Governing Bodies
Factbox: Timeline of Chelsea’s sale
Following is a timeline on the sale of Premier League soccer club Chelsea, who have been sold by Roman Abramovich to a consortium led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital.
Feb. 24
Abramovich is named in Parliament as Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled Britain’s largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia after the country invaded Ukraine.
Feb. 26
Abramovich gives trustees of Chelsea’s foundation stewardship of the club amid calls in Britain that the Russian be sanctioned over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
March 2
Abramovich says he has decided to sell Chelsea and promised to donate money from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine as clamour for sanctions grows, but adds the sale will not be fast-tracked.
March 4
A consortium led by American Boehly and Swiss business tycoon Hansjoerg Wyss enters the fray to make a bid for Chelsea.
March 10
Britain halts planned sale of Chelsea and imposes sanctions on Abramovich, effectively placing the club under government control.
The team is allowed to carry on playing but the government said it was open to selling the club as long as Abramovich himself did not benefit.
March 11
Potential buyers for Chelsea told to approach the government. The club is permitted to operate under strict conditions which prevent transfer deals and new ticket sales while club merchandise store is closed.
March 12
The Premier League board disqualifies Abramovich as a director at the club after he was sanctioned by the government.
March 13
British property developer Nick Candy says he will give Chelsea fans a seat on the board if he buys the club and also provide short-term funding.
March 16
The owners of U.S. baseball outfit the Chicago Cubs team up with Citadel founder Ken Griffin to work on a bid to buy Chelsea.
March 19
Former British Airways chairman Martin Broughton says his consortium bidding for Chelsea comprises wealthy investors from around the world. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe joins the consortium.
March 24
British government amends Chelsea’s special licence to allow the club to sell tickets to fans for away games, with all revenue going to competition organisers.
March 25
U.S. Bank Raine Group, overseeing the club’s sale, adds Boehly’s group, the Ricketts family and Broughton’s group to the shortlist of bidders.
April 12-13
American investor Stephen Pagliuca hints at being prepared to divest his interest in Italian club Atalanta to buy Chelsea as he prepares to submit a bid.
NBA chairman Larry Tanenbaum and former Chelsea captain John Terry join Pagliuca’s bid.
April 15
The Ricketts family pulls out of the running to buy Chelsea citing “unusual dynamics around the sales process”.
April 21
Former tennis world number one Serena Williams and seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton join Broughton’s bid to buy Chelsea.
April 29
The consortium led by Boehly is in exclusive negotiations to buy Chelsea for $3 billion.
Pagliuca’s group is told they are not the ‘preferred bidder’ and are out of the running but British businessman Jim Ratcliffe says he made a late bid to buy Chelsea.
May 5
Abramovich denies media reports that he has asked for his loan to Chelsea — reported to total 1.5 billion pounds ($1.90 billion) — to be repaid.
Ratcliffe says he is not giving up a bid to buy Chelsea despite apparent rejection from Raine.
May 7
A consortium led by Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital wins the bid to acquire Chelsea in a deal worth 4.25 billion pounds ($5.38 billion).
The proposal is sent to the government and Premier League for approval.
May 24
The Boehly-Clearlake consortium passes the Premier League Owners’ and Directors’ Test, paving the way for the club’s takeover.
May 25
The British government issues a licence that permits the sale of Chelsea to the Boehly-led consortium.
May 26
Portugal gives Abramovich the green light to sell Chelsea. The Russian-born billionaire became a Portuguese citizen last year and is under European Union sanctions.
May 28
Chelsea strike a final agreement to sell the club to the Boehly-led consortium.
May 30
Abramovich completes sale of Chelsea and related companies to an investment group led by Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who will share joint control and equal governance of the club. Chelsea say Boehly will serve as chairman of the holding company.
Reuters
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria is set to host the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), marking the third time the country will stage the continent’s top football gathering.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, approved Nigeria’s proposal to host the event.
The approval followed a meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe, attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
Sports Villages Square affirms that Nigeria previously hosted the CAF Congress at the National Theatre in Lagos in March 1980 and again in February 2009, when the late CAF President Issa Hayatou secured another four-year term in office.
In addition to this year’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly, scheduled for October, Nigeria also secured the hosting rights of the CAF Awards ceremony. The annual awards gala, which celebrates Africa’s top football performers, has been staged in Morocco over the past three years.
Nigeria had earlier hosted the CAF Awards when telecom firm, Globacom, was the headline sponsor. This year’s event will be the seventh to be held in Nigeria after those of 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally attracts key football stakeholders from across the continent, including presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions and senior football administrators.
The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as one of African football’s flagship events, honouring outstanding players, coaches, clubs and officials in a glamorous setting that showcases the continent’s football excellence.
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FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee has banned former Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves from all football-related activities for five years after finding he sexually harassed female staff members.
FIFA also fined Alves 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,000) after determining that he had breached provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics relating to the protection of physical and mental integrity, abuse of position and general duties.
“FIFA has a strict stance against all forms of abuse in football,” the organisation said on Monday.
The decision followed a review of written statements from the victims, documents provided by the GFF, submissions from Alves, and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
Alves stepped down from his position in 2024.
The ban came into force on Monday, when the terms of the decision were notified to Alves, and the full grounds for the ruling will be communicated within 60 days in accordance with the Code of Ethics, FIFA added.
The GFF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alves could not immediately be reached for comment.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that he planned to seek re-election for a fourth term in a bid to continue to lead the governing body of world soccer.
Infantino confirmed he would run for the 2027–2031 term in the closing moments of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which comes less than two months before the start of the World Cup.
The election will be held on March 18 in Morocco, which is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup.
Infantino said he was “honoured and humbled” to have the chance to run for a fourth term.
The Italian-Swiss took office in 2016, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.
Infantino has pushed for the expansion of FIFA competitions during his tenure, with this year’s World Cup in North America the first to feature 48 teams, while the women’s tournament in 2023 has been expanded to 32 teams.
Infantino’s tenure has also drawn some criticism over issues such as high World Cup ticket prices and the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.
Earlier this month, the council of South American football’s governing body (CONMEBOL) said in a statement it would unanimously support the 56-year-old if he decided to seek another term.
-Reuters
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