Governing Bodies
TORINO’S OLA AINA TO BE ON ACTION AS SERIE A RETURNS ON JUNE 20
Nigeria’s Ola Aina could be in action if selected by Torino in the first Serie A match which kicks off on June 20 as Torino face Parma.
Nigeria’s Ola Aina could be in action if selected by Torino in the first Serie A match which kicks off on June 20 as Torino face Parma.
Serie A will return after a three-month coronavirus-enforced absence on June 20 with Torino hosting Parma in the first of four postponed matches on the opening weekend, the Italian league confirmed on Monday (June 1).
The championship will resume with fixtures which were called off when Italian sports was suspended on March 9 because of the coronavirus.
The first match will be 15th-placed Torino versus ninth-ranked Parma at 7.30 pm (1730GMT) on June 20 followed by Hellas Verona, in eighth, versus Cagliari, in 12th, at 9.45pm.
The following day fourth-placed Atalanta will host mid-table Sassuolo at 7.30 pm while Inter Milan, in third, will be at home against relegation-threatened Sampdoria at 9.45 pm.
Most teams have 12 games left to play with 124 matches remaining, to be played in 43 days from June 20 to August 2.
After the four catch-up games, the 27th round of action will be played with matches scheduled from Monday, June 22 through to Wednesday, June 24.
Juventus, who are bidding for a ninth consecutive title, are one point ahead of Lazio.
Third-placed Inter Milan are nine points behind the leader with a game in hand.
Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus travel to Bologna for their first game back on Monday with Lazio at Atalanta on Wednesday.
Juventus will host Lazio on July 20 at 9.45pm.
The league has not yet confirmed the dates for the Italian Cup, which is expected to be completed the week before Serie A restarts, with the final on June 17.
The return legs of the semi-finals remain to be played with Juventus facing AC Milan and Napoli playing Inter Milan.
Most of the matches will be played at 7.30pm and 9.45pm, because of the summer heat in Italy, with only ten games scheduled earlier at 5.15pm, in the north of the country.
‘SIGNAL OF HOPE’
Games will be played behind closed doors and adhering to a strict health protocol, whereby the entire group must go into a training camp retreat for two weeks in the case of a positive test for Covid-19.
Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina said Monday he hoped that a small number of fans will be able to attend matches before the season finishes.
“It is my heartfelt wish to be able to see a small presence in stadium for the end of the championship,” said Gravina.
“It seems unthinkable that in a stadium with 60,000 seats, there is no space for a minimal percentage of spectators who can attend the match with all necessary precautions.
“Certainly it is premature today but with the resumption of the championship, there could be a new little signal of hope for our country.” The Italian federation outlined in a 40-page document earlier on Monday the guidelines for the resumption of competition, with a maximum of number of 300 people allowed in the stadium.
-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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