Governing Bodies
PREMIER LEAGUE PLAN FOR 92 MATCHES IN JUST 39 DAYS
The Premier League will return with a crunch double-header on Wednesday, June 17.
The opening games of Project Restart will see Manchester City take on Arsenal and Aston Villa face Sheffield United behind-closed doors in less than three weeks.
After weeks of uncertainty, a return date was finally decided at Thursday’s shareholders meeting, while a raft of significant proposals were also raised.
There proposals include:
- In the event of a Covid-19 outbreak at a club, teams may be required to play with just 15 available players
- The final date of the Premier League season has been earmarked for the weekend of July 25-26
- For top clubs to pay more of the proposed £330million broadcast rebate, though the payment could be halved if the season is completed by end of July
- Saturday and Sundays will see four games per day, which will be televised. There will be one match on Friday and Monday night
- If the season is curtailed, standings to be decided by an unweighted points-per-game system
- For games to be played as normal at home and away venues – but some ‘high-risk’ fixtures to take place at neutral venues.
If the season runs according to schedule, the FA Cup final has been pencilled in to take place at Wembley Stadium on August 1.
The quarter and semi-finals will be played during the Premier League season.
If the five-and-a-half week timetable runs without delay, all remaining 92 games will be played in just 39 days.
One source at a Premier League club told Sportsmail that proposals for clubs to fulfil fixtures with as many as 10 unavailable players shouldn’t cause a problem with the vast majority of clubs now willing to play.
Discussions on how to minimise the proposed £340million broadcast rebate was high on Thursday’s agenda.
Enhancements to the broadcasting product, such as half-time interviews, crowd noise and dressing room cameras have been explored in an attempt to reduce the payment.
It is understood the rebate could be slashed to as little as £170million if the Premier League meet their target of playing the final game by the end of July.
Some matches will also be free-to-air; the BBC confirmed on Thursday that they will show four Premier League games.
On Saturday and Sundays matches are scheduled for 12.30pm, 3pm, 5.30pm and 8pm, with games being broadcast back-to-back.
Midweek matches will kick off at 6pm and 8pm. Sky Sports confirmed on Thursday night that 25 of the 64 games they will televise will be free-to-air.
BT Sport and Amazon Prime will show the remaining 28 games.
While not required to, the bigger clubs – who have earned more for broadcasting revenue – have agreed to pay a bigger portion of the broadcasters rebate in a show of solidarity to the smaller clubs.
The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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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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