Governing Bodies
SERIE A PREPARES FOR MAY DATE RETURN
The players and staff at Serie A clubs should be tested for the coronavirus and then isolated in training camps when they begin preparing for the restart of the season, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on Wednesday night.
The recommendation will be among the guidelines drawn up by the FIGC’s medical committee so that the season, on hold since March 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic, can resume safely.
The governing body is hoping that training can begin immediately after the current lockdown ends on May 3.
Italy has been one of the countries hardest hit by the outbreak and players at several Serie A clubs have been among those infected.
It was reported earlier this week that Juventus duo Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi have recovered fully from Covid-19 and would no longer need to self-isolate.
“In order to restart football safely, it is essential at this stage to develop the best possible procedures to resume activity when the whole country starts up again,” said FIGC president Gabriele Gravina.
“We work without haste, but also without resting so that we are ready when the institutions give us the green light.”
The FIGC also advised all Serie A clubs to form a group, including players, technical staff, doctors, and physiotherapists, to ensure they are “completely negative” before isolating themselves in a summer-style training camp.
All members should be tested for Covid-19 in the 96 hours before the start of the camp.
Safety precautions also need to be taken in relation to the “management of the retreat with specific attention to training and the use of facilities, including the medical and physiotherapy room”.
The recommendation also suggested a staggered restart to the campaign, with Serie A going first, followed by the lower divisions.
The FIGC has said it is determined to complete the term, which still has 12 of the 38 rounds to play, although some clubs, like bottom side Brescia, want it to be called off.
But a leading Italian doctor has called the proposal to test the players to facilitate the resumption of the league “a far-fetched theory”.
Giovanni Rezza, the head of infectious diseases at Italy’s National Institute of Health, said that footballers risk infection – even if games are played behind closed doors – the moment they step onto the pitch.
He added: “If I had to give a technical view, sincerely, it would not be a favourable one.
“It’s obvious that politics will decide. But it’s a sport that involves contact and that contact could imply a certain risk of transmission.”
The uncertainty surrounding the outbreak also means it is impossible to predict when top-flight football in Europe can resume.
But Alberto Colombo, the deputy general secretary of the European Leagues, told the BBC that matches will have to be played in empty stadiums when it does.
“There’s no doubt games will be behind closed doors. But, of course, it’s impossible to answer the question, ‘When will we be back playing?’ Nobody has these answers.”
AFP, 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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