Governing Bodies
English Premier League at a cross-roads as Covid-19 wrecks fixture list
Several clubs are advocating for a shutdown of the English Premier League for about a month in an effort to deal with the surge in Covid-19 cases, ESPN reported on Thursday (Dec 16).
The outlet cited unidentified sources.
Britain has experienced a surge in the coronavirus, reporting a total of 88,376 new cases on Thursday, up from 78,610 cases 24 hours earlier.
The surge has ripped the EPL’s pre-Christmas schedule to shreds, with six more matches being called off on Thursday, taking the total to nine this month, including Manchester United’s game against Brighton on Saturday.
However, the league has ruled out a ‘pause’ to the season to allow club squads to recover despite the season reaching a crucial phase and any slip-ups now by title contenders could prove extremely costly.
The matter has not been lost on managers with Brentford boss Thomas Frank, whose team has experienced several positive Covid tests, calling for this weekend’s games to be suspended.
“We think we should postpone the full round of Premier League games this weekend,” he said on Thursday, according to ESPN.
“Covid cases are going through the roof at all Premier League clubs; everyone is dealing with it and having problems.”
Liverpool were missing Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones because of positive Covid tests on Thursday but came from a goal down to beat Newcastle 3-1.
Manager Jurgen Klopp said he “hoped” Sunday’s Tottenham game would go ahead but did not sound too optimistic. Spurs have had their last two league games postponed because of infections.
“It’s a really tricky situation. Nobody knows exactly how we’ll be tomorrow,” the German said on Thursday. “I’ve never had three players on match day pull out. The most important thing is because the boys are vaccinated they will not feel it really. That’s good. We have to wait for them.
“Should we stop the league? I have no real answer for it. If you stop it for two weeks and we come back, I really don’t know what to do.
“I saw the Everton line-up today, I don’t know half of the players.
“We have three players out because of Covid … then we play on the 26th and the 28th (of December) and you have 13 players available, that’s not possible. There are plenty of questions we need to find answers for but I don’t have the solution.”
Chelsea, who were missing Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi because of Covid, were held to a surprise home draw with Everton on Thursday, which left them four points behind league leaders Manchester City.
But when asked if the title race should be put on hold while the protagonists deal with Covid infections, Tuchel said he did not want to get involved in sports politics.
“We are all worried about Covid, it is close to us, we had four positives. Other games get cancelled, ours didn’t. If they decide we have to play we play,” he told reporters.
But some players maintained an optimistic front, with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, who scored a thunderbolt four minutes from time, saying: “Until we’re told otherwise we’ll be in there every day and making sure we’re fit for Sunday. The games come thick and fast so any minor slip can prove costly come April or May.”
-Reuters/ Xinhua
The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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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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