Governing Bodies
CAF AWARDS: ASISAT OSHOALA’S EYES ON A FOURTH CROWN
South African Thembi Kgatlana and Cameroon’s Ajara Nchout Njoya stand in the way of Nigerian Asisat Oshoala’s race to clinch a fourth African Women’s Player of the Year crown at the CAF Awards to be staged in Hurghada.
The Nigerian superstar has been crowned winner in 2014, 2016 and 2017 and is hoping to equal the record of her mentor and compatriot Perpetua Nkwocha who has been decorate four times – 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011.
Since 2014, Oshoala has always made it to the top three in the running for the Women’s Player of the Year award and her prowess in 2019 has seen her achieve the feat once again.
Her successful 2019 began
with a move to Spanish side FC Barcelona.
Oshoala was an instant hit from the first moment she joined Barca where she also featured for them in their 2018/19 UEFA Women’s Champions League., scoring in the 4-1 loss to French side Olympique Lyonnais in the final.
She has also scored eight goals for the club, a feat that has seen her extend her stay in the Spanish City with a contract that runs until 2022.
Oshoala was also an integral part of the Nigeria team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France where the Super Falcons reached the knockout stages. She scored the second goal in the 2-0 victory over South Korea in the group stages, a victory that saw them through to the Round of 16.
They were however eliminated by Germany after a 3-0 loss.
Oshoala also skippered the Nigerian team in the African qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where they were eliminated in the third round after losing to Côte d’Ivoire. She scored in the 1-0 victory over Algeria in the second round.
She also netted in the 1-1 draw with the Ivorians in Lagos, but could not progress after bowing out on the away goal rule following a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Abidjan.
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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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.
Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.
The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.
Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.
“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.
“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”
Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.
“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”
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