Governing Bodies
Ex-World Cup media officer loses appeal in Qatar
A former employee of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers who raised concerns over migrant workers has lost his appeal against a conviction for corruption.
A court in Doha sentenced Abdullah Ibhais to three years in prison after it upheld a guilty verdict on the charge of misappropriating state funds.
Ibhais said security forces coerced him into signing a confession and that he was being punished for criticising the handling of a migrant workers’ strike.
Qatari officials denied the claims.
They insisted the trial was fair and that Ibhais was convicted on the basis of “an abundance of strong and credible evidence”.
Human rights group FairSquare said the failure of football’s world governing body, Fifa, to call on Qatar to ensure a fair trial had “enabled” the verdict, for which, it asserted, there was no evidence other than Ibhais’s confession.
Ibhais, a Jordanian national, was a media manager for Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which is overseeing preparations for the World Cup.
The Supreme Committee said that it received a complaint alleging corrupt activity in October 2019 from a third party participant in a tender for a contract related to the management of its social media platforms.
Following an internal investigation, Ibhais and another employee were suspended on full pay and the findings were passed on to Qatari authorities, it added.
FairSquare and Human Rights Watch reported that Ibhais was initially arrested that November on the basis of allegations that he was engaged in activities aimed at “harming the state or its security”.
He told the two campaign groups that interrogators coerced him into confessing to lesser charges, and that he was denied access to a lawyer during questioning.
Ibhais alleged that it was his internal criticism of the Supreme Committee’s handling of a strike by migrant workers over unpaid wages in August 2019 that led to his prosecution.
He retracted the confession during his trial, but the court refused to invalidate it and found him guilty this April of “bribery”, “violation of the integrity of tenders and profits”, and “intentional damage to public funds”. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Ibhais was taken into custody by police on 15 November, reportedly just before he was due to be interviewed by two journalists from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. The journalists were later detained themselves by Qatari security forces for more than 30 hours for allegedly trespassing on private property and filming without a permit.
Ibhais went on hunger strike in prison while awaiting his appeal.
“For me this was the last resort after I was denied a chance for a fair trial. I was denied the chance to be heard. I was denied the chance to speak up,” he said in an audio message released by the Dutch newspaper NRC on 2 December in which he denied any wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, Qatar’s Court of Appeal upheld his conviction but reduced his sentence to three years. Ibhais was not in court for the hearing, which one journalist who attended said lasted less than a minute.
A Qatari official said the case “followed all the proper legal procedures and protocols” and that the evidence against him “included extensive details of the crime – much more than the defendant’s own confession”.
“The State of Qatar rejects in the strongest possible terms any assertion that the ruling was influenced by factors other than its unwavering commitment to justice and the rule of law.”
The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy said the allegations that the case was linked to Ibhais’ views on migrant workers were “ludicrous, defamatory, and absolutely false”.
Nicholas McGeehan, co-director of FairSquare, said: “Every day Abdullah Ibhais remains in jail more people will know his name, know what he did for the migrant workers who built Qatar’s World Cup, and know the price he has apparently paid for that.”
“It was Qatar’s World Cup organisers who instigated this prosecution, but it was Fifa’s silence that enabled today’s verdict,” he added.
A Fifa spokesperson said any person deserved a fair trial that observed and respected due process, and that it would “consider today’s ruling before making any further comment”.
-BBC
Governing Bodies
Sanusi set for record-extending tenure as Nigeria’s football politicians assemble in Asaba
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Speculations gathered ahead of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Football Federation holding in Asaba on Friday have it that tenure elongation for the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, is a major item on the agenda.
Neither formal confirmation nor denial has been issued since one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria, ThisDay dropped the hint.
The agenda of the meeting is also not made public. Dr, Sanusi is the longest-serving General Secretary in history having been in office from 30 March 2015 making 3,476 days or nine years six months and four days.
It easily drowned that of his closest rival in tenure – Sani Toro whose tenure from 21 December 1993 to 3 May 1999 is merely 2020 days or five years, six months and 12 days.
Thus, no one had enjoyed a longer period in office than the incumbent, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi. It is speculated that the tenure will be extended as NFF has reported that all delegates have arrived in the Delta State capital by Thursday evening.
The NFF Annual General Assembly, the first of which took place 90 years ago in Lagos on 19 February 1934, is the biggest assemblage of football administrators and stakeholders in the country.
In one such meeting on 24 July 2008 in Makurdi, the football body changed its name from NFA to NFF.
This year, according to a press release by the NFF, the plenary will have in attendance, the chairmen and secretaries of football associations in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, chairmen and secretaries of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and the Nationwide League One, as well as chairmen and secretaries of the referees’ association, players’ union and coaches’ association. This group of 88 makes up the Congress.
They are joined by the members of the NFF Executive Committee and the management team as well as former NFF Presidents and General Secretaries.
The Minister of Sports Development, John Owan Enoh, is announced as the special guest. Nigeria’s Member of the FIFA Council, Amaju Melvin Pinnick is also expected as well as a representative of the West African Football Union (WAFU B).
The Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori will declare the General Assembly open.
Venue is the Unity Hall of the Delta State Government House.
Governing Bodies
Like in Egypt, former Nigerian Olympian, Sadiq Abdulahi wants Tinubu to declare ‘State of Emergency’ in Sports
Former Nigerian tennis player and Olympian, Prof. Sadiq Abdulahi has called for drastic action to arrest the decline of Nigeria in global sporting events.
The former tennis player who is now a professor in the United States declared that the “failure to win a medal at the regular 2024 Paris Olympics, the few medals at the Paris Paralympic and the fallout at the National Youth Sports Festival has exposed the deep problems facing the sport’s sector.”
He wants Nigeria to have the same approach that the Egyptian president has taken while reacting to the country’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olypics.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participated at the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
According to Prof. Abdulahi, the National Sports Federations charged with the preparation of elite athletes have failed to do their job despite the cry for funding from the government.
“Federal Government cannot adequately fund all the Olympics sports. It is impossible.
“By declaring a state of emergency, new people, new approaches and new funding models will be identified. More importantly, the Federal Government will redefine grassroots sports development.
“We will lay sustainable foundation for sports development.”
Continuing, he called for the return of the National Sports Commission (NSC) which enabling decree was abolished through Decree No. 7 of 1991, but came back through presidential proclamation under Sani Abacha before it was abolished again.
The original NSC was established in 1964 as National Sports Council before the promulgation of Decree 34 of 1971 which legalised it as the apex Federal Government agency to control, regulate and organize sports.
“The FG may now bring back the National Sports Commission or the National Sports Authority. Our emerging national economy with the full participation of the private sector can support this new beginning. I hope this helps.”
RELATED STORY: President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Governing Bodies
CAF gives Yoruba and Arabic interpretations of ‘OLA’ the Super Cup 2024 Official Match Ball
The Confédération African of Football, CAF, has given the linguistics interpretation of OLA, the confederation’s official match balls produced by Puma which has also unveiled a special edition for the Super Cup duel holding on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
According to CAF, OLA, symbolizing the dynamic and energetic nature of African football, means “wealth,” “honour,” and “respect” in Yoruba and “rise” and “success” in Arabic.
The OLA ball stands out with its vibrant design and cultural significance. “OLA”
The ball is a mix of black and gold, representing power and sophistication. The ball will be the centrepiece of the eagerly-awaited match between the two giants of African football.
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