Governing Bodies
A future European Super League could have 80 clubs
A future European Super League could include as many as 80 teams, Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of A22 Sports Management, a company formed to sponsor and assist in the creation of a breakaway soccer league, said on Thursday.
In a statement outlining the preliminary results of talks that A22 had with what it said was 50 European clubs and stakeholders of football, the company said change was necessary.
“The vast majority of them share the assessment that the very foundation of European football is under threat, and it is time for change,” A22 said.
“Feedback suggests a European football league that is open, based solely on sporting merit, multidivisional with 60 to 80 clubs and a minimum of 14 guaranteed European matches per club.”
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus were among 12 clubs to announce a breakaway Super League in April 2021.
But the move collapsed within 48 hours after an outcry from fans, governments and players forced Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid to pull out.
That left only Real, Barcelona and Juventus as holdouts. The ESL took its case to a Spanish court which subsequently sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
“Our objective is to present a sustainable sporting project for European club competitions available to, at a minimum, all 27 EU Member States as soon as possible after receipt of the judgment,” Reichart said.
STRONG HEADWIND
Spain’s La Liga President Javier Tebas, a staunch opponent of the ESL, said the plan would only favour big clubs.
“The Super League is the wolf, who today disguises himself as a granny to try to fool European football, but his nose and his teeth are very big,” Tebas wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
“Four divisions in Europe? Of course the first for them, as in the 2019 reform. Government of the clubs? Of course only the big ones.”
European soccer body UEFA, the biggest opponent to the ESL plan which it sees as threatening its own Champions League club competition, did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
The European Leagues — the association of Europe’s professional leagues — were equally critical, saying they had not even been consulted by A22.
“The Leagues fully support the current European club football model which is based on a open pyramidal structure with promotion and relegation from grassroots to professional at domestic level,” they said.
“This model is far from being broken and does not need to be fixed.”
The European Club Association (ECA) said A22’s “rehashed idea” had already been “proposed, discussed and comprehensively rejected by all stakeholders in 2019.”
‘WALKING CORPSE’
The Football Supporters’ Association, which represents fans in England and Wales and is a co-founder of Europe’s equivalent fan body, said the ESL plan did not have any backing from the continent’s fans.
“The walking corpse that is the European Super League twitches again with all the self-awareness one associates with a zombie,” said FSA chief executive Kevin Miles in a statement.
“Their newest idea is to have an ‘open competition’ rather than the closed shop they originally proposed that led to huge fan protests. Of course an open competition for Europe’s top clubs already exists – it’s called the Champions League.”
A22 said there were 10 principles that emerged from the discussions, including improving competitiveness, financial sustainability and fan experience.
At issue in the ongoing court case is whether European body UEFA and global governing body FIFA statutes allowing them to block rival events and bar clubs and players from taking part conform with EU competition rules.
-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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