{"id":8800,"date":"2025-05-28T12:05:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=8800"},"modified":"2025-05-28T12:05:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:05:57","slug":"fifa-pays-tribute-to-shaheen-shah-afridi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=8800","title":{"rendered":"FIFA pays tribute to Shaheen Shah Afridi"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>FIFA has paid tribute to Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, featuring him alongside football greats Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Luka Modri\u0107 in a social media post celebrating global athletes associated with the iconic number 10 jersey.<\/p>\n<p>The FIFA World Cup Instagram account posted an image on Tuesday highlighting Afridi with three of football\u2019s biggest stars\u2014Messi, Neymar and Modri\u0107\u2014under the caption, \u201cThe iconic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Afridi is known for his performances on the cricket field, his inclusion in the tribute signifies a crossover of global sporting recognition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DKKHrbPzOu6\/<\/p>\n<p>There is speculation online from fans that the gesture was part of a wider effort to increase fan engagement in Pakistan ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, set to take place in the US.<\/p>\n<p>Localised campaigns are reportedly in development to connect with sports fans across different regions.<\/p>\n<p>The recognition comes during a high point in Afridi\u2019s cricketing career.<\/p>\n<p>The 25-year-old fast bowler led Lahore Qalandars to a third HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) title, making him the most successful captain in the league\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>Afridi\u2019s Qalandars chased down 202 to defeat Quetta Gladiators in the final at Lahore\u2019s Gaddafi Stadium. Sikandar Raza secured the win with a six and a four in the final over, finishing the match with one ball to spare.<\/p>\n<p>Already the only captain to claim consecutive HBL PSL titles in 2022 and 2023, Afridi now holds the distinction of lifting the trophy three times\u2014more than any other captain in the competition.<\/p>\n<p>Captains with most HBL PSL titles:<\/p>\n<p>\tShaheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars) \u2013 3<\/p>\n<p>\tMisbah-ul-Haq (Islamabad United) \u2013 1<\/p>\n<p>\tDarren Sammy (Peshawar Zalmi) \u2013 1<\/p>\n<p>\tJP Duminy (Islamabad United) \u2013 1<\/p>\n<p>\tSarfaraz Ahmed (Quetta Gladiators) \u2013 1<\/p>\n<p>\tImad Wasim (Karachi Kings) \u2013 1<\/p>\n<p>\tMohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans) \u2013 1<\/p>\n<p>\tShadab Khan (Islamabad United) \u2013 1<\/p>\n<p>FIFA\u2019s post places Afridi in elite company, furthering his rise as a globally recognised athlete across sporting codes.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FIFA has paid tribute to Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, featuring him alongside football greats Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Luka Modri\u0107 in a social media post celebrating global athletes associated with the iconic number 10 jersey. The FIFA World Cup Instagram account posted an image on Tuesday highlighting Afridi with three of football\u2019s biggest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8800\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}