Governing Bodies
Women’s referees breaking new ground as FIFA Women’s World Cup approaches
The professionalism of women’s refereeing is reaching unparalleled levels, according to Kari Seitz, FIFA Head of Refereeing, Women, a fact that bodes well for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, which starts in just a couple of months.
Speaking at the Making Trade Score for Women! event held at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Seitz believes the global nature of the 33 referees, 55 assistant referees and 19 video match officials who have been selected to oversee the tournament, will continue to help to grow the popularity of women refereeing across the world.
“We are seeing countries represented through their refereeing teams, who otherwise would not have been taken part in the Women’s World Cup.,” said the former American official who officiated at four FIFA Women’s World Cups between 1999 and 2011.
“We will have referees at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from Mali, from Togo, from Kyrgyzstan, from Palestine, who have been selected based on their qualities.
While their teams have not qualified, their referees have, and so offering even more opportunities for women in football.”
The professionalisation of women’s refereeing has played a large factor in the increase ability of women’s referees to officiate at the highest level, according to Seitz.
Some top officials no longer need to have a second job and the ability to concentrate on their profession is paying dividends, which was reflected at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
By officiating the group-stage match between Costa Rica and Germany, Stéphanie Frappart, Karen Diaz and Neuza Back made history as they were the first female match officials to take charge of a game at the FIFA World Cup finals.
“Let’s see, the women at the men’s [FIFA] World Cup, as referees. This is a competition that in [its] 92-year history, had no women referees, and now we had six across the globe at the [right] quality to officiate at the tournament,” Seitz mentioned.
“This is a big statement and a big change in what’s possible for women in football. We talk about women’s football, and we talk about women in football, so that change is very positive. We’ve had so many firsts in just the last few years, you know.”
As the women’s game continues to develop, Seitz is adamant that women’s refereeing needs to continue to develop at a similar pace as the players deserve to have the best possible officiating standards.
Seitz is particularly proud of the number of “firsts being achieved” within recent years, which has propelled female referees and their profession into the global spotlight.
“As of 2017, we only had women at three international men’s competitions, and now women referees have officiated in over 25 Men’s International Competitions – for example, we are talking about the men’s champions league[s] in both Europe, Asia, and North and Central America.
We’re talking about the [CONMEBOL] Libertadores, so South America,” said Seitz.
“We’re talking about in Africa, and in the African Cup of Nations for men, that we’ve had women referees. [It’s] incredible [to see] this kind of momentum [in just a few years].
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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