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Governing Bodies

FEAR OF POSSIBLE COMPROMISE LOOMS AHEAD OF WORLD CUP 2022 DRAW IN AFRICA

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

With a little over three weeks to the draw for the second round of the African qualifying series for the 2022 World Cup, palpable fears abound over possible deliberate favourable draw for the home countries of CAF Executive members.

The draw involving 40 teams is expected to be conducted at Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Cairo on 21 January 2020.

It will involve the 26 top ranked teams in the continent who are joined by the 14 winners of the first round that featured in the preliminary competition that spanned from September 4 to November 16, 2019.

According to the plans, the 40 countries will be drawn into 10 groups of four teams, leading to the third and final round where group winners will be drawn into five home and away ties.

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The five winners will advance to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

But feelers obtained from different sources indicate that the secretariat, as well as the top three CAF Executive Committee members, is keen at obtaining favourable draw for their respective countries, leaving the remaining 36 countries jostling for just one ticket.

The indications are that President Ahmad’s Madagascar, along with Constant Omari’s DR Congo, Fouzi Lekjaa’s Morocco and Egypt, the secretariat of CAF will be favoured to qualify for the World Cup.

If the plan scales through, Madagascar, obvious underdogs among African football giants, will debut at the World Cup in Qatar as they did at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019.

DR Congo will be returning to the World Cup 48 years after their humiliating debut at West Germany 1974 where among other results, they were beaten 9-0 by Yugoslavia.

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Egypt will feature in World Cup, which will be their first ever back-to-back appearance. Morocco will be attending the World Cup for the sixth time after their appearances in 1970, 1986, 1994, 1998 and 2018.

Other big teams, including Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, Senegal, Algeria among others will have to be chasing a ticket.

Sources informed Sports Village Square that the plan of reconstituting the CAF Referees Committee was informed by the clandestine moves to get the four mentioned teams easy passage to the World Cup.

But the plan appeared dead on arrival after it was smuggled into the agenda of the November 20, 2019 CAF Executive Committee meeting.

The original intention was to remove Souleyman Waberi of Djibouti from his position as the chairman of CAF’s Referees’ Commission. The plan was aborted, as it did not meet the statutory deadline for inclusion into the agenda.

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Governing Bodies

Sanusi set for record-extending tenure as Nigeria’s football politicians assemble in Asaba

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Speculations gathered ahead of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Football Federation holding in Asaba on Friday have it that tenure elongation for the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, is a major item on the agenda.

Neither formal confirmation nor denial has been issued since one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria, ThisDay dropped the hint.  

 The agenda of the meeting is also not made public. Dr, Sanusi is the longest-serving General Secretary in history having been in office from 30 March 2015 making 3,476 days or nine years six months and four days.

It easily drowned that of his closest rival in tenure – Sani Toro whose tenure from 21 December 1993 to 3 May  1999 is merely 2020 days or five years, six months and 12 days.

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 Thus, no one had enjoyed a longer period in office than the incumbent, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi.  It is speculated that the tenure will be extended as NFF has reported that all delegates have arrived in the Delta State capital by Thursday evening.

The NFF Annual General Assembly, the first of which took place 90 years ago in Lagos on 19 February 1934, is the biggest assemblage of football administrators and stakeholders in the country.

In one such meeting on 24 July 2008 in Makurdi, the football body changed its name from NFA to NFF.

This year, according to a press release by the NFF, the plenary will have in attendance, the chairmen and secretaries of football associations in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, chairmen and secretaries of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and the Nationwide League One, as well as chairmen and secretaries of the referees’ association, players’ union and coaches’ association. This group of 88 makes up the Congress.

 They are joined by the members of the NFF Executive Committee and the management team as well as former NFF Presidents and General Secretaries.

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The Minister of Sports Development, John Owan Enoh, is announced as the special guest. Nigeria’s Member of the FIFA Council, Amaju Melvin Pinnick is also expected as well as a representative of the West African Football Union (WAFU B).

The Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori will declare the General Assembly open. 

Venue is the Unity Hall of the Delta State Government House.

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Governing Bodies

Like in Egypt, former Nigerian Olympian, Sadiq Abdulahi wants Tinubu to declare ‘State of Emergency’ in Sports

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Former Nigerian tennis player and Olympian, Prof. Sadiq Abdulahi has called for drastic action to arrest the decline of Nigeria in global sporting events.

  The former tennis player who is now a professor in the United States declared that the “failure to win a medal at the regular 2024 Paris Olympics, the few medals at the Paris Paralympic and the fallout at the National Youth Sports Festival has exposed the deep problems facing the sport’s sector.”

  He wants Nigeria to have the same approach that the Egyptian president has taken while reacting to the country’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olypics.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered  a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that  participated at the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.

 According to Prof. Abdulahi, the National Sports Federations charged with the preparation of elite athletes have failed to do their job despite the cry for funding from the government.

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“Federal Government cannot adequately fund all the Olympics sports. It is impossible.

“By declaring a state of emergency, new people, new approaches and new funding models will be identified. More importantly, the Federal Government will redefine grassroots sports development.

“We will lay sustainable foundation for sports development.”

Continuing, he called for the return of the National Sports Commission (NSC) which enabling decree was abolished through Decree No. 7 of 1991, but came back through presidential proclamation under Sani Abacha before it was abolished again.

 The original NSC was established in 1964 as National Sports Council before the promulgation of Decree 34 of 1971 which legalised it as  the apex Federal Government agency to control, regulate and organize sports.

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  “The FG may now bring back the National Sports Commission or the National Sports Authority. Our emerging national economy with the full participation of the private sector can support this new beginning. I hope this helps.” 

RELATED STORY: President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul

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Governing Bodies

CAF gives Yoruba and Arabic interpretations of  ‘OLA’ the Super Cup 2024 Official Match Ball

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The Confédération African of Football, CAF, has given the linguistics interpretation of OLA, the confederation’s official match balls produced by Puma which has also unveiled a special edition for the Super Cup duel holding on Friday in Saudi Arabia.

According to CAF, OLA, symbolizing the dynamic and energetic nature of African football, means “wealth,” “honour,” and “respect” in Yoruba and “rise” and “success” in Arabic.

The OLA ball stands out with its vibrant design and cultural significance. “OLA” 

The ball is a mix of black and gold, representing power and sophistication. The ball will be the centrepiece of the eagerly-awaited match between the two giants of African football.

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