Governing Bodies

CHAMPIONS FRANCE TO LEARN PATH TO QATAR IN WORLD CUP QUALIFYING DRAW

Published

6 years ago

December 7, 2020

***France will be in the first pot of seeds with Belgium, European champions Portugal and Croatia***

European nations led by reigning champions France will on Monday (Dec 7) learn their opponents in qualifying as they begin the long and congested road towards the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The draw for the qualifying stage will take place in a virtual ceremony at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, allowing France and leading lights like Kylian Mbappe to start tracing out their route to a successful defence of the trophy in Doha.

Two years since their triumph in Moscow, the French look the strongest side around, and recently qualified for the finals of the Nations League that take place next October.

“We mustn’t start believing we are better than we are but we do have the feeling that we can still do some great things,” France coach Didier Deschamps said this week as he looked ahead to a packed 2021.

Qatar and FIFA recently celebrated marking two years to go until the start of the controversial tournament, which will start on Nov 21, 2022 and conclude with the final on Dec 18 after being moved to the northern hemisphere winter.

Playing with the dates of football’s biggest events has become commonplace due to the coronavirus pandemic, and qualifying is scheduled to start with three rounds of matches next March, before the delayed Euro 2020 tournament goes ahead in June and July.

France will be joined in the first pot of seeds for Monday’s draw by the world’s top-ranked side Belgium, reigning European champions Portugal and Croatia, the team they defeated in the 2018 final in Moscow.

England, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands will also be top seeds, with only the winners of each of the 10 groups qualifying automatically for the finals.

Uphill struggle

The 10 runners-up will go into playoffs alongside the two best Nations League group winners who miss out on qualifying via the traditional path.

Those playoffs will produce three more qualifiers in total, with Europe having 13 spots out of the 32 at the finals.

France, Belgium, Italy and Spain will all be placed in qualifying groups of five teams by virtue of having qualified for the final four of the Nations League in Italy next October.

It all points to a continuing pile-up of matches.

For example, a team that reaches the final of Euro 2020 can expect to play 17 competitive games between March and November next year.

Club managers like Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp have bitterly criticised the number of games their players are being asked to play for club and country, and that issue is likely to come to the fore again over the course of 2021.

The continent’s more modest nations have had their access to the European Championship opened up by that competition’s expansion to 24 teams, but reaching the World Cup promises to be a far more arduous task.

For example, after qualifying for Euro 2020 to reach their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup, Scotland will face an uphill struggle to make it to Qatar.

Their world ranking of 48 means they are in the third pot of seeds, so could go into a group with, for example, France and Switzerland.

Scotland’s prospects of making the World Cup were not helped by their failure to top their Nations League group last month.

“The playoff route via the Nations League has gone – we’ll just need to qualify from the group. That has got to be the aim,” said Scotland manager Steve Clarke.

World Cup qualifying has already started elsewhere, including in South America which began its marathon 10-team round-robin tournament in October.

-AFP

Governing Bodies

FIFA Clocks 122 as World Football Body Celebrates Historic Milestone

Published

2 weeks ago

May 21, 2026

Kunle Solaja

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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Governing Bodies

UEFA hands lifetime ban to the Czech coach who secretly filmed female players

Published

3 weeks ago

May 20, 2026

Kunle Solaja

Petr Vlachovsky

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.

-Reuters

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Governing Bodies

Southampton expelled from EFL playoff final after spying breach

Published

3 weeks ago

May 19, 2026

Kunle Solaja

FA Cup - Semi Final - Manchester City v Southampton - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - April 25, 2026 Southampton's Finn Azaz looks dejected after the match. Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo

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