Governing Bodies
Biennial World Cup would raise extra $4.4 billion says FIFA
International football leaders were told by FIFA on Monday that a switch to a biennial World Cup would create an extra $4.4 billion in revenues for the world body.
FIFA is holding a ‘global summit’ of leaders of national football federations to discuss their proposal to increase the frequency of the World Cup from every four years to every two.
The financial data forms part of an overall feasibility study which FIFA is presenting on Monday. No vote is planned from the event which forms part of FIFA’s consultation process.
The upbeat reports are in marked contrast to analysis put forward by critics of the proposals.
There has been opposition from European clubs, the top leagues and European governing body UEFA whose president Aleksander Ceferin has threatened to boycott any additional tournament.
Last month, a report commissioned by the World Leagues Forum said the FIFA proposal, allied with changes to the Club World Cup could cost the big domestic soccer leagues and UEFA around 8 billion euros ($9 billion) per season in lost TV rights and match day and commercial agreements.
UEFA, on Friday, published a report they had commissioned from consultancy firm Oliver & Ohlbaum which warned that said the changes to the international calendar would impact see revenues for European national federations drop between 2.5 and 3 billion euros ($3.38 billion) over a four year cycle.
The delegates to Monday’s summit were told that a report by Italian company Open Economics had found that domestic leagues and UEFA competitions do not have their revenues hurt by national team and international club competition.
The report, some of which has been seen by Reuters, said that revenue of national leagues had increased in years when a major international tournament was held.
Professor Pasquale Lucio Scandizzo, of OpenEconomics told the delegates that the plan “promises significant and positive net macroeconomic benefits, distributed over time and space”.
A report from Nielsen predicted that the plan would see revenues rise from an expected $7 billion – for a 48 tournament – to $11.4 billion over a four year cycle thanks to increased ticket receipts and media rights and sponsorship revenues.
FIFA officials told the delegates that $3.5 billion of the extra revenue would go to a new ‘Member Association Solidarity Fund’ with each national federation allocated around $16 million in a four year period, while extra funds would also be given to the FIFA Forward Program for development projects.
FIFA said that the funds would help reduce the gap in revenues between the developed and less developed football markets.
Any vote on the plans would likely involve all the 211 national associations.
Along with UEFA, South American confederation CONMEBOL has opposed the proposal.
Earlier this month, Victor Montagliani, president of North and Central American and Caribbean confederation CONCACAF, told Reuters that a compromise solution could be for an additional tournament to be a revamped version of the old Confederations Cup rather than a full World Cup with a separate qualifying process.
($1 = 0.8875 euros)
-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.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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.”
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
The league title will be icing on Soname’s birthday cake on Sunday
As major global sporting events beckon, Morocco’s monarch launches the Kenitra-Marrakech High-Speed rail project
Nigeria Premier League attains a crescendo this weekend
- WOMEN'S FOOTBALL1 week ago
Naira rain falls on Nigeria’s Flamingos after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria
- OBITUARY4 days ago
NFF mourns the demise of former FIFA referee, Bosede Momoh
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Financial rainfall awaits Nigeria’s Flamingos for every goal scored in Algeria
- U-17 AFCON1 week ago
Morocco crowned CAF U-17 AFCON champions after dramatic penalty shootout win over Mali
- U-20 FOOTBALL7 days ago
Nigeria begin CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations title chase with Tunisian clash
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
Remo Stars maintain ‘7Up’ lead over Rivers United
- feature5 days ago
Ghana’s Cardinal, Appiah Turkson, listed as a possible Pope
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Former WAFU President, Ogufere mourns Christian Chukwu