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Football world celebrates Amaju Pinnick on his birthday

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Messages of congratulations have been pouring in for former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president as he celebrates his 53rd birthday this Friday, December 1, 2023.

Last year at the Diplomatic Club at the outskirts of Doha, football celebrities gathered to celebrate his 52nd birthday during the World Cup.

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This time around,  messages have come from FIFA, CAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The FIFA President, Gianni Infantino in his message remarks:

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“May this special day be filled with happiness and may we continue to work together for the future of the beautiful game that unites us all.

“With this letter, I would also like to thank you wholeheartedly for your trust, commitment, contribution and support to the development of our sport and the promotion of its values in your country, in Africa and around the world.

“Wishing you a wonderful time with your family, friends and loved ones and looking forward to seeing you very soon again.”

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The CAF president, Patrice Motsepe wrote in similar vein. His letter reads: “May today and every day be filled with happiness, good health and contentment.

“Thank you very much for the advice and guidance that you have provided me as a Member of the CAF Executive Committee and for the excellent work that you are doing to develop and grow football in Nigeria and on the African Continent.

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“You represent the very best from my beloved Nigeria. I wish you an enjoyable and fulfilling day with your loved ones and I look forward to seeing you again. “

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Even the secretariat of CAF is not left out in their affection for Pinnick. The General Secretary and his team also sent a card with message of affection.

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So also the Asian confederation.

Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC president and the Senior Vice President of FIFA writes: “Please accept my heartfelt best wishes and warm greetings on your birthday.

“This is also an opportunity for me to express my sincere gratitude to you for your unmatched passion for the game and for making football stronger around the world through your many contributions.

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“And I look forward to your enthusiasm and cooperation as we continue to work together to raise the standards of the beautiful game in the times ahead. I hope your celebration of this special day is one to remember. “

 

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Governing Bodies

Nigeria  becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council

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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.

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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.

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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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Ex-FIFA Council member and Mali football chief released from jail

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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.

Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.

He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.

The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.

He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.

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Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.

While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.

-Reuters

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Nigeria Football Federation denies owing late national captain and coach, Chukwu

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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.

Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.

The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.

 Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.

“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.

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“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”

Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.

“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”       

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