Governing Bodies
DARE RESTATES ‘BABA IJEBU’ AND DANGOTE’S COMMITMENTS TO RENOVATE LAGOS AND ABUJA STADIUMS
With the flagging off of the ‘The Adoption Campaign’ by the Nigeria’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, the minister, Sunde Dare has restated that business moguls, Chief Adebutu Kessington popularly known as Baba Ijebu and Alhaji Aliko Dangote have respectively‘adopted’ the National Stadium in Lagos and the Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
The duo according to the Sports Minister, have accepted the offer as part of the respective Corporate Social Responsibility of their respective companies. The Adopt Campaign for sports in Nigeria held Monday at the Civic Centre in Lagos, at the instance of the Sports Ministry.
Dangote is a well known figure in sports circle after his numerous philanthropic gestures especially to the Super Eagles but Chief Kessinton who as been sponsoring football at the grassroot level is on the national limelight for the first time.
While Dangote will take charge of the Moshood Abiola stadium in Abuja, Kessinton who is into sports betting business will renovate the dilapidated National Stadium in Lagos according to the Sports Minister during the laugh on Monday night.
The Abuja stadium which was completed in 2003 in readiness for the African Games, which Nigeria hosted may only need regular maintenance but the playing turf requires outright replacement.
The same cannot be said of the stadium in Lagos that was built in 1972 for the hosting of the 2nd African Games. The stadium tagged ‘Sports City’ is a shadow of itself even after a complete renovation in 1999 for the Under 20 FIFA World Cup finals.
The main bowl is completely out of fashion and the last time it staged an official match was in 2001 when the Super Eagles defeated Zambia in AFCON qualifying match.
There had been several futile attempts to renovate the multi-purpose edifice that currently serves as home to urchins and rodents while the once hallowed main bowl serves as a venue for parties and religious activities.
Formerly a Mecca of some sort to sports men and women across Africa, the stadium comprises an Olympic-size swimming arena and a multipurpose arena used for basketball, volleyball, table tennis, wrestling and boxing matches.
It hosted several international competitions including the 1980 African Cup of Nations final, the 2000 African Cup of Nations final, and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.
The facility has inexplicably been left to dilapidate since 2002 and last hosted a national team game in 2004.
The Adoption Campaign has three components. To adopt a home-based Athlete is $10,000 and to adopt a foreign-based athlete is $20,000.
All proceeds will go to the athletes, pay their coaches, the therapist and other necessary things.
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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