There'll be extra attention on the pre- and post-game moments when archrivals India and Pakistan meet in the opening game of the South Asian Football Federation Cup.
Many tuning in Thursday will be wondering if the players will shake hands at the outset of the six-nation tournament being hosted in Bangladesh.
Soccer takes a backseat to cricket in this part of the world. And unlike cricket, the national football teams of India and Pakistan aren't superpowers in the global game.
Tension has been higher than usual in recent cricket encounters between the countries, with players not exchanging customary handshakes before or after international games. The soccer contest could be different.
“I think they will shake hands. This is football protocol that will be followed irrespective of the country,” Shaji Prabhakaran, former general secretary of the All India Football Federation, told The Associated Press. “That rivalry has not yet come into football.”
One reason is the lopsided nature of the soccer relationship, with India ranked No. 138 by FIFA and Pakistan at 197th.
“India has dominated but there is potential if Pakistan improves,” Prabhakaran said. “The local rivalry can come, it would be good and exciting.”
Pakistan has been calling up overseas-born talent such as Danish-born captain Abdullah Iqbal, who plays for Mjällby AIF in Sweden, and is aiming to reach the final of the regional tournament for the first time.
Pakistan coach Nolberto Solano is drawing on his experience of intense rivalries from his time as a Peru international and a decade in the Premier League.
“The rivalry between Peru and Chile is similar to that between Pakistan and India,” the former Newcastle United and Aston Villa winger said ahead of the game in Dhaka. “It carries the same intensity. I understand very well how important these matches are for the fans. We want to make people happy because we know what these games mean to them.”
The tournament is split into two groups of three, and the top two from each advance to the semifinals.
India and Pakistan are grouped with Maldives.
Bangladesh, coached by ex-U. S. international Thomas Dooley, is hoping to win a second title, especially as it has home advantage and has been grouped with Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
India, with three of the last four regional titles, would welcome more regional competition.
“There are some sentiments from fans that India should play at a higher level but showing your domination sends a message,” Prabhakaran said. “Other (SAFF) nations all fancy beating India and they all want India to be more active in the region.”
None of the South Asian teams qualified for the 24-team Asian Cup, which was this week pushed back from January to December next year because of the conflict in the Middle East.
Prabhakaran believes there is potential for soccer in South Asia to improve enough to match cricket for its following and passion among fans.
“Cricket shows the sporting passion in the region but football is the No. 1 sport in Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan,” he said. “Local football has to grow and India will benefit and can attract players from the region and send its players to other leagues if those leagues improve. It is in the interests of everyone and India has to take the lead.”
The coming weeks are a chance for India to show its strength.
“The South Asian Championship is like the Asian Cup for South Asian countries,” Prabhakaran said, “this is the one competition that they are able to engage to the maximum.”
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
India's players stand for the national anthem before the international friendly soccer match between India and Uruguay in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Abortion-rights advocates notched victories in several states Tuesday, and voters delivered a double dose of disapproval to President Donald Trump’s redistricting efforts as they decided 145 ballot questions in more than three dozen states.
The ballot measures provided a political undercard for a high-profile midterm election in which Democrats took control of Congress and gained power in state legislatures and gubernatorial offices.
Some measures put Trump’s priorities to a public test by gauging support for his attempts to redraw congressional districts, limit transgender athletes in sports and strengthen voter identification requirements.
Voters defeated a proposed amendment to Missouri’s constitution that would have reimposed restrictions on most abortions. The vote Tuesday essentially reaffirmed voters' decision from two years ago, when they became the first in the nation to undo an existing abortion ban by approving an abortion-rights amendment.
The Republican-led Legislature then referred a new, less restrictive version of an abortion ban to this year’s ballot. The measure would have allowed abortions only for medical emergencies and fetal anomalies, or in cases of rape or incest up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It also would have amended the constitution to prohibit certain medical procedures for transgender minors.
Abortion-rights advocates, led by national progressive groups, heavily outspent abortion foes in a successful campaign to defeat the Missouri ballot measure.
In Virginia, a voter-approved measure creates a “ fundamental right to reproductive freedom ” in the state constitution, ensuring that abortions can occur during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. The amendment also creates a right to contraception and fertility care, among other things.
An amendment approved in Nevada creates a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, which is generally considered after 21 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment won initial voter approval in 2024 but needed a second vote this year to add it to the constitution.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a nationwide right to abortion in 2022, voters in more than one-fifth of the states have passed ballot measures protecting abortion rights.
But voters in Republican-leaning Idaho on Tuesday defeated a ballot measure that would have created abortion rights in state law. Current Idaho law bans abortions unless necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman, or during the first trimester of pregnancy in cases where rape or incest has been reported to law enforcement.
Abortion-rights measures failed two years ago in Florida and South Dakota.
Nine states are using new congressional districts in the midterm elections after a rare spate of mid-decade redistricting encouraged by Trump.
In Missouri, Republican lawmakers last year adopted new House districts designed to help the GOP win an additional seat in the Kansas City area. Opponents then gathered petition signatures to put the map to a public vote.
The new districts were used in the August primary. But courts subsequently ruled they could not be used again unless first approved by voters in a November referendum. Voters put an end to the new map by rejecting the redistricting legislation on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, voters in Democratic-led Maryland approved a constitutional amendment that could pave the way for new congressional districts in the 2028 election. Democratic proponents, backed by former President Barack Obama, had urged a “yes” vote as a way to “stop Trump.”
Some Democrats also want to redistrict in Colorado. But a citizen initiative on the ballot would prohibit any potential 2028 redistricting from favoring one political party and require approval from both an independent commission and the state Supreme Court.
An amendment passed Tuesday could wipe away a significant amount of taxes for Florida homeowners — and leave local governments scrambling for revenue.
The Florida amendment was one of the nation’s most notable property tax proposals in a year when numerous politicians proposed ways to provide tax relief to residents burdened by high costs.
Florida currently exempts the first $50,000 of the value of a person’s permanent residence from many property taxes. That exemption will triple next year for non-school taxes and rise to $250,000 in 2028.
The measure was referred to the ballot during a special legislative session called by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Some local officials warn it could lead to cuts to police and fire departments, public libraries and parks.
Nebraska voters approved an amendment to add existing transgender medical restrictions to the state constitution. And in Arizona, voters passed a measure that extends public school sports restrictions to private schools.
Voters in Colorado and Washington also were considering measures restricting transgender athletes or medical procedures. That comes as Trump’s administration has been pushing for restrictions impacting transgender people, especially youth.
Most Republican-led states already bar transgender women and girls from female school sports teams. In the Democratic-led states of Colorado and Washington, the measures were placed on the ballot by citizen initiatives. A second ballot question in Colorado would ban some transgender medical treatments for minors.
Though Trump’s push for nationwide voter ID mandates remains stalled in Congress, citizen activists bypassed Democratic-led state legislatures to place new voter ID requirements on the ballot in California, Colorado and Nevada.
Opponents in California successfully campaigned against the amendment by linking it to Trump. The defeated California measure would have required a government-issued ID to vote in person or the last four digits of that identification number to vote by mail. The vast majority of California’s ballots are cast by mail.
Colorado voters also defeated a measure that would have required people voting by mail to include the last four digits of a government-issued identification number.
In Ohio and North Carolina, Republican-led legislatures referred measures to the ballot enhancing existing voter ID requirements by placing them in the state constitution. The measures passed in both states. A voter ID amendment also passed in Nevada.
North Dakota and South Dakota voters defeated ballot measures that would have made it harder to amend the state constitutions by requiring 60% approval from voters instead of a simple majority. And Utah voters defeated a measure that would have required a 60% threshold to pass citizen initiatives that raise taxes.
Meanwhile, Missouri voters passed an amendment that would make it harder for lawmakers to change voter-approved citizen initiatives by requiring revisions to get an 80% vote in the state House and Senate.
Voters in Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia approved constitutional amendments reinforcing current election practices limiting voting to U.S. citizens. In Alaska, voters approved a citizen voting ballot question as state law.
Critics argue the measures are largely symbolic and unnecessary, because voting by noncitizens is rare and already forbidden in federal elections. But noncitizens are allowed to vote in some local elections in California, Maryland, Vermont and the District of Columbia.
Prior to this election, at least 15 states already had adopted similar measures over the past decade, including all eight states where they appeared on the ballot in 2024 and in Texas last year.
Voters in Arizona passed a ballot measure limiting the use of traffic cameras to catch drivers speeding or running red lights. The Republican-led Legislature referred the measure to voters after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a ban on the cameras.
Hobbs said the cameras enhance roadway safety, but opponents contend they infringe on people’s privacy and point to instances of misuse by certain law enforcement officers.
The proposal would bar new contracts for traffic camera systems starting in 2027 and require local governments to hold elections on whether to continue existing systems.
About half the states, including Arizona, have communities that use cameras to enforce speeding or traffic signal laws, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report.
FILE - Participants in the Midwest March for Life walk past the Missouri Capitol on May 1, 2025, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)
Abortion rights supporters rally inside the Missouri Capitol on Jan. 21, 2026, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb) Photo taken with smartphone.
