Governing Bodies
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND TO HOST FIFA 2023 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
BY NANCY GILLEN
Australia and New Zealand have been awarded the hosting rights for the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The FIFA Council voted to award the ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup to the trans-Tasman bid during an online meeting.
It had been considered the front-runner in the bid race, having received the higher score of 4.1 in the FIFA evaluation report published earlier this month, and received 22 out of a possible 35 votes from the Council.
Colombia, the only other contender, scored 2.8 in the evaluation report and obtained 13 votes.
In the evaluation report, the Australia and New Zealand bid was praised for its commercial potential in particular.
“The Australia/New Zealand 2023 bid provides a variety of very good options in terms of sporting and general infrastructure,” the report said.
“It would also appear to present the most commercially favourable proposition, taking into consideration the financial commitments made by the Governments of both countries towards the operational costs of the tournament.”
The report acknowledged that a joint bid between two countries could be a “more complex undertaking”, however.
The tournament is now set to be the first cross-Confederation hosted World Cup and the first ever Women’s World Cup in the Asia-Pacific region.
Thirty-two teams will also feature in the tournament for the first time.
FIFA Women’s World Cup ✔ @FIFAWWC
The #FIFAWWC 2023 hosts are @FFA & @NZ_Football.
Here you can find the FIFA Council vote breakdown.
It has been proposed to hold the competition from July 10 to August 20, with the opening game set to take place in Auckland’s 50,000-seat Eden Park and the final in Sydney’s 70,000-capacity Stadium Australia.
Up to eight venues have been proposed in Australia, with five in New Zealand.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern were both heavily involved in the bid race, with both leaders featuring in the final presentation to the FIFA Council.
New Zealand Football President and FIFA Council member Johanna Wood, Football Federation Australia President Chris Nikou, Australia captain Sam Kerr and New Zealand captain Ali Riley were also in the virtual presentation.
It had been reported in the run-up to the announcement that voting may have swung in Colombia’s favour, but ultimately it was decided this was the weaker bid.
The evaluation report found that “a significant amount of investment and support from both local stakeholders and FIFA” would be necessary to improve the Colombian bid.
The South American Football Confederation and the Colombian Football Federation later took issue with the evaluation report, accusing FIFA of making “erroneous and discriminatory conclusions.”
Brazil and Japan had also been involved in the bid race, but both withdrew in recent months.
France staged the last edition in 2019, when the United States lifted the trophy for the fourth time.
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The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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