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Governing Bodies

LIVERPOOL RISK PREMIERSHIP TITLE EXCEPT OTHERS AGREE ON NEUTRAL VENUE PLAN

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Liverpool, the run-away leaders of the current Premiership season may not be crowned! Before the current global lockdown on all sporting activities, the club was on the verge of being crowned champions for the first time in 30 years.

But according to information gathered from Daily Mail, the English Premier League season could be cancelled if teams do not agree to play the remaining 92 fixtures in neutral venues amid the Covid-19 pandemic, League Managers Association (LMA) chief executive Richard Bevan said on Wednesday (May 6).

Professional football has been suspended since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Britain suffering the highest death toll in Europe.

Discussions are continuing about resuming matches after clubs were told this month on a Premier League conference call that only neutral venues approved from a health and safety point of view will be allowed.

Asked if the 2019-20 campaign would be cancelled if teams voted against playing in neutral venues, Bevan told the BBC: “Yes, I think that probably is correct.

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“The government, if they haven’t already, will be making it clear that home matches with densely populated stadia, really puts into question whether social distancing rules can be adhered to.”

On Wednesday, Aston Villa became the latest Premier League club threatened by relegation to reject proposals to restart the season behind closed doors at neutral venues.

Villa’s chief executive Christian Purslow said the plan would increase the risk of an economic “catastrophe” for his club should they fall out of the lucrative English top-flight.

Brighton chief executive Paul Barber also admitted to “self-interest” in objecting to the proposals, while West Ham vice-chairman Karen Brady has claimed “no one wants” to play at neutral sites.

Clubs at risk of relegation argue that the integrity of the competition would be compromised by the neutral-venue plan.

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One controversial idea being floated by those at risk at the bottom of the table is to scrap relegation for this season even if matches can restart.

Villa are second bottom, two points from safety, but with a game in hand on fourth-bottom Watford.

“At the bottom end of the table there’s a much smaller revenue base, but the risk of relegation is probably a £200 million (S$351 million) catastrophe for any club that mathematically could still go down,” Purslow told TalkSport.

“We’re a club that prides itself on home form. Two-thirds of our wins this season have come at home.

“We’ve got six home games left to play and I think any Villa fan would agree that giving up that advantage is a massive decision for somebody running Aston Villa and I certainly wouldn’t agree to that unless those circumstances are right.” Villa could still be relegated even if no more matches took place should the Premier League choose to use the points-per-game model used by France’s Ligue 1.

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Lyon have threatened legal action after missing out on a European place and the Premier League is keen to avoid a similar fallout, with the financial stakes even higher in England.

The Premier League is desperate not to lose out on an estimated £762 million of television revenue and broadcasters are not believed to be keen on removing the jeopardy of relegation from the remaining matches.

English Football League chairman Rick Parry warned on Tuesday that “lawyers are going to get wealthy” if the Premier League tried to block promotion from the Championship.

Premier League clubs are set to meet again on Monday in the hope of agreeing a consensus on the protocols for a return to training and eventually matches.

That meeting will take place a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to set out his plans to ease a nationwide lockdown.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday gave the Bundesliga the go-ahead to resume from mid-May behind closed doors.

However, there remains unease at the prospect of players being rushed back into contact sport while the rest of the country is being encouraged to continue social-distancing measures.

A number of Premier League club doctors have reportedly raised a range of concerns, including over their liability and insurance if players catch the virus.

“I’d respect them more if they said ‘We accept the increase in health risk but it’s one we are willing to take’,” said former Manchester United captain Gary Neville on the Premier League’s stance.

“They won’t as they are frightened to death.”

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-AFP

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Governing Bodies

Sanusi set for record-extending tenure as Nigeria’s football politicians assemble in Asaba

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Speculations gathered ahead of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Football Federation holding in Asaba on Friday have it that tenure elongation for the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, is a major item on the agenda.

Neither formal confirmation nor denial has been issued since one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria, ThisDay dropped the hint.  

 The agenda of the meeting is also not made public. Dr, Sanusi is the longest-serving General Secretary in history having been in office from 30 March 2015 making 3,476 days or nine years six months and four days.

It easily drowned that of his closest rival in tenure – Sani Toro whose tenure from 21 December 1993 to 3 May  1999 is merely 2020 days or five years, six months and 12 days.

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 Thus, no one had enjoyed a longer period in office than the incumbent, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi.  It is speculated that the tenure will be extended as NFF has reported that all delegates have arrived in the Delta State capital by Thursday evening.

The NFF Annual General Assembly, the first of which took place 90 years ago in Lagos on 19 February 1934, is the biggest assemblage of football administrators and stakeholders in the country.

In one such meeting on 24 July 2008 in Makurdi, the football body changed its name from NFA to NFF.

This year, according to a press release by the NFF, the plenary will have in attendance, the chairmen and secretaries of football associations in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, chairmen and secretaries of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and the Nationwide League One, as well as chairmen and secretaries of the referees’ association, players’ union and coaches’ association. This group of 88 makes up the Congress.

 They are joined by the members of the NFF Executive Committee and the management team as well as former NFF Presidents and General Secretaries.

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The Minister of Sports Development, John Owan Enoh, is announced as the special guest. Nigeria’s Member of the FIFA Council, Amaju Melvin Pinnick is also expected as well as a representative of the West African Football Union (WAFU B).

The Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori will declare the General Assembly open. 

Venue is the Unity Hall of the Delta State Government House.

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Governing Bodies

Like in Egypt, former Nigerian Olympian, Sadiq Abdulahi wants Tinubu to declare ‘State of Emergency’ in Sports

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Former Nigerian tennis player and Olympian, Prof. Sadiq Abdulahi has called for drastic action to arrest the decline of Nigeria in global sporting events.

  The former tennis player who is now a professor in the United States declared that the “failure to win a medal at the regular 2024 Paris Olympics, the few medals at the Paris Paralympic and the fallout at the National Youth Sports Festival has exposed the deep problems facing the sport’s sector.”

  He wants Nigeria to have the same approach that the Egyptian president has taken while reacting to the country’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olypics.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered  a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that  participated at the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.

 According to Prof. Abdulahi, the National Sports Federations charged with the preparation of elite athletes have failed to do their job despite the cry for funding from the government.

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“Federal Government cannot adequately fund all the Olympics sports. It is impossible.

“By declaring a state of emergency, new people, new approaches and new funding models will be identified. More importantly, the Federal Government will redefine grassroots sports development.

“We will lay sustainable foundation for sports development.”

Continuing, he called for the return of the National Sports Commission (NSC) which enabling decree was abolished through Decree No. 7 of 1991, but came back through presidential proclamation under Sani Abacha before it was abolished again.

 The original NSC was established in 1964 as National Sports Council before the promulgation of Decree 34 of 1971 which legalised it as  the apex Federal Government agency to control, regulate and organize sports.

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  “The FG may now bring back the National Sports Commission or the National Sports Authority. Our emerging national economy with the full participation of the private sector can support this new beginning. I hope this helps.” 

RELATED STORY: President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul

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Governing Bodies

CAF gives Yoruba and Arabic interpretations of  ‘OLA’ the Super Cup 2024 Official Match Ball

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The Confédération African of Football, CAF, has given the linguistics interpretation of OLA, the confederation’s official match balls produced by Puma which has also unveiled a special edition for the Super Cup duel holding on Friday in Saudi Arabia.

According to CAF, OLA, symbolizing the dynamic and energetic nature of African football, means “wealth,” “honour,” and “respect” in Yoruba and “rise” and “success” in Arabic.

The OLA ball stands out with its vibrant design and cultural significance. “OLA” 

The ball is a mix of black and gold, representing power and sophistication. The ball will be the centrepiece of the eagerly-awaited match between the two giants of African football.

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