Governing Bodies
Pique rejects wrongdoing over 24-million euros Saudi Super Cup deal
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique dismissed any wrongdoing over his involvement in helping the Spanish FA secure a deal to relocate Spain’s Super Cup to Saudi Arabia, an agreement which earned his Kosmos company 24 million euros ($26 million) in commission.
On Monday, website El Confidencial published leaked audio recordings from 2019 that revealed details about the contract negotiated by Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales and Pique with Saudi Arabia that included Kosmos receiving 4 million euros for each of the six Super Cup editions scheduled to be played in the Middle Eastern country.
“I have absolutely nothing to hide, it’s all legal,” Pique told a late night news conference on Monday that was streamed on his social media channel.
“We can debate the morality of it but the only illegality is the leaking of the audios. I see no ethical issues or conflict of interest either. It’s the opposite, I feel proud for the spectacular job we have done bringing the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.”
Pique said the 4 million euros paid per tournament to Kosmos represents 10% of the 40 million euros that Saudi authorities agreed to pay the Spanish FA every year to bring the Super Cup to the Gulf state.
“As a commission, it is below the market value. These types of deals usually pay 15% to 20%,” the Barcelona defender said while he was repeatedly quizzed by reporters who felt his involvement in brokering the deal was a conflict of interest.
“We will take legal action against the publication of the audios.
“The audios were taken out of context. I was just trying to help the president (Rubiales) have a formula that was financially logical for the FA and the clubs. Commercial issues have nothing to do with sporting ones.”
The Spanish FA took a similar stance.
“We don’t understand how such a clear, positive and clean operation becomes a source of controversy. We all know that there is nothing illegal here,” the Spanish FA’s head of communications Pablo Garcia Cuervo told Cadena Ser on Tuesday.
“Pique is a businessman who has an agency that operates internationally with major events and has great contacts. All he did was put us in contact with Saudi Arabia. That is no conflict of interest, he just helped Spanish football to close an extraordinary operation.”
The decision to relocate the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia has been criticised by many due to the Middle East country’s human rights record.
Amnesty International called on the clubs involved in the tournament to take a stand over women’s rights and equality issues but had no response.
Saudi Arabia has no codified legal system and no laws regarding sexual orientation or gender identity. Judges have convicted people for “immorality”, having sexual relations outside of marriage, and homosexual sex.
At the Saudi Grand Prix in December, seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton wore a rainbow-coloured Progress Pride helmet to draw attention to LGBTQ+ intolerance in the country.
($1 = 0.9266 euros)
-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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