Governing Bodies
INFANTINO CONCERNED BY DELAYS TO FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has admitted he is concerned by delays to qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It was announced earlier this month that Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) qualifiers will not be held in October and November as planned.
Thirty national teams were due to compete in the first round, each playing four matches, but this has now been pushed back until March 2021.
The Asian Football Confederation has also postponed World Cup qualifiers planned for October and November.
Asian qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is currently midway through the second round group stage, with 40 countries still involved.
Teams have three or four matches left to play, with the eight group winners due to book their place in the third and final round of qualification, alongside the four best runners-up.
Qualifiers in March and June had already been delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Speaking after the virtual FIFA Congress today, Infantino acknowledged the delays were a concern for football’s governing body.
Infantino suggested additional international windows would potentially need to be created, along with holding more than two matches during the windows, to ensure qualification can be completed on time.
The FIFA President hinted qualifiers could be held in one venue, rather than home and away contests if required.
“I am concerned,” Infantino said.
“This is a real problem, especially if the pandemic does not get weaker and we cannot play in a normal way.
“European national teams have resumed their competitions, CONMEBOL will resume in October.
“We are in the hands of health authorities and we cannot impose things.
“We have foreseen a new international window in January 2022 and qualifiers will conclude in June, rather than as initially planned in March.
“Maybe we are a little lucky the World Cup is in November and December in 2022, as this gives us a little bit more time.
“Obviously the World Cup is the most important competition in the world and is the top priority.
“We have to work to ensure the qualifiers can be held.”
The FIFA Club World Cup is due to be contested in Qatar for the second successive time, as the Gulf nation prepares to host the FIFA World Cup.
Infantino said this year’s tournament is unlikely to be held in December, due to the delay caused by the pandemic to continental club competitions.
Only UEFA’s Champions League has concluded, with Bayern Munich qualifying for the event in Qatar after winning the tournament.
“It is unlikely that this event will take place in December of this year as was originally planned,” Infantino said.
“But we are discussing, we are monitoring, we are seeing if it can be hosted in Qatar maybe at the beginning of the year instead of the end of this year.
“We certainly want to see if we can keep it, but we will do that consulting all the confederations and all the participating clubs and then take the best decision for football.”
FIFA was forced to rescheduled its expanded 24-team FIFA Club World Cup from 2021 earlier this year to accommodate the postponed Copa America and Euro 2020 tournaments.
Infantino has mooted the prospect of launching a Women’s Club World Cup and, again, suggested the Women’s World Cup could be held every two years rather than continuing to be staged on a quadrennial basis.
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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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