it was explained to me afterwards that they had difficulty ⁠contacting my club, but when I saw the opportunity was there in front of me, I was 100% behind it from the minute one, and we got working on getting all the necessary documentation across."

Born in Ireland and known throughout the League of Ireland as “Pico”, Lopes had built his entire career domestically. A solitary Ireland U19 appearance had once seemed like the peak of his international prospects.

After making his Cape Verde debut in a 2-0 win over Togo in 2019, he quickly established himself as a defensive mainstay.

He became a key figure in a side that was steadily improving, with the arrival of more dual-nationality players helping transform Cape Verde into a serious force in African football, and after the 2026 World Cup, in world football as well.