Clan-Members » 016.Full list of awardeesRajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 20

GENEVA -- FIFA has found a difficult opponent to President Gianni Infantinos plan to expand the World Cup to 48 teams.A group of 220 of Europes top clubs called on Infantino on Thursday not to increase the tournament from its 32-team format.The European Club Association said the number of games played each season has already reached an unacceptable level.In the interest of the fans and the players, we urge FIFA not to increase the number of World Cup participants, ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.Rummenigge wrote to Infantino ahead of a possible Jan. 10 decision on expansion by the Infantino-chaired FIFA Council.Infantino wants 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup, adding 368 players in the 16 extra squads who would be committed to national team duty for at least one month.The FIFA president is already trying to please clubs with expansion options -- including 16 groups of three teams -- that retain the current maximum of seven World Cup games per team.A bigger and more lucrative World Cup would help fulfill Infantinos election promises to FIFAs 211 member federations. He campaigned on adding eight teams to make a 40-team tournament and more than doubling development grants to $5 million for members from each World Cup.Still, Rummenigge, who FIFA appointed deputy chairman of its new football stakeholders committee in May, urged Infantino to put football first.Politics and commerce should not be the exclusive priority in football, said Rummenigge, the Bayern Munich chairman.European clubs are likely to be the employers of the majority of players at the 2026 World Cup.The ECAs research before the 2014 World Cup said European clubs employed more than 76 percent of players picked to go to Brazil. Only 13 of the 32 teams were European.Bayern and Manchester United topped a table of clubs providing players to the tournament with 14 players each in Brazil.The Rummenigge-led ECA has been a tough negotiator with FIFA since it was created in 2008, driving talks to win a share of World Cup revenues with an insurance program for injured players and a cash share through a daily rate paid for each players participation.FIFA paid into a $40 million fund to compensate clubs whose players took part in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. That rose to $70 million in Brazil and will be $209 million for each of the next two World Cups, in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.The 2026 World Cup, potentially to be hosted across North America, is the first opportunity FIFA and Infantino have to increase the tournaments size.More teams and bigger broadcasting revenues would inevitably lead to clubs calling for an increased compensation fund.Kaleb McGary Youth Jersey .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Takkarist McKinley Jersey . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. http://www.falconsrookiestore.com/Falcons-Deion-Sanders-Jersey/ . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Julio Jones Youth Jersey . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Julio Jones Womens Jersey . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik are set to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, Indias highest sporting honour, alongside gymnast Dipa Karmakar and shooter Jitu Rai. This is the first time the award will be conferred upon four athletes at a time.While Sindhu created history by becoming the first woman athlete from India to win a silver in badminton at the Rio Olympics, Sakshi bagged a bronze in womens 58kg wrestling.Dipa Karmakar, Indias first woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, missed bronze by 0.15 points, but her clean finish in the high-risk Produnova vault earned her praise from all corners. Shooter Jitu Rai, the 2014 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, participated in the 10m and 50m air pistol events, finishing 8th and 12th respectively.The Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years. Apart from a medal and a citation, the Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh.The sports Ministry also selected 15 athletes for this years Arjuna Award. The notable names in the list are boxer Shiva Thapa, long distance runner Lalita Babar, cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, hockey players VR Raghunath and Rani Rampal.The Arjuna Award is given for consistent performance over four years, while the Dronacharya Award is given to coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events. The Dhyan Chand Award is given out for lifetime contribution to sports development.This years Dronacharya Award has been conferred upon six coaches, the most notable among being Dipas coach Bishweshwar Nandi and Indian Test team captain Virat Kohlis mentor Raj Kumar Sharma.Besides Nandi, others who will honoured with the Dronacharya Award are Nagapuri Ramesh (athletics), Sagar Mal Dhayal (boxing), Pradeep Kumar (swimming, lifetime) and Mahabir Singh (wrestling, lifetime).The Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Satti Geetha (athletics), Sylvanus Dungg Dung (hockey) and Rajendra Pralhad Shelke (rowing).ddddddddddddThe Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.The recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar will be given trophies and certificates. The top performing university in inter-university tournaments will be given MAKA Trophy, award money of Rs 10 lakh and certificates.The awardees were selected from a large number of nominations by a selection committee comprising former Olympians, Arjuna Awardees, Dronacharya Awardees, Dhyan Chand Awardees, sports journalists, experts, commentators and sports administrators.The selection committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards was headed by Justice SK Agarwal, Retired Delhi High Court Judge.The selection committee for Dronacharya Awards and Dhyan Chand Awards was headed by MC Mary Kom.The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2016.Full list of awardeesRajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2016: PV Sindhu (badminton), Dipa Karmakar (gymnastics), Jitu Rai (shooting) and Sakshi Malik (wrestling).Dronacharya Award 2016: Nagapuri Ramesh (athletics), Sagar Mal Dhayal (boxing), Raj Kumar Sharma (cricket), Bishweshwar Nandi (gymnastics), S Pradeep Kumar (swimming, lifetime) and Mahabir Singh (wrestling, lifetime).Arjuna Award 2016: Rajat Chauhan (archery), Lalita Babar (athletics), Sourav Kothari (billiards and snooker), Shiva Thapa (boxing), Ajinkya Rahane (cricket), Subrata Paul (football), Rani Rampal (hockey), VR Raghunath (hockey), Gurpreet Singh (shooting), Apurvi Chandela (shooting), Soumyajit Ghosh (table tennis), Vinesh (wrestling), Amit Kumar (wrestling), Sandeep Singh Mann (para-athletics), Virender Singh (wrestling, deaf).Dhyan Chand Award: Satti Geetha (athletics), Sylvanus Dung Dung (hockey), Rajendra Pralhad Shelke (rowing). ' ' '