Governing Bodies
FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy coming to Nigeria next month
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy Tour begins this month and Nigeria as one of the 32 countries featuring in the tournament will play host to the trophy in March.
The tour goes by the theme: ‘Going Beyond’ and it is to inspire people of all ages to get excited about the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.
Arriving from Zambia, the trophy is expected on Nigerian shores on 26 March. The tour’s Skills Drills will encourage women and girls worldwide to join the celebration by showcasing their footballing ability and creativity.
It is envisaged as the biggest-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy Tour. The tour will take the iconic Trophy to all 32 of the tournament’s participating nations – more countries than ever before – and will inspire people of all ages by ‘Going Beyond’ to celebrate the rocketing popularity of the women’s game. At the heart of this mission will be a unique opportunity for members of the public to get creative and showcase their footballing ability to a global audience.
Skills Drills will give willing participants worldwide the chance to try out fun football challenges that become tougher over time and then share their imaginative efforts on TikTok.
As the Trophy travels from stop to stop, selected women and girls who have participated in Skills Drills will join FIFA Legends, local national team stars and other famous faces to highlight the game’s emerging talent and increase the buzz around the Women’s World Cup.
As the campaign’s dedicated skills coach, Female Football Freestyle world champion Lia Lewis will set the challenges to her more than 3.9 million followers on TikTok, as well as across FIFA’s social media and FIFA+. She will also pass on her tips to youngsters at a send-off event on 18 February in Melbourne / Naarm, Australia before the tour’s first official stop in Japan on 25-26 February.
The Trophy will crisscross the globe by visiting Asia, Africa, South America, North America and Europe before landing in all nine Women’s World Cup host cities in the final weeks before the start of a tournament on 20 July that promises to go Beyond Greatness™.
Key dates on the tour schedule include stops in China PR on 9-11 March, South Africa on 22-23 March, Brazil on 29-30 March, USA on 10-14 April, Canada on 19-20 April, Germany on 2-3 May, England on 13-14 May and France on 20-21 May.
Several countries will also be part of the tour for the first time ever, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Morocco, the Philippines, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Vietnam and Zambia.
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy Tour is a spectacular global celebration of the women’s game, giving fans, families and future football enthusiasts an opportunity to be inspired and become part of a truly special journey,” FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura says.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to experience the most coveted prize in women’s football in person and hear from the game’s legends. The tour will inspire people worldwide by shining a spotlight on the skills and creativity that demonstrate why women’s football has such a bright future.”
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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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.
Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.
The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.
Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.
“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.
“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”
Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.
“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”
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