Governing Bodies
NIGERIA’S SPORTS MINISTER AWAITS EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF HIS SIX-MONTH STEWARDSHIP
Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has declared that he could not score himself six months after assuming office, even as he remains focused on re-inventing the wheels in spite of the challenges.
According to a report from his media office, Dare said: “It would be totally wrong to score myself. You can’t score yourself in an examination. Relevant stakeholders who have been monitoring what we have done since assuming office should do the scorecard.
“But by and large, we have tried to re invent the wheel of Youth and Sports Development, and restore confidence in the sector.
‘We have changed the wrong perception about the Youth and Sports Development Ministry, and engaged with critical stakeholders, the athletes and those that are genuinely interested in supporting us to actualize our vision.
“We have succeeded in convincing the athletes who are at the core of winning honours that we mean well and their welfare remains our central focus.
‘We have refocused sports development by dwelling on the core issues that matter.”
The minister maintains that athletes and their welfare remain his top priority:
“Without the athletes winning laurels, sports will be meaningless. So we have focused on infrastructural development, the discovery and development of athletes and their welfare.
“We have also insisted on doing things right to change the ecosystem in Youth and Sports and most negative perceptions that we inherited have changed.
“We met a lot of challenges, but when we look back in a year or two we believe a lot would have changed for good.”
On the biggest challenge since assuming office he said:
“The Youth and Sports Development sector is not insulated from the challenges that characterize other ministries and sectors of the society. We inherited a lot of challenges like projects that were started and abandoned, those that were completely but made to rot away, youth unemployment and a sector that was completely neglected.
“We had to devise strategic options of tackling the problems.
“We came up with the Adopt-an -Athlete Initiative and Adopt-a-Stadium. We went into partnership with committed individuals, corporate bodies, state governments and agencies to support our athletes and address the infrastructural problems.
“These are problems that had always been there and we had to take proactive steps to tackle them.
“This strategic move has achieved a lot with states like Edo, Delta, Lagos, Anambra adopting athletes.
“Unlike in the past, money meant for athletes are paid directly into their accounts without anyone taking anything.
“This is to enable the athletes train well for the Olympics before it was postponed. Good enough, we are constantly monitoring the athletes to know how they are faring.
“With the lockdown and postponement of all sporting events, we are keeping tabs on the athletes to ensure that they use the money well and also use private indoor facilities to keep in shape.”
Speaking on infrastructure, the minister said stadiums like the MKO Abiola Stadium, National Stadiums in Lagos and Ibadan are being given a face lift by individuals, just as the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna has been given a new look courtesy of the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasiru El Rufai.
World football governing body, FIFA, today clocks its 122nd anniversary, celebrating more than a century of overseeing and expanding the global game.
Founded on May 21, 1904, in Paris, France, FIFA began with just seven member associations — France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
From that modest beginning, the organisation has grown into the most influential sports governing body in the world, with 211 member associations spread across all continents.
Over the decades, FIFA has transformed football into a truly global phenomenon through competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Club World Cup, youth tournaments, and developmental programmes aimed at growing the game worldwide.
The organisation has also witnessed remarkable milestones, including the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 13 teams in 1930 to 48 teams beginning from the 2026 edition to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
FIFA’s journey has equally reflected football’s growing influence beyond sport, with the game becoming a major tool for diplomacy, social inclusion, youth empowerment, and economic development across the world.
As FIFA celebrates 122 years of existence, attention is now focused on the future of the game, technological innovations, expanded competitions, women’s football growth, and the continued globalisation of football.
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UEFA has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women’s soccer coach who secretly filmed his players, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17.
In a statement, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following the appointment of an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate allegations of potential misconduct.
“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.
FC Slovacko did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world soccer governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.
“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the well-being of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.
Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19s team.
RELATED STORY: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/04/08/outrage-as-male-coach-who-secretly-filmed-women-players-still-free-to-work-in-football/
-Reuters
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Southampton have been kicked out of the Championship playoff final after being found guilty of spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, the English Football League said on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 to Southampton on aggregate in the semi, have been reinstated and will face Hull City on Saturday in what is dubbed the world’s richest soccer match.
Promotion to the Premier League, even with an immediate relegation, is estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons.
Southampton, who admitted the charges, were also found guilty of filming training sessions involving Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April during the regular season.
They have also been deducted four points from the start of next season in England’s second tier.
“An Independent Disciplinary Commission has today expelled Southampton from the Championship play-offs after the club admitted multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training,” the EFL said.
“Southampton admitted breaches of Regulations requiring Clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another Club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.
“The effect of today’s order is that Middlesbrough are reinstated into the 2026 play-offs and will proceed to the play-off final against Hull City. The final remains scheduled for Saturday 23 May, with the kick-off time to be confirmed.”
The EFL confirmed that Southampton could appeal against the decision and that “parties are working to try and resolve any appeal on Wednesday 20 May.
“Subject to the outcome, it could result in a further change to Saturday’s fixture,” the statement said.
‘BORO CALLED FOR SOUTHAMPTON EXPULSION
Middlesbrough had called for Southampton’s expulsion after having a training session at their Rockliffe Park site filmed 48 hours ahead of the first leg of their playoff semi-final with Southampton which ended 0-0.
The north-east club said they welcomed the decision.
“We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct,” the north Middlesbrough said in a statement.
“As a club, we are now focused on our game against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday.”
Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season and were struggling in the early part of this campaign until a storming finish in which they went unbeaten in 19 league games to finish fourth and enter the playoffs.
The south-coast club are the first to fall foul of the Football League’s regulation 127 — brought in after Leeds United were found guilty of spying on Derby County seven years ago, an offence for which they were fined 200,000 pounds.
-Reuters
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