Governing Bodies
Probe of Abuja stadium’s vandalism is ill-advised, says Ekeji
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Former Director General at the Nigeria’s Ministry of Sports, Dr. Patrick Ekeji has declared that the panel set up to investigate the vandalism of the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja after Tuesday’s ill-fated World Cup play-off of Nigeria and Ghana, was not necessary.
The nine-man panel was set up by the Ministry of Sports which also announced that the terms of reference for the investigative panel will be communicated in due course.
According to Ekeji who is also a former national team footballer as well as coach, the exercise is uncalled for. According to him, “what is there to probe? The vandalism? Or the result?”
To him, the whole exercise is mere time wasting as the reason for the crowd invasion of the pitch and the subsequence damage of facilities was already known.
Hear the former sports administrator who passed through virtually all the departments of the ministry during his tour of duty: “Don’t we know what led to the crowd action?
“Our team failed to qualify for Qatar 2022. Period. It was the crowd emotional response to the failed collective desire.”
To Dr. Ekeji, the minister should have simply call for a report from the NFF and subject the same to a study by some sports technocrats and thereafter draw recommendations for the Executive Council.
According to the former director general, the exercise should not take more that two weeks.
Although no life was reportedly lost in the crowd action, the situation was reminiscence of another World Cup duel in Lagos in August 1989 where before even Samuel Okwaraji slumped and died on the pitch in the game with Angola, five fans had died in the stampede that preceded the game.
It was found that the Lagos National Stadium was overcrowded resulting in jostling and pushing, then chokes, suffocation, exhaustion and soon, deaths!
The Lagos stadium had been closed for nearly three years then for renovation in preparation for a possible hosting of the then World Youth Championship in 1991.
The overcrowding was as a result of huge appetite for football which the crowd had been denied of since 17 October 1987 when Nigeria beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in an Olympic Games qualifier.
Thereafter, the stadium was closed for renovation and the then Green Eagles matches were moved around different cities. It was never anticipated that a large turnout would attend the game that signalled the national team back to their traditional nest.
That appeared the same scenerio in Abuja which last hosted the national team on 8 October 2011 before that of last Tuesday. Precautions were not put in place for a possible huge turn out to not just the return of the national team to the city in 11 years, but also the biggest match since the stadium was inaugurated in 2003.
World football governing body, FIFA, today clocks its 122nd anniversary, celebrating more than a century of overseeing and expanding the global game.
Founded on May 21, 1904, in Paris, France, FIFA began with just seven member associations — France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
From that modest beginning, the organisation has grown into the most influential sports governing body in the world, with 211 member associations spread across all continents.
Over the decades, FIFA has transformed football into a truly global phenomenon through competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Club World Cup, youth tournaments, and developmental programmes aimed at growing the game worldwide.
The organisation has also witnessed remarkable milestones, including the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 13 teams in 1930 to 48 teams beginning from the 2026 edition to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
FIFA’s journey has equally reflected football’s growing influence beyond sport, with the game becoming a major tool for diplomacy, social inclusion, youth empowerment, and economic development across the world.
As FIFA celebrates 122 years of existence, attention is now focused on the future of the game, technological innovations, expanded competitions, women’s football growth, and the continued globalisation of football.
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UEFA has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women’s soccer coach who secretly filmed his players, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17.
In a statement, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following the appointment of an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate allegations of potential misconduct.
“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.
FC Slovacko did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world soccer governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.
“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the well-being of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.
Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19s team.
RELATED STORY: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/04/08/outrage-as-male-coach-who-secretly-filmed-women-players-still-free-to-work-in-football/
-Reuters
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Southampton have been kicked out of the Championship playoff final after being found guilty of spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, the English Football League said on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 to Southampton on aggregate in the semi, have been reinstated and will face Hull City on Saturday in what is dubbed the world’s richest soccer match.
Promotion to the Premier League, even with an immediate relegation, is estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons.
Southampton, who admitted the charges, were also found guilty of filming training sessions involving Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April during the regular season.
They have also been deducted four points from the start of next season in England’s second tier.
“An Independent Disciplinary Commission has today expelled Southampton from the Championship play-offs after the club admitted multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training,” the EFL said.
“Southampton admitted breaches of Regulations requiring Clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another Club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.
“The effect of today’s order is that Middlesbrough are reinstated into the 2026 play-offs and will proceed to the play-off final against Hull City. The final remains scheduled for Saturday 23 May, with the kick-off time to be confirmed.”
The EFL confirmed that Southampton could appeal against the decision and that “parties are working to try and resolve any appeal on Wednesday 20 May.
“Subject to the outcome, it could result in a further change to Saturday’s fixture,” the statement said.
‘BORO CALLED FOR SOUTHAMPTON EXPULSION
Middlesbrough had called for Southampton’s expulsion after having a training session at their Rockliffe Park site filmed 48 hours ahead of the first leg of their playoff semi-final with Southampton which ended 0-0.
The north-east club said they welcomed the decision.
“We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct,” the north Middlesbrough said in a statement.
“As a club, we are now focused on our game against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday.”
Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season and were struggling in the early part of this campaign until a storming finish in which they went unbeaten in 19 league games to finish fourth and enter the playoffs.
The south-coast club are the first to fall foul of the Football League’s regulation 127 — brought in after Leeds United were found guilty of spying on Derby County seven years ago, an offence for which they were fined 200,000 pounds.
-Reuters
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