Ostrava To Host The 2018 IAAF Continental Cup

Ostrava to host the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup.credit: IAAF / Philippe Fitte

Ostrava (CZE) was chosen to host the next edition of the IAAF Continental Cup after winning a vote against Bydgoszcz (POL).

The Czech city, which has got a long pedigree in staging top quality athletics events, including IAAF World Athletics Series competitions, showed an impressive commitment to staging the Cup, an impression which was reinforced with an outstanding presentation.

It had a high powered team in Monaco, with the bid led by the country’s Minister for Education, Youth and Sports Marcel Chladek and the Czech Athletics Federation President Libor Varhanik.

The last edition of the IAAF Continental Cup took place in Marrakech (MAR) on 13-14 March 2014.

Ostrava to host the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup. credit: IAAF / Philippe Fitte

Doha To Host The 2019 IAAF World Championships

Doha won the right to host the 2019 IAAF World Championships, the IAAF Council announced at the Fairmont Hotel in Monaco on Tuesday (18).

Doha (QAT) was selected by a vote of Council over Barcelona (ESP) and Eugene (USA) to stage the 17th edition of the IAAF World Championships.

The voting was as follows:

First round: Doha – 12, Eugene – 9, Barcelona – 6 (Barcelona was eliminated).

Second round: Doha – 15, Eugene – 12.

“I am sure that in Doha we will have a wonderful edition of the World Championships. I am convinced they are committed through sport to developing their country and their community, and they are doing the right things,'” commented IAAF President Lamine Diack.

Lamine Diack, IAAF President, credit IAAF

President Diack also offered his thanks to all three candidates: “They were the best presentations we have ever had.”

“It’s a privilege and honour to have the trust of the IAAF,” said Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Doha bid leader.

“I am very delighted that these Championships are going to be for the first time in the region. I’m confident that with the support of the IAAF we will organise one of the best World Championships,” he added.

Doha to host 2019 IAAF World Championships

“This is a great moment for me as the president of the Qatari Athletics Federation, and also as a Qatari. We have dreamed about organising such an event for a long time and, on behalf of the Qatari athletics final, we would like to thank the IAAF Council and IAAF Family for giving Qatar the chance to host one of the most prestigious championships,” said Dahlan Al Hamad, Qatari Athletics Federation President and an IAAF Council member.

The 2015 edition will be hosted by Beijing (CHN) from 22-30 August; followed in 2017 by London (GBR) from 5-13 August that year.

Athletics World Focuses On Monaco For The Coming Week

Monaco – During the coming week the eyes of the athletics world will once again be on the Principality of Monaco, home to the headquarters of the IAAF.

As well as the staging of the annual International Athletics Foundation (IAF) World Athletics Gala, there will be a three-day sitting of the IAAF Council.

The IAAF Council will meet from Tuesday 18 to Thursday 20 November, with the decision about who will host the 2019 IAAF World Championships being made during the first session on Tuesday morning.

The final presentations by the three Candidate Cities – Barcelona, Doha and Eugene – and the announcement of the host city will be streamed live on the IAAF YouTube channel between 1200-1330 on Tuesday.

Announcements about the hosts of other IAAF World Athletics Series events will also be made.

The IAAF family will then gather to celebrate the 2014 World Athletics Gala at the Chapiteau de Fontvieille on Friday 21 November.

Hosted by IAF Honorary President HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and IAF & IAAF President Lamine Diack, the World Athletics Gala will be highlighted by the announcement of the male and female 2014 World Athletes of the Year.

The sport of athletics will have further opportunities to mark outstanding achievements via a number of other awards including those for the Rising Stars, Coaching Achievement and a Distinguished Career Award.

In addition, 12 legendary athletes – including multiple world and Olympic champions and former world record-holders – will also be inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame.

Various IAAF Commissions, the IAF Council, and the Diamond League General Assembly are among those events that will be staged before and then immediately following the Gala night.

Twelve Athletics Legends Inducted Into IAAF Hall Of Fame

The IAAF is delighted to announce the names of the 12 athletes who will compose this year’s induction into the IAAF Hall of Fame.

Inaugurated in 2012 as part of the IAAF’s centenary celebrations, the IAAF Hall of Fame welcomed 24 athletes in its first year, followed by 12 more athletes in 2013.

For the first 24 inductees, there was a set of strict minimum criteria of at least two Olympic or world titles plus at least one world record. This criteria was altered for 2013 and beyond to allow athletes whose achievements had an ‘extraordinary impact on our sport’ to be considered as well. All members must have been retired from the sport for a minimum of 10 years.

To keep the process as independent and as transparent as possible, the athletes considered for each induction are proposed by the IAAF Hall of Fame selection panel which consists of five athletics historians, all long-standing members of the Association of Track and Field Statisticians (ATFS) including its president. The panel is chaired by IAAF senior vice president Bob Hersh, who has himself been a member of the ATFS for more than 35 years.

The athletes joining the IAAF Hall of Fame this year will be inducted live on stage during the 2014 World Athletics Gala in Monaco on Friday 21 November.

The inductees are:

Valeriy Brumel

Glenn Davis

Heike Drechsler

Hicham El Guerrouj

Marita Koch

Robert Korzeniowski

Janis Lusis

Bob Mathias

Wilma Rudolph

Shirley Strickland de la Hunty

Lasse Viren

Cornelius Warmerdam

The biographies for the 12 Hall of Fame members ‘class of 2014’ are now available in the IAAF Hall of Fame section of the IAAF website.

Ioc Grants Provisional Recognition To Kosovo Olympic Committee

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today granted provisional recognition to the Kosovo Olympic Committee and proposed that the NOC be granted full recognition at the next IOC Session to be held in December in Monaco.

The NOC of Kosovo was established in 1992 and has more than 30 affiliated National Federations (NFs), 13 of which are Olympic sports federations. Of these, six* are full members of their respective International Federations (IFs), while the other seven** are provisional or associate members of their respective IFs.

London 2012 OG, Olympic Village – The Olympic
flag.
© 2012 / Comité International Olympique
(CIO) / FURLONG, Christopher

The EB noted that the NOC of Kosovo has met the requirements for recognition as outlined in the Olympic Charter. These include the sport and technical requirements as well as the definition of “country” as defined in Rule 30.1 – “an independent State recognised by the international community.” Kosovo is recognised as a country by 108 of the 193 UN Member States.

The decision was taken by the Executive Board in the interests of the athletes in Kosovo and to remove any uncertainty they may have. It will allow them to take part in qualifications for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and in future editions of the Games.

*Table tennis, archery, judo, sailing, weightlifting, modern pentathlon

**Wrestling, boxing, curling, taekwondo, gymnastics, skiing, handball

Top Three Nominees Announced For 2013/14 UEFA Best Player In Europe Award (Male & Female)

Shortlist Of 2013/14 UEFA Best Men And Women’s Player in Europe Award Announced

UEFA today announced the names of the three nominees shortlisted for the 2013/14 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. This season marks the fourth edition of the award, which was born from an initiative by UEFA President Michel Platini, in partnership with the European Sports Media (ESM) group.

The three players who received the most points overall from the second round of voting, in alphabetical order, are:

UEFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Manuel Neuer (GER – FC Bayern München),

Arjen Robben (NED – FC Bayern München)

Cristiano Ronaldo (POR – Real Madrid CF).

The jury of 54 journalists from each of UEFA’s member associations will now cast their live votes in Monaco on Thursday 28 August 2014, during a special ceremony on the occasion of the UEFA Champions League group stage draw, using an electronic system to determine the outright winner from the three candidates.

The results for the players voted into positions four to ten can be accessed via the following link: http://uefa.to/1pa86mO

UEFA also announced the names of the three shortlisted nominees who will compete for the title of 2013/14 UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe, an award launched for the first time last season following also an initiative by UEFA President Michel Platini, in partnership with ESM group. The shortlist of the three players who received the most points overall, in alphabetical order, is:

Nilla Fischer (SWE – VfL Wolfsburg),

Nadine Keßler (GER – VfL Wolfsburg)

Martina Müller (GER – VfL Wolfsburg).

The initial shortlist of the top ten players was provided by the coaches of the clubs which participated in last season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals. A jury composed of 12 journalists, each regularly reporting on women’s football and selected by ESM, have voted for the shortlist of the top three players, and will now cast their votes again live using an electronic system to determine the winner.

The award will also be presented to the winner in Monaco on 28 August during the same ceremony as for the UEFA Best Player in Europe award.

The results for the players voted into positions four to ten can be accessed via the following link: http://uefa.to/1yzNjdJ

Football Transfer Gist, News And Rumours

Here are Paul Ayorinde’s pick of football transfer rumours and done deals making the rounds at this moment.

Remember that you can follow Paul on twitter: @El_Pauleta on twitter and also follow @NewFanzone and we will follow you right back, lets keep the discussion going.

Ben Foster photo credit West Brom website

Done Deal:

– Real Madrid have signed Colombian star James Rodriquez from Monaco for a reported £63million.

– QPR have completed the signing of Steven Caulker from Cardiff for £8.5million.

– West bromwich Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster has signed a four year contract extention with the club.

– Guingamp have completed the signing of Newcastle united midfielder Sylvain Marveaux on a season-long loan.

– Stoke city have signed Bojan Krkic from Barcelona on a 4-year deal.

– Brazilian born Spanish striker Rodrigo Moreno have completed his move to Valencia.

– Tiago returns to Atletico Madrid, he re-signs on a one-year deal.

– Leicester city have completed the signing of Argentine striker Leonardo Ulloa from Brighton & hoves Albion on a four year deal.

– Liverpool’s Andre Wisdom has joined West Brom on Loan

Today’s report and rumours:

– Xavi Hernandez has decided to remain at Barcelona until January at the very least,if not until the close of the 2014-15 season.

– Frank Lampard will officially join MLS side New York City later this week.

– Liverpool are set to beat Arsenal to the signing of Atletico Madrid left back Javier Manquillo.

– Southampton manager Ronald Koeman insist they have not received a new bid from Liverpool for defender Dejan Lovren

– Turkish side Besiktas are keen on Fulham’s Costa rican striker Bryan Ruiz

– Jurgen Klopp has slammed reports indicating Mats Hummels will leave Borussia Dortmund for Manchester united for €20million.

– Edinson Cavani has remained coy as to whether he would be open to a transfer this summer but hinted that Paris Saint-Germain are unwilling to let him go.

– Liverpool are firm favourites to sign Belgian forward Divock Origi, his father Mike has disclosed.

– According to reports, a number of English clubs are tracking Nigerian midfielder Nosa Igiebor.

– Ac Milan coach Filipo Inzaghi says he expect Mario Balotelli to stay at the San Siro this summer

– Andy Carroll has told West Ham United chiefs he has no interest in a move back to Newcastle United this summer

– Alan Irvine has confirmed West Brom have held talks with Rosenborg over Costa rican right-back Cristian Gamboa.

– According to reports,Arsenal will make a bid for Manchester city defender Matija Nastatic if Thomas Vermaelen leaves the club this summer.

– Inter Milan are close to signing Cardiff city midfielder Gary Medel.

– Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, is believed to be on the radar of Italian giants Inter Milan

– According to reports, Manchester United are ready to step up their bid to sign Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal

– Southampton will battle Deportivo La Coruna for River Plate’s £7m-rated striker Teofilo Gutierrez.

– Real Madrid’s capture of Monaco’s Colombian star James Rodriquez will most likely lead to the departure of Angel Di Maria

James Rodriguez

Football tit bits:
– Brazil have named Dunga as their manager for the second time. “I am immensely happy to be back” he said.

– Chelsea’s manager Jose Mourinho Promises title challenge this season. He said: “We respect our opponents and their ambitions,because they have the same ambitions as us,but we want to win the premier league and we are ready for that”

– UEFA has told Paris Saint-Germain they must close part of their Parc des Princes stadium for their next Champions League game after the French club’s fans abused handicapped Chelsea supporters.

– Manchester City Under-21s Led by coach Patrick Vieira staged a walk off yesterday after alleged racist abuse by a HNK Rijeka player in Croatia against Manchester City’s French midfielder, Seko Fofana.

Barcelona, Doha and Eugene – candidate cities for 2019 IAAF World Championships

Letters of intent from candidate cities interested in hosting a number of competitions of the IAAF World Athletics Series (WAS) 2017-2019 have been received by the IAAF.

Emphasising once more the universal reach and popularity of the sport of athletics, the IAAF Council, currently meeting in the Senegalese capital, were delighted to note that national Member Federations from five of the six continental Areas have confirmed themselves as candidates across the four IAAF World Athletics Series events involved.

The IAAF Council will decide the host cities during its next meeting in Monaco in November.

Prior to that the potential hosts will need to present detailed bid dossiers and will also receive feedback from an IAAF Evaluation team to help them deliver the best possible case for their cities.

The IAAF’s premier event is the biennial IAAF World Championships. With the hosts of the 2015 and 2017 editions already decided, the IAAF invited candidates for the 17th edition of the championships which will take place in 2019.

2019 IAAF World Championships

Candidates (alphabetical order by IAAF Member Federation)

Qatar: Doha
Spain: Barcelona
USA: Eugene

First staged in 1983, the IAAF World Championships are the jewel of the IAAF World Athletics Series. After the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup, the IAAF World Championships are the third largest sporting event in the world based upon number of participating nations (over 200) and athletes (over 2000) and global TV audience (6 billion across over 200 territories accumulated across 9 days of competition).

The next two editions have already been awarded as follows:

2015 IAAF World Championships, Beijing, China (22 – 30 Aug 2015)
2017 IAAF World Championships, London, UK (5 – 13 Aug 2017)

Bidding situation for other IAAF World Athletics Series events 2017-2019

2018 IAAF Continental Cup

Candidates: (alphabetical order by IAAF Member Federation)

Czech Republic: Ostrava
Poland: Bydgoszcz

2017 IAAF World Youth Championships

Candidates: (alphabetical order by IAAF Member Federation)

Argentina: Buenos Aires
Kenya: Nairobi
USA: Greensboro

2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

Candidates: (alphabetical order by IAAF Member Federation)

Bahrain: Manama
Uganda: Kampala

IAAF Diamond League Calendar

The IAAF Diamond League is composed of 14 of the best invitational track and field meetings in the world. The meetings are spread across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA, and compose the top tier of the IAAF’s global one-day meeting competition structure.

This series of 14 meetings, which began in 2010, showcases 32 event disciplines which are carefully distributed amongst the meetings.

In each discipline, there is a Diamond Race with points available throughout the 14 meeting season. Winners of each Diamond Race receive a 40,000 USD cash prize and a spectacular Diamond Trophy.

2014 IAAF Diamond League calendar

Doha, QAT – 9 May

Shanghai, CHN – 18 May

Eugene, USA – 31 May

Rome, ITA – 5 Jun

Oslo, NOR – 11 Jun

New York, USA – 14 Jun

Lausanne, SUI – 3 Jul

Paris, FRA – 5 Jul

Glasgow, GBR – 11-12 Jul

Monaco, MON – 18 Jul

Stockholm, SWE – 21 Aug

Birmingham, GBR – 24 Aug

Zurich, SUI – 28 Aug

Brussels, BEL – 5 Sep

123 IAAF Member Federations have entered to take part in the 2014 edition of the IAAF World Athletics Day

Now in its 19th year, the IAAF World Athletics Day is the sport’s annual worldwide festival of youth and one of the busiest programmes of competitions in the athletics calendar.

The World Athletics Day offers the opportunity to promote the sport through youth participation in clubs and schools.

The IAAF World Athletics Day when it began in 1996, was initially planned exclusively for youngsters who were members of clubs affiliated to IAAF Member Federations but, in recent years, the scope of the project has broadened to include the participation of school children in team competitions.

The IAAF World Athletics Day has now become a complete and an important event which promotes our sport around the world.

The goal of the IAAF World Athletics Day is to firmly establish an important link between the youth, our sport, and environmental conservation.

The IAAF World Athletics Day 2014 takes place in May, preferably the weekend of Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 May.

Starting this year, the IAAF World Athletics Day will also be part also be part of the IAAF Social Responsibility project called Athletics for a Better World, which was launched on Tuesday (8).

More details of Athletics for a Better World can be found here.

The IAAF World Athletics Day 2014 involves youth age group children from clubs who were born in 1997-1998 (16-17 years old).

In accordance with the goal of the IAAF Athletics’ World Plan to make athletics the number one sport in schools, the World Athletics Day is also being organised in close cooperation with the relevant national ministry which is in charge of school sport in each country.

The age group for these school team activities is boys and girls born in 1999-2000-2001 (13-15 years old).

Davis Cup by BNP Paribas results: 2 February 2014

Full Davis Cup by BNP Paribas results: 2 February 2014

The ITF has announced the final results for the 2014 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round and Zone Group ties taking place on 31 January – 2 February. A total of 30 ties took place this week.

[NB The Asia/Oceania Zone Group I first round tie between China, P.R. and New Zealand was played on 27-29 January.]

In the World Group quarterfinals, Japan will host Czech Republic, France will host Germany, Italy will host Great Britain and Switzerland will host Kazakhstan. Venues are due to be confirmed the middle of February.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain and USA will compete in the World Group play-offs on 12-14 September, alongside eight qualifiers from the three Zone Group I competitions. The 2014 World Group play-offs draw will be held following the 4-6 April ties at the ITF offices in London on Tuesday 8 April at 11:00 local time. The seeds will be based on the latest ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking of 7 April.

Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 122 nations taking part in 2014. The competition is 114 years old having been founded in 1900. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Davis Cup. International sponsors are Rolex (Official Timekeeper) Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) and NH Hotels (Official Hotel), while Wilson Sporting Goods (Official Ball) is an international partner.

Follow all the action on http://www.daviscup.com, http://www.copadavis.com, http://www.twitter.com/daviscup, http://www.facebook.com/DavisCupTennis and http://www.daviscup.tv.

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND
CZECH REPUBLIC defeated NETHERLANDS 3-2
Venue: CEZ Arena, Ostrava, CZE (hard – indoor)

Robin Haase (NED) d. Radek Stepanek (CZE) 36 64 67(4) 62 61
Richard Gasquet (CZE) d. Igor Sijsling (NED) 63 63 60
Tomas Berdych/Radek Stepanek (CZE) d. Robin Haase/Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) 75 16 76(2) 76(4)
Tomas Berdych (CZE) d. Thiemo de Bakker (NED) 61 64 63
Igor Sijsling (NED) d. Lukas Rosol (CZE) 63 63

JAPAN defeated CANADA 4-1
Venue: Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, JPN (hard – indoor)

Kei Nishikori (JPN) d. Peter Polansky (CAN) 64 64 64
Frank Dancevic (CAN) d. Go Soeda (JPN) 64 76(2) 61
Kei Nishikori/Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) d. Frank Dancevic/Daniel Nestor (CAN) 63 76(3) 46 64
Kei Nishikori (JPN) d. Frank Dancevic (CAN) 62 10 ret. (abdominal strain)
Go Soeda (JPN) d. Peter Polansky (CAN) 61 64

GERMANY defeated SPAIN 4-1
Venue: Fraport Arena, Frankfurt, GER (hard – indoor)

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 62 64 62
Florian Mayer (GER) d. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 76(6) 76(4) 16 57 63
Tommy Haas/Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. David Marrero/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 76(5) 67(9) 76(7) 63
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) w/o
Daniel Brands (GER) d. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 76(5) 64

FRANCE defeated AUSTRALIA 5-0
Venue: Vendéspace, La Roche sur Yon, FRA (clay – indoor)

Richard Gasquet (FRA) d. Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 76(3) 62 62
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 63 62 76(2)
Richard Gasquet/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d. Chris Guccione/Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 57 76(4) 62 75
Julien Benneteau (FRA) d. Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 64 61
Gael Monfils (FRA) d. Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 76(5) 64

GREAT BRITAIN defeated USA 3-1
Venue: Petco Park, San Diego, CA, USA (clay – outdoor)

Andy Murray (GBR) d. Donald Young (USA) 61 62 63
James Ward (GBR) d. Sam Querrey (USA) 16 76(3) 36 64 61
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) d. Colin Fleming/Dominic Inglot (GBR) 62 63 36 61
Andy Murray (GBR) d. Sam Querrey (USA) 76(5) 67(3) 61 63
Donald Young (USA) v James Ward (GBR) not played

ITALY defeated ARGENTINA 3-1
Venue: Patinodromo Municipal “Adalberto Lugea”, Mar del Plata, ARG (clay – outdoor)

Carlos Berlocq (ARG) d. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 46 60 62 61
Fabio Fognini (ITA) d. Juan Monaco (ARG) 75 62 62
Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini (ITA) d. Eduardo Schwank/Horacio Zeballos (ARG) 67(6) 76(8) 76(3) 64
Fabio Fognini (ITA) d. Carlos Berlocq (ARG) 76(5) 46 61 64
Juan Monaco (ARG) v Andreas Seppi (ITA) not played

KAZAKHSTAN defeated BELGIUM 3-2
Venue: National Tennis Centre, Astana, KAZ (hard – indoor)

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) d. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 64 67(3) 62 63
Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. David Goffin (BEL) 76(9) 36 46 62 1210
Ruben Bemelmans/Olivier Rochus (BEL) d. Evgeny Korolev/Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 62 67(4) 63 76(4)
David Goffin (BEL) d. Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 46 63 36 64 60
Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 62 63 61

SWITZERLAND defeated SERBIA 3-2
Venue: Spens Sport Centre, Novi Sad, SRB (hard – indoor)

Roger Federer (SUI) d. Ilija Bozoljac (SRB) 64 75 62
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) d. Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 64 46 61 76(7)
Marco Chiudinelli/Michael Lammer (SUI) d. Filip Krajinovic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 76(3) 36 76(2) 62
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) d. Michael Lammer (SUI) 63 36 64
Filip Krajinovic (SRB) d. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 64 64

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I
ECUADOR defeated VENEZUELA 3-2
Venue: Francisco Segura Cano, Guayaquil, ECU (clay – outdoor)

Julio-Cesar Campozano (ECU) d. David Souto (VEN) 63 67(5) 46 64 62
Emilio Gomez (ECU) d. Ricardo Rodriguez (VEN) 60 63 64
Luiz David Martinez/Roberto Maytin (VEN) d. Emilio Gomez/Giovanni Lapentti (ECU) 62 46 63 62
Emilio Gomez (ECU) d. David Souto (VEN) 61 61 61
Ricardo Rodriguez (VEN) d. Gonzalo Escobar (ECU) 57 64 62

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC defeated URUGUAY 4-0
Venue: Centro Nacional de Tenis Parque del Este, Santo Domingo, DOM (hard – outdoor)

Jose Hernandez (DOM) d. Martin Cuevas (URU) 63 76(3) 63
Victor Estrella (DOM) d. Ariel Behar (URU) 63 64 64
Victor Estrella/Jose Hernandez (DOM) d. Ariel Behar/Martin Cuevas (URU) 63 62 63
Jose Olivares (DOM) d. Rodrigo Senattore (URU) 57 61 75
William Kirkman (DOM) v Santiago Maresca (URU) 2-2 match abandoned due to rain

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I
CHINA, P.R. defeated NEW ZEALAND 3-1 (tie played 27-29 January)
Venue: Tianjin Tennis Centre, Tianjin, CHN (hard – indoor)

Wu Di (CHN) d. Michael Venus (NZL) 36 76(4) 62 16 63
Zhang Ze (CHN) d. Jose Statham (NZL) 67(5) 63 64 64
Marcus Daniell/Michael Venus (NZL) d. Gong Mao-Xin/Li Zhe (CHN) 63 76(3) 75
Wu Di (CHN) d. Jose Statham (NZL) 67(5) 67(1) 63 75 64
Zhang Ze (CHN) v Michael Venus (NZL) not played

INDIA defeated CHINESE TAIPEI 5-0
Venue: ITC Tennis Stadium, Indore, IND (hard – outdoor)

Yuki Bhambri (IND) d. Yang Tsung-Hua (TPE) 62 64 67(1) 63
Somdev Devvarman (IND) d. Chen Ti (TPE) 67(4) 76(3) 16 62 97
Rohan Bopanna/Saketh Myneni (IND) d. Peng Hsien-Yin/Yang Tsung-Hua (TPE) 60 67(3) 63 76(2)
Saketh Myneni (IND) d. Yang Tsung-Hua (TPE) 61 64
Yuki Bhambri (IND) d. Peng Hsien-Yin (TPE) 75 60

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I
POLAND defeated RUSSIA 3-2
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Moscow, RUS (hard – indoor)

Jerzy Janowicz (POL) d. Karen Khachanov (RUS) 62 64 64
Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) d. Michal Przysiezny (POL) 63 36 76(3) 62
Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski (POL) d. Karen Khachanov/Konstantin Kravchuk (RUS) 26 64 61 60
Jerzy Janowicz (POL) d. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) 63 75 76(3)
Teymuriaz Gabashvili (RUS) d. Michal Przysiezny (POL) 75 75

SLOVENIA defeated PORTUGAL 3-2
Venue: Teniski Klub Triglav Kranj, Kranj, SLO (hard – indoor)

Joao Sousa (POR) d. Janez Semrajc (SLO) 61 64 46 60
Blaz Kavcic (SLO) d. Gastao Elias (POR) 76(14) 61 64
Blaz Kavcic/Grega Zemlja (SLO) d. Gastao Elias/Joao Sousa (POR) 63 75 76(5)
Blaz Kavcic (SLO) d. Joao Sousa (POR) 75 75 62
Frederico Silva (POR) d. Mike Urbanija (SLO) 46 4-3 ret.

UKRAINE defeated ROMANIA 3-1
Venue: Megaron Tennis Club, Dnipropetrovsk, UKR (hard – indoor)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) d. Adrian Ungur (ROU) 63 61 64
Iliya Marchenko (UKR) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 46 26 63 76(6) 64
Marius Copil/Horia Tecau (ROU) d. Sergei Bubka/Denys Molchanov (UKR) 57 63 64 64
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 36 63 62 63
Iliya Marchenko (UKR) v Adrian Ungur (ROU) not played

SLOVAK REPUBLIC defeated LATVIA 5-0
Venue: Aegon Arena, National Tennis Centre, Bratislava, SVK (hard – indoor)

Lukas Lacko (SVK) d. Martins Podzus (LAT) 36 63 63 61
Martin Klizan (SVK) d. Andis Juska (LAT) 64 67(4) 63 46 86
Andrej Martin/Michal Mertinak (SVK) d. Andis Juska/Janis Podzus (LAT) 75 61 36 63
Andrej Martin (SVK) d. Janis Podzus (LAT) 64 67(5) 63
Martin Klizan (SVK) d. Arturs Lazdins (LAT) 63 63

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP II
BARBADOS defeated CHILE 3-2
Venue: National Tennis Centre, Bridgetown, BAR (hard – outdoor)

Gonzalo Lama (CHI) d. Haydn Lewis (BAR) 64 61 76(4)
Darian King (BAR) d. Christian Garin (CHI) 26 76(2) 75 63
Darian King/Haydn Lewis (BAR) d. Jorge Aguilar/Christian Garin (CHI) 64 36 76(4) 63
Darian King (BAR) d. Gonzalo Lama (CHI) 62 64 63
Jorge Aguilar (CHI) d. Russell Moseley (BAR) 61 62

EL SALVADOR defeated PARAGUAY 3-2
Venue: Club Internacional de Tenis – Estadio Victor Pecci, Asuncion, PAR (clay – outdoor)

Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) d. Juan Borba (PAR) 62 62 64
Rafael Arevalo (ESA) d. Diego Galeano (PAR) 76(2) 16 76(3) 36 63
Marcelo Arevalo/Rafael Arevalo (ESA) d. Diego Galeano/Juan Carlos Ramirez (PAR) 63 64 64
Juan Carlos Ramirez (PAR) d. Sebastian Quiroz (ESA) 60 60
Juan Borba (PAR) d. Salvador Bolanos (ESA) 62 60

BOLIVIA level with PERU 2-2
Venue: Club de Tenis Trinidad, Trinidad, BOL (clay – outdoor)

Mauricio Echazu (PER) d. Federico Zeballos (BOL) 46 62 62 67(3) 62
Hugo Dellien (BOL) d. Sergio Galdos (PER) 63 64 26 64
Hugo Dellien/Federico Zeballos (BOL) d. Duilio Beretta/Sergio Galdos (PER) 76(4) 75 64
Mauricio Echazu (PER) d. Hugo Dellien (BOL) 76(4) 62 63
Federico Zeballos (BOL) v Sergio Galdos (PER)

MEXICO defeated GUATEMALA 3-2
Venue: Federacion Nacional de Tenis de Campo, Guatemala City, GUA (hard – outdoor)

Miguel-Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) d. Luciano Ramazzini (GUA) 61 61 63
Christopher Diaz-Figueroa (GUA) d. Tigre Hank (MEX) 64 64 64
Santiago Gonzalez/Miguel-Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) d. Christopher Diaz-Figueroa/Sebastien Vidal (GUA) 64 76(4) 76(5)
Christopher Diaz-Figueroa (GUA) d. Miguel-Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) 75 76(9) 61
Miguel Gallardo-Valles (MEX) d. Luciano Ramazzini (GUA) 61 60 61

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP II
PHILIPPINES defeated SRI LANKA 3-1
Venue: Sri Lanka Tennis Association Courts, Colombo, SRI (hard – outdoor)

Harshana Godamanna (SRI) d. Patrick-John Tierro (PHI) 63 67(8) 46 62 63
Ruben Gonzales (PHI) d. Dineshkanthan Thangarajah (SRI) 63 63 60
Ruben Gonzales/Treat Huey (PHI) d. Harshana Godamanna/Rajeev Rajapakse (SRI) 61 60 61
Treat Huey (PHI) d. Harshana Godamanna (SRI) 26 64 64 64
Dineshkanthan Thangarajah (SRI) v Patrick-John Tierro (PHI) not played

KUWAIT defeated INDONESIA 3-2
Venue: Kuwait Tennis Federation Center, Mishref, KUW (hard – outdoor)

Mohammad Ghareeb (KUW) d. David Agung Susanto (INA) 63 63 76(2)
Abdullah Maqdas (KUW) d. Elbert Sie (INA) 63 64 46 60
Elbert Sie/David Agung Susanto (INA) d. Mohammad Ghareeb/Abdullah Maqdas (KUW) 76(2) 61 62
Abdullah Maqdas (KUW) d. David Agung Susanto (INA) 64 64 61
Aditya Hari Sasongko (INA) d. Abdulhameed Alshatti (KUW) 62 61

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP II
SOUTH AFRICA defeated MONACO 3-2
Venue: Irene Country Club, Centurion, RSA (hard – outdoor)

Romain Arneodo (MON) d. Rik de Voest (RSA) 75 36 75 57 64
Nikala Scholtz (RSA) d. Benjamin Balleret (MON) 75 76(4) 36 36 63
Raven Klaasen/Ruan Roelofse (RSA) d. Guillaume Couillard/Thomas Oger (MON) 64 64 36 46 63
Rik de Voest (RSA) d. Benjamin Balleret (MON) 76(2) 62 63
Romain Arneodo (MON) d. Nikala Scholtz (RSA) 75 ret.

LITHUANIA defeated NORWAY 5-0
Venue: Oslo Tennis Arena, Oslo, NOR (hard – indoor)

Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) d. Joachim Bjerke (NOR) 67(4) 63 63 62
Ricardas Berankis (LTU) d. Viktor Durasovic (NOR) 75 63 62
Ricardas Berankis/Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) d. Stian Boretti/Viktor Durasovic (NOR) 61 64 75
Lukas Mugevicius (LTU) d. Joachim Bjerke (NOR) 31 ret. (back injury)
Mantas Bugailiskis (LTU) d. Viktor Durasovic (NOR) 76(4) 46 63

FINLAND defeated BULGARIA 3-2
Venue: Tali Tennis Center, Helsinki, FIN (hard – indoor)

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Alexander Lazov (BUL) 63 60 63
Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) d. Micke Kontinen (FIN) 64 62 61
Henri Kontinen/Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Tihomir Grozdanov/Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) 63 62 36 62
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) 46 61 26 64 63
Tihomir Grozdanov (BUL) d. Herkko Pollanen (FIN) 67(3) 62 63

BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA defeated GREECE 3-1
Venue: Mojmilo Sports Hall, Sarajevo, BIH (carpet – indoor)

Mirza Basic (BIH) d. Alexandros Jakupovic (GRE) 63 62 62
Markos Kalovelonis (GRE) d. Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 76(4) 76(1) 36 62
Mirza Basic/Tomislav Brkic (BIH) d. Alexandros Jakupovic/Markos Kalovelonis (GRE) 57 60 64 75
Damir Dzumhur (BIH) d. Alexandros Jakupovic (GRE) 46 36 62 63 64
Mirza Basic (BIH) v Markos Kalovelonis (GRE) not played

BELARUS defeated IRELAND 4-1
Venue: Republic Olympic Training Center for Tennis, Minsk, BLR (hard – indoor)

Dzmitry Zhyrmont (BLR) d. Daniel Glancy (IRL) 62 64 62
Egor Gerasimov (BLR) d. John Morrissey (IRL) 64 61 62
Alexander Bury/Max Mirnyi (BLR) d. James Cluskey/David O’Hare (IRL) 67(3) 76(6) 57 76(8) 62
Egor Gerasimov (BLR) d. Daniel Glancy (IRL) 63 63
John Morrissey (IRL) d. Dzmitry Zhyrmont (BLR) w/o

MOLDOVA defeated EGYPT 4-1
Venue: Manejul de Atletica Usoara, Chisnau, MDA (hard – indoor)

Mohamed Safwat (EGY) d. Maxim Dubarenco (MDA) 62 62 62
Radu Albot (MDA) d. Karim Hossam (EGY) 62 36 63 3-0 ret.
Radu Albot/Maxim Dubarenco (MDA) d. Sherif Sabry/Mohamed Safwat (EGY) 63 64 60
Radu Albot (MDA) d. Mohamed Safwat (EGY) 26 63 64 64
Maxim Dubarenco (MDA) d. Sherif Sabry (EGY) 67(6) 64 64

LUXEMBOURG defeated MOROCCO 3-2
Venue: Club Union Sportive des Cheminots du Maroc, Rabat, MAR (clay – outdoor)

Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Yassine Idmbarek (MAR) 61 76(0) 64
Hicham Khaddari (MAR) d. Ugo Nastasi (LUX) 63 16 64 62
Gilles Muller/Mike Scheidweiler (LUX) d. Yassine Idmbarek/Younes Rachidi (MAR) 64 64 62
Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Hicham Khaddari (MAR) 64 62 63
Younes Rachidi (MAR) d. Christophe Tholl (LUX) 62 75

DENMARK defeated CYPRUS 4-1
Venue: Hørsholm-Rungsted Tennisklub, Copenhagen, DEN (hard – indoor)

Martin Pedersen (DEN) d. Sergis Kyratzis (CYP) 62 63 62
Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Petros Chrysochos (CYP) 26 61 60 76(4)
Thomas Kromann/Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Christos Hadjigeorgiou/Photos Photiades (CYP) 62 61 61
Mikael Torpegaard (DEN) d. Sergis Kyratzis (CYP) 64 60
Petros Chrysochos (CYP) d. Martin Pedersen (DEN) 63 64