Governing Bodies
SWISS PROSECUTOR IN ‘SECRET MEETING’ WITH FIFA PRESIDENT
A Swiss prosecutor investigating corruption in football met in secret with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, German and Swiss media alleged Friday (April 17), further fuelling allegations of collusion between football’s world governing body and Swiss investigators.
Citing unnamed sources, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and Switzerland’s Luzerner Zeitung suggested that Cedric Remund, 38, was the previously unidentified fifth person at a secret meeting with Infantino and Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber at the Schweizerhof Hotel in Bern on June 16, 2017.
If proven, the allegation could potentially compromise a number of high-profile football corruption probes of which Remund was directly in charge, claimed SZ.
According to the newspaper, the June 2017 meeting with Infantino was also attended by Lauber, his spokesman Andre Marty and Rinaldo Arnold, a friend of Infantino and senior prosecutor for the Upper Valais canton.
Lauber, who is in charge of the investigation into Fifa corruption which opened in 2015, had previously denied the meeting to the ethics body (AS-MPC) that oversees Swiss ministries during a disciplinary hearing.
Yet an AS-MPC report in March said the meeting had taken place, and accused Lauber of “breaching several of his professional obligations,” including “repeatedly not telling the truth” and “acting disloyally.” It also cut eight per cent from the prosecutor’s salary, though the 54-year-old remains in office, having been reappointed by parliament last September.
The ethics body also found that a fifth person had attended the 2017 meeting, whom the German and Swiss newspapers claimed was Remund.
According to the SZ, Remund was directly in charge of the corruption investigation into Germany’s hosting of the 2006 World Cup, as well as a probe into a suspicious TV rights contract – signed by Infantino – between European governing body UEFA and two Argentinian businessmen in 2006.
Both probes were ongoing at the time of the June 2017 meeting.
“What is clear is that an investigating prosecutor should never have been allowed to attend this meeting,” the newspaper wrote.
Lauber’s office has steadfastly defended other meetings with Infantino, insisting they were logistically necessary given the scope of the FIFA graft probe.
Switzerland’s FIFA investigation concerns alleged misconduct that occurred before Infantino replaced Sepp Blatter in 2016.
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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