Governing Bodies
More Nigerians get into ITTF board
The Secretary General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Olabanji Oladapo has been reelected into the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Board of Directors (BoD) at the end of the annual general meeting (AGM) of the world body in Houston, Texas, United States.
Also, President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Ishaku Tikon and NTTF Board member, CP Elderson Bankole have been appointed into the veteran and para commissions of ITTF.
Earlier, in the year at the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) held through virtual, Oladapo topped the list of eight candidates from Africa listed for ITTF BoD.
However, after the election of Executive Vice Presidents which produced Nigeria’s Wahid Enitan Oshodi as the candidate with the highest votes among the eight elected VP, the reelection of Oladapo and 31 others were ratified and confirmed by the Executive Committee (EC) of the world table tennis ruling body.
Tikon and Bankole nomination into the veterans and para commissions was confirmed at the end of the AGM late on Wednesday November 24 by ITTF.
Tikon and Bankole with this appointment have become full members of the commissions and are expected to take active part in their decision of the commissions.
Meanwhile, the President of ATTF, Khaled El-Salhy has hailed the election of Oshodi and Alaa Meshref of Egypt as Executive Vice Presidents of ITTF being a feat by the continent.
“It is a very honourable day for the Africa Table Tennis family, today Wednesday November 24, 2021 as the continent got two slots in the highest ruling arm of ITTF Executive Committee for the first time in its history.
Congratulations for Wahid Oshodi and Alaa Meshref and congratulations for the whole family of Table Tennis in our continent,” the ATTF chief said.
He added: “This is the second time in a row to show to everybody what Africa could achieve when it is united and fully supporting our representatives; as the first time was last year when we succeeded to support South Africa to win the bid to host 2023 WTTC in Durban, and this year to win two representatives of Africa in ITTF EC.
“I have to say frankly, it is time now for Africa to continue the road of success in the future.”
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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