Governing Bodies
PREMIER LEAGUE TO DEBATE HOW TO FINISH SEASON
Premier League clubs will debate how to finish the season on Friday (April 17), with reports that a June 30 deadline will be proposed amid the coronavirus crisis.
Bosses at the Premier League are under pressure to thrash out the best way to conclude the 2019-20 campaign after the pandemic caused chaos with the football schedule.
Premier League action has been suspended since March and the financial fall-out is causing clubs to worry about potentially huge losses, while highly-paid players are yet to agree wages cuts to help balance the books.
Reports suggest nine clubs are in favour of ending the campaign by June 30, with the complications of contract expiration dates – many are set to run out at that time – among the key issues.
Chelsea midfielder Willian and Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen are two of the stars whose contracts will expire, making it a risk for them to play on if the season extends into July.
Liverpool are due to change shirt manufacturers from New Balance to Nike, while Watford and Newcastle are also switching kit suppliers, raising the potential for contractual disputes if the season is not finished in time.
Setting a final date for 2019-20 would allow teams to turn their attention to starting next season on time.
However, planning the conclusion of the current campaign remains difficult given the uncertainty about how soon the virus will be contained.
The Premier League has already stated that play will not resume until “it is safe and appropriate to do so”.
The Government has yet to clarify how long the current lockdown period will last.
One alternative to the deadline is ending the season with the standings as they are, but that would trigger complaints and potential legal challenges from relegated clubs and teams that miss out on European places.
Against that backdrop, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder does not expect a deadline to be set for the season’s conclusion just yet.
“I’m sure that we will adjust accordingly,” Wilder told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“I think for the integrity of the competition and competitions, especially the top end of English football and European football, they’ll want to finish the season.
“I believe that there will be an ability next year to adjust, with international breaks, with moving a few games into midweek. We have that ability through organisation and planning to finish this season off.
“But only as everybody said, and I’ll reiterate that, when it’s safe to do so for everybody. And that obviously we have to take our lead off the Government and what they suggest and want us to do.”
Brighton chairman Tony Bloom agreed that getting a definitive deadline from Friday’s meeting might be tricky.
“We would like to finish the season,” Bloom said.
“There does come a point when we can’t keep waiting but I don’t think June 30 is that point.
“There’s talk about player contracts and sponsorship and it’s difficult to play beyond that but this situation is so unique and unprecedented every option should be looked at.”
-AFP
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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