Governing Bodies
VIDEO: QATAR VIRTUALLY UNVEILS WORLD CUP 2022 VENUE
Qatar inaugurated its latest new World Cup stadium on Monday (June 15) not with a sold-out football fixture, but with a socially-distanced tribute to the workers on the frontline of the fight against coronavirus.
Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra musicians sporting masks and gloves surrounded by candles played a soaring orchestral piece on the turf of the new Education City Stadium in a clip broadcast to mark the stadium’s opening.
It was interspersed with images of medical professionals and other frontline workers who made their way through the 40,000-capacity ground, which was shown with eerily empty stands, to applause from the Qatar national team.
“This is all a message of hope. And really, a big thank you to frontline workers around the world,” Nasser al-Khater, the chief executive of the 2022 World Cup, said after the inauguration. “It’s a small token of appreciation to them.”
Education City is the second of the seven stadiums being built from scratch for the 2022 tournament to be inaugurated.
It had been due to host the semi-final of the Club World Cup on December 18, but its opening was postponed because of delays to certification. It has yet to host a public fixture.
In April, coronavirus cases were confirmed in workers at three of the stadiums under construction, highlighting the difficulty of preventing the virus’ spread among labourers living and working in close proximity.
Nasser insisted that “more than 80 per cent” of the infrastructure required for 2022 was now complete.
Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary general of the Qatari organisation charged with delivering the tournament, said finishing the stadium amid the pandemic had been “a big challenge”.
“But we managed to overcome it,” he said. “We were able to maintain the continuity of work in a positive way, but at the same time ensure a safe and healthy environment for everyone.”
Alongside the musical tribute, a pyrotechnic show both inside and outside the stadium was used to mark its completion.
In a video message for the opening, Fifa president Gianni Infantino paid tribute to those “who are still fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic”.
“The new stadium in Education City reminds us that football will return,” he said.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani used his clip to honour “the teams working on the frontline”.
“We truly believe in better days to come, the days when we will enjoy watching the stars of the game together,” he said.
The Education City ground, named for the surrounding university and research campuses, will host fixtures through to the quarter-finals.
After the tournament, half of its 40,000 seats will be donated to build stadiums in developing countries.
The organisers of the first World Cup to be staged in the Middle East faced fresh questions last week over the treatment of foreign labourers working on tournament projects.
Rights group Amnesty revealed that around a hundred sub-contractors at the flagship Al-Bayt stadium had not been paid wages for up to seven months.
Authorities banned the sub-contractor, which was recently sold to new owners, from all World Cup projects.
Two and a half years before the World Cup kicks off, Qatar has already launched the brand new 40,000-capacity Al-Janoub stadium and the refurbished Khalifa International ground.
-AFP
Governing Bodies
FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Congo officials over financial misconduct
FIFA’s ethics committee launched disciplinary proceedings against three senior Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) officials on Wednesday, including president Jean-Guy Mayolas, over allegations of financial misconduct.
Mayolas, his wife and his son were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month after a criminal court in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, convicted them of embezzling $1.1 million in FIFA funds. Media reports said their whereabouts were not known , and they were tried in absentia.
FECOFOOT general secretary Wantete Badji and treasurer Raoul Kanda are also subject to the disciplinary proceedings, FIFA said. Badji and Kanda were sentenced to five years each in prison by the court in Brazzaville for related charges.
“These proceedings follow the receipt of information and documents during an audit,” FIFA said in a statement.
-Reuters
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The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try barring President Donald Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, in a move that could also have implications for the World Cup being hosted by the U.S. this summer.
The proposal, on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug-fighting watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest manoeuvre to come out of a yearslong refusal of the U.S. government to pay its annual dues to WADA.
The refusal is part of the American government’s unanimous, bipartisan protest of the agency’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.
The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rules proposal to AP; they were not authorised to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been released publicly.
The proposal was, in fact, first brought up in 2024, when U.S. authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The U.S. has since lost its seat on the executive committee.
“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The rule, if passed, would figure to be mostly symbolic, given the limits an international sports federation could have on the president of a country attending an event inside his own borders.
“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”
In a news release after this story published, WADA said the AP story was “entirely misleading,” focusing on Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals being discussed were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”
Fitzgerald’s only answer to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically about how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or couldn’t be applied retroactively on events that are scheduled for the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”
-AP
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The Confederation of African Football has dismissed Yasin Osman Robleh, the Djiboutian official who headed its judicial bodies for the past six years, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the organisation’s disciplinary processes.
According to reports from convergence sources, the decision was confirmed on Saturday by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, bringing an abrupt end to Robleh’s tenure overseeing the confederation’s disciplinary and investigative committees since 2019.
Robleh’s position reportedly came under increasing pressure following the controversy surrounding sanctions imposed after the Africa Cup of Nations Final between Morocco and Senegal. The disciplinary decisions that followed the match sparked criticism from several quarters and placed CAF’s legal framework under intense scrutiny.
In response to the situation, CAF’s Executive Committee has appointed Togolese lawyer Cedric Egai, currently the confederation’s Director of Legal Affairs, as interim head of the judicial bodies.
Egai is expected to stabilise the organisation’s legal arm while CAF works toward appointing a permanent successor to Robleh.
Disciplinary Decisions Delayed
The leadership change has already affected ongoing disciplinary processes within the confederation. CAF’s disciplinary committee reportedly held hearings last Thursday on several cases, including the high-profile encounter involving Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s AS FAR.
However, decisions on those matters have been temporarily put on hold pending the confirmation of new leadership within the judicial structure.
Sources indicate that once a permanent successor is appointed, CAF will move swiftly to conclude outstanding disciplinary rulings affecting both clubs and national teams.
Restoring Confidence
The move is widely seen as part of CAF’s effort to restore confidence in its judicial system following weeks of controversy surrounding disciplinary decisions at major competitions.
Robleh’s departure closes a significant chapter in CAF’s legal administration, while Egai’s interim appointment signals a potential shift in leadership and governance at a critical time for African football.
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