Governing Bodies
Nigeria vs Ghana World Cup play-off: It’s time for Green Revolution at Super Eagles’ matches
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
For Nigeria, the quest for qualification for the Qatar 2022 has reached a fever-pitch level. The Super Eagles have all to play for in the last leg of the the play-off. No ambiguity, a win is al it takes to fly to Qatar 2022.
But the rest of Nigerians have their roles to play too. One vivid example comes to mind. At the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup final, a big fact played out. It is the overwhelming support for a team, irrespective of proceedings on the pitch.
When a situation gets to the point of having to decide ones fate on home soil, beautiful football is often at discount. It is the result that matters. So, when the Seleção of Brazil took on the then World Cup holders at the famous Maracana Stadium in Rio, they could not have wished for a better setting.
Considering the wave of protests that had swept across Brazil at the time, even many were against the hosting of the tournament as well as the World Cup meant for the next year, no one could had predicted a capacity crowd and an overwhelming support for the home team.
After the match, even Brazil’s Coach Felipe Scolari was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. “Nobody expected such an emphatic result, not against the world champions,” he remarked at the post match conference.
He largely attributed the performance of the extra-charged Brazilian team to the overwhelming, if not intimidating support of the densely packed crowd.
“I also want to draw attention to the support the team had off the pitch. It’s a message for the whole of Brazil. We have to get along and stick together to make sure things move forward,” the 2002 World Cup-winning coach said.
The atmosphere was so electrifying that it could have taken only a prophet to predict a total humiliation of Spain, then the best team in the world. This is what the Super Eagles deserve on Tuesday evening in Abuja as they host their most ferocious rivals, the Black Stars.
The 2013 Confederations Cup final is where I will expect the Nigerian football fan to draw a big lesson. When the Brazilian fan decides to back a team, he does so, regardless of the standard being exhibited on the pitch.
If you think I was the only one overwhelmed by the atmosphere at Maracana, perhaps you also needed to be at the massive arena. Hear Blatter, the then FIFA president, “I’ve never seen anything like that. The fans were extraordinary in the stadium. I can still feel [the atmosphere] in the stadium today. When they started to sing the national anthem, even when the official part of it was over, they continued to sing. Ok, perhaps it delayed the match for two minutes, but it was not too important.”
When Nigeria took on Tahiti, the half-filled Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, the support for the Tahitians was overwhelming and unwavering despite the Tahitians getting ‘goal drunk’.
A typical Nigerian fan would have made a volte face when his team plays disappointingly. When the fans shifted allegiance to the Super Eagles in their subsequent two matches which they lost against Uruguay and Spain, the fans backed the Super Eagles all the way despite the results.
The Nigerian fan should no longer be a fair weather friend of his team. He should not wait for goals to be scored before he let loose his emotions.
Let the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) begin the “Green Revolution” by making available to ech ticket holder, a green T-shirt. Let’s create “Green Belts” at the stadium on Tuesday. Back to the electrifying atmosphere at the Maracana Stadium in 2013, it was a sea of yellow shirts that adorned the bowel of the massive arena.
There was just no way the Seleção would not have felt at home. Perhaps the only other place I ever witness such overwhelming support was at the 2002 World Cup as the South Koreans mobilised behind their not-too strong national team.
In all-red attires, the Koreans packed in the stadiums and fan parks. Such backing saw South Korea topping a group that had teams like Portugal and Poland and even overcame Italy to reach the quarter-finals.
The fans with their red attires created “Red Seas” at every venue Korea played. This is a lesson to the Nigerian fan.
It is should be a task to mobilise fans from neighbouring towns and cities to ensure that the Moshood Abiola National Stadium is filled to capacity when the Super Eagles take on Black Stars.
Put on the colours of your team! When the Super Eagles play at home, let us match the colour of the pitch with those of the stands.
Let there be the green belts. Let us paint the arena green. Let the “green revolution” begin this Tuesday as we make the final fight to qualify for the World Cup.
Let the various supporters clubs come together as an entity, at least for now, to ensure we pick the valuable World Cup ticket.
Let the various supporters clubs adopt the concept of total support, yet non-violent approach in backing our team. Let them create chants that the rest of the crowd can echo. We do not necessarily need long songs that only few can sing.
Let’s electrify the venue! Onward to Qatar 2022.
The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try barring President Donald Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, in a move that could also have implications for the World Cup being hosted by the U.S. this summer.
The proposal, on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug-fighting watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest manoeuvre to come out of a yearslong refusal of the U.S. government to pay its annual dues to WADA.
The refusal is part of the American government’s unanimous, bipartisan protest of the agency’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.
The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rules proposal to AP; they were not authorised to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been released publicly.
The proposal was, in fact, first brought up in 2024, when U.S. authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The U.S. has since lost its seat on the executive committee.
“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The rule, if passed, would figure to be mostly symbolic, given the limits an international sports federation could have on the president of a country attending an event inside his own borders.
“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”
In a news release after this story published, WADA said the AP story was “entirely misleading,” focusing on Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals being discussed were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”
Fitzgerald’s only answer to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically about how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or couldn’t be applied retroactively on events that are scheduled for the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”
-AP
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The Confederation of African Football has dismissed Yasin Osman Robleh, the Djiboutian official who headed its judicial bodies for the past six years, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the organisation’s disciplinary processes.
According to reports from convergence sources, the decision was confirmed on Saturday by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, bringing an abrupt end to Robleh’s tenure overseeing the confederation’s disciplinary and investigative committees since 2019.
Robleh’s position reportedly came under increasing pressure following the controversy surrounding sanctions imposed after the Africa Cup of Nations Final between Morocco and Senegal. The disciplinary decisions that followed the match sparked criticism from several quarters and placed CAF’s legal framework under intense scrutiny.
In response to the situation, CAF’s Executive Committee has appointed Togolese lawyer Cedric Egai, currently the confederation’s Director of Legal Affairs, as interim head of the judicial bodies.
Egai is expected to stabilise the organisation’s legal arm while CAF works toward appointing a permanent successor to Robleh.
Disciplinary Decisions Delayed
The leadership change has already affected ongoing disciplinary processes within the confederation. CAF’s disciplinary committee reportedly held hearings last Thursday on several cases, including the high-profile encounter involving Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s AS FAR.
However, decisions on those matters have been temporarily put on hold pending the confirmation of new leadership within the judicial structure.
Sources indicate that once a permanent successor is appointed, CAF will move swiftly to conclude outstanding disciplinary rulings affecting both clubs and national teams.
Restoring Confidence
The move is widely seen as part of CAF’s effort to restore confidence in its judicial system following weeks of controversy surrounding disciplinary decisions at major competitions.
Robleh’s departure closes a significant chapter in CAF’s legal administration, while Egai’s interim appointment signals a potential shift in leadership and governance at a critical time for African football.
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Governing Bodies
Countdown Rule Introduced To Crack Down on Time-Wasting in Substitutions and Spot Kicks
Global football’s law-making body, The International Football Association Board (IFAB), has approved a landmark package of reforms aimed at protecting effective playing time, reducing time-wasting and strengthening disciplinary oversight ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The decisions were taken at IFAB’s 140th Annual General Meeting (AGM), chaired by Mike Jones, President of the Football Association of Wales, during celebrations marking the FAW’s 150th anniversary.
The reforms, which will apply from the 2026/27 season and be implemented at the 2026 World Cup and other competitions, respond to growing calls across the football community for measures that preserve match tempo and reduce deliberate disruption.
Five-Second Countdown for Throw-Ins and Goal Kicks
Building on last season’s amendment preventing goalkeepers from holding the ball for excessive periods, IFAB has extended the countdown principle to throw-ins and goal kicks.
If a referee judges that a restart is being deliberately delayed, a visible five-second countdown will begin. Failure to put the ball back into play within that period will result in possession being awarded to the opposing team. In the case of a delayed goal kick, the sanction escalates to a corner kick for the opposition.
The measure is designed to eliminate a common time-management tactic frequently deployed late in matches.
Strict Timelines for Substitutions
To further streamline match flow, substituted players must leave the field within 10 seconds of the substitution board being displayed or the referee’s signal being given.
Players who exceed that limit must still exit immediately, but their replacement will not be allowed to enter until the next stoppage after one minute of running clock time has elapsed — effectively discouraging slow exits intended to run down the clock.
Mandatory One-Minute Absence After On-Field Treatment
Under another significant change, players who receive on-field medical assessment — or whose injury prompts a stoppage — must leave the pitch and remain off for at least one minute once play resumes.
The rule aims to curb tactical injury interruptions while still safeguarding genuine medical needs.
IFAB also approved further trials to assess goalkeeper-related tactical injury delays and explore deterrent options.
VAR Protocol Expanded to Include Second Yellow Cards
In a notable development for officiating, IFAB expanded the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) protocol.
The VAR will now be permitted to review:
- Red cards resulting from a clearly incorrect second yellow card;
- Mistaken identity cases where the wrong player is cautioned or sent off;
- Clearly incorrectly awarded corner kicks, provided the review can be completed immediately without delaying the restart.
The move addresses longstanding criticism that second cautions — unlike straight red cards — were previously outside VAR review scope, despite their decisive impact on matches.
IFAB also confirmed continued trials of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) and ongoing development of FIFA-led Football Video Support (FVS).
Amendments to the Laws of the Game 2026/27
The next edition of the Laws of the Game, effective 1 July 2026 (with early adoption permitted), will introduce further clarifications and adjustments:
- Law 3: Senior ‘A’ international friendlies may now allow up to eight substitutes, expandable to eleven by mutual agreement.
- Law 4: Non-dangerous equipment will be permitted if safely covered.
- Law 5: Referee body cameras (head- or chest-mounted) may be used at competition discretion, with organisers controlling footage.
- Law 8: Clarifies that a dropped ball will be awarded to the team that would likely have retained possession.
- Laws 10 & 14: Formal incorporation of guidance on accidental “double touch” penalty incidents.
- Law 12: Where advantage is played for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity and a goal is scored, the offender will not be cautioned.
Focus on Discriminatory Behaviour and Player Protests
Looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup, IFAB agreed that further consultation will be undertaken to develop tougher measures against discriminatory conduct.
The board will also examine scenarios where:
- Players leave the field collectively in protest of refereeing decisions;
- Players cover their mouths while confronting opponents — a practice viewed as undermining transparency.
A Forward-Looking Agenda
The AGM, attended by representatives from FIFA, The FA, the Scottish FA, the FA of Wales, the Irish FA and IFAB administration, signals what officials described as a decisive effort to modernise the sport.
With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, IFAB’s reforms represent one of the most comprehensive tempo-focused overhauls in recent years — an attempt to ensure that football remains faster, fairer and more resistant to manipulation of time.
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