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VIDEO SHOWS: FILE OF PORTUGUESE FOOTBALL HEAD COACH, SERGIO CONCEICAO, AS TAKES OVER AT SAUDI ARABIA'S AL-ITTIHAD  SHOWS: CARNAGO, ITALY (FILE – DECEMBER 31, 2024) (AC MILAN – Access all) 1. THEN AC MILAN HEAD COACH, SERGIO CONCEICAO, SPEAKING AT PRESS CONFERENCE ROME, ITALY (FILE – MAY 14, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 2. STILL PHOTO OF CONCEICAO DURING 1-0 COPPA ITALIA FINAL LOSS AGAINST BOLOGNA   MILAN, ITALY (FILE – APRIL 23, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 3. STILL PHOTO OF CONCEICAO APPLAUDING FANS AFTER 3-0 COPPA ITALIA SEMI-FINAL WIN OVER RIVALS INTER   MILAN, ITALY (FILE – APRIL 20, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 4. STILL PHOTO OF CONCEICAO REACTING DURING 1-0 LOSS AT HOME TO ATALANTA IN SERIE A PORTO, PORTUGAL (FILE – APRIL 16, 2019) (REUTERS – Access all) 5. CONCEICAO ON TRAINING PITCH AS THEN PORTO HEAD COACH 6. PLAYERS TRAINING   LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY (FILE – FEBRUARY 19, 2020) (REUTERS – Access all) 7. CONCEICAO GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO PORTO PLAYERS AT TRAINING 8. CONCEICAO TALKING TO MEMBERS TO OF HIS COACHING STAFF 9. PLAYERS JOGGING/ CONCEICAO TALKING STAFF 10. VARIOUS OF CONCEICAO WATCHING OVER WARM-UPS   GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY (FILE – SEPTEMBER 17, 2018) (REUTERS – Access all) 11. VARIOUS OF CONCEICAO TALKING TO PLAYERS IN HUDDLE 12. CONCEICAO ON TRAINING PITCH   PORTO, PORTUGAL (FILE – FEBRUARY 13, 2017) (REUTERS – Access all) 13. VARIOUS OF CONCEICAO AT PORTO TRAINING STORY: Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad have appointed Portuguese coach Sergio Conceicao on a deal running until 2028, the club said on Wednesday (October 8), replacing Frenchman Laurent Blanc who departed last month. The announcement was made in a video posted on X, featuring Conceicao saying: "I am Sergio Conceicao, I came to make history with Al-Ittihad." Blanc’s exit came a day after Al-Ittihad's 2-0 defeat to Al-Nassr in late September, which saw the defending champions slip to third in the league standings. Assistant coach Hassan Khalifa took charge on an interim basis, supported by U21 coach Ivan Carrasco. Conceicao was dismissed by AC Milan on May 29 after a disappointing Serie A campaign that ended with the club in eighth place, missing out on European competition for the first time since 2019. He had joined Milan in December and led the team to the Italian Super Cup title in his second match in charge. (Production: Conal Quinn)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: FILE OF PORTUGUESE FOOTBALL HEAD COACH, SERGIO CONCEICAO, AS TAKES OVER AT SAUDI ARABIA'S AL-ITTIHAD  SHOWS: CARNAGO, ITALY (FILE – DECEMBER 31, 2024) (AC MILAN – Access all) 1. THEN AC MILAN HEAD COACH, SERGIO CONCEICAO, SPEAKING AT PRESS CONFERENCE ROME, ITALY (FILE – MAY 14, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 2. STILL PHOTO OF CONCEICAO DURING 1-0 COPPA ITALIA FINAL LOSS AGAINST BOLOGNA   MILAN, ITALY (FILE – APRIL 23, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 3. STILL PHOTO OF CONCEICAO APPLAUDING FANS AFTER 3-0 COPPA ITALIA SEMI-FINAL WIN OVER RIVALS INTER   MILAN, ITALY (FILE – APRIL 20, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 4. STILL PHOTO OF CONCEICAO REACTING DURING 1-0 LOSS AT HOME TO ATALANTA IN SERIE A PORTO, PORTUGAL (FILE – APRIL 16, 2019) (REUTERS – Access all) 5. CONCEICAO ON TRAINING PITCH AS THEN PORTO HEAD COACH 6. PLAYERS TRAINING   LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY (FILE – FEBRUARY 19, 2020) (REUTERS – Access all) 7. CONCEICAO GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO PORTO PLAYERS AT TRAINING 8. CONCEICAO TALKING TO MEMBERS TO OF HIS COACHING STAFF 9. PLAYERS JOGGING/ CONCEICAO TALKING STAFF 10. VARIOUS OF CONCEICAO WATCHING OVER WARM-UPS   GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY (FILE – SEPTEMBER 17, 2018) (REUTERS – Access all) 11. VARIOUS OF CONCEICAO TALKING TO PLAYERS IN HUDDLE 12. CONCEICAO ON TRAINING PITCH   PORTO, PORTUGAL (FILE – FEBRUARY 13, 2017) (REUTERS – Access all) 13. VARIOUS OF CONCEICAO AT PORTO TRAINING STORY: Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad have appointed Portuguese coach Sergio Conceicao on a deal running until 2028, the club said on Wednesday (October 8), replacing Frenchman Laurent Blanc who departed last month. The announcement was made in a video posted on X, featuring Conceicao saying: "I am Sergio Conceicao, I came to make history with Al-Ittihad." Blanc’s exit came a day after Al-Ittihad's 2-0 defeat to Al-Nassr in late September, which saw the defending champions slip to third in the league standings. Assistant coach Hassan Khalifa took charge on an interim basis, supported by U21 coach Ivan Carrasco. Conceicao was dismissed by AC Milan on May 29 after a disappointing Serie A campaign that ended with the club in eighth place, missing out on European competition for the first time since 2019. He had joined Milan in December and led the team to the Italian Super Cup title in his second match in charge. (Production: Conal Quinn)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SPEAKING AT PORTUGAL FOOTBALL SUMMIT/ B-ROLL OF CEFERIN AND PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: OEIRAS, PORTUGAL (OCTOBER 8, 2025) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS, ARRIVING 2. PORTUGAL CAPTAIN, CRISTIANO RONALDO, WALKING OVER AND SHAKING HANDS WITH UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN 3. CEFERIN WALKING OUT ON STAGE FOR INTERVIEW 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "The Euro itself, I don't see it being changed. Maybe the qualifiers but with, of course, no more matches because there's no more space for more matches. But maybe, to make qualifiers a bit more interesting, we are thinking a bit about that but not more than thinking. So, not enough to share it here." 5. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "I will not stay forever but (un)til I'm here, I'm sure I will make sure that the competition is open because football is for everyone. Football is part of our societies, football is a school of life and the dream to win, the dream to qualify, the dream to beat the big guys should stay alive and it will stay alive because otherwise football doesn't make sense." 7. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "After Covid, after Super League, a colleague of mine came to me and said 'President, we had everything except war'. And then war Ukraine-Russia starts. So, we live in complicated times but I don't say only football everybody lives in complicated times." 9. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "(I've) never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He wants to compete until he's… he is amazing I mean to achieve what he achieved, it's simply… I think we would need two hours conversation to explain everything but great respect for him as a person and as a football player, of course, and also we follow how much he did for the charity which he doesn't need to do and he did." 11. AUDIENCE LISTENING 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times." 13. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "It helped me that I was a criminal lawyer. I said once but it's more or less a joke, to be honest, that I've met less criminals in 25 years of criminal law than in two years of football. But it's an exaggeration I also met many fantastic people." 15. PORTUGAL PLAYERS GOING UP ON STAGE 16. VARIOUS OF PORTUGAL PLAYERS, CEFERIN, PORTUGAL FEDERATION PRESIDENT, PEDRO PROENCA, AND PORTUGAL PRESIDENT, MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA, POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS STORY: UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says the European football body have no plans to expand the European Championships beyond the current 24-team format.  The 57-year-old Slovene acknowledged his team have considered tweaking the qualification process for the tournament finals, however, but not in a way that would add any more matches to the already congested fixture calendar.  "I don't see the Euros itself being changed. We could maybe make the qualifiers a bit more interesting but there's no more space for more matches," Ceferin told an audience at the Portugal Football Summit 2025 in Oeiras on Wednesday (October 8).  The news comes as qualifiers continue for the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer with speculation growing that FIFA may push to expand the 2030 edition of the tournament to 64 teams. Ceferin also took the opportunity to laud Cristiano Ronaldo's storied career with the Portuguese skipper in attendance along with his national team colleagues.  "I've never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times," said Ceferin." (Production: Conal Quinn)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SPEAKING AT PORTUGAL FOOTBALL SUMMIT/ B-ROLL OF CEFERIN AND PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: OEIRAS, PORTUGAL (OCTOBER 8, 2025) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS, ARRIVING 2. PORTUGAL CAPTAIN, CRISTIANO RONALDO, WALKING OVER AND SHAKING HANDS WITH UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN 3. CEFERIN WALKING OUT ON STAGE FOR INTERVIEW 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "The Euro itself, I don't see it being changed. Maybe the qualifiers but with, of course, no more matches because there's no more space for more matches. But maybe, to make qualifiers a bit more interesting, we are thinking a bit about that but not more than thinking. So, not enough to share it here." 5. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "I will not stay forever but (un)til I'm here, I'm sure I will make sure that the competition is open because football is for everyone. Football is part of our societies, football is a school of life and the dream to win, the dream to qualify, the dream to beat the big guys should stay alive and it will stay alive because otherwise football doesn't make sense." 7. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "After Covid, after Super League, a colleague of mine came to me and said 'President, we had everything except war'. And then war Ukraine-Russia starts. So, we live in complicated times but I don't say only football everybody lives in complicated times." 9. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "(I've) never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He wants to compete until he's… he is amazing I mean to achieve what he achieved, it's simply… I think we would need two hours conversation to explain everything but great respect for him as a person and as a football player, of course, and also we follow how much he did for the charity which he doesn't need to do and he did." 11. AUDIENCE LISTENING 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times." 13. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "It helped me that I was a criminal lawyer. I said once but it's more or less a joke, to be honest, that I've met less criminals in 25 years of criminal law than in two years of football. But it's an exaggeration I also met many fantastic people." 15. PORTUGAL PLAYERS GOING UP ON STAGE 16. VARIOUS OF PORTUGAL PLAYERS, CEFERIN, PORTUGAL FEDERATION PRESIDENT, PEDRO PROENCA, AND PORTUGAL PRESIDENT, MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA, POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS STORY: UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says the European football body have no plans to expand the European Championships beyond the current 24-team format.  The 57-year-old Slovene acknowledged his team have considered tweaking the qualification process for the tournament finals, however, but not in a way that would add any more matches to the already congested fixture calendar.  "I don't see the Euros itself being changed. We could maybe make the qualifiers a bit more interesting but there's no more space for more matches," Ceferin told an audience at the Portugal Football Summit 2025 in Oeiras on Wednesday (October 8).  The news comes as qualifiers continue for the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer with speculation growing that FIFA may push to expand the 2030 edition of the tournament to 64 teams. Ceferin also took the opportunity to laud Cristiano Ronaldo's storied career with the Portuguese skipper in attendance along with his national team colleagues.  "I've never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times," said Ceferin." (Production: Conal Quinn)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SPEAKING AT PORTUGAL FOOTBALL SUMMIT/ B-ROLL OF CEFERIN AND PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: OEIRAS, PORTUGAL (OCTOBER 8, 2025) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS, ARRIVING 2. PORTUGAL CAPTAIN, CRISTIANO RONALDO, WALKING OVER AND SHAKING HANDS WITH UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN 3. CEFERIN WALKING OUT ON STAGE FOR INTERVIEW 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "The Euro itself, I don't see it being changed. Maybe the qualifiers but with, of course, no more matches because there's no more space for more matches. But maybe, to make qualifiers a bit more interesting, we are thinking a bit about that but not more than thinking. So, not enough to share it here." 5. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "I will not stay forever but (un)til I'm here, I'm sure I will make sure that the competition is open because football is for everyone. Football is part of our societies, football is a school of life and the dream to win, the dream to qualify, the dream to beat the big guys should stay alive and it will stay alive because otherwise football doesn't make sense." 7. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "After Covid, after Super League, a colleague of mine came to me and said 'President, we had everything except war'. And then war Ukraine-Russia starts. So, we live in complicated times but I don't say only football everybody lives in complicated times." 9. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "(I've) never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He wants to compete until he's… he is amazing I mean to achieve what he achieved, it's simply… I think we would need two hours conversation to explain everything but great respect for him as a person and as a football player, of course, and also we follow how much he did for the charity which he doesn't need to do and he did." 11. AUDIENCE LISTENING 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times." 13. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "It helped me that I was a criminal lawyer. I said once but it's more or less a joke, to be honest, that I've met less criminals in 25 years of criminal law than in two years of football. But it's an exaggeration I also met many fantastic people." 15. PORTUGAL PLAYERS GOING UP ON STAGE 16. VARIOUS OF PORTUGAL PLAYERS, CEFERIN, PORTUGAL FEDERATION PRESIDENT, PEDRO PROENCA, AND PORTUGAL PRESIDENT, MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA, POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS STORY: UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says the European football body have no plans to expand the European Championships beyond the current 24-team format.  The 57-year-old Slovene acknowledged his team have considered tweaking the qualification process for the tournament finals, however, but not in a way that would add any more matches to the already congested fixture calendar.  "I don't see the Euros itself being changed. We could maybe make the qualifiers a bit more interesting but there's no more space for more matches," Ceferin told an audience at the Portugal Football Summit 2025 in Oeiras on Wednesday (October 8).  The news comes as qualifiers continue for the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer with speculation growing that FIFA may push to expand the 2030 edition of the tournament to 64 teams. Ceferin also took the opportunity to laud Cristiano Ronaldo's storied career with the Portuguese skipper in attendance along with his national team colleagues.  "I've never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times," said Ceferin." (Production: Conal Quinn)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SPEAKING AT PORTUGAL FOOTBALL SUMMIT/ B-ROLL OF CEFERIN AND PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: OEIRAS, PORTUGAL (OCTOBER 8, 2025) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS, ARRIVING 2. PORTUGAL CAPTAIN, CRISTIANO RONALDO, WALKING OVER AND SHAKING HANDS WITH UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN 3. CEFERIN WALKING OUT ON STAGE FOR INTERVIEW 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "The Euro itself, I don't see it being changed. Maybe the qualifiers but with, of course, no more matches because there's no more space for more matches. But maybe, to make qualifiers a bit more interesting, we are thinking a bit about that but not more than thinking. So, not enough to share it here." 5. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "I will not stay forever but (un)til I'm here, I'm sure I will make sure that the competition is open because football is for everyone. Football is part of our societies, football is a school of life and the dream to win, the dream to qualify, the dream to beat the big guys should stay alive and it will stay alive because otherwise football doesn't make sense." 7. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "After Covid, after Super League, a colleague of mine came to me and said 'President, we had everything except war'. And then war Ukraine-Russia starts. So, we live in complicated times but I don't say only football everybody lives in complicated times." 9. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "(I've) never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He wants to compete until he's… he is amazing I mean to achieve what he achieved, it's simply… I think we would need two hours conversation to explain everything but great respect for him as a person and as a football player, of course, and also we follow how much he did for the charity which he doesn't need to do and he did." 11. AUDIENCE LISTENING 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times." 13. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "It helped me that I was a criminal lawyer. I said once but it's more or less a joke, to be honest, that I've met less criminals in 25 years of criminal law than in two years of football. But it's an exaggeration I also met many fantastic people." 15. PORTUGAL PLAYERS GOING UP ON STAGE 16. VARIOUS OF PORTUGAL PLAYERS, CEFERIN, PORTUGAL FEDERATION PRESIDENT, PEDRO PROENCA, AND PORTUGAL PRESIDENT, MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA, POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS STORY: UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says the European football body have no plans to expand the European Championships beyond the current 24-team format.  The 57-year-old Slovene acknowledged his team have considered tweaking the qualification process for the tournament finals, however, but not in a way that would add any more matches to the already congested fixture calendar.  "I don't see the Euros itself being changed. We could maybe make the qualifiers a bit more interesting but there's no more space for more matches," Ceferin told an audience at the Portugal Football Summit 2025 in Oeiras on Wednesday (October 8).  The news comes as qualifiers continue for the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer with speculation growing that FIFA may push to expand the 2030 edition of the tournament to 64 teams. Ceferin also took the opportunity to laud Cristiano Ronaldo's storied career with the Portuguese skipper in attendance along with his national team colleagues.  "I've never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times," said Ceferin." (Production: Conal Quinn)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SPEAKING AT PORTUGAL FOOTBALL SUMMIT/ B-ROLL OF CEFERIN AND PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: OEIRAS, PORTUGAL (OCTOBER 8, 2025) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS, ARRIVING 2. PORTUGAL CAPTAIN, CRISTIANO RONALDO, WALKING OVER AND SHAKING HANDS WITH UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN 3. CEFERIN WALKING OUT ON STAGE FOR INTERVIEW 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "The Euro itself, I don't see it being changed. Maybe the qualifiers but with, of course, no more matches because there's no more space for more matches. But maybe, to make qualifiers a bit more interesting, we are thinking a bit about that but not more than thinking. So, not enough to share it here." 5. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "I will not stay forever but (un)til I'm here, I'm sure I will make sure that the competition is open, because football is for everyone. Football is part of our societies, football is a school of life and the dream to win, the dream to qualify, the dream to beat the big guys should stay alive and it will stay alive, because otherwise football doesn't make sense." 7. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "After Covid, after Super League, a colleague of mine came to me and said 'President, we had everything except war', and then war Ukraine-Russia starts. So, we live in complicated times but I don't say only football, everybody lives in complicated times." 9. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "(I've) never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He wants to compete until he's, he is amazing, I mean, to achieve what he achieved, it's simply, I think we would need two hours conversation to explain everything but great respect for him as a person and as a football player, of course, and also we follow how much he did for the charity, which he doesn't need to do and he did." 11. AUDIENCE LISTENING 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times." 13. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "It helped me that I was a criminal lawyer. I said once but it's more or less a joke, to be honest, that I've met less criminals in 25 years of criminal law than in two years of football. But it's an exaggeration I also met many fantastic people." 15. PORTUGAL PLAYERS GOING UP ON STAGE 16. VARIOUS OF PORTUGAL PLAYERS, INCLUDING RONALDO, CEFERIN, PORTUGAL FEDERATION PRESIDENT, PEDRO PROENCA, AND PORTUGAL PRESIDENT, MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA, POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS STORY: UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says the European football body have no plans to expand the European Championships beyond the current 24-team format.  The 57-year-old Slovene acknowledged his team have considered tweaking the qualification process for the tournament finals, but not in a way that would add any more matches to the already congested fixture calendar.  "I don't see the Euros itself being changed. We could maybe make the qualifiers a bit more interesting but there's no more space for more matches," Ceferin told an audience at the Portugal Football Summit 2025 in Oeiras on Wednesday (October 8).  The news comes as qualifiers continue for the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer with speculation growing that FIFA may push to expand the 2030 edition of the tournament even further to include 64 teams. Ceferin also took the opportunity to laud Cristiano Ronaldo's storied career with the Portuguese skipper in attendance along with his national team colleagues.  "I've never seen such a competitive person. That's why he's struggling to stop. He is, for sure, one of the three names of football of all times," said Ceferin." (Production: Miguel Pereira, Conal Quinn)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: OMAN PLAY AGAINST QATAR IN DOHA IN GROUP A OF THE ASIAN WORLD CUP QUALIFYING RESENDING WITH FULL SHOTLIST AND SCRIPT  SHOWS: DOHA, QATAR (OCTOBER 8, 2025) (AFC – See restrictions OMAN V QATAR (WHITE SHIRTS) 1. QATAR FANS BEFORE MATCH 2. OMAR CAPTAIN, ALI AL-BUSAIDI (17), SHAKING HANDS WITH QATAR CAPTAIN, BOUALEM KHOUKHI (16), BEFORE KICK-OFF FIRST HALF 3. KHOUKHI'S LONG RANGE SHOT GOES NARROWLY WIDE 4. QATAR GIVE THE BALL AWAY, OMAN'S ISSAM AL SABHI'S (7) SHOT IS SAVED BY MAHMOUD ABUNADA (21) SECOND HALF 5. QATAR'S AKRAM AFIF (11) RUNS THROUGH BUT SHOOTS WIDE 6. MOHAMMED MUNTARI'S (9) SHOT IS SAVED BY OMAN GOALKEEPER IBRAHIM AL MUKHAINI (1) 7. OMAN COACH CARLOS QUEIROZ AND QATAR COACH JULEN LOPETEGUI SHAKE HANDS AT FULL-TIME 8. VARIOUS PLAYERS AT END OF MATCH STORY: Oman kept hosts Qatar at bay to earn a 0-0 draw in the countries' opening clash in Group A of the fourth round of Asia's World Cup preliminaries on Wednesday (October 8), denting both nations' hopes of automatic qualification for the 2026 finals. Qatar captain Akram Afif went closest to claiming the points for Julen Lopetegui's side at Doha's Jassim bin Hamad Stadium when he wastefully steered his shot wide 49 minutes into a tense game of few chances. The Carlos Queiroz-coached Omanis, who are looking to qualify for the World Cup for the first time, will face the United Arab Emirates on Saturday in the next game in the three-team group, with Qatar taking on the Emiratis on Tuesday. The winners of the group will qualify directly for the finals next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico while the team finishing second advances to a playoff with the runner-up from Group B, which is being played in Saudi Arabia. Qatar dominated the opening exchanges but struggled to turn that superiority into opportunities, with only midfielder Boualem Khoukhi threatening the Oman goal with a strike from distance in the 13th minute that flew wide of the target. The Omanis had been largely kept on the back foot, although Issam Al-Sabhi did fashion an opening in the 27th minute that goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada gathered and Amjad Al-Harthi steered a header over the bar late in the half. Afif should have put the hosts ahead soon after the interval when the Omanis gifted him possession in their own half, but the Asian Player of the Year uncharacteristically side-footed his shot the wrong side of the post. Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Jordan and Uzbekistan have already claimed six of Asia's eight guaranteed berths at the expanded 48-team finals, with a possible ninth spot available via an intercontinental playoff in March. (Production: Andy Ragg)

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VIDEO SHOWS: UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SPEAKING AT PORTUGAL FOOTBALL SUMMIT/ B-ROLL OF CEFERIN AND PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW SHOWS: OEIRAS, PORTUGAL (OCTOBER 8, 2025) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS, ARRIVING 2. PORTUGAL CAPTAIN, CRISTIANO RONALDO, WALKING OVER AND SHAKING HANDS WITH UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN 3. CEFERIN WALKING OUT ON STAGE FOR INTERVIEW 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "The Euro itself, I don't see it being changed. Maybe the qualifiers but with, of course, no more matches because there's no more space for more matches. But maybe,  to make qualifiers a bit more interesting, we are thinking a bit about that but not more than thinking. So, not enough to share it here." 5. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "I will not stay forever but (un)til I'm here, I'm sure I will make sure that the competition is open because football is for everyone. Football is part of our societies, football is a school of life and the dream to win, the dream to qualify, the dream to beat the big guys should stay alive and it will stay alive because otherwise football doesn't make sense." 7. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "After Covid, after Super League, a colleague of mine came to me and said 'President, we had everything except war'. And then war Ukraine-Russia starts. So, we live in complicated times but I don't say only football everybody lives in complicated times." 9. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "(I've) never seen such a competitive person that's why he's struggling to stop. He wants to compete until he's… he is amazing I mean to achieve what he achieved, it's simply… I think we would need two hours conversation to explain everything but great respect for him as a person and as a football player, of course, and also we follow how much he did for the charity which he doesn't need to do and he did." 11. AUDIENCE LISTENING 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, ON CRISTIANO RONALDO, SAYING: "He is for sure one of the three names of football of all times." 13. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, SAYING: "It helped me that I was a criminal lawyer. I said once but it's more or less a joke, to be honest, that I've met less criminals in 25 years of criminal law than in two years of football. But it's an exaggeration I also met many fantastic people." 15. PORTUGAL PLAYERS GOING UP ON STAGE 16. VARIOUS OF PORTUGAL PLAYERS, CEFERIN, PORTUGAL FEDERATION PRESIDENT, PEDRO PROENCA, AND PORTUGAL PRESIDENT, MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA, POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS STORY: TO FOLLOW (Production: Conal Quinn)

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VIDEO SHOWS: OMAN PLAY AGAINST QATAR IN DOHA IN GROUP A OF THE ASIAN WORLD CUP QUALIFYING RESENDING WITH FULL SHOTLIST AND SCRIPT  SHOWS: DOHA, QATAR (OCTOBER 8, 2025) (AFC – See restrictions OMAN V QATAR (WHITE SHIRTS) 1. QATAR FANS BEFORE MATCH 2. OMAR CAPTAIN, ALI AL-BUSAIDI (17), SHAKING HANDS WITH QATAR CAPTAIN, BOUALEM KHOUKHI (16), BEFORE KICK-OFF FIRST HALF 3. KHOUKHI'S LONG RANGE SHOT GOES NARROWLY WIDE 4. QATAR GIVE THE BALL AWAY, OMAN'S ISSAM AL SABHI'S (7) SHOT IS SAVED BY MAHMOUD ABUNADA (21) SECOND HALF 5. QATAR'S AKRAM AFIF (11) RUNS THROUGH BUT SHOOTS WIDE 6. MOHAMMED MUNTARI'S (9) SHOT IS SAVED BY OMAN GOALKEEPER IBRAHIM AL MUKHAINI (1) 7. OMAN COACH CARLOS QUEIROZ AND QATAR COACH JULEN LOPETEGUI SHAKE HANDS AT FULL-TIME 8. VARIOUS PLAYERS AT END OF MATCH STORY: Oman kept hosts Qatar at bay to earn a 0-0 draw in the countries' opening clash in Group A of the fourth round of Asia's World Cup preliminaries on Wednesday (October 8), denting both nations' hopes of automatic qualification for the 2026 finals. Qatar captain Akram Afif went closest to claiming the points for Julen Lopetegui's side at Doha's Jassim bin Hamad Stadium when he wastefully steered his shot wide 49 minutes into a tense game of few chances. The Carlos Queiroz-coached Omanis, who are looking to qualify for the World Cup for the first time, will face the United Arab Emirates on Saturday in the next game in the three-team group, with Qatar taking on the Emiratis on Tuesday. The winners of the group will qualify directly for the finals next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico while the team finishing second advances to a playoff with the runner-up from Group B, which is being played in Saudi Arabia. Qatar dominated the opening exchanges but struggled to turn that superiority into opportunities, with only midfielder Boualem Khoukhi threatening the Oman goal with a strike from distance in the 13th minute that flew wide of the target. The Omanis had been largely kept on the back foot, although Issam Al-Sabhi did fashion an opening in the 27th minute that goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada gathered and Amjad Al-Harthi steered a header over the bar late in the half. Afif should have put the hosts ahead soon after the interval when the Omanis gifted him possession in their own half, but the Asian Player of the Year uncharacteristically side-footed his shot the wrong side of the post. Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Jordan and Uzbekistan have already claimed six of Asia's eight guaranteed berths at the expanded 48-team finals, with a possible ninth spot available via an intercontinental playoff in March. (Production: Andy Ragg)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)