Governing Bodies
AHMAD’S ENDORSEMENT MAY AMOUNT TO DECEIT, SAYS EX- FA CHIEFTAIN
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
One of the key players in CAF politics in West Africa has informed Sports Village Square that the endorsement of Ahmad to run again for the position of CAF president may be a gross deceit.
Forty six FA presidents across the six regional zones of CAF have issued a statement to support the candidature of Ahmad to run again in the election slated for Morocco in March.
But the source informed that Ahmad may not be swayed by the statement as he would probably take it as gross deceit.
The 60-year old Madagascan who ruled his national FA for 17 years prior to being elected as CAF president three years ago was reportedly to have once remarked that he can never trust African delegates when it comes to election.
He himself had been a beneficiary of deceit. The 46 endorsement out of obtainable 54 ordinarily put him at a vantage position to retain his seat.
But prior to his emergence in 2017, Issa Hayatou had garnered endorsement from 50 delegates out of 54 who were expected to vote at the election held in Addis Ababa.
But at the election, Hayatou got just 20 votes while the remaining 34 went to Ahmad. In essence, 30 of those who endorsed him prior to the election deceived him!
The source in West Africa further informed that Ahmad had once stated that he understood African politics very well as most who were in Hayatou’s camp were actually moles planted.
Ahmad, who was briefly arrested by the French anti-corruption police last year June, is currently under investigation by FIFA. In addition, he has been accused of taken some African FA chiefs to Saudi Arabia which is also being viewed as unethical.
Mohamed El Sherei, a sacked CAF Finance director blew the lid off a deal that saw Ahmad funding flights and expenses of several CAF board members, FA presidents across Africa going on the Umrah (lesser Hajj Pilgrimage) in May 2018.
CAF election has always being a reflection of electoral processes across Africa where incumbent always come up with self-serving regulations. Such was the case in the 2013 election that saw Hayatou’s only challenger, Jacques Anouma of Cote d’Ivoire disqualified paving the way for the Cameroonian to win unchallenged.
Six months earlier, CAF held a meeting in the Seychelles where they overwhelmingly approved an amendment of their statutes to declare that only voting members of the executive committee could run for president.
Anouma is on the committee, because he is one of the continent’s FIFA representatives, but does not have voting powers.
The timing of the change in decree led many to believe that Hayatou deliberately forced it through when he learnt of Anouma’s plans to run for president.
In the days leading to the 2017 election that produced a new president in 29 years, DR Congo’s Omari Constant Selemani was a suspected mole in the Hayatou’s camp and was one of the 50 that endorsed the Cameroonian ahead of the election where the old man merely managed to get 20 votes.
According to our source, such machinery is most likely to be at work again following the current 46-man endorsement that Ahmad has received.
He is of the opinion that the ‘revolutionaries’ that ensured the overthrown of the ancient regime has since disintegrated.
He pointed at Nigeria’s FA chief, Amaju Pinnick as the arrowhead of the revolution. ‘But as you must have known, he is no longer with them in spirit’.
Ahmad’s emergence as president in 2017 owed a lot to a broad continent-wide coalition spearheaded by Pinnick which ended the hegemonic decades-long rule of Hayatou.
He further accused Ahmad as exploiting linguistic divide by sidelining Anglophone countries while prompting up the numerically stronger Francophone countries.
World football governing body, FIFA, today clocks its 122nd anniversary, celebrating more than a century of overseeing and expanding the global game.
Founded on May 21, 1904, in Paris, France, FIFA began with just seven member associations — France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
From that modest beginning, the organisation has grown into the most influential sports governing body in the world, with 211 member associations spread across all continents.
Over the decades, FIFA has transformed football into a truly global phenomenon through competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Club World Cup, youth tournaments, and developmental programmes aimed at growing the game worldwide.
The organisation has also witnessed remarkable milestones, including the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 13 teams in 1930 to 48 teams beginning from the 2026 edition to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
FIFA’s journey has equally reflected football’s growing influence beyond sport, with the game becoming a major tool for diplomacy, social inclusion, youth empowerment, and economic development across the world.
As FIFA celebrates 122 years of existence, attention is now focused on the future of the game, technological innovations, expanded competitions, women’s football growth, and the continued globalisation of football.
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UEFA has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women’s soccer coach who secretly filmed his players, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17.
In a statement, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following the appointment of an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate allegations of potential misconduct.
“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.
FC Slovacko did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world soccer governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.
“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the well-being of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.
Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19s team.
RELATED STORY: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/04/08/outrage-as-male-coach-who-secretly-filmed-women-players-still-free-to-work-in-football/
-Reuters
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Southampton have been kicked out of the Championship playoff final after being found guilty of spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, the English Football League said on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 to Southampton on aggregate in the semi, have been reinstated and will face Hull City on Saturday in what is dubbed the world’s richest soccer match.
Promotion to the Premier League, even with an immediate relegation, is estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons.
Southampton, who admitted the charges, were also found guilty of filming training sessions involving Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April during the regular season.
They have also been deducted four points from the start of next season in England’s second tier.
“An Independent Disciplinary Commission has today expelled Southampton from the Championship play-offs after the club admitted multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training,” the EFL said.
“Southampton admitted breaches of Regulations requiring Clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another Club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.
“The effect of today’s order is that Middlesbrough are reinstated into the 2026 play-offs and will proceed to the play-off final against Hull City. The final remains scheduled for Saturday 23 May, with the kick-off time to be confirmed.”
The EFL confirmed that Southampton could appeal against the decision and that “parties are working to try and resolve any appeal on Wednesday 20 May.
“Subject to the outcome, it could result in a further change to Saturday’s fixture,” the statement said.
‘BORO CALLED FOR SOUTHAMPTON EXPULSION
Middlesbrough had called for Southampton’s expulsion after having a training session at their Rockliffe Park site filmed 48 hours ahead of the first leg of their playoff semi-final with Southampton which ended 0-0.
The north-east club said they welcomed the decision.
“We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct,” the north Middlesbrough said in a statement.
“As a club, we are now focused on our game against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday.”
Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season and were struggling in the early part of this campaign until a storming finish in which they went unbeaten in 19 league games to finish fourth and enter the playoffs.
The south-coast club are the first to fall foul of the Football League’s regulation 127 — brought in after Leeds United were found guilty of spying on Derby County seven years ago, an offence for which they were fined 200,000 pounds.
-Reuters
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