Governing Bodies
FRANCE PROBES OF QATAR’S SUCCESSFUL WORLD CUP BID
The French authorities have opened a corruption investigation into the circumstances that led to Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup.
The investigation, which will be led by a judge, follows a three-year operation by prosecutors specialising in financial crimes into the decision made in December 2010.
More than half of the 22 members of world football governing body FIFA’s executive committee who voted have since been either accused of corruption or prosecuted for it.
The French investigators have particularly focused on the case because of a meeting that took place at the Elysee Palace, the official residence of France’s President, a month before the vote.
It was there that Nicolas Sarkozy, the then French leader, and two close aides had lunch with Michel Platini, the former head of UEFA and an influential voter in the choice of World Cup venues, and Qatar’s then prime minister.
Platini claims he was shocked to see Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani, who is now Qatar’s Emir, in the room, and had attended only to inform Sarkozy that he had decided to pick Qatar as host.
A spokesman for France’s financial crimes prosecutor confirmed the investigation, first reported by investigative news website Mediapart, but declined to comment further, citing secrecy rules.
Platini has since been questioned twice by the authorities and most recently, he was detained in June, along with the two aides to Sarkozy present at the lunch.
Days earlier, in an interview with the New York Times, he claimed that he had done nothing wrong.
Separately, FIFA plans to sue him to recover two million Swiss francs (S$2.76 million) he allegedly received illegally years ago.
Qatar has issued strong denials of corruption since the day it was picked to host the World Cup. But that has not stopped a string of allegations and claims over how the wealthy, gas-rich country managed to convince FIFA’s board members that it was more suitable than rival bidders.
The latest reminder came earlier this month. A FIFA document, outlining a life ban to the former head of Brazilian football Ricardo Teixeira for bribery, included witness testimony from last year that alleged three South Americans were paid vast sums for their votes.
But Qatar’s World Cup organisers said in a statement: “We maintain that we conducted our bid ethically and with integrity, strictly adhering to all rules and regulations.”
- AFP
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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