WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Two Nigerian women’s clubs get financial boost from FIFA
Following the record-setting FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, 1,041 clubs from 48 FIFA Member Associations across all six confederations are to receive a share of the revenue for the release of players who participated in the tournament.
Going by the final list of players submitted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to the tournament, two domestic club sides, Abia Angels and Rivers Angels will profit from the $11 million largess.
The funds have been made available via FIFA’s Club Benefits Programme (CBP), which was introduced ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 to recognise the fundamental role that clubs play in developing players. The total amount committed to clubs that released and/or trained the stars of women’s football rose to USD 11.3m for the 2023 edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ from USD 8.48m four years earlier.
Nearly two million fans at the tournament’s ten stadiums – and two billion following around the world – witnessed a new standard of women’s football at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, and now the clubs that played integral roles in shaping the talents of all 736 players at the tournament are to be rewarded.
“Strong clubs are crucial to the growth of women’s football, so distributing funding to over 1,000 clubs that have been instrumental in developing the world’s top female footballers is just one way that FIFA can offer its support,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino yesterday.
“What’s truly unique about this programme is that FIFA does not only reward the clubs that released the players for the tournament but also the clubs that have contributed to each player’s development between the ages of 12 and 22.
This development also means that most of the players who began their careers in Nigeria before their sojourn overseas will benefit from the gesture from the world football body.
“This model ensures that crucial funding as well as the incentive for clubs to provide the best possible training and environment for female talent – reaches every part of the global football ecosystem, benefiting grassroots and professional clubs.”
The number of clubs that were identified by FIFA as eligible to receive payments via the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 CBP increased by 219 clubs from 822 in 2019 to 1,041 in 2023. Positively, the number of clubs across FIFA’s Member Associations also increased from 39 in 2019 to 48 in 2023.
Each club’s share has been determined by the role that they played in a player’s development or participation in the tournament, either as a releasing club, a training club, or both.
Each eligible releasing club will receive an equal amount per player per day at the tournament, counting from the beginning of the release period (10 July 2023) and finishing the day following the last match of the player’s national team at the tournament.
Each training club will receive an amount based on the number of training periods the player spent at the club between ages 12 and 22, with each year consisting of a maximum of two training periods. The number of days that the player spent at the tournament is also factored in, however, the number of minutes played by a player in any given match at the tournament is irrelevant, with all players treated equally based on the number of days that they were at the tournament.
In the 1,043 clubs, UEFA dominated in numbers with 581 Asia Federation was next with 151 clubs while CONCACAF was next with 108 just as COMEBOL followed with 95 and then CAF with 76 clubs and Oceania Federation took the rear with just 30 clubs.
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Three Iranian women soccer players to return home after seeking asylum in Australia
Three members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who had sought asylum in Australia have decided to return to Iran, Australia’s government said on Sunday.
Australia granted humanitarian visas to seven Iranian footballers last week after they sought asylum, saying they feared persecution if they returned home after they failed to sing the national anthem at a Women’s Asian Cup match.
Four of the seven members have decided to leave Australia so far. Another member changed her mind last week.
“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
“While the Australian Government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions,” he added.
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) named the players as Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Sarbali and Zahra Meshkehkar.
“After arriving in Malaysia and joining the rest of Iran’s women’s national football team, the three players will travel to Tehran in the coming days to once again be embraced by their families and homeland,” FFIRI added in a statement.
The Iranian team’s campaign in the Asian Cup started just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament last Sunday.
-Reuters
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Australia became the first nation to qualify for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil with a 2-1 win over North Korea that booked their place in the Asian Cup semi-finals on Friday.
All Asian Cup semi-finalists earn automatic berths to the global showpiece, with the losing quarter-finalists to play off for two more spots on the Gold Coast next week.
Australia midfielder Alanna Kennedy scored her fifth goal at this year’s Asian Cup in the ninth minute against the North Koreans, while captain Sam Kerr doubled the Matildas’ lead just after the break before Chae Un-Yong pulled one back.
Australia will meet the winners of the match between defending champions China and Taiwan, who clash at the same Perth Rectangular Stadium on Saturday.
“I felt it was a really good team performance, defensively,” said Kerr. “The crowd was immense today, got us over the line. We’re going to need them again in the semi-final.”
Kennedy has been in fine form for the 2010 champions and pounced when Kerr robbed opposing captain An Kuk-Hyang of the ball on the right side of the penalty area.
Kerr’s cut-back was intercepted but the clearance fell to Kennedy who lashed a fierce strike from the edge of the box inside the right post.
Kerr stretched the lead with a poacher’s goal in the 47th minute, swooping on a defensive mistake and thumping in another rising left-foot shot.
North Korea got their consolation goal in the 65th minute when Kim Kyong-Yong’s cross found Chae who slid the ball home.
Midfielder Emily van Egmond became Australia’s joint most capped player, joining Clare Polkinghorne on 169 appearances.
-Reuters
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Iranian women’s soccer squad member changes mind on Australia asylum offer, to return home
Australian police helped two more members of the Iranian women’s soccer delegation slip their minders to claim asylum, but one has changed her mind and decided to go back to Iran, the country’s interior minister said on Wednesday.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced in parliament the squad member’s decision to return home, after five players from the team were granted asylum a day earlier.
A player and a support staff member accepted the government’s open offer of aid on Tuesday evening.
“One of the two who had made the decision to stay last night had spoken to some of the teammates who had left, and had changed her mind,” Burke told parliament.
“In Australia, people are able to change their mind, people are able to travel. And so, we respect the context in which she has made that decision.”
It was not immediately clear who had decided to return to Iran.
Burke said the rest of the players have been moved to a safe location after the member contacted the Iranian embassy, giving away their location
Concerns about the players’ safety grew after Iranian state television labelled the team “wartime traitors” for refusing to sing the national anthem during the women’s Asian Cup match in Australia earlier this month.
The two additional members of the delegation – 21-year-old striker Mohaddeseh Zolfi and support staffer Zahra Soltan Moshkehkar – were removed from the rest of the team with the aid of Australian Federal Police before they boarded a domestic flight to Sydney.
Before leaving the country, Australian officials separated the remaining team from their Iranian minders at Sydney airport and informed them of their options before they flew out of Australia. All those that made it to the airport elected to return to Iran.
“What we made sure of was that there was no rushing, there was no pressure. Everything was about ensuring the dignity for those individuals to make a choice,” Burke said during a media briefing in Canberra.
FEAR FOR FAMILIES
Burke said some players had asked him about the possibility of aiding their family members leave Iran.
“Obviously, when people are permanent residents, there are rights that they have in terms of sponsoring other family members. But all of it only becomes relevant if people can get out of Iran in the first place,” he said.
Some discussed their options with family but declined the offer to remain in Australia. The team has since reached Kuala Lumpur on their way to Iran.
The Iranian team’s campaign in the tournament started just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament on Sunday.
A group of Iranians living in Australia gathered to protest against the Iranian government and surrounded the players’ bus in Gold Coast when they left the hotel for the airport.
Many also turned up at the Sydney airport on Tuesday evening while they were being transferred to the international terminal, television footage showed.
The office of Iran’s general prosecutor said on Tuesday the remaining members of the team were invited back to the country “with peace and confidence,” Iranian media reported.
-Reuters
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