Governing Bodies
PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS SET TO VOTE ON RETURN TO GROUP TRAINING
The Premier League hopes “Project Restart” will move a step closer to becoming reality on Monday (May 18) when clubs hold an emergency meeting to vote on a return to group training amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Should at least 14 of the 20 clubs agree that safety protocols are sufficient, players are likely to return to a limited first phase of group training on Tuesday.
Sunday should have been the final day of the Premier League season but the coronavirus outbreak meant the league was suspended in March with 92 fixtures remaining.
The British government last week opened the door for the return of elite sport, but several hurdles remain before the Premier League can resume behind closed doors.
Clubs will have been encouraged, however, by the return of the Bundesliga this weekend – the first major football league in the world to resume after the lockdown.
Monday’s conference call is the first hurdle.
Clubs need to agree the conditions for players to return to training under strict rules.
Safety measures will include tents where temperature checks will be conducted, strict hygiene criteria, no canteens and no showers.
A maximum of five players will be allowed per pitch with tackling forbidden.
Players will be tested twice per week and are being asked to provide written approval that they have received and understood the club’s Covid-19 policy.
The prospect of clubs playing their remaining matches at neutral venues has receded with more than half speaking out against such a proposal.
Project Restart was originally looking at a June 12 resumption date but should the clubs agree and, if there is no rise in infections in the country, a return date of June 19 or June 26 appears the most likely.
With Britain’s virus death toll still rising by hundreds each day – the latest figure is 34,466 – the return of the Premier League has divided opinion.
Although the majority of players are said to be supportive, there have been dissenting voices, including Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Tottenham Hotspur’s Danny Rose and Watford’s Troy Deeney.
Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Willian said: “Honestly, from what I can see, a lot of players – the majority, I’d say – are uncomfortable with the idea of returning right now.
“We’re really keen to return, we really miss playing and doing what we love. But it needs to be safe for us to do so.”
Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce said that while clubs are likely to agree to the first phase of group training to begin this week, June 12 was too early to start matches.
“We need enough preparation time to get these players into shape or they are just going to fall down like a pack of cards. Most of the managers have the same concerns,” he told the Sunday Telegraph. “We would need at least six weeks.”
-Reuters
Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
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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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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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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