Governing Bodies
Legacies of Mohammed VI, pillar of Morocco football
The achievements of Moroccan soccer, which are a testimony to the unprecedented revival of national teams in all categories, have been achieved thanks to the far-sighted strategy established by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him.
This has been possible thanks to a high level of infrastructure, planning and interest in academies and training centres.
The bulk of the Morocco U-17 team are from Mohammed VI Academy of Football Academy
Most of the Atlas Cubs, who were runners-up at the Africa Cup of Nations U17, were products of the Mohammed VI Academy of Football which supplied nine of the players.
Five other players were from AS FAR. Fath Union Sports of Rabat have four players while Maghreb de Fès supplied four players and each of Hassania of Agadir, Ittihad of Tangier and Raja had a player .
The achievements of the Mohammed VI Football Academy looms large in the development of Moroccan soccer.
The Mohammed VI Football Academy, founded in 2009 in Salé, on the instigation of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, in his letter to the National Sports Conference held in Skhirat on October 24, 2008. In this Royal letter, His Majesty the King called for the development of a modern and efficient system to organize the sports sector based on the _”restructuring of the national sports landscape and the upgrading of sports
The imposing building where the players are camped
organizations with a view to their professionalization, as well as the democratization of the bodies responsible for their management.”
This letter marked a turning point in the field of sports, after which several reform and restructuring projects were launched, including the Mohammed VI Football Academy.
The Mohammed VI Football Academy, the jewel that produces Moroccan stars, was built according to criteria that correspond to the best international standards in terms of training centers in order to put in place the conditions for the training of Moroccan talents, enabling them to play in the biggest soccer clubs, whether in Morocco or in Europe.
The indoor football pitch where the players train in the event of inclement weather
The achievement of the national A team, which was able to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, gives confidence and assurance to all national teams in different age groups, including women’s teams.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (RMFF) continues its serious work in implementing the role of training centers in all clubs by providing them with adequate funding to invest in training and by arming them with logistical, material and moral means to better plan the management of national teams.
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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