Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/638406
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2016 23 Sport Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Rather cloudy VISIBILITY: Good WIND: Southwest force 2 to 3 becoming West Southwest force 4 overnight SEA: Moderate becoming slight SWELL: Low Northwest becoming negligible Sea Temp.: 17 °C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. PARTLY CLOUDY 18 º C / 12 º C UV INDEX: 3 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Across 6. Italian sausage (6) 7. Family (4) 8. Completed (4) 9. Gazes fixedly (6) 10. Rips (5) 12. Inhabitants of Ireland (5) 15. Plot (6) 17. Building for storing hay (4) 18. Prescribed amount (4) 19. Invasive tumour (6) Down 1. Conditional release (6) 2. Detest (4) 3. Refreshment stand (5) 4. Cream cake (6) 5. One of the divisions of a window (4) 11. Marijuana cigarette (6) 13. View in detail (6) 14. Expanse of sand (5) 16. Crocodile (4) 17. Sudden explosive noise (4) Ncd3 f3 Qg5 Qa7 Nf2+ Qxf2 Kxf2 Kh2 Nxf3 K1 Qc1# (Qg2#, Qg1#) FOOTBALL Big European clubs support Infantino for FIFA presidency EUROPE'S biggest soccer clubs have backed UEFA interim chief Gianni Infantino's FIFA presiden- tial campaign having worked close- ly with the Swiss through their um- brella European Club Association (ECA) group. ECA vice-chairman Umberto Gandini announced the decision on Tuesday at a news conference during the general assembly of the organisation, which represents over 200 clubs including major ones such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ju- ventus and Bayern Munich. "We know Gianni very well. He has been instrumental in the crea- tion of the relationship between UEFA and the ECA," Gandini said. "We see his candidacy as a nice op- portunity for him which hopefully will benefit football worldwide. "He has the skills to perform very well," he added ahead of this month's vote at the scandal-plagued world governing body. The independent ECA, which re- placed the G-14 group of leading clubs in 2008, has two representa- tives on the UEFA executive com- mittee but has no direct role in the presidential voting which is con- ducted by FIFA's 209 members. The other election candidates are Bahrain's Sheikh Salman Bin Ebra- him Al Khalifa, ex-FIFA executive committee member Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Cham- pagne and South African Tokyo Sexwale, a former political prison- er who was jailed alongside Nelson Mandela. UEFA's Infantino and Asian Foot- ball Confederation (AFC) chief Salman are front-runners to win the Feb. 26 vote at FIFA, which has been embroiled in a huge corrup- tion scandal with 41 people and en- tities indicted by the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice. Salman has the backing of his own AFC and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), while 45- year-old Infantino, UEFA's general secretary, has the support of his European organisation along with the 10-member South American confederation CONMEBOL. The ECA also voiced its strong opposition to the possible expan- sion of the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams – an idea supported by Infantino. "This is in the hands of FIFA and it will be in the hands of the new FIFA structure after the election," said Gandini. "We will expect to be at the table to discuss all the possible reforms and we will bring our contribution and our evaluation, which can only be negative today. "We are not there yet (at the point where changes to the World Cup format would be made) but we are not now in a situation of support- ing such an idea," he added. The ECA promotes its members interests on European club matters and aims to maintain a high level of involvement in the decision-mak- ing of the game's governing bodies. UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino