Governing Bodies
Brazil v Argentina World Cup qualifier to be replayed 
The World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina in September that was suspended just minutes after kickoff when health officials ran onto the pitch must be replayed, world governing body FIFA said on Monday.
The match at the NeoQuimica Arena in Sao Paulo was halted in farcical fashion after five minutes when Brazilian health officials invaded the pitch to stop Argentina’s England-based players, who they accused of breaching the country’s COVID-19 quarantine rules, from playing.
The officials claimed the Argentines had breached Brazilian rules stating travellers who had been in the UK, South Africa or India during the previous two weeks were forbidden from entering the country unless they were Brazilian citizens or had permanent residency.
The officials claimed the players had misled border officials by declaring they had not been in a red list country during the 14 days before the game.
Argentine officials said they believed the same protocols used in the Copa America in Brazil in June were in place for the World Cup qualifiers to allow teams to travel across the continent. CONMEBOL confirmed that interpretation.
“After a thorough investigation of the various factual elements and in light of the applicable regulations, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided that the match should be replayed on a date and at a location to be decided by FIFA,” it said in a statement.
“In addition, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has concluded that the abandonment of the match stemmed from several deficiencies of the parties involved.”
The four England-based players, Emiliano Buendia, Emiliano Martinez, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, were each banned for two international matches by FIFA’s disciplinary committee for failing to comply with the world governing body’s COVID-19 protocols.
FIFA also fined the Brazilian and Argentine football associations 500,000 Swiss francs ($540,000) and 200,000 Swiss francs, respectively, for their failure to ensure “order and safety”.
Both nations have already qualified unbeaten for Qatar, with Brazil top of the South American qualifying group, four points ahead of Argentina. Both teams have three games to play.
The last scheduled round of qualifying games takes place in late March.
($1 = 0.9265 Swiss francs)
-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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