Governing Bodies
FA WARNS AGAINST BREAKAWAY AS EFL CLUBS ENTHUSE OVER PROPOSALS
English football’s increasingly bitter row over plans to change the structure and financing of the game descended into threats and warnings ahead of Wednesday’s (Oct 13) crunch meeting of Premier League clubs.
The plans, backed by Liverpool and Manchester United and dubbed “Project Big Picture”, would see an increase in funds for the 72 clubs in the Football League (EFL) but also include special voting rights for the top clubs in the Premier League and a reduction in the size of the top flight to 18 clubs.
While EFL club chairmen talked of “overwhelming support” for the plans, which include a £250 million (S$440 million) rescue package for their clubs, FA chairman Greg Clarke addressed reports that there had been a threat from clubs backing the plan to leave the Premier League.
Clarke said he had been involved in initial discussions with the top clubs but left them after they began to discuss the possibility of a breakaway.
“In late spring, when the principal aim of these discussions became the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few clubs with a breakaway league mooted as a threat, I of course, discontinued my involvement,” Clarke said in an open letter to FA Council members.
EFL chairman Rick Parry was asked by a reporter on Sunday whether he had offered the “Big Six” – Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal – the opportunity to leave the Premier League and join with EFL clubs. Parry declined to comment.
Clarke added a reminder in his letter that the FA, as the English game’s governing body, has the power to block any changes and made a warning about the risks clubs would take with regard to Champions League participation.
“Uefa look to us to nominate the league, and therefore the clubs, that will play in their competitions,” wrote Clarke.
But while his comments clearly provide a deterrent to any top flight clubs thinking of a breakaway option should the plan fail to win enough support from the Premier League clubs, the EFL clubs appear enthusiastic about the plans.
The EFL said the plans “received strong support, with an overwhelming majority of clubs indicating a willingness to discuss the proposals further on the basis that the primary benefits for the future of the English pyramid are clear…while there are no specific timescales for what happens next, there is a clear need for a progress in this matter as quickly as practically possible.”
While several owners of third and fourth tier clubs have been enthusiastic about the plans, Peter Ridsdale, the owner’s representative at Championship (second tier) club Preston North End, said that he was wary of the big clubs.
“If I’m absolutely frank, do I trust the top six today irrespective of these proposals? No I don’t. I don’t think some of them believe in the pyramid,” he said.
“I think some of them believe in a franchise system like you see in the (United) States. However, at the moment what we have is an offer to assist the pyramid which wasn’t on the table.
“Today the Football League has a unique opportunity if this remains on the table to perhaps protect the Football League for the long term while in the short-term it is in real danger”.
EFL chairman Parry, the former Liverpool and Premier League CEO, has been the public face of the plans but his decision to work with the top clubs has caused anger among some of the non-elite Premier League clubs, according to several media reports.
Sky Sports News on Tuesday cited an unnamed board member at one Premier League club saying that Parry should resign.
The Premier League statement in response to the proposals reported by The Telegraph on Sunday named Parry individually.
The UK government has criticised the plans with a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying on Monday: “It is exactly this type of backroom dealing that undermines trust in football governance”.
The Premier League clubs will meet on Wednesday with the FA holding a scheduled Council meeting on Thursday.
-Reuters
Governing Bodies
Sanusi set for record-extending tenure as Nigeria’s football politicians assemble in Asaba
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Speculations gathered ahead of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Football Federation holding in Asaba on Friday have it that tenure elongation for the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, is a major item on the agenda.
Neither formal confirmation nor denial has been issued since one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria, ThisDay dropped the hint.
The agenda of the meeting is also not made public. Dr, Sanusi is the longest-serving General Secretary in history having been in office from 30 March 2015 making 3,476 days or nine years six months and four days.
It easily drowned that of his closest rival in tenure – Sani Toro whose tenure from 21 December 1993 to 3 May 1999 is merely 2020 days or five years, six months and 12 days.
Thus, no one had enjoyed a longer period in office than the incumbent, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi. It is speculated that the tenure will be extended as NFF has reported that all delegates have arrived in the Delta State capital by Thursday evening.
The NFF Annual General Assembly, the first of which took place 90 years ago in Lagos on 19 February 1934, is the biggest assemblage of football administrators and stakeholders in the country.
In one such meeting on 24 July 2008 in Makurdi, the football body changed its name from NFA to NFF.
This year, according to a press release by the NFF, the plenary will have in attendance, the chairmen and secretaries of football associations in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, chairmen and secretaries of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and the Nationwide League One, as well as chairmen and secretaries of the referees’ association, players’ union and coaches’ association. This group of 88 makes up the Congress.
They are joined by the members of the NFF Executive Committee and the management team as well as former NFF Presidents and General Secretaries.
The Minister of Sports Development, John Owan Enoh, is announced as the special guest. Nigeria’s Member of the FIFA Council, Amaju Melvin Pinnick is also expected as well as a representative of the West African Football Union (WAFU B).
The Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori will declare the General Assembly open.
Venue is the Unity Hall of the Delta State Government House.
Governing Bodies
Like in Egypt, former Nigerian Olympian, Sadiq Abdulahi wants Tinubu to declare ‘State of Emergency’ in Sports
Former Nigerian tennis player and Olympian, Prof. Sadiq Abdulahi has called for drastic action to arrest the decline of Nigeria in global sporting events.
The former tennis player who is now a professor in the United States declared that the “failure to win a medal at the regular 2024 Paris Olympics, the few medals at the Paris Paralympic and the fallout at the National Youth Sports Festival has exposed the deep problems facing the sport’s sector.”
He wants Nigeria to have the same approach that the Egyptian president has taken while reacting to the country’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olypics.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participated at the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
According to Prof. Abdulahi, the National Sports Federations charged with the preparation of elite athletes have failed to do their job despite the cry for funding from the government.
“Federal Government cannot adequately fund all the Olympics sports. It is impossible.
“By declaring a state of emergency, new people, new approaches and new funding models will be identified. More importantly, the Federal Government will redefine grassroots sports development.
“We will lay sustainable foundation for sports development.”
Continuing, he called for the return of the National Sports Commission (NSC) which enabling decree was abolished through Decree No. 7 of 1991, but came back through presidential proclamation under Sani Abacha before it was abolished again.
The original NSC was established in 1964 as National Sports Council before the promulgation of Decree 34 of 1971 which legalised it as the apex Federal Government agency to control, regulate and organize sports.
“The FG may now bring back the National Sports Commission or the National Sports Authority. Our emerging national economy with the full participation of the private sector can support this new beginning. I hope this helps.”
RELATED STORY: President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Governing Bodies
CAF gives Yoruba and Arabic interpretations of ‘OLA’ the Super Cup 2024 Official Match Ball
The Confédération African of Football, CAF, has given the linguistics interpretation of OLA, the confederation’s official match balls produced by Puma which has also unveiled a special edition for the Super Cup duel holding on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
According to CAF, OLA, symbolizing the dynamic and energetic nature of African football, means “wealth,” “honour,” and “respect” in Yoruba and “rise” and “success” in Arabic.
The OLA ball stands out with its vibrant design and cultural significance. “OLA”
The ball is a mix of black and gold, representing power and sophistication. The ball will be the centrepiece of the eagerly-awaited match between the two giants of African football.
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