Governing Bodies
DUTCH CLUBS FUME AT DECISION TO VOID LEAGUE
Since its formation in 1956, the Dutch Eredivisie has never concluded without a winner, but there will be no champions this season after it became the first top European football competition to officially fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) made the gut-wrenching decision to void the current campaign on Friday night, after the country’s government decided to extend a ban on mass gatherings until Sept 1, making it impossible to even consider holding games behind closed doors.
It said: “Public health always comes first. It’s not just a football problem here given what the coronavirus is doing to society. Nonetheless, the professional football committee is aware that today’s decisions are going to cause great disappointment for some.”
Leaders Ajax are level with AZ Alkmaar on points (56) but ahead on goal difference with nine games remaining.
Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech slammed the decision. The Morocco forward, who leaves in the summer to join Chelsea in a £33.3 million (S$58.7 million) deal, was livid after being denied the perfect swansong to his four-season spell at the Amsterdam club.
“What nonsense I have heard? We are at the top anyway. So the goal difference doesn’t count now?” Ziyech, who won the domestic treble, including the Dutch Cup and the Dutch Super Cup, last term with Ajax told local daily AD.
“How did PSV become champion in 2007? Exactly on one goal. If you have to choose one club as champion, that is Ajax to me.”
Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar also expressed his unhappiness but conceded the factors were beyond the club’s control.
“As a player and as a club, you naturally want to become champion,” he said. “You want to show it on the field and we have been at the top all year round.
“It is a pity… but in this situation, that may be understandable.”
The axing of the league is unlikely to affect Ajax’s qualification for next season’s Champions League, although KNVB will await a firm verdict from Uefa on May 25.
AZ will likely enter the competition’s preliminary rounds, with PSV, Feyenoord and Willem II set to compete in the Europa League based on the final standings despite the cancellation.
There will also be no relegation, which in turn means no team will be promoted from the Eerste Divisie this campaign.
While bottom team RKC Waalwijk were relieved to escape the drop, the top-two clubs in the second tier, SC Cambuur and De Graafschap, were outraged, with the KNVB set to face legal action.
Cambuur manager Henk de Jong did not mince his words, calling the decision “the biggest disgrace in the history of Dutch sports”.
– AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
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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