Governing Bodies
African football paid out $50-million settlement over marketing rights
African football paid $50-million in an out of court settlement to former marketing company Lagardere Sports after abruptly cancelling their long-term agreement, the Confederation of African Football’s congress was told on Tuesday.
The French company had sued for compensation after their 10-year, $1-billion agreement was abruptly cancelled in 2019.
Lagardere Sports held the marketing, sponsorship and television rights to all CAF competitions for two decades, but CAF said it had to cancel the deal after two court rulings found that the agreement was made without proper tender.
The company, now known as Lagardere Unlimited, sued for compensation before accepting a settlement, with CAF paying in two equal tranches, the last of which was paid at the end of last year, CAF’s finance committee vice chairman Andrew Kamanga said.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe told congress the organisation had made a $72-million profit from this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast, significantly increased from a $4-million profit for the 2021 finals in Cameroon.
CAF said it projected a revenue of almost $150 million for the 2024-2025 financial year, with expenses of $138.2 million.
Some 30% of the budget would be spent on development programmes and contributions to CAF’s 54-member associations.
A proposal was approved to give each association president an annual salary of $50,000 from the $400,000 annual contribution.
Motsepe, expected to stand for re-election next year, said CAF wanted to increase African football’s revenue to $1-billion over the next eight years. “We are having a lot of discussions with potential sponsors,” he told the congress in the Ethiopian capital.
He said CAF wanted to give $1-million annually to each member association from 2026.
Motsepe also said CAF were reviewing rules on the treatment of visiting teams in the wake of Nigeria’s national team being held at a Libyan airport for a half day before last week’s scheduled Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Nigeria refused to play the game after saying they had been held hostage by Libyan authorities who diverted their charter plane to an unused airfield and then left them waiting.
“National teams must be treated with respect. If there are violations, we’ll take action,” said Motsepe.
-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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