Wolves sign Japan international Hayao Kawabe

Thu, 06 Jan, 2022

Wolves sign Japan international Hayao Kawabe

London: English Premier League side Wolves on Wednesday announced the signing of Japan international Hayao Kawabe from Swiss Super League side Grasshoppers.

The midfielder, who signed a three-and-a-half-year deal, is expected to return to Switzerland to complete the season on loan after spending January at Molineux.

The 26-year-old, who has four caps, joined Grasshoppers from Sanfrecce Hiroshima in July and has made 18 appearances, scoring four goals.

Largest cast of match officials set for AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™

Wed, 05 Jan, 2022

Largest cast of match officials set for AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™

Kuala Lumpur: The biggest-ever cast of talented and experienced women match officials have been assigned to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™ that will take place from January 20 to February 6. 

With the expansion of the showpiece to 12 teams, a total of 32 match officials, comprising 16 referees and assistant referees from 15 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Member Associations, will take charge in potentially a maximum of 29 matches including the play-offs.

The time is now for Korea Republic, says iconic Ji So-yun

Tue, 04 Jan, 2022

The time is now for Korea Republic, says iconic Ji So-yun

Namhae: Ji So-yun has won all but a few accolades in her glittering career, but the Korea Republic star knows the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 is a rare opportunity to capture an elusive international title,

In the history of Asian football, few players in either women's or men's football can point to a more impressive list of achievements than Ji.
 
A senior international debutant, and goal scorer, at the age of just 15, the Seoul-born superstar has gone on to represent her country 131 times, scoring a national record 59 goals, but that tells only a portion of the story.

Dennerby: I’m nurturing a dream with India

Sun, 02 Jan, 2022

Dennerby: I’m nurturing a dream with India

New Delhi: India, under Swedish Thomas Dennerby, enter the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022 aiming to rebuild their team’s reputation on the continental scene. The hosts were a competitive side in the early editions of the Asian finals, notably finishing as runners-up in 1979 and 1983.

But the decades since have brought little to celebrate for the Blue Tigresses. Indeed, India have featured in just five of the past 14 editions, never progressing beyond the group stage. 

Competing as hosts of the upcoming Women's Asian Cup, however, provides India with the chance to rewrite a few of those statistics, although Dennerby - who took over in August - is aware of how tough his task is. 

The former Sweden and Nigeria coach, who has been managing India’s U-17 side over the past two years, sat down with FIFA.com to share his vision for India football, the current squad and the trends in modern-day women’s football.