The FIFA Executive Committee, under the chairmanship of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter today, 19 March 2010, approved special funding for the football associations of Chile and Haiti to assist them in the reconstruction of their facilities following the natural disasters that recently hit the two countries. During the two-day meeting, the Executive received reports on the preparations for the 60 th FIFA Congress and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and took a number of decisions including the appointment of several hosts for FIFA competitions between 2011 and 2013.

The Executive Committee confirmed an allocation of USD 3 million to a special projects fund for Haiti in order to assist in the rebuilding of the football association's headquarters, regional technical centers and youth facilities. FIFA Had already provided immediate emergency aid of U.S. $ 250,000 shortly after the earthquake.

The Nashua Cape Cobras moved closer to their first SuperSport Series title under the franchise banner as their nearest rivals all struggled to make much progress on the second day of the penultimate round of matches on Friday.

With Stiaan van Zyl falling four runs short of his highest ever first-class score of 161 (271 balls, 20 fours and 2 sixes) and Henry Davids providing good support the Cobras were able to declare their first innings at 477/8, leaving them plenty of time to bowl the inexperienced Nashua Dolphins line-up out twice.

The Fly Emirates XI once again lost out by a narrow margin as they went down to Sussex in the second match of the Emirates Airline Twenty20 this afternoon. Playing back to back matches on the opening day of the tournament, Fly Emirates (a team made up of amateur cricketers who are employed by Emirates Airline) fell just short of the victory target of 111, losing by 7 runs.

On this occasion, it was Sussex that won the toss and elected to bat. Opener Chris Nash was the only batsman to make any kind of impact, notching up a total of 45 off 42 balls before being caught by Amjad Javed off the bowling of guest player Shahid Afridi. The Pakistani star, went on to take two more wickets in his spell to finish with impressive figures of 3 for 18 off his four overs - numbers he was far happier with, than his bowling efforts earlier in the day against Surrey.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board in its meeting today discussed the ‘retirement' announcement of cricketer Roqibul Hassan on 10 March 2010 and his subsequent letter to the Board on 17 March revoking the decision.

Based on the recommendations of the Technical Evaluation Committee the Board has taken the following decisions on the issue:

Jahirul Islam will become the 58th cricketer to don the Test cap for Bangladesh when the second and final Test of the Beximco Series gets underway at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur tomorrow (Saturday). The 24-year-old Rajshahi Division player finished the recently concluded 2009-10 domestic first class season as the top scorer with 965 runs at an an average of 68.92. He replaces Aftab Ahmed in the XI for tomorrow.

"This was definitely a moment I have looked forward to since I became a cricket player. The dream of playing cricket at Test level has always been my chief motivation," said Jahirul after learning about his inclusion.

"I have been in good form coming into the National Team and I will take the confidence of the runs I had scored into the Test match.

"The National Team environment has been amazing and everyone, starting from the players to the coaching staff and management, have welcomed me and have supported me," said Jahirul who was drafted in the squad following the withdrawal of Roqibul Hassan on the eve of the first Test in Chittagong.

There was another change in the Bangladesh line-up for the second Test with pace bowler Shahadat Hossain making way for Shafiul Islam.

BANGLADESH TEAM FOR 2ND TEST: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (Vice Captain/WK), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Zunaed Siddique, Jahirul Islam, Mahmud Ullah, Neem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain

South African captain Graeme Smith should be back to full fitness within the space of the next four weeks.

This was the finding of Cricket South Africa's (CSA) team of medical specialists after they had reviewed X-rays and scans of his injury and conducted further examinations on Thursday afternoon.

This will allow sufficient time for him to take a full part in the Proteas' preparation for the ICC World Twenty20. The tournament starts in the West Indies on April 30.

FIFA and Control Room, a leading global producer of music events, today announced the first performing artists for the inaugural FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert. Alicia Keys, Amadou & Mariam, Angelique Kidjo, Black Eyed Peas, BLK JKS, John Legend, Juanes, Shakira, The Parlotones, Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Toure and Vusi Mahlasela will take to the stage at Orlando Stadium in Soweto / Johannesburg on the eve of the opening match of the first FIFA World Cup on African soil. Further announcements will follow talent.

Billed as the greatest entertainment show to date in Africa, it will feature performances from major international African musicians and artists, as well as appearances by soccer legends past and present and celebrities from other fields. This historic music event will take place in front of a capacity stadium audience of 30,000 will be broadcast to hundreds of millions more worldwide. It is scheduled to begin at 20.00 local time (GMT +2) on 10 June.

Indian skipper MS Dhoni was injured while batting yesterday for the Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League season 3 match with the Kolkata Knight Riders yesterday. Dhoni was struck on the arm by a snorter from New Zealand quickie Shane Bond during his unbeaten innings of 66.

His decision to take the field and keep wickets for Chennai after injuring his elbow appears to have not helped matters, and is likely to rule him out of the IPL for about 10 days. Dhoni should, however, be fit to lead the national side for the ICC World T20 in April.

Talented left-hander Suresh Raina, touted as a potential successor to Dhoni for both the franchise and the country will lead the team in his absence, while Parthiv Patel is likely to take over wicketkeeping duties.

Dhoni will in all likelihood miss games against the Delhi Daredevils (19th March), Kings XI Punjab (21st March), Royal Challengers Bangalore (23rd March) and Mumbai Indians (25th March). He will be hoping to feature for the Super Kings when they head to Ahmedabad to take on the Rajasthan Royals on the 28th.

Click here for the Chennai Super Kings vs. Kolkata Knight Riders Match Report.