Governing Bodies
Japanese Government offer Nigerian gymnasts scholarships
Morinari Watanabe’s campaign to be re-elected President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) continues to benefit from the full backing of the Japanese Government.
Last month, insidethegames revealed exclusively that Japan was using its Embassies around Europe to drum up support for Watanabe.
Now it has emerged that Japan has struck a deal with the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria (GFN) to help train its young athletes.
GFN President Prince Kelvin Erhunwmunse revealed that the promise of support was made during Watanabe’s second visit to the African country as he tries to seal a second term as FIG President.
Watanabe was accompanied during his visit by Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, Japan’s Ambassador in Abuja.
“The coming of the President FIG, Morinari Watanabe to Nigeria has been very impactful because we were together with the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Chief Sunday Dare in Japan where commitments were made,” Erhunwmunse told Nigerian newspaper the Daily Trust.
“Nigeria gymnasts will gain scholarships to Japan to study and train.
“This has been sealed with the Japanese Ambassador.
“The training will among other things not only enhance the capacity building of the coaches/official, but also help improve the commitment of the gymnasts towards the game because of the conducive learning environment.
“Nigerians should expect more qualifications of gymnasts for the African, Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
“More equipment will be coming into Nigeria because a few weeks ago, the President of FIG, Morinari Watanabe was in Nigeria for the second time and a lot of promises were made.
“The Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria is moving to the next level.”
Watanabe claimed that his visit to Nigeria was aimed at encouraging the development of gymnastics in Africa and was not linked to his re-election campaign.
“The African Olympic Union invited me to attend its 40th anniversary in Abuja,” he told insidethegames.
“During this event, I was awarded a medal for contributing to the development of gymnastics in Africa.
“As FIG President, I often visited African countries to encourage gymnastics development on the continent, where the sport is underrepresented.
“That is part of the long FIG’s tradition of supporting the smaller gymnastics federations and offering assistance.
“I visited the facilities of the Nigerian Gymnastics Federation.
“I met a talented male gymnast, and I suggested that he could apply for Japan’s official sports development programme called ‘Sports for Tomorrow’ to train in Japan.
“Over the past years, several federations have used this governmental programme offering ordinary support for developing countries.
“Nigeria already held training camps in Japan twice – in 2016 and 2018 – thanks to this programme.”
Uche Eke made history at Tokyo 2020 when he became the first gymnast to represent Nigeria in the Olympic Games.
The United States-born 2019 African Games gold medallist failed to reach the final of any discipline in artistic gymnastics and ranked 58th overall in qualifying.
The 62-year-old Watanabe was elected as the new President of FIG in 2016 to replace Italy’s Bruno Grandi, who had stepped down following 20 years as head of the organisation.
Watanabe had been due to stand for re-election last year but was given an extra 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is set to face a challenge from European Gymnastics President Farid Gayibov at the re-arranged FIG Congress, due to take place between November 5 and 7 in Turkish resort Antalya.
The Azeri had unseated Georges Guelzec to be voted European Gymnastics President in 2017 a year after the Frenchman had suffered a crushing defeat to Watanabe in the FIG election.
Watanabe is the ninth President of FIG and the first Asian to lead the organisation in its 140-year history.
-insidethegames
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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