Governing Bodies
EDO STATE SPORTS FESTIVAL GETS FEBRUARY 10-16 DATE
A six-man committee has been put in place by the Edo State Government to prepare a road map for a successful outing of Team Edo during the forthcoming 20th National Sports Festival.
The sports fiesta tagged Edo 2020 is scheduled to hold in different centers in the ancient city of Benin City, Edo State from March 20 to April 4, 2020.
Edo State Deputy Governor and Chairman, Local Organising Committee, Edo 2020, Philip Shaibu charged the committee headed by Godwin Dudu-Orumen, Chairman, Edo State Sports Commission to immediately put machinery in motion towards hosting the Third Edo State Sports Festival where a strong and formidable team will be put in place to represent the state during the National sports fiesta.
According to the Deputy Governor, “We must not fail, we are committing all these resources because we want to redefine national competitive sports in Nigeria. We are not just hosting, we are hosting to win and win clean and show the world what national sports festival should be.”
He said the Third Edo State Sports Festival is not going to be a jamboree, rather, it is expected to serve as ground for talent hunt to discover young and fresh athletes to replace the tired and ageing ones.
He further emphasised that ” no automatic ticket for anybody. Every athlete, old or young has to compete for a place in the 32 sports lined up for the festival”.
In all, 32 sports including football and traditional sports will be competed for during the festival, starting from the 18 local government in the state to the zonal elimination in the three senatorial zones and finally to the state where the final athletes to represent the state will be selected in keenly competitive games.
Main venue is the University of Benin Sports Complex aside other centers.
Towards this end, the committee hit the ground running, meeting all through the weekend, brain storming.
The unity torch for the games is expected to start its movement in Igarra, capital of Akoko Edo this Wednesday, January 15, from there to other local government areas of the state and terminate its journey in the metropolitan Oredo Local Government on Monday, January 20, 2020.
The 18 local government chairmen are expected to receive the unity torch in their respective domain during the six days tour.
The competition at the local government levels is expected to run for six days, January 23 through January 28, 2020.
The zonal elimination ( in the three senatorial zones) is from Saturday, February 1 to Tuesday, February 4th. Qualifiers from the zones are expected to arrive Benin on Monday, February 10 for the main festival and final selection.
This is expected to run till Sunday, February 16, 2020 when the festival is expected to be declared closed by Governor Godwin Obaseki.
For a memorable sports fiesta, the committee has invited notable cultural troupes from the three senatorial zones of the state to entertain guests, athletes and officials during the opening and closing ceremonies.
The police band has been invited too to entertain. ” Security of guests, athletes and officials is guaranteed”; the committee chairman, Godwin Dudu-Orumen assured.
The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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