Governing Bodies
Ghana to contest ban and $100,000 fine for age-cheating at Under-17 level
Ghana will appeal against a fine and ban imposed on its women’s Under-17 football team after being found guilty of age-cheating.
Last month Morocco edged past Ghana on penalties to qualify for the 2022 Women’s U17 World Cup but subsequently launched a protest about their opponents.
The North Africans claimed two players in the Black Maidens side were over-age.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) investigated the claims and banned Ghana from the next two editions of Africa’s qualifying for the Women’s U17 World Cup and added a fine of $100,000.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) said it will appeal in writing to Caf.
“We previously sent a written defence when this allegation started,” a top GFA official told BBC Sport Africa.
“As a body, we are strongly confident in the Caf’s appeals board to overturn this decision.”
It is not the first time that Ghana has been accused of age cheating at youth level.
Back in 2014, the men’s U17 side were banned from the 2015 U17 Africa Cup of Nations after being found guilty of age cheating in a qualifier against Cameroon, with the central Africans replacing Ghana at the tournament held in Niger.
Tackling age cheats in Cameroon
Meanwhile, a Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) ethics committee has begun hearings involving 44 players from eight different clubs who are accused of age and/or identity fraud.
Players from amateur clubs and a few from local leagues are being investigated, and several club presidents accused of complicity are also involved in the cases.
Fecafoot official Emeric Tegomo told the BBC that players found guilty at the hearings, which are scheduled to end on Friday, risk a six-month suspension.
The hearings are a rare effort in Africa to stop age-cheating or identity fraud, which has long been a major source of concern in the game across the continent.
Accusations of cheating are regularly made – and many of Africa’s international successes in junior tournaments have been clouded by allegations of use of over-age players – but methods have been introduced in an attempt to stop it.
World governing body Fifa began conducting MRI scans at the U17 World Cup in Nigeria in 2009, focusing on players’ wrists to calculate their ages.
In 2017 Fecafoot blocked 14 players from taking part in the U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon after they failed MRI tests, which provide detailed images from inside the body.
Fecafoot president Samuel Eto’o, the former Cameroon, Barcelona and Inter Milan striker, promised reform of the game in the central African country when he was elected in December.
-BBC
The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) will hold its Executive Committee (“EXCO”) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday, 21 October 2024.
The Executive Committee meeting, to be chaired by CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe, will start at 10h30 local time (07h30 GMT).
The meeting will be held ahead of the 46th Ordinary General Assembly which will also take place in the Ethiopian capital on Tuesday, 22 October 2024 at 10h00 local time (07h00 GMT).
Wahid Oshodi, the newly elected President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) has made an immediate call to the private sector to boost table tennis on the continent.
His approach focuses on not relying solely on public funds but on seeking corporate investment to elevate the sport.
He has launched an ambitious strategy to strengthen the development of table tennis in Africa.
His first step has been to solicit the backing of the private sector, which he sees as crucial to taking the sport to the next level.
In his inaugural address, Oshodi emphasised that relying exclusively on government funding and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) “will not be enough to boost the sport across the continent.”
“It’s time to involve private and corporate organisations to help table tennis flourish in Africa.
“We cannot continue depending solely on government funding. We aim to raise the standards and produce more African superstars who can shine globally,” stated the new ATTF president, seeking a significant financial injection to tackle the challenges and ambitions set out for his tenure.
His election, held on 15 October in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was unanimous. Indeed, a clear acknowledgement of his international reputation and dedication to table tennis.
Oshodi, who was previously elected Vice President of the ATTF in 2019 and Executive Vice President of the ITTF in 2021, has more than proven his ability to lead the sport’s development both in his home country and across the continent.
The Lagos-born leader is not only focused on funding but also on fostering unity among ATTF member associations. He believes that a united continent will be stronger and better positioned to succeed on the global stage. “Unity is key. Together, we can achieve more for table tennis in Africa,” he added.
Governing Bodies
Sanusi set for record-extending tenure as Nigeria’s football politicians assemble in Asaba
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Speculations gathered ahead of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Football Federation holding in Asaba on Friday have it that tenure elongation for the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, is a major item on the agenda.
Neither formal confirmation nor denial has been issued since one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria, ThisDay dropped the hint.
The agenda of the meeting is also not made public. Dr, Sanusi is the longest-serving General Secretary in history having been in office from 30 March 2015 making 3,476 days or nine years six months and four days.
It easily drowned that of his closest rival in tenure – Sani Toro whose tenure from 21 December 1993 to 3 May 1999 is merely 2020 days or five years, six months and 12 days.
Thus, no one had enjoyed a longer period in office than the incumbent, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi. It is speculated that the tenure will be extended as NFF has reported that all delegates have arrived in the Delta State capital by Thursday evening.
The NFF Annual General Assembly, the first of which took place 90 years ago in Lagos on 19 February 1934, is the biggest assemblage of football administrators and stakeholders in the country.
In one such meeting on 24 July 2008 in Makurdi, the football body changed its name from NFA to NFF.
This year, according to a press release by the NFF, the plenary will have in attendance, the chairmen and secretaries of football associations in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, chairmen and secretaries of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and the Nationwide League One, as well as chairmen and secretaries of the referees’ association, players’ union and coaches’ association. This group of 88 makes up the Congress.
They are joined by the members of the NFF Executive Committee and the management team as well as former NFF Presidents and General Secretaries.
The Minister of Sports Development, John Owan Enoh, is announced as the special guest. Nigeria’s Member of the FIFA Council, Amaju Melvin Pinnick is also expected as well as a representative of the West African Football Union (WAFU B).
The Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori will declare the General Assembly open.
Venue is the Unity Hall of the Delta State Government House.
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