BRAZIL SEEKING PSG PERMISSION FOR NEYMAR TO COMPETE AT TOKYO 2020

Published

5 years ago

March 3, 2020

BY MICHAEL PAVITT.

The Brazilian Football Federation (CFB) has reportedly begun talks with Paris Saint-Germain over the prospect of Neymar captaining the team in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic football tournament.

Neymar featured in the Brazilian team at Rio 2016 as one of the country’s three overage players for the under-23 competition.

The forward was a key player at their home Games four years ago, where the Brazilian team won men’s Olympic football gold for the first time.

Neymar converted the winning spot-kick at the Maracanã Stadium, securing a penalty shoot-out win over Germany in the final.

Rogerio Caboclo, President of the CBF, has begun talks with PSG over the French giants allowing Neymar to compete at the Games, according to Brazilian newspaper Globo.

PSG are not obliged to release Neymar for the tournament, with the event not considered an official FIFA date.

Neymar, who also won a silver medal at London 2012, has expressed his interest in competing at Tokyo 2020.

He is also expected to compete at the Copa America, which will take place in Colombia and Argentina from June 12 to July 12.

The Olympic football tournament begins just 10 days late

PSG may prove reluctant to release Neymar for the tournament, with fellow star forward Kylian Mbappé having expressed an interest in playing for France at Tokyo 2020.

Brazil will be one of two South American representatives in the Tokyo 2020 men’s football tournament, along with Argentina.

Along with Neymar, Real Madrid trio Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Reinier are reportedly among the players under consideration to compete at the Games.

Vinicius became the youngest player to score in El Clasico this century yesterday, netting the first goal in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over fierce rivals Barcelona in La Liga.

Reinier was unveiled as a Real Madrid player last month, after joining from Brazilian side Flamengo.

The report also claims that new Lyon signing Bruno Guimarães has an agreement with the club allowing him to play for Brazil in the Olympics.

A total of 16 teams will compete in the men’s tournament at Tokyo 2020, including hosts Japan.

France, Germany, Romania and Spain will be the European representatives, with Egypt, Ivory Coast and South Africa the three African qualifiers.

Australia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea will represent Asia, while New Zealand are the sole Oceania team.

Two Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football nations will qualify for the Games later this month.

-insidethegames

Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council

Published

15 hours ago

April 26, 2025

Kunle Solaja

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

Published

3 days ago

April 23, 2025

Kunle Solaja

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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Governing Bodies

Nigeria Football Federation denies owing late national captain and coach, Chukwu

Published

2 weeks ago

April 14, 2025

Kunle Solaja

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.

Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.

The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.

Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.

“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.

“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”

Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.

“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”

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