Governing Bodies
ONIKAN STADIUM RENAMED AFTER 1ST LAGOS GOVERNOR, MOBOLAJI JOHNSON
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The compact waterfront sports stadium in Lagos, Nigeria, the Onikan Arena has been renamed after the first Lagos State Governor, retired Brig. Gen. Mobolaji Johnson who died on October 30.
The renaming was announced on Tuesday by the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during a ‘Day of Honour’ event organised to celebrate the exit of the pioneer governor of the state. Mobolaji Johnson became the Governor of Lagos when it was formerly proclaimed a state on May 27, 1967.
Before then, the city had existed first as a Colony of Lagos under the British and later as a federal territory before 1967.
The area is therefore having its sixth name since it was built in 1936 as the Association Ground. At the beginning in 1936, the site was fenced with raffia mats and had two gates.
One was for the important people while the other gate was for the masses. On April 12, 1952, it was renamed as King George V (KGV) to mark the coronation of England monarch. That was the first change of name for the arena.
The mats gave way to concrete walls while a small place was designated for players and officials. The stadium which was the birthplace of the first national competition, the Governor’s Cup and also the premier home ground for Nigeria’s national team.
At the time, the then Association ground was given a facelift to commensurate the new status it was to enjoy being named after the English monarch. It was later renamed as Lagos City Stadium in October 1963 when Nigeria became a republic.
The last national cup final was played at the arena on October 14, 1972 when Bendel Insurance were held to 2-2 draw by Mighty Jets. The stadium existed as Lagos City Stadium until the Government of Brig. Gen Mobolaji Johnson demolished it on June 7, 1973.
The last match at the Lagos City Stadium was a derby of Stationery Stores and NEPA, which the latter won 2-1. Skipper Okonji of NEPA scored the winning goal and very last one at the old soccer temple.
It took another nine years for the stadium to come back to life when Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the first civilian governor of Lagos State commissioned a rebuilt one on October 2, 1982. Like the demolished old edifice, it was another NEPA versus Stores local derby that featured as the first match.
Again, it was a NEPA player, Depriye Tebowei that scored the first goal in the arena that was renamed from Lagos City Stadium as Onikan Stadium.
That structure was pulled down in 2017 and the rebuilt version, which was initially renamed as Onikan Arena is now the Mobolaji Johnson Arena.
World football governing body, FIFA, today clocks its 122nd anniversary, celebrating more than a century of overseeing and expanding the global game.
Founded on May 21, 1904, in Paris, France, FIFA began with just seven member associations — France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
From that modest beginning, the organisation has grown into the most influential sports governing body in the world, with 211 member associations spread across all continents.
Over the decades, FIFA has transformed football into a truly global phenomenon through competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Club World Cup, youth tournaments, and developmental programmes aimed at growing the game worldwide.
The organisation has also witnessed remarkable milestones, including the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 13 teams in 1930 to 48 teams beginning from the 2026 edition to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
FIFA’s journey has equally reflected football’s growing influence beyond sport, with the game becoming a major tool for diplomacy, social inclusion, youth empowerment, and economic development across the world.
As FIFA celebrates 122 years of existence, attention is now focused on the future of the game, technological innovations, expanded competitions, women’s football growth, and the continued globalisation of football.
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UEFA has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women’s soccer coach who secretly filmed his players, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17.
In a statement, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following the appointment of an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate allegations of potential misconduct.
“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.
FC Slovacko did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world soccer governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.
“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the well-being of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.
Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19s team.
RELATED STORY: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/04/08/outrage-as-male-coach-who-secretly-filmed-women-players-still-free-to-work-in-football/
-Reuters
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Southampton have been kicked out of the Championship playoff final after being found guilty of spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, the English Football League said on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 to Southampton on aggregate in the semi, have been reinstated and will face Hull City on Saturday in what is dubbed the world’s richest soccer match.
Promotion to the Premier League, even with an immediate relegation, is estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons.
Southampton, who admitted the charges, were also found guilty of filming training sessions involving Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April during the regular season.
They have also been deducted four points from the start of next season in England’s second tier.
“An Independent Disciplinary Commission has today expelled Southampton from the Championship play-offs after the club admitted multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training,” the EFL said.
“Southampton admitted breaches of Regulations requiring Clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another Club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.
“The effect of today’s order is that Middlesbrough are reinstated into the 2026 play-offs and will proceed to the play-off final against Hull City. The final remains scheduled for Saturday 23 May, with the kick-off time to be confirmed.”
The EFL confirmed that Southampton could appeal against the decision and that “parties are working to try and resolve any appeal on Wednesday 20 May.
“Subject to the outcome, it could result in a further change to Saturday’s fixture,” the statement said.
‘BORO CALLED FOR SOUTHAMPTON EXPULSION
Middlesbrough had called for Southampton’s expulsion after having a training session at their Rockliffe Park site filmed 48 hours ahead of the first leg of their playoff semi-final with Southampton which ended 0-0.
The north-east club said they welcomed the decision.
“We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct,” the north Middlesbrough said in a statement.
“As a club, we are now focused on our game against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday.”
Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season and were struggling in the early part of this campaign until a storming finish in which they went unbeaten in 19 league games to finish fourth and enter the playoffs.
The south-coast club are the first to fall foul of the Football League’s regulation 127 — brought in after Leeds United were found guilty of spying on Derby County seven years ago, an offence for which they were fined 200,000 pounds.
-Reuters
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