Governing Bodies
CHEERING BANNED AS SOUTH KOREAN, CHINESE WOMEN FINALLY BATTLE FOR PLACE IN TOKYO GAMES
After repeated postponements stretching back more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea and China’s women’s football teams will finally meet on Thursday (April 8) for a last-ditch spot at the Tokyo Olympics.
The first leg takes place in Goyang, South Korea, and the return fixture is on April 13 in the Chinese city of Suzhou, with a place in July’s delayed 2020 Games up for grabs.
The Olympic qualifier was first scheduled for March last year but became an early victim of the pandemic, and has been postponed three times.
When the Asian rivals belatedly clash, they will do so with Covid-19 still hanging heavy over the tie.
The Chinese squad landed in South Korea this week dressed in full protective bodysuits, complete with goggles, gloves and masks.
And while the first leg at Goyang Stadium, near Seoul, is open to some spectators, the limited number of fans allowed in have been told not to eat or shout in an attempt to contain infections.
It is a taste of what could lie ahead for the team who reach the Olympics, which have been pushed back by a year to July 23-Aug 8.
There are only two berths left at Tokyo in the women’s football, with Cameroon facing Chile for the other.
China hope it will be a victorious final chapter in a tortuous journey to Tokyo which began in Wuhan, ground zero of the pandemic.
‘Great opportunity’
The squad were training in Wuhan for an Olympic qualifying tournament scheduled to be held there in February last year, but the competition was moved to Nanjing, then Sydney, as the coronavirus took hold.
The team left Wuhan a day before it went into the world’s first virus lockdown on Jan 23.
They flew to Australia but were forced to quarantine in a hotel, where they were pictured doing stretches in a corridor. Their predicament made headlines because such measures were rare then.
When they finally got out, Jia Xiuquan’s side – missing star player Wang Shuang, who was stuck in Wuhan – won twice and drew once.
With China then at the centre of the coronavirus, the team became a defiant symbol back home, meaning there is more interest than normal in how they fare against the Koreans.
History beckons for South Korea, who have never qualified for the Olympics since women’s football was first included at Atlanta 1996, where China were beaten by hosts the United States in the final.
The Chinese women are now 15th in the Fifa rankings, three places above their opponents.
Experienced Korean defender Kim Hye-ri said it was a relief to get the game on finally.
“Such a great opportunity will never come again,” she said.
“We’ve suffered tremendously from our failure to advance to (past) Olympics.
“I really want to be able to smile this time.”
-AFP
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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