Governing Bodies
Nigerien referees for Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria AWCON final battle
The Confederation of African Football has selected Nigerien official Zouwaira Souley as the referee for Wednesday’s 2022 Women Africa Cup of Nations final qualifying match between Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria in Abidjan.
Souley will work in company with compatriot Hawa Douno Moussa (assistant referee 1), Lamouni Latiifah Laura Pare from Burkina Faso (assistant referee 2) and another Nigerien, Nafissa Sani (fourth official).
Ayawa Mana Mawoufemo Dzodope from Togo will serve as match commissioner, with another Togolese, Latré-Kayi Edzona Lawson-Hogban as referee assessor.
The Super Falcons, holders of the trophy which they have won nine times, won the first leg at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja 2-0 on Friday, both goals coming off the boots of US –based forward Ifeoma Onumonu.
Nigeria’s contingent to the return leg landed in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan on Sunday evening, and trained at the Palais des Sports in the Treichville area of the city. The 23-woman Super Falcons squad includes Captain Onome Ebi, Onumomu, defender Ashleigh Plumptre, goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, midfielders Rasheedat Ajibade, Toni Payne and Rita Chikwelu, and forwards Esther Okoronkwo and Gift Monday.
Wednesday’s encounter will take place at the Stade Robert Champroux, also in Abidjan, and will commence at 4pm Cote d’Ivoire time. The Falcons are expected to have a feel of the match venue on Tuesday evening.
The winner on aggregate will join hosts Morocco and Uganda who have already qualified for the 12 –team finals holding in Morocco 2nd -23rd July this year.
Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Burundi and Tunisia who scooped huge first-leg wins, as well as Botswana who won away from home, look good for spots in Morocco, and to some extent Nigeria and South Africa, with decent home wins.
Burundi will expectedly pick their ticket on Monday when they visit Djibouti, while the delicately –poised fixture between Namibia and Zambia, which first leg ended scoreless in Luanda, will be settled inside the Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
All the other eight matches will hold on Wednesday.
SUPER FALCONS IN ABIDJAN:
Goalkeepers: Tochukwu Oluehi, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Yewande Balogun
Defenders: Onome Ebi, Osinachi Ohale, Ashleigh Plumptre, Rofiat Imuran, Oluwatosin Demehin, Michelle Alozie, Nicole Payne
Midfielders: Rita Chikwelu, Rasheedat Ajibade, Toni Payne, Regina Otu, Peace Efih, Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene
Forwards: Uchenna Kanu, Francisca Ordega, Gift Monday, Christy Ucheibe, Mbadi Amanda, Ifeoma Onumonu, Esther Okoronkwo
ALL THE FIRST LEG RESULTS
Wednesday 16 February:
- Burundi 6-1 Djibouti
- Zambia 0-0 Namibia
- Guinea-Bissau 0-6 Burkina Faso
- Senegal 1-0 Mali
Thursday 17 February:
- Togo 2-1 Gabon
Friday 18 February:
- Zimbabwe 1-3 Botswana
- South Africa 2-0 Algeria
- Tunisia 5-0 Equatorial Guinea
- Cameroon 8-0 The Gambia
- Nigeria 2-0 Cote d’Ivoire
ALL THE RETURN MATCHES
Monday, 21 February
- Djibouti Vs Burundi
Tuesday 22 February
- Namibia Vs Zambia
Wednesday 23 February
- Burkina Faso Vs Guinea-Bissau
- Mali Vs Senegal
- Gabon Vs Togo
- Botswana Vs Zimbabwe
- Algeria Vs South Africa
- Equatorial Guinea Vs Tunisia
- The Gambia Vs Cameroon
- Cote d’Ivoire Vs Nigeria
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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