Governing Bodies
EPIC CONFRONTATION! BREAKAWAY SUPER LEAGUE PLAN THREATENS BITTER BATTLE WITH FIFA AND CONFEDERATIONS
European football risks a damaging civil war after plans from top clubs for a breakaway Super League were met with a hard line rejection and threats from the sport’s governing bodies.
With billions in broadcast and commercial revenues at stake and complex legal issues in the background, the power battle comes down to a clear choice over the most fundamental of political questions – who governs?
UEFA is the governing body for the sport in Europe and also organises the continental club competitions including the lucrative and globally successful Champions League.
But the big clubs believe they are the ones that invest the money in talent, generate the interest and drive the revenue.
Hence, they want the lion’s share of the rewards and increased decision-making powers.
In previous similar cases, a compromise has been reached where the big clubs continue under UEFA’s umbrella but gain concessions from the confederation. However, several sources have indicated that the chances of a full break with UEFA are higher than in the past.
It is something of a ritual that when negotiations about the future format for the Champions League get under way, rumours about a breakaway Super League involving the big clubs, begin to emerge.
But the tough joint statement – from world governing body FIFA, European confederation UEFA and the five other international confederations – issued on Thursday (Jan 21) shows that on this occasion, the threat of a break with European football’s status quo is being taken seriously.
“It’s real this time,” said one senior football official who does not support the breakaway.
A document produced for the breakaway group outlines a plan for a 20-team league, outside of UEFA’s control, made up of 15 permanent members and five who would qualify for the competition annually. The teams would play in two groups of 10 and then compete in a playoff system to determine the winner.
The European Leagues organisation, which represents the main domestic competitions, has condemned the plan and even the European Commission expressed their political opposition to such a project.
World Cup ban
Those who run the domestic leagues fear that the proposed structure would damage their own competitions, reduce the chances for their clubs to play in Europe and also reduce the appeal of their own broadcast deals.
FIFA’s stance that any player in a breakaway league would be banned from the World Cup was unexpected.
Multiple media reports had previously speculated that FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whose relationship with his former employers UEFA had become adversarial, would not be unhappy at a breakaway.
Infantino has been pushing a new 24-team Club World Cup and other new tournaments as part of a global shake-up of club football. But in recent months, he has struck a better relationship with his UEFA counterpart Aleksandr Ceferin, as the pair grappled with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The driver of the breakaway plan, according to several sources, has been Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, and it was noticeable that the statement from FIFA and UEFA came shortly after the Spaniard visited Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, also head of the influential European Club Association.
While the breakaway document does not mention which specific clubs would be involved, it is hard to imagine a European Super League without Agnelli’s club. However, he is also close to Ceferin personally and the ECA is central to the negotiations over UEFA’s Champions League.
Juventus declined to comment or make Agnelli avaliable for comment.
Likewise Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, whose club has been widely linked with the breakaway plan, is a member of the ECA’s board and has publicly stated he is focused on negotiations with UEFA.
United also declined to comment.
A senior official with one major European league told Reuters that they were sceptical of the breakaway coming to fruition.
UEFA are expected to announce in the coming weeks their plan for the Champions League from 2024, with a new format and new financial distribution structure.
The discussions have been about scrapping the round-robin stage, where there are eight groups of four clubs and each team play three opponents at home and away.
UEFA want to replace it with a format in which the 32 clubs would play 10 different opponents and qualification would come from one league table.
Whether that proves to be enough of a change for the big clubs will determine whether the threats of a breakaway – and possible ensuing sanctions and legal battles – becomes a reality.
-Reuters
Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.
Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.
The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.
Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.
“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.
“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”
Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.
“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”
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