Governing Bodies

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

Published

5 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

Egypt’s Mega Prize Money Package Offers Lessons for Nigerian Football

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2026

Kunle Solaja

By Kunle Solaja.

Egyptian publication Ahram has reported an astronomical increase in prize money in all tiers of Egyptian domestic competitions.

This decision by the Egyptian Football Association to unveil what it described as the biggest prize-money package in its history for the 2025/26 season has once again thrown the spotlight on the modest financial rewards in Nigerian domestic football competitions.

Under the new structure announced by the Egyptian federation, winners of the Egypt Cup will receive EGP 2 million (approximately $37,000), while runners-up will earn about $19,000. The champions of the Egyptian Premier League are also expected to pocket EGP 5 million, estimated at about $94,000.

The package extends beyond the elite division. Clubs promoted from Egypt’s Second Division (A) will each earn roughly $19,000, while those advancing from Second Division (B) will receive close to $9,500 each.

Women’s football and youth competitions were equally accommodated. Winners of the Women’s Football League will receive about $9,500, while the Women’s Egypt Cup champions and runners-up will earn nearly $7,500 and $3,700 respectively. Youth championships across several age categories also have dedicated prize allocations running into millions of Egyptian pounds.

The Egyptian initiative is being viewed in many football circles as a deliberate attempt to improve club stability, encourage grassroots development and make domestic competitions more competitive.

For Nigerian football stakeholders, the development offers another example of how stronger financial incentives can stimulate growth in local competitions.

In Nigeria, complaints over poor prize money have persisted for years, especially in the domestic league, women’s football and youth competitions. Several clubs continue to struggle financially, while players and officials often lament inadequate rewards despite demanding schedules and rising operational costs.

Observers argue that meaningful prize money can motivate clubs to invest more seriously in infrastructure, player welfare, youth development and women’s football.

The Egyptian model also demonstrates that football development is not restricted to top-flight competitions alone. By extending financial rewards to lower divisions and youth categories, the federation appears to be creating a broader economic support system for its football ecosystem.

Many Nigerian football followers believe the Nigeria Football Federation, the Nigeria Premier Football League and corporate partners can draw valuable lessons from Egypt’s approach.

With Nigerian clubs facing increasing financial pressure and continental competitiveness declining in recent years, analysts insist that enhanced prize money could become one of the incentives needed to revive domestic football and restore greater excitement around.

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Governing Bodies

Nigeria To Host CAF General Assembly For Third Time, CAF Awards For Seventh

Published

4 days ago

May 12, 2026

Kunle Solaja

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (second right) exchanges greetings with CAF President Patrice Motsepe as Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu (right), NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau (third left), former NFF President Amaju Pinnick (second left) and CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu (left) look on.

By Kunle Solaja.

Nigeria is set to host the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), marking the third time the country will stage the continent’s top football gathering.

The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, approved Nigeria’s proposal to host the event.

The approval followed a meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe, attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.

Sports Villages Square affirms that Nigeria previously hosted the CAF Congress at the National Theatre in Lagos in March 1980 and again in February 2009, when the late CAF President Issa Hayatou secured another four-year term in office.

In addition to this year’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly, scheduled for October, Nigeria also secured the hosting rights of the CAF Awards ceremony. The annual awards gala, which celebrates Africa’s top football performers, has been staged in Morocco over the past three years.

Nigeria had earlier hosted the CAF Awards when telecom firm, Globacom, was the headline sponsor. This year’s event will be the seventh to be held in Nigeria after those of 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016.

The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally attracts key football stakeholders from across the continent, including presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions and senior football administrators.

The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as one of African football’s flagship events, honouring outstanding players, coaches, clubs and officials in a glamorous setting that showcases the continent’s football excellence.

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Governing Bodies

FIFA bans former Guyana football official Alves for five years over harassment

Published

2 weeks ago

May 5, 2026

Kunle Solaja

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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