Governing Bodies
NIGERIA SOLE REP, EKUTA WINS BRONZE AT THE AFRICAN JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Nigeria has won bronze medal at the 41st African Seniors Championships held in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Nigeria’s only representative at the championships, Enku Ekuta, defeated Billet Sandrine of Cape Verde with an ippon to win bronze in the 63kg women on Friday, December 18.
Ekuta, who is sponsored by Accugas, a Savannah Energy Company, qualified for the semifinal after defeating Damiella Nomenjanahary of Madagascar with an ippon. Ekuta lost the semifinal bout to Amina Belkadi of Algeria.
The African Seniors Championships is one of the key judo events on the International Judo Federation (IJF) calendar aimed at enabling eligible judokas to gain points leading to qualification for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.
The bronze medal has now added 350 IJF world ranking points to Ekuta’spoints tally, and further enhances her chances of securing enough points to qualify for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.
Nkoyo Etuk, Head of Stakeholder Relations and Communication, Savannah Energy commented:
“We are impressedby Enku Ekuta’s performance in Antananarivo, Madagascar. She carried on her shoulders the additional responsibility of being the only Nigerian judoka again at a major continental championship – and she did Nigeria proud by winning a bronze medal.
“Accugas will continue to support her to ensure that she participates in more continental championships and gains enough points to qualify for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.
“We are confident that she will qualify and excel at the Olympics”.
Ekuta said: “I am happy that I participated at the 41st African Seniors Championships and I thank God for winning a bronze medal for Nigeria.
“I thank my sponsor, Accugas and the Nigeria Judo Federation for their support. Although my target was gold, the bronze medal will nonetheless increase my total points in the race to qualify for the Olympics. I will work on my mistakes and improve on my performance in the next championship”.
It will be recalled that Ekuta won gold at the 4th African Judo Open which took place on November 14, 2020in Dakar, Senegal.
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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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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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that he planned to seek re-election for a fourth term in a bid to continue to lead the governing body of world soccer.
Infantino confirmed he would run for the 2027–2031 term in the closing moments of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which comes less than two months before the start of the World Cup.
The election will be held on March 18 in Morocco, which is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup.
Infantino said he was “honoured and humbled” to have the chance to run for a fourth term.
The Italian-Swiss took office in 2016, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.
Infantino has pushed for the expansion of FIFA competitions during his tenure, with this year’s World Cup in North America the first to feature 48 teams, while the women’s tournament in 2023 has been expanded to 32 teams.
Infantino’s tenure has also drawn some criticism over issues such as high World Cup ticket prices and the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.
Earlier this month, the council of South American football’s governing body (CONMEBOL) said in a statement it would unanimously support the 56-year-old if he decided to seek another term.
-Reuters
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