Governing Bodies
LA LIGA CHIEF ACCUSES FIFA PRESIDENT OF SUPPORTING EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE
La Liga chief Javier Tebas has accused Fifa president Gianni Infantino of supporting the launch of a breakaway European Super League despite world football’s governing body being officially opposed to the project.
In an interview with AFP, Tebas called on Infantino to deny he is in favour of the controversial breakaway competition that would transform the landscape of European football.
Tebas claims Infantino has been “working on” and “encouraging” its formation and said Fifa’s president could even be given a role with the new league once it is set up.
When contacted by AFP, Fifa referred to its statement on Jan 21, which was signed by Infantino and said “such a competition would not be recognized by either Fifa or the respective confederation”.
Fifa added any club or player participating would be banned from competitions organsied by Fifa, such as the World Cup, although it is unclear if such a move would be legal.
Yet Tebas believes Infantino is in favour of a Super League and has even been helping clubs to organise it. “Fifa as an institution have been very clear but Infantino is not Fifa the institution, he is the president and he should clarify his position,” Tebas said in an interview with AFP and British tabloid The Sun.
“It is obvious that he has been involved in the meetings. He has been working on it and even been encouraging them to set it up. He is not against it,” Tebas added.
“He thought the project was good.”
When asked why Infantino would support a European Super League, Tebas said: “Maybe he has a position in this future Super League that he is going to take up. Otherwise I wouldn’t understand it.”
Documents containing details of the Super League, first reported this month by British newspaper The Times, proposed a 20-club tournament with 15 permanent members.
They would include the Premier League’s “Big Six”, as well as Real Madrid and Barcelona, with those clubs guaranteed billions of euros in revenue.
Tebas believes the documents show Infantino was involved in discussions.
“In the documents that we have there is the mention of a code name ‘W01’ which clearly refers to Mr Infantino. That is his code name,” said Tebas.
“So he should urgently clarify his position, his personal position, to explain exactly why he was at some of the meetings and encouraged the project at certain points in time.”
Infantino has championed a new, expanded 24-team Fifa Club World Cup which he has said would be “the best club competition in the world” as well as the most lucrative.
Tebas continued: “In the documents there are also certain dates being held back for the Club World Cup, which is so precious to Infantino.
“They have kept January free for the Club World Cup and even said who is going to be part of it.
“It is obvious that people involved like (Real Madrid president) Florentino Perez could not have those details if Infantino were against it.”
Real Madrid declined to comment.
In October, Infatino said he was “not interested’ in a European Super League but stopped short of confirming if he was for or against.
“If he comes out and says it’s not true and can prove it, I will apologise,” said Tebas.
“In football everyone knows everyone and we find out everything that’s going on. When I say something it is for a good reason. I know the truth.”
As the head of the Spanish league, Tebas has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Super League project, which he says has been driven by Perez at Madrid, as well as the American owners of Liverpool, Manchester United and AC Milan.
Barcelona’s outgoing president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, said in October the club had also signed up.
The loss of income from the pandemic has accelerated talks, after Madrid and Barca each posted total debts of around €1 billion (S$1.61 billion).
“Barcelona and Real’s financial situations are not great but they’re not so bad either,” said Tebas.
“The Super League is just an excuse they are looking for to set up this dream, the dream that Florentino Perez has had for years.
“But while I am in charge of the Spanish league it’s not going to happen, that’s my opinion.
“The whole system will be against it and it won’t just sit on its hands. It’s going to fight.”
–AFP
Governing Bodies
Zimbabwe sports minister among candidates for International Olympic Committee presidency
A total of seven candidates are running for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee with the winner replacing outgoing president Thomas Bach at elections in March 2025 in ancient Olympia, Greece.
Kirsty Coventry:
Age: 41
Country: Zimbabwe
Entry into the IOC: 2013
An Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian, Coventry is Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister. She is the only woman among the candidates and the only one from Africa.
Prince Feisal Al Hussein:
Age: 60
Country: Jordan
Entry into the IOC: 2010
Prince Feisal heads the Jordan Olympic Committee and has been an IOC executive board member since 2019. An Executive Board member of the Olympic Council of Asia, Prince Feisal has also held several posts at the Royal Jordanian Air Force.
Sebastian Coe:
Age: 67
Country: Britain
Entry into the IOC: 2020
An Olympic track and field champion and head of World Athletics, Coe also led the organisation for the 2012 London Olympics. A former Conservative Member of Parliament, Coe is also involved in sports consultancy and is a former head of the British Olympic Association.
Johan Eliasch:
Age: 62
Country: Britain
Entry into the IOC: 2024
The wealthy Swedish-born entrepreneur with a variety of business interests has headed the international skiing federation since 2021. He only joined the IOC in July at its session in the Paris Olympics.
David Lappartient:
Age: 51
Country: France
Entry into the IOC: 2022
A rising figure in world sports administration. He heads the international cycling body, UCI, and is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.
Juan Antonio Samaranch:
Age: 64
Country: Spain
Entry into the IOC: 2001
The son of the late former IOC president, Samaranch has considerable IOC experience and influence in his six years as vice president and 23 as a member. He headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Morinari Watanabe:
Age: 65
Country: Japan
Entry into the IOC: 2018
Watanabe has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since. He is the first Japanese candidate to run for the IOC presidency.
Governing Bodies
World Athletics boss, Coe and multi-millionaire Eliasch among seven candidates for IOC presidency
World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch and Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among seven candidates for next year’s International Olympic Committee presidency election, the IOC said on Monday.
IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president, international cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe are also in the running to succeed current president Thomas Bach.
The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year after 12 years at the helm. The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025.
The candidates will all present their programmes, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January 2025.
The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world’s biggest multi-sports event.
Bach’s departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3 billion for the years 2025-28 and $6.2 billion already in deals for 2029-2032.
The president is elected to an eight-year first term with the possibility of a second term of four years, if re-elected.
Coe, 67, only joined the IOC in 2020 after a rocky relationship between World Athletics and the IOC over Coe’s ban of Russian track and field athletes almost a decade ago following the country’s doping scandal.
A former Olympic champion with a wealth of experience in the sports world, Coe was previously head of the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association. He is also a former Conservative Member of Parliament.
Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president and the former Olympic swimming champion, who is Zimbabwe’s most decorated Olympian, could become not only the first female president but also the first from Africa.
MALE PRESIDENTS
All IOC presidents have been men, with eight of the nine from Europe and one from the United States.
The 62-year-old Eliasch, head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), only joined the IOC in July, with the Swedish-born British businessman’s candidacy a surprise for some.
Prince Feisal, 60, is a member of the IOC executive board, having joined the organisation in 2010, while Spaniard Samaranch, with considerable IOC experience in his six years as vice president, headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
“The IOC and Olympic movement have made enormous strides over the past decade under the leadership of Mr Bach,” said Samaranch in a statement.
“The IOC now needs a new leader with deep experience of the Olympic movement who can help steer it through this period of upheaval.”
UCI chief Lappartient has been a rapidly rising figure within the sports world after joining the IOC in 2022.
The Frenchman also is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.
Japan’s Watanabe, 65, has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since, and is his country’s first ever candidate for the IOC presidency.
Under current rules members have to step down when they reach 70, the IOC’s age limit, unless they are given a four-year extension.
-Reuters
Governing Bodies
Storm in CAF over proposed statutes amendments
There is currently insinuations that proposed certain elements may have smuggled modifications to amend the Statutes of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) when the body holds its General Assembly next month in Kinshasa, Congo next month.
The confederation will be having its 46th General Assembly on 10th October. It is at such gatherings that amendments are made to existing rules.
According to an article authored by Mansour Loum, the editor of Sports News Africa, some national football federations have denied being party to proposed amendments which were linked to them.
One of such is coming from the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation which has denied signing proposals being circulated relating to amendments to CAF Statutes.
It is claimed that a circular dated 8 September has been sent to CAF member associations. Signed by CAF General Secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, it is titled: “Proposals for amendments to the CAF statutes and regulations for the application of the statutes, as well as the rules of procedure of the CAF General Assembly, presented by the national associations.”
Seven member associations were quoted as sponsoring the amendments. They are: Botswana, Comoros, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania and Niger.
But Equatorial Guinea has denied being party to the proposed amendment which seek to remove age barrier for candidates seeking to be CAF Presidents and also removing zonal considerations in election into FIFA Council.
The current Statute stipulates that a presidential candidate must not be older than 70 as at the date of election.
Most of the national federation members are already approaching that age. In the estimation of the author of the article, Mansour Loum, the current CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, is 62 years old. With the age limit, he could, for example, only run for two more terms.
Continuing, Loum wrote that regarding the elections to the FIFA Council, each zone has a representative on the FIFA Council and candidates for these positions can only be elected by the presidents of the member associations of their group zone.
Thus, the presidents of French-speaking federations can only vote for a French-speaking representative, the English-speakers for the English-speaking group, and so on.
The distribution of seats on the FIFA Council is currently as follows:
Francophone Group – Two members
Anglophone Group – Two members
Arabophone/Lusophone/Hispanophone Group – Two members
One female member elected from among the female candidates, regardless of language groups
The modification of the grouping by zonal unions would mean that all presidents could vote for candidates outside their group, or that the candidates would also no longer be limited to a group.
Several candidates from the same group could be elected to the FIFA Council, while at the same time some groups could no longer be represented.
Equatorial Guinea disputes any request for modification. The football federation president, Venancio Tomas Ndong Micha has reportedly denied being party to the proposed amendments.
“I am writing to you to present the disagreement of the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation with part of the content of the document sent to the CAF Executive Council on September 8, 2024 signed by you (…)
“In this document, there are amendments presented by the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation (…) By this letter, we confirm that the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has not submitted any amendments to the CAF administration for the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly to be held on Thursday, October 10, 2024 in Kinshasa,” he denounces.
Enough to cast doubt on this document sent by the CAF secretary general and the objective targeted. Contacted, a federation president, whose body is not mentioned in the letter, is surprised by these two requests for amendments and wonders about their intentions.
The press release from the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has sown doubt and now he is questioning the originality of the attachments included in this document which is likely to be talked about between now and the CAF General Assembly.
– Mansour Loum
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