Emiliano Matrangolo, 39, a business administration graduate in Buenos Aires, is putting everything on the line for the chance to travel to the World Cup in Qatar to cheer on his team, one of the tournament favourites, and star striker Lionel Messi.

“It’s four years of savings, saving some money every month for this dream come what may. You stop doing things like buying a car or buying a house,” Matrangolo said at a huge barbecue of some 300 Argentine fans ahead of traveling to Qatar.

“It’s a dream, it’s an infatuation. Many people say look, he spends the money to go to Qatar instead of having 5 per cent of a house,” Matrangolo added. “Well I’m sure (a house) is nice, but I’m going to the World Cup.”

“We have Lionel (Messi) on the pitch and Diego playing in heaven,” fans sang at the barbecue in Sarmiento Park.

No entry

Violent fans involved in illegal associations and even those in debt for food dues are part of a list of 6,000 Argentines who will not be allowed to enter World Cup stadiums in Qatar, the Buenos Aires city government said on Monday.

“The violent ones are here and in Qatar. We want to bring peace back to football and that the violent ones are outside the stadiums,” the city’s justice and security minister Marcelo D’Alessandro said.

Next EPL season from Aug 12

London: The 2023-24 Premier League season will kick off on August 12 and will have a mid-season player break in January, the English top flight league said on Tuesday.

This season will be paused after the coming weekend’s games for the mid-season World Cup in Qatar and it will resume on December 26 with Boxing Day fixtures.

The final round match of the season is scheduled for May 28, giving players nearly 11 weeks before the next season kicks off.

“The season schedule returns to normal following the Covid-19 pandemic and the Fifa World Cup 2022, which provided disruption during the previous three seasons,” the league said.

“In keeping with commitments made to clubs this season to address the congested schedule across Christmas and New Year, no two rounds in this period will take place within 48 hours of each other.”

The 2023-24 campaign will finish on May 19, 2024, while the mid-season player break is scheduled for January 13-20.

Reuters