Governing Bodies
LA LIGA RELEASES FOUR-PHASED PROTOCOL FOR LEAGUE RESUMPTION
The Spanish football league body, La Liga has released a four-plan step that will lead to the resumption of the league next month. This is contained in a 24-page special report on training ground protocol.
A mass testing of clubs in the top two divisions has commenced. This week, Lionel Messi was spotted in a mask.
Also,disinfected footballs, three players per dressing room and the prospect of squads living in Big Brother-style houses are just some of the proposals in place in order for the La Liga season to restart.
The task of testing clubs in the country’s top two divisions began this week as part of LaLiga’s operation to restart the season in the middle of June.
The report also informs clubs of their obligation to test players for COVID-19 before they begin training.
The four-phased protocol runs thus:
Phase One: Testing
Every one of the players registered with the 20 top-flight clubs in Spain, plus all technical staff and essential workers have had to be tested for COVID-19 and that even includes Real Valladolid president Ronaldo Nazario.
The former Barcelona and Real Madrid forward wants to be close to his players as they come back in a bid to save themselves from relegation and that means he will have to pass through the three tests the players are to be subjected to before the season can restart.
One name missing from the Barcelona list of individuals to be tested was Ousmane Dembele. He is not registered with LaLiga – that’s how Barcelona were allowed special dispensation to sign Martin Braithwaite outside of the window – and so until his official period of recovery from injury is reached in July he will not be registered and tested and cannot go to the club’s training ground as a consequence.
Phase Two: Solitary training
LaLiga have already said they are anticipating at least 30 cases of players testing positive for coronavirus. But they are determined that this will not deter them from aiming to restart the season in June.
Players who test positive will be sent into quarantine and tested before they can return.
If players test positive when squads are training together then it will be more of a problem but at this stage before players have even started solitary training there will be no panic.
‘We should not dramatise [players testing positive]. We should act as in any other industry that has returned to work,’ said Spain’s secretary for Sport, Irene Lozano.
Despite tests being made available some players have expressed grave concerns.
‘I will not play again if there is a minimum risk of spreading the virus to my family, said Eibar’s Pape Diop and his team-mates and coaches put together a joint statement saying: ‘We are afraid to start an activity in which we will not be able to meet the first recommendation of all the experts which is physical distancing.’
LaLiga president Tebas has already told players: ‘There is more risk going to the chemist than there is going to training,’ and in the first phase players will be able to social distance because they will be training alone.
Phase Three: Small group training
To a certain extent social distancing will carry on into the third phase because squads will be split up into three groups of eight. There will be no contact between groups.
And clubs that have the facilities have been told to use three different dressing rooms for their groups of eight meaning that there are never more than three players in any one dressing room at the same time.
Dressing rooms will be disinfected after every session before the next group of eight players come in. Maintaining the training grounds are ventilated is emphasised and where possible doors should be left open to limit the number of times door handles have to be touched.
LaLiga has sent a 24-page protocol to the 20 clubs. It is extremely detailed right down to recommending hand washing every hour and instructing clubs to put soap dispensers throughout their facilities.
So-called non-essential staff, who don’t have daily contact with players, will still have to leave uniforms at the door as they leave training grounds so that they can be washed daily.
In club training ground kitchens all packaging of all new food brought in will have to be disinfected before the food is removed and used.
Phase Four: Full-squad training
The most crucial stage because a positive test for coronavirus coming after this point could be potentially ruinous for plans to kick-off the season again in June. At the start of this phase some experts have said they expect football to be very different.
‘In the beginning players are not going to have the same contact that they are used to. We are going to see another kind of football,’ Rafeal Ramos, the head of Spain’s association of team doctors, has said.
‘Players will not be holding on to each other at corners.’
Once the official fears are assuaged and when competition for places hots up ahead of the return of the last 11 games of the season that could change.
Phase four also begs the biggest most difficult question: Should players, coaches and essential staff now be living together at team hotels or at the training ground away from friends and family?
LaLiga are strongly recommending it although it is not clear at this stage if they will make it obligatory.
The director of Public Health and Preventative Medicine at the University of Madrid, Fernando Rodriguez told El Pais recently: ‘To really protect Messi he must be isolated. Footballers can become infected, say by, playing with their children at home.’
Players, who are still living at home, have been requested by LaLiga to stay indoors and clubs have been instructed to make sure they have all essential items sent to their homes so they don’t have to go out.
After all these, there will be more desire than ever not to be complacent.
The 11 remaining games could be played over seven weeks with four midweek rounds. And clubs should ensure all materials, and that includes the pitch and the balls, are sterilised before and after the game, and at half-time.
Right now this still seems some way off but LaLiga are working on a matchday protocol with clubs and they will be sent out shortly.
Governing Bodies
Sanusi set for record-extending tenure as Nigeria’s football politicians assemble in Asaba
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Speculations gathered ahead of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Football Federation holding in Asaba on Friday have it that tenure elongation for the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, is a major item on the agenda.
Neither formal confirmation nor denial has been issued since one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria, ThisDay dropped the hint.
The agenda of the meeting is also not made public. Dr, Sanusi is the longest-serving General Secretary in history having been in office from 30 March 2015 making 3,476 days or nine years six months and four days.
It easily drowned that of his closest rival in tenure – Sani Toro whose tenure from 21 December 1993 to 3 May 1999 is merely 2020 days or five years, six months and 12 days.
Thus, no one had enjoyed a longer period in office than the incumbent, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi. It is speculated that the tenure will be extended as NFF has reported that all delegates have arrived in the Delta State capital by Thursday evening.
The NFF Annual General Assembly, the first of which took place 90 years ago in Lagos on 19 February 1934, is the biggest assemblage of football administrators and stakeholders in the country.
In one such meeting on 24 July 2008 in Makurdi, the football body changed its name from NFA to NFF.
This year, according to a press release by the NFF, the plenary will have in attendance, the chairmen and secretaries of football associations in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, chairmen and secretaries of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and the Nationwide League One, as well as chairmen and secretaries of the referees’ association, players’ union and coaches’ association. This group of 88 makes up the Congress.
They are joined by the members of the NFF Executive Committee and the management team as well as former NFF Presidents and General Secretaries.
The Minister of Sports Development, John Owan Enoh, is announced as the special guest. Nigeria’s Member of the FIFA Council, Amaju Melvin Pinnick is also expected as well as a representative of the West African Football Union (WAFU B).
The Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori will declare the General Assembly open.
Venue is the Unity Hall of the Delta State Government House.
Governing Bodies
Like in Egypt, former Nigerian Olympian, Sadiq Abdulahi wants Tinubu to declare ‘State of Emergency’ in Sports
Former Nigerian tennis player and Olympian, Prof. Sadiq Abdulahi has called for drastic action to arrest the decline of Nigeria in global sporting events.
The former tennis player who is now a professor in the United States declared that the “failure to win a medal at the regular 2024 Paris Olympics, the few medals at the Paris Paralympic and the fallout at the National Youth Sports Festival has exposed the deep problems facing the sport’s sector.”
He wants Nigeria to have the same approach that the Egyptian president has taken while reacting to the country’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olypics.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participated at the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
According to Prof. Abdulahi, the National Sports Federations charged with the preparation of elite athletes have failed to do their job despite the cry for funding from the government.
“Federal Government cannot adequately fund all the Olympics sports. It is impossible.
“By declaring a state of emergency, new people, new approaches and new funding models will be identified. More importantly, the Federal Government will redefine grassroots sports development.
“We will lay sustainable foundation for sports development.”
Continuing, he called for the return of the National Sports Commission (NSC) which enabling decree was abolished through Decree No. 7 of 1991, but came back through presidential proclamation under Sani Abacha before it was abolished again.
The original NSC was established in 1964 as National Sports Council before the promulgation of Decree 34 of 1971 which legalised it as the apex Federal Government agency to control, regulate and organize sports.
“The FG may now bring back the National Sports Commission or the National Sports Authority. Our emerging national economy with the full participation of the private sector can support this new beginning. I hope this helps.”
RELATED STORY: President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Governing Bodies
CAF gives Yoruba and Arabic interpretations of ‘OLA’ the Super Cup 2024 Official Match Ball
The Confédération African of Football, CAF, has given the linguistics interpretation of OLA, the confederation’s official match balls produced by Puma which has also unveiled a special edition for the Super Cup duel holding on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
According to CAF, OLA, symbolizing the dynamic and energetic nature of African football, means “wealth,” “honour,” and “respect” in Yoruba and “rise” and “success” in Arabic.
The OLA ball stands out with its vibrant design and cultural significance. “OLA”
The ball is a mix of black and gold, representing power and sophistication. The ball will be the centrepiece of the eagerly-awaited match between the two giants of African football.
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