Governing Bodies
Ex-FIFA boss Blatter and France great Platini to learn fate in corruption case
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and France soccer great Michel Platini will appear before a Swiss court on Tuesday to hear whether the case that finished their careers in football will end with their acquittals or convictions for corruption.
The pair, once among the most powerful figures in global soccer, will appear at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court 2-1/2 years after they were acquitted of fraud.
Swiss federal prosecutors rejected the decision at a lower court in 2022, leading to the new hearing in the town of Muttenz, near Basel. Both men deny the charge.
The case relates to a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.27 million)payment Blatter authorised for Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, which was made in 2011.
Platini and Blatter said the payment was a consultancy fee paid to Platini for work between 1998 and 2002, which the Frenchman said had been partly deferred because FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately.
The affair, which emerged in 2015 when Platini was president of European soccer body UEFA, torpedoed his hopes of eventually succeeding Blatter at the top of FIFA.
Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years. Although their exclusions were later reduced, the ban ended their careers as senior football administrators.
The 2022 indictment accused Blatter and Platini of deceiving FIFA staff in 2010 and 2011 about an obligation for world soccer’s ruling body to pay Platini.
“They falsely claimed that FIFA owed Platini, or that Platini was entitled to, the sum of 2 million Swiss francs for advisory work. This deception was achieved through repeated untruthful claims made by both accused parties,” the indictment said.
The pair were cleared in the 2022 case after a judge accepted that their account of a “gentlemen’s agreement” for the payment was credible, while there were serious doubts about the prosecution’s allegation the payment was fraudulent.
Blatter, who was FIFA president for 17 years until 2015, has insisted he had done nothing wrong. Now a frail 89-year-old, he told Reuters he was the victim of a witch-hunt.
Platini, a three-times European Footballer of the Year, insisted the money was related to backpay.
“There’s no corruption, there’s no swindling, there’s nothing at all,” he told reporters at the start of the appeal.
His lawyer Dominic Nellen said the case was designed to stop Platini becoming FIFA president.
“Platini was the most likely successor to Blatter in 2015, but someone wanted him out of the way,” Nellen said. “At every turn there seems to be an attempt to stop Platini becoming president of FIFA.”
Blatter was eventually replaced by Gianni Infantino, who had worked for Platini at UEFA. Infantino owed his candidacy to the fact that Europe’s preferred candidate, Platini, was banned from football.
Infantino has denied helping to bring about Platini’s downfall, and said he only stepped up when UEFA asked him after the allegations against Platini emerged.
Prosecutors want a sentence of 20 months in jail, suspended for two years for both Blatter and Platini, and to confiscate the money.
Both sides can appeal against the judgement to the Swiss Federal Court, the country’s highest legal authority.
-Reuters
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By Kunle Solaja.
Egyptian publication Ahram has reported an astronomical increase in prize money in all tiers of Egyptian domestic competitions.
This decision by the Egyptian Football Association to unveil what it described as the biggest prize-money package in its history for the 2025/26 season has once again thrown the spotlight on the modest financial rewards in Nigerian domestic football competitions.
Under the new structure announced by the Egyptian federation, winners of the Egypt Cup will receive EGP 2 million (approximately $37,000), while runners-up will earn about $19,000. The champions of the Egyptian Premier League are also expected to pocket EGP 5 million, estimated at about $94,000.
The package extends beyond the elite division. Clubs promoted from Egypt’s Second Division (A) will each earn roughly $19,000, while those advancing from Second Division (B) will receive close to $9,500 each.
Women’s football and youth competitions were equally accommodated. Winners of the Women’s Football League will receive about $9,500, while the Women’s Egypt Cup champions and runners-up will earn nearly $7,500 and $3,700 respectively. Youth championships across several age categories also have dedicated prize allocations running into millions of Egyptian pounds.
The Egyptian initiative is being viewed in many football circles as a deliberate attempt to improve club stability, encourage grassroots development and make domestic competitions more competitive.
For Nigerian football stakeholders, the development offers another example of how stronger financial incentives can stimulate growth in local competitions.
In Nigeria, complaints over poor prize money have persisted for years, especially in the domestic league, women’s football and youth competitions. Several clubs continue to struggle financially, while players and officials often lament inadequate rewards despite demanding schedules and rising operational costs.
Observers argue that meaningful prize money can motivate clubs to invest more seriously in infrastructure, player welfare, youth development and women’s football.
The Egyptian model also demonstrates that football development is not restricted to top-flight competitions alone. By extending financial rewards to lower divisions and youth categories, the federation appears to be creating a broader economic support system for its football ecosystem.
Many Nigerian football followers believe the Nigeria Football Federation, the Nigeria Premier Football League and corporate partners can draw valuable lessons from Egypt’s approach.
With Nigerian clubs facing increasing financial pressure and continental competitiveness declining in recent years, analysts insist that enhanced prize money could become one of the incentives needed to revive domestic football and restore greater excitement around.
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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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