Governing Bodies
NIGERIA’S YOUTH & SPORTS MINISTRY FORGES WORKING PARTNERSHIP WITH NESTLE
The Nigerian Ministry of Youth and Sports has reiterated its dogged commitment to its deliberate policies and initiatives to enhance the employability and digital skills of the youths, improve and deepen their entrepreneurial capacity in line with the UN agenda for sustainable development by 2030.
To this end, the Ministry and Nestle Inc. shared similar values in youth and sports development that can be reinforced and implemented to achieve a productive economy.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare stated this when he received in audience the management of Nestle Inc. in his office today at the Federal Secretariat.
In the course of commending Nestle Inc. for its level of achievements and commitment to improving the skills and employability of Nigerian youths, as well grassroots sports; the Minister, Dare explained that the Ministry since his assumption of office, has accorded and prioritized youth and sports on an even keel of development to achieve national unity and economic prosperity for the youths.
To this end, he disclosed that grassroots sports development is one of the pillars in which the Ministry will use to sustain its drive of nurturing budding talents for our national teams through the reactivation of primary schools football competition and principals cup like Nestle Milo corporate sponsorships of basketball competition initiative.
Furthermore, the Minister stated that the D.E.E.L programme of the Ministry is another proactive strategy, to expose our youths to Digital skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and employability.
While stressing that it is an umbrella programme covering other lofty initiatives of the Ministry like the Work Experience Programme (W.E.P) and DY.ng. The Minister emphasized that both programmes are meant to expose the youths to skills and practical experience that would make them employable.
Expatiating, Mr Dare said that similarly, sports has received prompt attention and positive turnaround with novel initiative of adoption campaign, adding, corporate organizations and philanthropists have keyed into it, and adopted several athletes.
This strategy, he noted, will sharpen the skills of our athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Minister seized the opportunity of the visit by Nestle Inc. to beckon that it should identify its area of interest to partner with the Government on youth and sports .
In her remarks, the leader of Nestlé Inc., Mrs. Victoria Uwadoka stated that the company has a flourishing corporate strategy/objective of improving grassroots sports development and youth empowerment programme through its technical training schools for industrialization.
Uwadoka averred that these outlined values endeared Nestle Inc. to connect and partner the Ministry.
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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