Governing Bodies
THIS DAY IN HISTORY; DOUBLE IMMEMORIAL FOR NIGERIAN FOOTBALL
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Frederick Baron Mulford’s name is ever recurring in any discourse on the early years of Nigerian football. Fondly called ‘Baba Eko’ (respected elder of Lagos); he is perhaps the most acknowledged among the pioneers of football organization in Nigeria.
It was on this date, 3 September 1949; he died at the Creek Hospital, Lagos and was buried the next day at the Ikoyi Cemetery. His death was barely four days after the arrival in Liverpool, of the first Nigerian national team, the UK Tourist, of which he was one of the fundraisers for the trip.
Coincidentally, one of the players on that trip, Olisah Chukwurah, defender died also on this date, 3 September 2001, exactly 52 years after that of Mulford.
Chukwurah who was a teacher in Abeokuta at the time he was selected as a member of the UK Tourist later studied law and rose to the enviable position of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Mulford, who was one of the three vice presidents when the then Nigeria Football Association was founded on 21 August 1933, arrived Nigeria as a commercial agent with Lagos Stores Limited in 1904.
As football in the early days were organised along racial lines in Lagos, Mulford was the first to organise a desegregated football matches at the then Race Course which is now the Tafawa Balewa Square.
According to family tree constructed at findmypast.com by John Bird Monk, Mulford was born in January 1881 in Southampton, Hampshire in England. He came to Nigeria having sailed aboard “Aro”, an Elder Dempster and Company Limited ship that departed Liverpool for Lagos on 7 April 1906.
He came to Nigeria as a junior assistant in the firm Lagos Stores which was later absorbed by UAC in 1929. While there, he rose to the position of deputy to the head agent, Hon. A.M. Harvey, who was also a member of the Legislative Council then tagged LEGICO.
Mulford left Lagos Stores when it was merged with UAC and was appointed Business Manager of the Nigerian Daily Times in 1933 the year the Nigeria Football Association was founded. He was also the sports editor of the Daily Times.
He became the games master at CMS Grammar School, Nigeria’s first secondary school. Mulford later moved to Kings College in 1914 when he was organising weekly matches with European teams in Lagos.
One of his greatest legacies was the presentation of a trophy to the Lagos and Districts Amateur Football Associations (LDAFA) for a knockout competition.
The trophy, Lagos War Memorial Cup was later changed to Mulford Memorial Cup which got rechristened to Oba Cup in 1965 following the eternal win by Stationery Stores FC.
Mulford was buried at the Ikoyi Cemetery on 4 September 1949. He was never married.
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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The supporters of Vancouver Whitecaps, a professional football (soccer) club in Canada, have staged a protest outside the FIFA Congress on Thursday, voicing fears that the Major League Soccer club could be relocated as uncertainty deepens over its ownership and long-term future.
The club is one of Canada’s most historic football institutions and has long been a central part of Vancouver’s sporting identity.
Around 100 fans gathered as delegates arrived for the annual FIFA meeting in Vancouver, chanting, singing and waving club flags in a show of solidarity. The demonstration comes just days after Vancouver Whitecaps FC revealed difficulties in securing a buyer willing to keep the club in the city.
The Whitecaps disclosed earlier this week that “stadium economics, venue access and revenue limitations” have complicated efforts to sell the club, despite a 16-month search for new ownership.
Season ticket holder Derek Hawksworth said supporters felt compelled to act amid growing fears of relocation.
“I wanted to come down given the threat of the team possibly moving,” he said. “It’s a rich history with the Whitecaps in North America… we want Vancouver to stay and not relocate. The history is here, and we want to continue with that history moving forward.”
The Vancouver Whitecaps are a professional football (soccer) club based in Vancouver, Canada. They currently compete in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-tier league in the United States and Canada.
Concerns were heightened by reports that cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix are leading contenders should the club relocate.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has urged intervention, calling on the provincial government — which owns BC Place — to negotiate a “bridge deal” that would allow the team to remain while plans for a new stadium are explored. The club’s current lease at BC Place expires at the end of the year.
Despite the off-field uncertainty, the Whitecaps have been one of the standout teams this MLS season. They currently sit second in the Western Conference with 24 points from nine matches, just three points behind the San Jose Earthquakes.
For supporters, however, performances on the pitch offer little comfort as the future of their club hangs in the balance — a situation they hope global football leaders gathering in Vancouver will not ignore.
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