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NFF EXPLAINS RATIONALE BEHIND NORMALISATION COMMITTEE FOR DELTA FA

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Chairman of Chairmen of Nigerian Football, Ibrahim Musa Gusau has stated that the NFF resorted to appointing a Normalisation Committee to run the affairs of the Delta State Football Association following the long-drawn intractable crisis that bedevilled that affiliate.

“Early last year, the board of the Delta State Football Association wrote a petition against the acting Chairman, bordering on various allegations, and eventually held a congress where the members suspended the acting Chairman.  The NFF took note of the decision because process adopted complied with the laid down regulations for such to happen.

“We gave them ample time to fully resolve the crisis and conduct fresh elections in full adherence to the guidelines provided by the NFF Statutes and the electoral code. But they could not.”

Gusau said that in as much as the nation’s governing body for the game has no interest in who takes the mantle of leadership in the Delta State Football Association, it could not afford to play the ostrich and shirk its responsibilities when the tenure of the immediate past board had expired.

“The term of the board of which Mr. Augustine Okocha was chairman, and which later appointed Mr. Edema Fuludu as acting Chairman, expired more than five months ago, without the quagmire being conclusively resolved.

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“We were later informed that elections were conducted and a board had emerged. There wasno way elections could have been conducted in such miasma of crisis. The so-called elections did not follow the guidelines and the NFF cannot allow such to stand.”

Gusau, also a Member of the NFF Executive Committee and Chairman of the Zamfara State Football Association, said the meeting of chairmen of the South-South zone held in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, 21st January 2020 did not address the core of the issue surrounding the Delta State imbroglio.

“Delta FA is an affiliate of the NFF. Our position is that it is the football stakeholders in Delta State, and particularly those who are eligible to vote in the FA elections, who will elect people into the Delta State Football Association, not the entire stakeholders in the South-South zone.” 

Gusau expressed surprise that 1997 African Player of the Year Victor Ikpeba, who seconded the motion for the suspension of Fuludu – a 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner with the Super Eagles – is the same man now claiming to have been elected as vice chairman to the latter.

“The Normalisation Committee has started its work, and by the Grace of God, we expect to have a duly elected board for the Delta State Football Association in the next three months.”

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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

CAF President Dr Motsepe Announces Five Vice Presidents

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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

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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.

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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.

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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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Ex-FIFA Council member and Mali football chief released from jail

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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.

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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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