Governing Bodies
FIFA FINES ARSENAL OVER NIGERIAN-BORN CHUBA AKPOM’S TRANSFER
Premier League side, Arsenal have been fined £34,000 by FIFA and warned about their conduct regarding player transfers following the departures of Chuba Akpom and Joel Campbell in 2018.
Akpom, who is of Nigerian descent, is still eligible to represent Nigeria. In May 2016, it was reported that he was one of three players formally approached by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
On 6 September 2016, he was selected for the England under-21s for the UEFA European Championship qualifier. But last year September, he confirmed that he intended to represent Nigeria at international level.
According to UK’s Daily Mail, a FIFA investigation launched in January found that Arsenal inserted sell-on clauses that demanded more of a cut of future transfer fees if either of their former players later joined a British club.
Arsenal placed a sell-on clause in the contract with Greek club PAOK to ensure they would receive 40% of the fee if Akpom was sold to a British club but only 30% from any other team.
talian side Frosinone Calcio were also required to pay 30 per cent of any fee from a British club to Arsenal, falling to 25 per cent if he went elsewhere.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee found that Arsenal had violated rules by entering a contract enabling it to influence other clubs.
The governing body also concluded that Arsenal had failed to reveal the sell-on clause details when they entered ‘release permanently’ into the Transfer Matching System, sparking the inquiry by the global transfers and compliance department.
The FIFA disciplinary committee then found Arsenal to be in violation of the rules for entering into contracts and for failing to declare data in the TMS.
Arsenal had argued to FIFA that the transfer terms would not influence any transfer decisions by PAOK or Frosinone and said the English Football Association and Premier League were satisfied there was no breach of third-party influence rules.
A FIFA verdict document said: ‘The committee considers that, by the mere existence of these clauses, Frosinone and PAOK FC are influenced by Arsenal in employment and transfer-related matters.
‘The committee considers that the relevant clauses undoubtedly grant Arsenal the ability to influence in employment and transfer-related matters the independence, policies and the performance of PAOK FC and Frosinone’s teams.’
FIFA added that the two clubs would be more inclined to accept an offer from outside the UK.
Campbell left Frosinone on Thursday after making a loan move to Mexican club Leon permanent but the financial terms were not disclosed, while former England youth forward Akpom is still with PAOK.
FIFA warned Arsenal that ‘harsher sanctions’ would be imposed for any similar future infringements.
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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