Governing Bodies
FIFA set to suspend Russia
FIFA is set to suspend Russia’s national teams from international football until further notice due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, a source with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Monday.
FIFA is in advanced talks with European soccer body UEFA over the matter and a decision could be made later on Monday.
European governing body UEFA is due to hold an executive committee meeting at 1800 CET on Monday to decide on several issues relating to Russian football.
Russia are scheduled to host Poland in a World Cup qualifying playoff on March 24 and if they remained suspended at that time, they would be out of the World Cup and unable to progress to the finals in Qatar in November.
The Polish FA had said that they will refuse to play against the Russian team and the Czech Republic and Sweden, who are in the same playoff ‘path’, have also ruled out facing Russia.
The suspension would cover all Russian national teams and could impact the country’s women’s team are due to play in UEFA’s Euro 2022 competition in England in July.
Earlier on Monday, the International Olympic Committee’s executive board recommended that international sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in events L1N2V31IE.
FIFA had been criticised on Sunday after a statement that Russia could continue to play matches albeit in neutral venues and only under the name ‘Football Union of Russia’.
Although FIFA had warned the country could be excluded from competitions if the situation in Ukraine did not improve, the statement was widely criticised with the Polish FA saying the stance was “totally unacceptable”.
England’s Football Association then said that they would not play against Russia, a view that was backed up by a number of European federations.
Russia hosted the last World Cup in 2018 with the final held in Moscow attended by President Vladimir Putin.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.
-Reuters
FIFA has sanctioned two lower division clubs in Kenya and Vietnam for match manipulation, relegating them to the third tier, world soccer’s governing body said on Friday.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee found Kenyan side Muhoroni Youth guilty of “activities related to the manipulation of football matches and competitions”, expelling the club from the second-tier National Super League.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has further ordered the relegation of the Muhoroni Youth senior team to the Football Kenya Federation Division One League (third tier) ahead of next season,” FIFA said.
Vietnamese club Phu Tho was also found guilty of match manipulation. The club’s senior team was expelled from the Vietnamese Football League Second Division and relegated to the third division.
FIFA said the clubs had been notified and can appeal the decision.
-Reuters
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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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