Governing Bodies
Infantino and Okonjo-Iweala look to build on collaboration
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala have resolved to expand their partnership and help the economic empowerment of women.
According to news from the football governing body, FIFA and the WTO last September signed a Memorandum of understanding where they agreed to look at ways of using football to promote economic inclusion, particularly in developing countries, and co-operate on the WTO’s cotton programme.
Cotton is a particularly important source of livelihoods and export revenue in the ‘Cotton Four’ (c4) countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali, as well as some other countries including Côte d’Ivoire and Niger.
FIFA and the WTO have been looking at ways to boost the sourcing of cotton used in sportswear from those nations.
Infantino and Okonjo-Iweala spoke during Making Trade Score for Women!, a series of panel discussions held at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and which also featured the unveiling of the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy in advance of this year’s 32-team final tournament which will take place in Australia and New Zealand.
“It is true that the FIFA Women’s World Cup represents the pinnacle of excellence in women’s football, but it is equally true that in the past, the women’s form of the game has not received the attention and prominence that it deserves,” Dr Okonjo-Iweala said.
“Women in sport, as in every sphere of life, are entitled to the same rewards enjoyed by their male counterparts.
“Sadly, this has not been the case, and we’re really delighted at the effort that FIFA, under President Infantino, is making to change this narrative.
“The upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup represents a unique opportunity to discuss how the sport can be made more equal and crucially, how the economic returns from football can be better distributed.”
Dr Okonjo-Iweala then spoke about the opportunities for expanding the WTO’s partnership with FIFA.
“More needs to be done, both in trade and in sport, to narrow the gap between the economic benefits enjoyed by men and women for equal work,” the WTO Director-General added.
“What I can see are the opportunities on the trade side, and when we couple that with the drive by FIFA and others to grow the game in developing countries,
“I can see the potential for trading services to increase.
“We are now physically engaged in trying to do something about that by starting with the ‘Cotton Four’ [initiative], and when this initiative succeeds, there is potential to see how we can expand this partnership to different parts of the sports goods world.”
Infantino said that football had a global economic of well over USD200 billion and that 70% of this was in Europe – showing the untapped potential in other parts of the world.
“Imagine the potential that there is still outside of Europe, and the ‘Cotton Four’ initiative is part of unleashing that potential,” he said.
The FIFA President said that women’s empowerment is playing a significant part in football’s economic growth, with crowds of 80,000 to 90,000 at some recent women’s football games in Europe, while 50,000 people attended last year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final in Morocco.
The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
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.
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.
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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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.
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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