Governing Bodies
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE MAY BE DISRUPTED SOON
Concerns are growing over whether English football’s top flight can complete the season on schedule after Aston Villa became the fourth Premier League club to suffer a coronavirus outbreak on Thursday (Jan 7).
The Birmingham-based club were forced to cancel training and close their training ground after two rounds of testing returned multiple positive cases of Covid-19 among players and staff.
On Tuesday, a record of 40 positive tests were detected aong Premier League players and staff in the week between Dec 28 and Jan 3. Three Premier League matches were postponed last week due to outbreaks at Fulham and Manchester City.
Britain is battling a highly infectious strain of the virus which has forced a new nationwide lockdown after cases soared to record numbers in recent days.
Despite the latest lockdown that came into force in England on Wednesday and calls from some within the game for a circuit breaker to buy time and bring infection rates down, the British government has insisted that elite sport can continue and the Premier League has so far been adamant that the season will proceed.
“With low numbers of positive tests across the overwhelming majority of clubs, the league continues to have confidence in its Covid-19 protocols, fully backed by the government, to enable fixtures to be played as scheduled,” the league said on Tuesday.
Fixture pile-up
Fulham midfielder Kevin McDonald became one of the first dissenting voices among players for the season continuing.
“How many more outbreaks and training ground closures before football needs to stop!!!! Shambolic!! Literally treated like guinea pigs!!!” he posted on Instagram.
Due to the late end to last season, the league is less than halfway through the 2020-21 campaign. The packed fixture schedule, with domestic leagues, Cup and European competitions having to be finished before the delayed Euro 2020 starts on June 11, leaves little room for manoeuvre.
Another shutdown would likely result in a severe financial hit for the world’s richest league due to rebates in TV rights deals. The late end to last season resulted in a reported £330 million (S$593 million) of rebates to broadcasters.
On Thursday, Arsenal borrowed a short-term £120 million loan from the Bank of England to cope with the impact of the pandemic. The move comes after north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur borrowed £175 million under the same scheme in June.
Players flouting rules
However, a number of embarrassing incidents have come to light in which prominent players have flouted coronavirus restrictions, doing little to aid English football’s case to keep going while movements in the rest of the country are highly restricted.
Tottenham trio Erik Lamela, Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso, West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini, Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy, Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic were all pictured breaching coronavirus rules over the festive period.
Villa chief executive Christian Purslow has been among those calling for tougher sanctions for players who break the regulations and put the season at risk.
Villa captain Jack Grealish was fined two weeks’ wages by the club for a breach of the rules last year.
“There are moments when young people will stray from the rules and, whether you’re a parent or the chief executive of a football club, that’s a time when you have to be very strict and remind people of their responsibilities,” Purslow said earlier this week.
-Reuters/AFP
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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The supporters of Vancouver Whitecaps, a professional football (soccer) club in Canada, have staged a protest outside the FIFA Congress on Thursday, voicing fears that the Major League Soccer club could be relocated as uncertainty deepens over its ownership and long-term future.
The club is one of Canada’s most historic football institutions and has long been a central part of Vancouver’s sporting identity.
Around 100 fans gathered as delegates arrived for the annual FIFA meeting in Vancouver, chanting, singing and waving club flags in a show of solidarity. The demonstration comes just days after Vancouver Whitecaps FC revealed difficulties in securing a buyer willing to keep the club in the city.
The Whitecaps disclosed earlier this week that “stadium economics, venue access and revenue limitations” have complicated efforts to sell the club, despite a 16-month search for new ownership.
Season ticket holder Derek Hawksworth said supporters felt compelled to act amid growing fears of relocation.
“I wanted to come down given the threat of the team possibly moving,” he said. “It’s a rich history with the Whitecaps in North America… we want Vancouver to stay and not relocate. The history is here, and we want to continue with that history moving forward.”
The Vancouver Whitecaps are a professional football (soccer) club based in Vancouver, Canada. They currently compete in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-tier league in the United States and Canada.
Concerns were heightened by reports that cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix are leading contenders should the club relocate.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has urged intervention, calling on the provincial government — which owns BC Place — to negotiate a “bridge deal” that would allow the team to remain while plans for a new stadium are explored. The club’s current lease at BC Place expires at the end of the year.
Despite the off-field uncertainty, the Whitecaps have been one of the standout teams this MLS season. They currently sit second in the Western Conference with 24 points from nine matches, just three points behind the San Jose Earthquakes.
For supporters, however, performances on the pitch offer little comfort as the future of their club hangs in the balance — a situation they hope global football leaders gathering in Vancouver will not ignore.
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