Governing Bodies
From prison to the throne: Jailed candidate set to win Mali FA elections
This Tuesday, a football election like few others will take place in Mali when the one-and-only candidate, the current president of Mali’s football federation (Femafoot), looks set to win a four-year term from a prison cell.
Mamatou Toure, widely known as Bavieux, is currently in jail in the Malian capital Bamako as he awaits trial after being accused of embezzling funds during his time as a financial and administrative director in Mali’s National Assembly.
The 66-year-old, who has led Femafoot since 2019, is a member of both the Fifa Council, the board of football’s world governing body, and the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football (Caf).
He is also the sole candidate for the elections after being the only one of four men to pass an eligibility test, which he managed to do prior to being indicted on 9 August by the Malian state for “attacking public property as well as forgery and use of forgery and complicity”. Along with four others, Toure is accused – in charges that all deny – of embezzling a reported US$28 million from the state purse.
Toure is a former tax inspector with a master’s degree in auditing. The charges against him cover a period between 2013 and 2019, when the five representatives of the then ruling RPM (‘Rassemblement pour le Mali’) party were in power, and which largely pre-date Toure’s election as Femafoot president in August 2019.
On the eve of Tuesday’s elections, BBC Sport Africa can highlight a series of financial gaps that have taken place within Femafoot under the administration of Toure. While hundreds of thousands of dollars remain unaccounted for, so several of Mali’s national team trainers have complained about going unpaid for many months.
Financial questions
An audit conducted into Femafoot’s finances of 2022, conducted by the Pyramis group and dated March 2023, which has been seen by the BBC, shows that Femafoot did not pay any taxes to the Malian state regarding its employees.
“Femafoot deducted taxes and duties from staff salaries for a total amount of CFA 23,9m [just under $40,000],” the audit stated. “Femafoot did not declare or pay these taxes and duties.”
The tax failure was not new, since an audit into Femafoot’s financial affairs of 2020 (covering January-September) had also found it did not pay the country’s inland revenue ‘all the tax deductions it retains on salaries paid to its staff’. That same 2020 audit (conducted by the Cabinet Ficogec group) also stated that key financial and management reports had gone missing.
In addition to the tax issue, the March 2023 audit showed that nearly $50,000 were awarded to unspecified ‘other parties’ without any reason given nor any approval agreed by Femafoot’s board for the payments – in direct contradiction of the body’s statutes. When sports equipment was sold for just over US$300,000, US$138.5k was registered in Femafoot’s account and US$144k was paid – in cash – to MK Productions, the company reported as providing the sports kit, so leaving US$22k unaccounted for.
Without receiving documents relating to the sales, with the auditors citing no inventory not itemised sales, Pyramis declared themselves ‘unable to comment on the correct valuation of the sports equipment sales’. The BBC can find no record for a sports company called MK Productions within Mali – where the only-registered company with that name works in media, not sportswear.
The questions raised in the 2023 audit follow a theme from 2022, when a document signed by 44 Malian football officials – nearly all of whom were presidents of clubs, including some of the country’s top sides – also raised several financial concerns.
One of these was how Femafoot spent nearly US$1.25m in the final quarter of 2020, despite none of this being presented to the federation’s executive committee for approval (while also questioning why this quarter was not covered by Cabinet Ficogec’s 2020 audit).
Addressed to Mali’s then political rulers, the document also queried what Femafoot had done with the $790,000 it received from Caf regarding the country’s participation at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, money that should have been refunded to the Malian government since the latter finances the country’s national football teams.
Finally, no financial report has been presented to Femafoot’s general assembly, where all its members gather, for the past three years, which contravenes Fifa statutes. The BBC has sent questions regarding all the financial issues outlined above to Femafoot but has yet to receive a response.
Sole Candidate
Despite the serious pending charges against him, Toure is the sole candidate for Tuesday’s Femafoot presidential election – after three others failed to pass the eligibility test. One candidate, former Femafoot media spokesperson Salaha Baby, did initially pass, but Toure successfully appealed his eligibility to rule him out of the race.
“The disqualifications of our candidacies follow a multitude of fanciful procedures by the armed arms of the Femafoot president,” Sekou Diogo Keita, a former vice-president of Femafoot, told BBC Sport Africa.
“Why is no one taking any action? The only candidacy validated is the one of someone actually jailed.”
Keita, who has written to Fifa to complain about the ongoing process as well as Femafoot’s financial affairs, is currently serving a five-year ban issued by the Malian football body in 2022 on charges he describes as politically-charged. Meanwhile, Femafoot has failed to answer a question about showing bias towards its current president when asked by the BBC.
Toure’s would-be rivals have appealed his eligibility – arguing, among other matters, that he should have declared the pending state investigation into him when filling out his eligibility form for the Femafoot post.
“Are you currently the subject of a disciplinary, criminal or civil procedure or investigation?” asks one of the questions on the Femafoot eligibility form.
Toure’s rivals believe he either failed to accurately answer the above question or simply did not fill in any form.
On 15 August, Baby formally wrote to sport’s highest court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, to appeal against Toure’s candidacy and request the reinstatement of his own.
“Being a member of the Fifa Council cannot spare Mamoutou Touré from the good governance protocol established by your body,” wrote Keita to Fifa Secretary General Fatma Samoura.
In response, Fifa – which is sending emissaries to oversee Tuesday’s vote, as are Caf – said it “has been closely following the electoral process”.
“Any dispute concerning the electoral process should follow the established legal procedures,” the governing body added. “Please note that all Fifa Forward projects undergo an annual central review by Fifa.”
-BBC
Governing Bodies
Zimbabwe sports minister among candidates for International Olympic Committee presidency
A total of seven candidates are running for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee with the winner replacing outgoing president Thomas Bach at elections in March 2025 in ancient Olympia, Greece.
Kirsty Coventry:
Age: 41
Country: Zimbabwe
Entry into the IOC: 2013
An Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian, Coventry is Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister. She is the only woman among the candidates and the only one from Africa.
Prince Feisal Al Hussein:
Age: 60
Country: Jordan
Entry into the IOC: 2010
Prince Feisal heads the Jordan Olympic Committee and has been an IOC executive board member since 2019. An Executive Board member of the Olympic Council of Asia, Prince Feisal has also held several posts at the Royal Jordanian Air Force.
Sebastian Coe:
Age: 67
Country: Britain
Entry into the IOC: 2020
An Olympic track and field champion and head of World Athletics, Coe also led the organisation for the 2012 London Olympics. A former Conservative Member of Parliament, Coe is also involved in sports consultancy and is a former head of the British Olympic Association.
Johan Eliasch:
Age: 62
Country: Britain
Entry into the IOC: 2024
The wealthy Swedish-born entrepreneur with a variety of business interests has headed the international skiing federation since 2021. He only joined the IOC in July at its session in the Paris Olympics.
David Lappartient:
Age: 51
Country: France
Entry into the IOC: 2022
A rising figure in world sports administration. He heads the international cycling body, UCI, and is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.
Juan Antonio Samaranch:
Age: 64
Country: Spain
Entry into the IOC: 2001
The son of the late former IOC president, Samaranch has considerable IOC experience and influence in his six years as vice president and 23 as a member. He headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Morinari Watanabe:
Age: 65
Country: Japan
Entry into the IOC: 2018
Watanabe has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since. He is the first Japanese candidate to run for the IOC presidency.
Governing Bodies
World Athletics boss, Coe and multi-millionaire Eliasch among seven candidates for IOC presidency
World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch and Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among seven candidates for next year’s International Olympic Committee presidency election, the IOC said on Monday.
IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president, international cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe are also in the running to succeed current president Thomas Bach.
The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year after 12 years at the helm. The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025.
The candidates will all present their programmes, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January 2025.
The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world’s biggest multi-sports event.
Bach’s departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3 billion for the years 2025-28 and $6.2 billion already in deals for 2029-2032.
The president is elected to an eight-year first term with the possibility of a second term of four years, if re-elected.
Coe, 67, only joined the IOC in 2020 after a rocky relationship between World Athletics and the IOC over Coe’s ban of Russian track and field athletes almost a decade ago following the country’s doping scandal.
A former Olympic champion with a wealth of experience in the sports world, Coe was previously head of the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association. He is also a former Conservative Member of Parliament.
Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president and the former Olympic swimming champion, who is Zimbabwe’s most decorated Olympian, could become not only the first female president but also the first from Africa.
MALE PRESIDENTS
All IOC presidents have been men, with eight of the nine from Europe and one from the United States.
The 62-year-old Eliasch, head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), only joined the IOC in July, with the Swedish-born British businessman’s candidacy a surprise for some.
Prince Feisal, 60, is a member of the IOC executive board, having joined the organisation in 2010, while Spaniard Samaranch, with considerable IOC experience in his six years as vice president, headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
“The IOC and Olympic movement have made enormous strides over the past decade under the leadership of Mr Bach,” said Samaranch in a statement.
“The IOC now needs a new leader with deep experience of the Olympic movement who can help steer it through this period of upheaval.”
UCI chief Lappartient has been a rapidly rising figure within the sports world after joining the IOC in 2022.
The Frenchman also is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.
Japan’s Watanabe, 65, has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since, and is his country’s first ever candidate for the IOC presidency.
Under current rules members have to step down when they reach 70, the IOC’s age limit, unless they are given a four-year extension.
-Reuters
There is currently insinuations that proposed certain elements may have smuggled modifications to amend the Statutes of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) when the body holds its General Assembly next month in Kinshasa, Congo next month.
The confederation will be having its 46th General Assembly on 10th October. It is at such gatherings that amendments are made to existing rules.
According to an article authored by Mansour Loum, the editor of Sports News Africa, some national football federations have denied being party to proposed amendments which were linked to them.
One of such is coming from the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation which has denied signing proposals being circulated relating to amendments to CAF Statutes.
It is claimed that a circular dated 8 September has been sent to CAF member associations. Signed by CAF General Secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, it is titled: “Proposals for amendments to the CAF statutes and regulations for the application of the statutes, as well as the rules of procedure of the CAF General Assembly, presented by the national associations.”
Seven member associations were quoted as sponsoring the amendments. They are: Botswana, Comoros, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania and Niger.
But Equatorial Guinea has denied being party to the proposed amendment which seek to remove age barrier for candidates seeking to be CAF Presidents and also removing zonal considerations in election into FIFA Council.
The current Statute stipulates that a presidential candidate must not be older than 70 as at the date of election.
Most of the national federation members are already approaching that age. In the estimation of the author of the article, Mansour Loum, the current CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, is 62 years old. With the age limit, he could, for example, only run for two more terms.
Continuing, Loum wrote that regarding the elections to the FIFA Council, each zone has a representative on the FIFA Council and candidates for these positions can only be elected by the presidents of the member associations of their group zone.
Thus, the presidents of French-speaking federations can only vote for a French-speaking representative, the English-speakers for the English-speaking group, and so on.
The distribution of seats on the FIFA Council is currently as follows:
Francophone Group – Two members
Anglophone Group – Two members
Arabophone/Lusophone/Hispanophone Group – Two members
One female member elected from among the female candidates, regardless of language groups
The modification of the grouping by zonal unions would mean that all presidents could vote for candidates outside their group, or that the candidates would also no longer be limited to a group.
Several candidates from the same group could be elected to the FIFA Council, while at the same time some groups could no longer be represented.
Equatorial Guinea disputes any request for modification. The football federation president, Venancio Tomas Ndong Micha has reportedly denied being party to the proposed amendments.
“I am writing to you to present the disagreement of the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation with part of the content of the document sent to the CAF Executive Council on September 8, 2024 signed by you (…)
“In this document, there are amendments presented by the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation (…) By this letter, we confirm that the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has not submitted any amendments to the CAF administration for the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly to be held on Thursday, October 10, 2024 in Kinshasa,” he denounces.
Enough to cast doubt on this document sent by the CAF secretary general and the objective targeted. Contacted, a federation president, whose body is not mentioned in the letter, is surprised by these two requests for amendments and wonders about their intentions.
The press release from the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has sown doubt and now he is questioning the originality of the attachments included in this document which is likely to be talked about between now and the CAF General Assembly.
– Mansour Loum
Zimbabwe sports minister among candidates for International Olympic Committee presidency
World Athletics boss, Coe and multi-millionaire Eliasch among seven candidates for IOC presidency
Storm in CAF over proposed statutes amendments
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
AFCON6 days agoSuper Eagles lead Afcon Group D qualifiers despite Benin’s defeat of Libya
-
AFCON5 days agoAustin Eguavoen remains the ‘Big Boss’, says NFF
-
AFCON6 days agoWhy I benched Osimhen again – Eguavoen
-
AFCON4 days agoRwanda newspaper gives 5 lessons gleaned from Rwanda-Nigeria clash
-
Nigerian Football5 days agoWesterhof recommends Siasia for Super Eagles’ job
-
AFCON6 days agoNigeria’s managerial crisis resumes as Eguavoen reportedly declines to continue
-
AFCON1 week agoHurray, Super Eagles back to winning ways!
-
AFCON4 days agoPresent and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen