Governing Bodies
THIS DAY IN HISTORY; DOUBLE IMMEMORIAL FOR NIGERIAN FOOTBALL
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Frederick Baron Mulford’s name is ever recurring in any discourse on the early years of Nigerian football. Fondly called ‘Baba Eko’ (respected elder of Lagos); he is perhaps the most acknowledged among the pioneers of football organization in Nigeria.
It was on this date, 3 September 1949; he died at the Creek Hospital, Lagos and was buried the next day at the Ikoyi Cemetery. His death was barely four days after the arrival in Liverpool, of the first Nigerian national team, the UK Tourist, of which he was one of the fundraisers for the trip.
Coincidentally, one of the players on that trip, Olisah Chukwurah, defender died also on this date, 3 September 2001, exactly 52 years after that of Mulford.
Chukwurah who was a teacher in Abeokuta at the time he was selected as a member of the UK Tourist later studied law and rose to the enviable position of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Mulford, who was one of the three vice presidents when the then Nigeria Football Association was founded on 21 August 1933, arrived Nigeria as a commercial agent with Lagos Stores Limited in 1904.
As football in the early days were organised along racial lines in Lagos, Mulford was the first to organise a desegregated football matches at the then Race Course which is now the Tafawa Balewa Square.
According to family tree constructed at findmypast.com by John Bird Monk, Mulford was born in January 1881 in Southampton, Hampshire in England. He came to Nigeria having sailed aboard “Aro”, an Elder Dempster and Company Limited ship that departed Liverpool for Lagos on 7 April 1906.
He came to Nigeria as a junior assistant in the firm Lagos Stores which was later absorbed by UAC in 1929. While there, he rose to the position of deputy to the head agent, Hon. A.M. Harvey, who was also a member of the Legislative Council then tagged LEGICO.
Mulford left Lagos Stores when it was merged with UAC and was appointed Business Manager of the Nigerian Daily Times in 1933 the year the Nigeria Football Association was founded. He was also the sports editor of the Daily Times.
He became the games master at CMS Grammar School, Nigeria’s first secondary school. Mulford later moved to Kings College in 1914 when he was organising weekly matches with European teams in Lagos.
One of his greatest legacies was the presentation of a trophy to the Lagos and Districts Amateur Football Associations (LDAFA) for a knockout competition.
The trophy, Lagos War Memorial Cup was later changed to Mulford Memorial Cup which got rechristened to Oba Cup in 1965 following the eternal win by Stationery Stores FC.
Mulford was buried at the Ikoyi Cemetery on 4 September 1949. He was never married.
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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