Governing Bodies
2019 BALLON D’OR: ‘WE NEED TO RESPECT GREATNESS’, 2ND PLACED VIRGIL VAN DIJK PRAISES MESSI
Dutchman, Virgil van Dijk who came second behind Lionel Messi at the 2019 Ballon d’Or awards, has heaped praises on the winner, Lionel Messi. Before then, he had been tipped to beat the Barcelona superstar to the honour. But he chose to be gracious in defeat and heaped praise upon Messi’s greatness.
Speaking in front of a star-studded crowd inside the iconic Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, Van Dijk admitted he never believed he would be in the running for such a huge solo prize.
‘To be absolutely honest I never thought that I would be up for a Ballon d’Or until I was actually nominated,’ said the Dutchman.
‘It says a lot about how my career has been, it’s never been easy. My career has been different than let’s say the winner here, I came late but I never gave up on my dream so I had to work very hard for every step of the way.’
Van Dijk then turned his attention to Messi, heaping praise on the Argentine and causing him to break out into a sheepish smile on stage.
He continued: ‘Unfortunately there are a couple of players like him (Messi) who are unnatural, I think they are fantastic.
‘Look, six times the Ballon d’Or, we need to respect greatness as well. I was close but there was just someone a little bit better.
‘I’m very proud of what I achieved last year with Liverpool and with Holland and hopefully we can do that again this year, but you know it’s going to be tough as long as these guys are around.
‘My career has been different than let’s say the winner here,’ Van Dijk added.
‘I came late but I never gave up on my dream so I had to work very hard for every step of the way.
‘Where I am right now is something I am very proud of and to be here makes me very proud and makes me want to work even harder to hopefully be here next year again.’
Messi and Van Dijk took first and second place respectively at the ceremony, while Cristiano Ronaldo came in third.
The Juventus superstar opted not to attend the event, and also missed out to Messi and Van Dijk earlier in the year at FIFA’s The Best awards.
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria is set to host the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), marking the third time the country will stage the continent’s top football gathering.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, approved Nigeria’s proposal to host the event.
The approval followed a meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe, attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
Sports Villages Square affirms that Nigeria previously hosted the CAF Congress at the National Theatre in Lagos in March 1980 and again in February 2009, when the late CAF President Issa Hayatou secured another four-year term in office.
In addition to this year’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly, scheduled for October, Nigeria also secured the hosting rights of the CAF Awards ceremony. The annual awards gala, which celebrates Africa’s top football performers, has been staged in Morocco over the past three years.
Nigeria had earlier hosted the CAF Awards when telecom firm, Globacom, was the headline sponsor. This year’s event will be the seventh to be held in Nigeria after those of 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally attracts key football stakeholders from across the continent, including presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions and senior football administrators.
The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as one of African football’s flagship events, honouring outstanding players, coaches, clubs and officials in a glamorous setting that showcases the continent’s football excellence.
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FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee has banned former Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves from all football-related activities for five years after finding he sexually harassed female staff members.
FIFA also fined Alves 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,000) after determining that he had breached provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics relating to the protection of physical and mental integrity, abuse of position and general duties.
“FIFA has a strict stance against all forms of abuse in football,” the organisation said on Monday.
The decision followed a review of written statements from the victims, documents provided by the GFF, submissions from Alves, and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
Alves stepped down from his position in 2024.
The ban came into force on Monday, when the terms of the decision were notified to Alves, and the full grounds for the ruling will be communicated within 60 days in accordance with the Code of Ethics, FIFA added.
The GFF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alves could not immediately be reached for comment.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that he planned to seek re-election for a fourth term in a bid to continue to lead the governing body of world soccer.
Infantino confirmed he would run for the 2027–2031 term in the closing moments of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which comes less than two months before the start of the World Cup.
The election will be held on March 18 in Morocco, which is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup.
Infantino said he was “honoured and humbled” to have the chance to run for a fourth term.
The Italian-Swiss took office in 2016, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.
Infantino has pushed for the expansion of FIFA competitions during his tenure, with this year’s World Cup in North America the first to feature 48 teams, while the women’s tournament in 2023 has been expanded to 32 teams.
Infantino’s tenure has also drawn some criticism over issues such as high World Cup ticket prices and the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.
Earlier this month, the council of South American football’s governing body (CONMEBOL) said in a statement it would unanimously support the 56-year-old if he decided to seek another term.
-Reuters
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